The change in the situation was so sudden that no one had time to react. The seemingly unbeatable Darō, who had been favored by many, was unexpectedly defeated in just a few seconds. This caught everyone in the room completely off guard.
Where was the supposed air superiority? What happened to that over-the-top ninja tool?
Although Tsunade had stunned everyone when she used the Earth's Strength… the Earth Gun (土隆枪), impressing everyone present, and even when her shadow clone charged forward fearlessly towards Darō, some were silently cheering for Tsunade. However, most people still leaned towards Darō for two main reasons.
First, Darō could fly, and it was not just ordinary humans but even ninjas who lacked effective means to combat airborne opponents. Secondly, Darō had a notorious reputation; it wasn't just during the Great Ninja Wars—his methods of completing missions were cruel even in peacetime.
No one expected that the shadow clone was just a decoy. When everyone realized it, they couldn't help but gasp in shock as that strange ninja tool struck the giant bird and triggered a chain of explosions. Then, like charred coal, Darō fell heavily to the ground. His once confident and arrogant hairstyle was now a wild mess, and the brutal scene took everyone's breath away.
"Is it over?"
After a moment of silence, the Third Raikage asked.
"It's over," the Third Hokage nodded in response.
"Isn't such a powerful ninja tool banned?"
The Third Raikage turned his head slightly and glanced at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was expressionless.
"It will be banned from the next exam," Sarutobi Hiruzen responded.
Of course, Sarutobi Hiruzen wouldn't let Tsunade be eliminated here. After all, Konoha now only had Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya left. Although Tsunade's victory was unexpected, she was still highly promising. Moreover, this Chūnin Exam was not pure in its intent. Seeing Tsunade swiftly defeat her opponent, even Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but give her a silent nod of approval.
Preserving strength as much as possible was important for the upcoming battles.
But such thoughts were best kept in the mind. Sarutobi Hiruzen would never voice them.
"Ah," the Third Raikage said, losing interest in pressing the issue of Tsunade's victory. After all, his main reason for attending was to ease the relationship between Konoha and the Hidden Cloud Village, and criticizing Sarutobi Hiruzen was secondary.
However, there was now an additional task at hand—finding an opportunity to investigate what kind of "ninja tool" Tsunade had used.
In fact, Sarutobi Hiruzen was also quite concerned about the "ninja tool" Tsunade had used. Having experienced the Great Ninja Wars, he knew that the outcome of wars largely depended on the fighting power of mid- and lower-ranked ninjas. After all, ninja like Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were one-in-a-hundred-years figures. If Tsunade's "ninja tool" could be mass-produced, it would undoubtedly give a stronger advantage on the battlefield.
Even if he didn't use it himself, he absolutely couldn't let other villages get their hands on it.
Within a short time, Sarutobi Hiruzen made this judgment, which, in a way, aligned with the Third Raikage's thoughts.
At this point, Tōrune Komura finally realized what had happened and was about to announce Tsunade's victory.
"It doesn't seem like it's over," the Third Raikage suddenly said.
Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked toward the arena and saw Darō, who had been blasted into a charred mess, staggering to his feet, walking painfully towards Tsunade. The sight alone made Tsunade feel pain. Wasn't this just a Chūnin Exam? Why was he pushing himself so hard?
Why bother? It wasn't a fight to the death.
As a villain, Darō should have humbly shown his defeated self, yet he insisted on this relentless determination—what was this willpower to never give up, always moving forward?
Tsunade couldn't understand why Darō was so stubborn.
However, Darō eventually reached Tsunade, grinned, and revealed his white teeth.
"A beautiful explosion, just like you, something that lingers in one's mind…"
With that, Darō collapsed heavily to the ground.
"..."
Tsunade finally understood. In life, when someone is determined to show off, they truly go all the way…
Tsunade vs. Darō, Tsunade wins.
After the battle, Tsunade immediately returned to the audience seats. In fact, she had thought about fighting gracefully, light as a swallow, perhaps adding some special effects, and elegantly defeating Darō.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Darō didn't seem interested in a clean fight, and with the sun's harsh heat, Tsunade, who was prone to sweating, chose to finish the fight quickly to avoid being drenched.
In fact, during the second exam, Tsunade had considered using the "justice world's ground-to-air missile" to bring down Darō and his team, but she mistakenly took out the wrong tool. By the time she realized it, the battle was already nearly over.
"Isn't this cheating?"
Orochimaru said as Tsunade returned, licking his lips in surprise. He too was taken aback by the power of Tsunade's "ninja tool," and how fast it was. Without proper defense, no one could have dodged it.
"Isn't it because you said to preserve strength as much as possible?"
Tsunade retorted grumpily, "I was just following your advice."
"..."
Orochimaru had no comeback and just took the blame.
"With such a powerful ninja tool, anyone could easily win!"
Jiraiya said dismissively.
Despite his words, Jiraiya couldn't help but glance at the launcher in Tsunade's hand. Although he looked down on Tsunade's methods, which could be considered cheating, he had to admit that this "ninja tool" was a deadly weapon.
Unable to resist, Jiraiya asked, "Where did you get this?"
Hearing this, Orochimaru turned around but noticed that Kakashi Hatake had already left at some point.
"Here, take it," Tsunade said, tossing the launcher to Jiraiya.
This thing didn't belong to this world, and the missile was a one-time use. Tsunade couldn't make another one, so the launcher was essentially useless. However, it was enough for a nostalgic moment, and Tsunade was content.
Jiraiya instinctively reached out to catch the launcher, but he wasn't prepared for its weight and staggered back, stunned.
"So wet..."