Here's the BONUS CHAPTER as promised—thanks for the support, and let's keep this energy going!
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"Um… is this his tooth?"
Guts lazily pointed at the ground like he'd spotted an odd pebble.
Orochimaru followed the gesture—and sure enough, several bloody teeth were lying there like fallen dominoes.
As the smoke cleared, Ebisu lay crumpled in a perfectly tragic crater, his limbs splayed awkwardly.
His sunglasses were shattered, a couple teeth missing, and his dignity somewhere between the cracks in the pavement.
The pose? Pure Yamcha—arms twisted, back arched, looking like a chalk outline of defeat.
"Haha… Winner: Guts."
Orochimaru chuckled, unfazed by the severity of the injuries, and casually announced the outcome.
"You brat, couldn't you hold back?!"
Tsunade appeared beside Guts in a flash, aiming a playful punch at his shoulder.
He leaned slightly to the side, just enough for the punch to miss.
"I did hold back," he said with a yawn.
"Any lighter and I'd have to shake his hand to knock him out."
Tsunade rolled her eyes.
"…That's not how knocking people out works."
Shrugging, Guts strolled toward Ebisu, who was now being assessed by the medical team.
The injuries were bad—maybe not Rock Lee vs. Gaara bad—but definitely a step above your typical friendly beatdown.
Still, Ebisu was lucky. In Guts's private training realm, his usual sparring partners weren't exactly softies.
Between pirates, kaiju-sized warlords, and nightmare-level monsters, "pulling punches" wasn't part of his muscle memory.
Truth be told, Ebisu walking away with just missing teeth and a shattered ego was a minor miracle.
As the medics carried him off, a silence settled over the stadium.
Genin, Chūnin—even a few Jōnin—watched him like they'd just witnessed something out of a legend.
Kakashi, gripping the handle of his shinobi blade behind his back, muttered with frustration,
"Damn it… The gap's getting even wider."
He had always considered Guts his rival. But instead of catching up, it felt like Guts had sprinted into a whole new league.
Back in the stands, Guts leaned next to Kurenai, arms folded. She gave him a sideways glance.
"We're all Konoha shinobi here. Maybe go a little easier next time?"
Guts shrugged. "That was friendly. I didn't even use Haki this time."
"…Whatever that is, please don't."
Next Match: Nohara Rin vs. Kato Shizune.
Two medical ninja going head-to-head.
Guts tilted his head. "This feels like Sakura vs. Ino 0.5x speed.
More of a friendly scuffle than a real showdown.
Despite the slow pace, Shizune eventually won with a neat pressure-point tap. Rin bowed respectfully. A clean fight.
"Nice," Tsunade murmured proudly from the shadows.
Other matches followed:
Kurenai outmaneuvered her Dragon Team opponent with Genjutsu that turned his arms into rubber chickens.
Genma blocked kunai with a toothpick. Somehow.
Kakashi and Shiranui Genma both eliminated their rivals without much effort.
Finally, the board flashed:
Then came a twist—Guts vs. Yuhi Kurenai in the first round of the second stage.
She stared at the pairing, deadpan.
She raised her hand and walked off without hesitation.
No one questioned her choice.
Long. Technical. Filled with rapid strikes and counter-jutsu. In the end, Kakashi took it with a sneaky move involving a feint and a blade of pure lightning.
Guts clapped slowly after that one.
"Okay, that was cool. Give him a point."
Just then, Obito—bandages wrapped around his face—stirred awake, just in time to catch the latest match-up on the screen.
Hatake Kakashi vs. Might Guy.
Guts watched with interest.
Might Guy leaped into the arena, green jumpsuit gleaming.
"Kakashi! Today I will prove the fire of youth burns brighter than a thousand suns!"
Kakashi sighed, dragging his blade behind him.
"Can we do this without the shouting today?"
The fight was intense.
Taijutsu clashed with swordplay. Guy's kicks shattered tiles, while Kakashi, despite the struggle, managed to win after a hard-fought close-quarters battle—using a signature Hatake-style sword technique that channeled Lightning Style into his blade.
Guy lay on the ground, sweating but grinning.
Guts noticed a subtle nod from Tsunade, Minato, and a few other Jōnin.He'd earned his promotion.
Then—one final matchup.
Final Match: Guts vs. Hatake Kakashi
The two brightest stars of the exam. The climax everyone had been waiting for.
"…Give up," Guts said, completely serious.
"You won't walk away like Ebisu did."
He didn't like Kakashi much, but that didn't mean he wanted to break him.
Besides, with Kakashi's current skill level, Guts figured the most he'd gain from the fight was maybe a 0.02% progress toward his Garp template evolution.
Not worth the effort.
But Kakashi wasn't having it.
"You think I'll just surrender?!" he growled, drawing his blade with fury.
Namikaze Minato frowned slightly. He almost stepped forward to stop this before it began—but then sighed. Well, I can always teleport him to the ER.
Orochimaru smiled—actually smiled—for the second time that day.
Guts didn't move. Instead, he flicked his foot under a small chunk of stone—debris from Kakashi's last match—and caught it in his palm.
Kakashi frowned. "What's he—?"
He spun his body, cocked his arm back, and hurled it like a baseball.
Minato's eyes widened. "Oh no."
In a blink, he teleported, grabbing Kakashi just as—
The rock tore through the arena wall like tissue paper, blasting through stone towers and flattening half the Forest of Death.
Birds scattered. Animals ran. Somewhere, a squirrel filed a noise complaint.
"He threw that?! With his hand?!"
Shiranui Genma's eyes were wide with disbelief.
"That wasn't just a rock… That was A-rank Ninjutsu in projectile form."
Shizune, standing beside him, was visibly shaken.
"How… How strong is he?"
A subtle notification flashed across Guts's mind.
[Special Achievement Unlocked: 'Beat Kakashi 50/50 (Again)']
[Template Character: Monkey D. Garp
Completion Rate: 26.33%]
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