Naruto: Forbidden Arts and an Immortal Agenda

The First Training Ground buzzed with electric anticipation.

Below, a group of elite Genin clashed in fierce combat. Blades struck, sparks flew, water gushed, and flames blazed—an electrifying spectacle.

Yet from Aozora's perspective, the Genin fighting below were riddled with flaws.

And yet, this kind of battle drew roaring cheers from the villagers.

Why else were they here at the training grounds?

Wasn't it precisely for this heart-pounding, blood-pumping display of combat?

The collision of blood and fire, sword against blade—maybe a few dramatic sprays of water or bursts of fire would really spice up the show.

As for battles like those of Aozora and Senbon, the audience actually disliked watching them.

They might feel awe without fully understanding, but if they couldn't grasp what they saw, they'd feel cheated of their ticket price.

In contrast, these chickens clashing among themselves sent viewers' adrenaline surging, thrilling them beyond measure. Their faces flushed red with excitement as they shouted praise and commentary aloud.

Aozora now understood why the Five Great Countries had always only publicly held the Chunin Exams.

Protecting Jonin intelligence was one reason—but perhaps another was that Jonin-level battles weren't suited for spectators and didn't appeal to commoners either.

Jonin-tier fights were either world-shattering spectacles or decisive duels within inches.

The former couldn't guarantee audience safety; the latter left spectators completely lost.

Suddenly, a thought struck Aozora—was it truly wise letting lions and antelopes live together?

The devastation caused by ninja battles was staggering; the true victims of war were often not the ninja themselves, but the civilian populations living under their protection.

Each Great Ninja World War saw the collapse of countless small nations and devastated entire populations.

Though Aozora's eyes remained on the ongoing matches below, his mind began to drift elsewhere.

A sudden thought flashed through his head.

He had an intuition that this might be the key to achieving peace in the Ninja World.

Unfortunately, the fleeting insight slipped away before he could fully grasp it.

Aozora felt some regret, but in reality, he didn't need to deal with such grand issues right now. He quickly adjusted his mindset and resumed watching the matches.

Other Genin stepped off the stage one after another, soon concluding the first round of competition.

Aya and Jifeng successively finished their matches.

Although they had graduated merely three months ago, both possessed solid foundations. Using family secret techniques, they found victory opportunities quickly after brief standoffs.

The other two members of their graduating class from Team One also advanced easily.

Saya Kurama faced a ninja who couldn't counter genjutsu, winning effortlessly.

Willow Seiichiro had a prolonged struggle against an equally matched opponent before barely securing victory.

Aozora noticed two familiar figures next—Kotetsu Hagane and Chuyue Shenyun.

These two were well-known minor characters in the original storyline: they participated in the Chunin Exam, supported Tsunade, pursued the immortal duo, and finally defeated Kakuzu during the Great Ninja World War.

They were rare individuals who played major roles in critical plotlines without being overshadowed or sacrificed due to the main characters' spotlight.

In this life, they were two classes ahead of Aozora's team—an exceptionally talented pair.

Though not on the level of ninja prodigies like Minato Namikaze or Orochimaru, their impressive taijutsu skills and flawless teamwork earned them renown among the Genin ranks.

This time participating in the Chunin Selection, they entered determinedly and swiftly resolved their opponents without even resorting to special methods.

After one elimination round, none of the remaining Genin were ordinary opponents anymore.

They had already won one match. Winning another would give them a strong chance of being promoted directly to Chunin.

Unlike the first round where opponents often surrendered when outmatched, this selection round required participants to fight until they were completely incapacitated and unable to continue.

The second round immediately became much more brutal.

First eliminated was Willow Seiichiro from Team One.

As the only commoner in Team One, Willow Seiichiro's talent was undeniable indeed. But talent usually needs time to mature.

Jifeng, Aya, and others had received support from their parents and built solid foundations early on, allowing them to realize their potential within three months.

