Afterward, the Root ninja ignored the third candidate's plea for rest. Instead, they dragged out another caged beast—a ferocious tiger—and threw it into the ring alongside a savage-looking bandit wielding twin blades.
They sprinkled a special powdered drug onto the bandit, causing the tiger to lose all interest in attacking him and redirect its bloodlust toward the unfortunate third-place candidate.
As soon as the chains on the tiger were undone, the battle exploded into motion!
Faced with the charging beast, the unlucky candidate instinctively knew his Strength wasn't a match. In a panic, he fumbled out a few shuriken and threw them wildly, but they couldn't even scratch the tiger's hide. Left with no other choice, he burned another Explosive Tag and used it to blast the tiger mid-air, killing it just in time.
But the twin-blade-wielding bandit was no pushover. As the tiger fell, he seized the moment and slashed at the candidate's throat.
Fortunately, the candidate wasn't among the top contenders for nothing. He reacted swiftly, caught the blade with his bare hands, and twisted, breaking the bandit's arm. But the bandit didn't hesitate—he thrust his second short sword straight into the candidate's gut with a wet thunk.
After a brutal struggle on the ground, the candidate managed to tear a strip of cloth from the bandit's clothes and used it to bind his spilling intestines. In exchange for this grievous injury, he eked out another hard-won victory.
Unfortunately, after several rounds of such brutal battles, he eventually ran out of Explosive Tags. With stronger opponents appearing and no way to tend his wounds, he finally collapsed on the arena floor, defeated...
...
Just as that unfortunate soul was locked in bitter combat, the top thirty candidates—including you—were about to face your first battle.
As the dark horse of this selection, arguably the strongest among all candidates outside the top three, the Root ninja had, unsurprisingly, prepared something special for you.
While the others faced wild beasts and bandits, your opponent was a wooden puppet—capable of both ranged and close-quarters attacks. It might look like mere wood, but before the battle, it had been soaked in Water Style jutsu by Root ninja specifically to counter your Genjutsu and Fire Style techniques.
You stepped onto the arena and eyed the wooden puppet making its way forward. Activating your Sharingan, you casually batted aside the poisoned needles it launched with a flick of your kunai.
This kind of attack was little more than a drizzle against someone hiding their true strength like you. While deflecting the attacks, you began to closely observe the puppet's structure.
Through your Sharingan, you spotted three extremely fine chakra threads extending from the puppet's back, reaching all the way to the hands of a Root ninja standing in the distance.
Your two-tomoe Sharingan locked onto the Root ninja's hands.
At the same time, you recalled one of your past simulations—interrogating a Sunagakure spy to extract the secrets of chakra thread techniques.
"Hey! Kid! You're not allowed to attack the Root officer!"
A dark figure lunged from behind, aiming to catch you off guard. You swiftly sidestepped, parried more incoming projectiles from the puppet, and narrowly avoided being flanked. Then, deactivating your Sharingan, you looked at the ninja with wide, innocent eyes.
You explained that you were only studying the technique. While speaking, you formed hand seals and released a few faint blue chakra threads—not very refined, but enough to demonstrate you were merely copying the jutsu.
The ninja who had stopped you looked confused, turning toward the Root puppet user. Seeing him nod in acknowledgment—confirming you hadn't used Genjutsu—he finally released your collar.
Still, the matter of you mastering a jutsu not granted through the Reward system was beyond this ninja's authority. He could only bow slightly and turn toward the shadows with a questioning look.
"Learning your opponent's techniques in the middle of battle? Not bad. Smart tactic~"
A deep, resonant voice came from the darkness. Aburame Ryoma stepped out and addressed the group:
"The principle of Root... is to use any means necessary!"
"Most of you joined Root for one reason—to become stronger."
"Rewards are one way to gain jutsu... but not the only way."
"As long as you don't violate Root's rules, you can trade jutsu amongst yourselves, steal them, rob others, or even seek out masters beyond these walls. Those with true talent can create their own. If it helps you grow stronger, Root won't stop you."
Upon hearing this, a number of secretly ambitious candidates breathed a sigh of relief.
You relaxed as well. At last, you had officially unlocked a second jutsu you could use freely in battle. Going forward, you could fight with fewer restraints...
...
After receiving permission, you and the puppet returned to your positions on opposite sides of the arena.
The puppet made the first move, revealing a hidden mechanism in its chest. A rapid barrage of poisoned senbon and spiked iron caltrops fired in succession.
This rate of fire was far beyond your ability to match with thrown weapons. If you tried to fight back with shuriken, you'd burn through your limited supply too quickly. Blocking with kunai would still let some projectiles through—and getting poisoned was not an option.
So, you didn't use any tools at all.
Instead, you formed hand seals and spat out a fireball directly at the puppet!
Then a second!
Then a third!
The fierce flames melted the incoming projectiles into molten metal. Even the delicate inner mechanisms of the puppet were scorched beyond function. Only the water-soaked wooden frame remained to barely hold the structure together.
Of course, it wasn't going down that easily.
Under the Root ninja's control, the damaged puppet forced itself back upright using the remnants of its outer frame. One arm detached, revealing a long, poisoned blade hidden beneath.
With a sharp tug, the Root ninja launched the puppet into the air. The chakra threads guiding it shifted with deadly precision, locking its trajectory onto your moving figure.
Aerial attacks were a nightmare for most ninja. Normally, you'd be at a clear disadvantage.
And after releasing three Fireballs in rapid succession, an average Genin would've been completely drained of chakra.
If you tried to dodge, the puppet would adjust midair with the chakra threads. If you tried to fight it with kunai, you wouldn't be able to match its durable construction or lack of pain, and your chances of cutting the threads were slim to none.
But just when they thought you were out of options, you pulled out two barely-usable shuriken and hurled them at the puppet.
What were you thinking? Trying to destroy a reinforced puppet with scrap metal?
As the Root ninja frowned in confusion, the shuriken struck precisely at the puppet's joint mechanisms.
Suddenly, the Root ninja felt the chakra threads grow heavy. The puppet lost its balance and crashed violently to the ground.
Unbeknownst to them, you had attached ultra-fine chakra threads to the shuriken, embedding them into the puppet's control core. Now, you and the Root ninja were locked in a tug-of-war over its control!
No matter what techniques the Root ninja tried, you mirrored them perfectly, canceling out every command.
Then, waiting for the right moment, you flipped the puppet into the air and used its falling weight to twist and tear its legs apart—slamming it into the ground again and again until it shattered completely.
With that final crash, the puppet was reduced to a heap of broken parts.
And you... had claimed your first victory in the Root selection trials!
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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