Willow Seiichiro, however, didn't receive specialized tutoring until after graduation.

Despite his strong willpower, the first round battle had already drained him completely. In this round, facing an older, more experienced ninja, he fought hard but ultimately lost.

Next to be eliminated was Saya Kurama. This round wasn't as fortunate—he faced another ninja equally skilled in Genjutsu (illusion techniques). Their illusion techniques were about equal, but his opponent also possessed excellent Taijutsu skills. As his opponent closed in, he simply lifted his hand and gave up.

In no time, among Aozora's cohort, only the three members of Team Three remained.

The screen on the stone wall continued spinning, capturing everyone's attention involuntarily.

Soon, new names appeared for the next round of matches.

"Inuzuka Aya versus Senbon!"

Seeing that Senbon faced Inuzuka Aya, many genin couldn't help but exhale in relief.

In the first round, Aozora, Senbon, and Kunai had performed exceptionally well, clearly operating at a completely different level than the others.

"Third match: Inuzuka Aya versus Senbon!"

"Participants please enter the arena quickly!"

When hearing the proctor's announcement, Aya was about to go down when Aozora grabbed her arm.

"There's something off about Senbon," Aozora said seriously. "He didn't show his full strength in the first round. He treated the match like a game."

Although Senbon hadn't shown any other skills beyond his mastery of Senbon throws, that alone made him far superior to what Aya could handle.

Aya nodded and said, "I know!"

Looking at Aya's determined expression, Aozora didn't know how to persuade her further.

Because he understood this was just who Aya was.

Though she was a girl, she never feared challenges—her dictionary simply didn't contain the word "surrender."

Aozora could only say, "Fight well, and watch yourself!"

"I will!"

With that, she leapt down with White Dog in her arms.

At that moment, Aozora's gentle advice reached her ears.

"If you can't pull through, don't be stubborn—just give up! I'll make it up for you later!"

Her lips curled into a grin like she didn't care about being ladylike at all, happily landing with a cheerful bounce.

Senbon saw the bright smile on Aya's face.

Senbon's expression turned cold as he said, "Just a baby girl still clinging to her milk bottle, dragging along a pup that hasn't even weaned yet! Give up already! I don't have time to play pretend-ninja with you!"

Aya responded angrily, "Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?!"

White Dog also barked furiously twice.

"Enough!" The proctor interrupted their quarrel.

He raised both hands high then dropped them instantly. "The third match—Inuzuka Aya versus Senbon—begin now!"

As soon as the proctor finished speaking, Aya threw a smoke bomb directly at Senbon.

There was a champion-level expert in Ninja Tool Throwing in the team, so Aya naturally knew how terrifying a skilled ninja could be.

She had always wanted to challenge Aozora, and smoke bombs were the tools she prepared for that.

However, before she could issue her challenge, Aozora had already awakened his Sharingan.

Smoke bombs could block vision but couldn't hide chakra signatures. They were useless against Uchiha clan members, but definitely effective against Senbon, who didn't possess any Dojutsu.

The moment Aozora saw the smoke bomb being thrown, he couldn't help but smirk slightly.

Although Aya often acted like a goofy Golden Retriever in everyday life, she could still show surprising cleverness in battle.

"A smoke bomb?"

Surrounded by thick smoke, Senbon showed no sign of panic and made no move to escape.

He twirled several senbon needles between his fingers and said, "So typical of a child's trick."

Whooshing sounds and footsteps echoed in his ears, yet Senbon remained unfazed.

Dozens of senbon needles flew rapidly from his hand in all directions. Each needle had a thin thread tied to it, with a tiny bell dangling from every string.

Before long, an intricate net woven from these threads filled the entire smoke-covered area.

And he, just like a waiting spider, crouched at the center of this delicate web.

"Jingle—"

Aya's sudden movement caught one of the threads, making the attached bell ring sharply.

Senbon's ears twitched slightly as another senbon instantly shot from his hand.

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