Beams of sunlight cascaded past the cloth window curtains of a small, simple room. A young boy slowly waking up, his bright blue eyes narrow, blocking out as much light as possible. Kagasei sat up, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the blinding morning light in an attempt to let his vision adjust, the boys black hair falling into his face. When his vision finally began to clear, Kagasei turned, brushing one of the curtains to the side and looking out of his bedside window. He watched as Konohagakure slowly began to come alive. Villagers walked back and forth across the roads going to shops, work, some younger children playing a game of tag in the streets. It had been a total of eleven years since Kagasei had found himself within the Hidden Leaf Village and today was somewhat of an important one. Today was the day of the Chunin Exams. Kagasei had trained at the Shinobi Academy since the day he arrived at the village. He got in by the will of the Hokage of Konohagakure, Boruto, and not long after had finally graduated to the rank of Genin.

Unfortunately for Kagasei, becoming a Genin meant he was to be placed into a team lead by one of the Village's top Jonin. The most unfortunate part of it however, was the fact that because he could not get along with any of the teams he was assigned to, he had to be placed within a special squad. One that was lead by the sister of the Hokage himself, Himawari Uzumaki, and only had one other member by the name of Minato Hatake, another troublemaker that was apart of Kagasei's class in the Academy. It was a long and difficult road, missions almost always ended poorly and the team never really got along. From Kagasei's perspective, Minato was always at fault. He always seemed to get in his way. The two of them never stopped trying to one up each other and ended up having an unbelievable number of talks with the Hokage about teamwork and the future of the Leaf Village.

But after such a long and hard journey, Kagasei was finally going to have a chance to show not only the Hokage, but all the Five Kages what he was made of. He wasn't quite sure what to expect from the Chunin exams, everyone seemed to keep quiet about the whole thing. Even Himawari wouldn't say anything about what the exam itself was going to consist of, but no matter what, Kagasei was confident that he was not going to fail. After a few minutes, the young Shinobi got out of bed, got dressed and walked over to a small table placed against one of the walls to his room. Placed on top of the table was a large, hulking sword. He didn't know too much about the blade only that it was named the Kubikiribōchō and that it was wielded by one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. An old organisation consisting of the seven most legendary swordsmen of his home village of Kirigakure. Lifting the massive blade, Kagasei strapped it to his back, the end of it almost touching the ground, and stretched his arms one final time before pulling his cloth mouth cover over his nose and leaving the room.

Bright sunlight filled the room of his families home as the young boy Minato Hatake had been training since the sun first started peaking over the horizon wanting to get it all out of the way before breakfast so his mom and dad couldn't yell at him about it. His mother Sarada began shouting his name frantically but Minato just ignored it and continued his training in the courtyard. After a short while his father joined up before Minato heard an all to familiar voice from behind him.

"You know you really ought to give them a break." The man said in a voice that sounded slightly amused. "Right Minato?"
"Of course Grandfather but wheres the fun in that?" Minato replied looking up at his grandfather and meeting his one showing eye.
"Minato." he said sternly.
"Yes grandpa Kakashi" Minato said defeated. "Mom, Dad, I'm out here!" he shouted as his mother and father came running out his mother looking like she could kill him before seeing Kakashi standing behind him.
"Thank you Kakashi sensei." his mother said to him. "What brings you in?"
"Well, I heard the yelling from across the way and figured I should drop in and check on you all."
"Thanks, dad it's appreciated." His father said smiling to Kakashi.

The rest of the morning went on without a hitch lots of remembering for Minato though as he was remembering the time he spent in the academy and how in spite of his troublemaking he seemed to be towards the top of the class with only one other genin to be giving him competition for that spot, Kagasei Momochi. The young son of the man his grandfathers fought alongside the 7th Hokage and his grandmother. Minato had been told the story before and had always allowed it to lead him when it came to being as strong as possible. In fact is was the day he found out that he would be paired up with him on a team that he started training harder and harder. Looking into the corner of his room he saw the sword stand that held his families sword. A sword that allowed him to charge it with his own chakra and make it seem sharper and longer than it appears. After a short while Kakashi came into his room and sat down next to him.
"So Himawari sensei told me that We're going to be participating in the Chunin exams." Minato said staring at the sword. Even though he had been training with it since it was handed down to him he never took it with him on any ninja missions.
"Well, I think you can do it. You are the grandson of the Sixth Hokage after all." Kakashi said in reply.
"I don't know about making it though Grandpa Sasuke told me about his first Chunin Exams and how hard it was."
"And if not for the interruptions I'm sure you're Grandfather would have made Chunin then."
"Perhaps you're right. I just hope Kagasei will get his thick skull out of the way and listen to me."

With hands in pockets and his usual uninterested, brooding expression, Kagasei walked the streets of Konohagakure. The daily goings on surrounding him as he past shops and homes, heading towards his teammate's house. Most of the villager's took a moment to stare at the boy and whisper, as they always did. Not that it was completely unwarranted, most knew about his story and despite being a Shinobi of the Leaf and wearing the headband to prove so, he also wore the band of the Mist Shinobi around his left arm. A symbol of his past and a gift that he received from the Hokage when he achieved the rank of Genin. Of course, the staring never bothered the boy, growing up the way he did, it was inevitable that some would be curious or even cautious. What truly bothered him were the whispering and rumors that spread like wild fire. As he continued to walk, Kagasei clenched his fists within his pockets, the whispering surrounding him. And just as the young Genin was about to lose his temper, a familiar figure dropped down next to him. Relaxing his fists, he peered over at the person now walking with him, nodding slightly, "Himawari Sensei."

The woman walking with Kagasei smiled, tilting her head slightly, "Kagasei, you look less brooding then normal. Are you excited for the Chunin Exams?"

Kagasei lifted a hand up, waving it dismissively at the Jonin, "I can't be excited about something I know so little about, I'm just ready to get this over with. I've been waiting to be a Chunin for far too long."

Himawari chuckled slightly, knowing that for Kagasei, this was him being excited, but she wouldn't press him on the subject, "Well, let's go get Minato. Knowing him he's probably been awake for a while training."

Kagasei scoffed a little under his breath at the mention of his fellow squad member. He would never admit it to anyone, but Kagasei was definitely excited to put Minato in his place. The two never saw eye to eye and it was finally Kagasei's chance to prove who was the better ninja. The young shinobi's clenched his fists once more, not out of anger but in determination. He refused to fail. Moments past as Kagasei and Himawari walked in silence through the village, until they finally arrived at Minato's house. Kagasei stood, arms folded looking impatient, his squad leader smiled arms held behind her.

"Minato! It's about time to go!" Himawari yelled, taking a moment to knock on the door frame.

"Minato! It's about time to go!" Himawari yelled from the front door.
"Well, I guess that's your team now better finish getting ready." Kakashi said smiling through his mask at Minato.
"No need Just got one more thing to grab." Minato said smiling back as he stood up and grabbed the sword and strapping it to his back vertically over his right shoulder.
"You know I bet the ANBU Black Ops team would love having a member that already knew how to strap their sword on in the right place."
"I learned from old photographs of you." Minato said with a wave as he adjusted his headband around his head and walked out the door. "Mom, Dad, I'm headed out for the exams I'll see you all later pass or fail okay?!"
"Okay sweety see you later good luck!" his mother shouted as he closed the door and turned to face Kagasei and Himawari sensei.
"Good morning Himawari sensei." He said smiling before looking to Kagasei. "Kagasei....Good luck in the exams." He said as he started walking toward the exam location.

"Hmph." Kagasei side-eyed Minato as he past, shifting his hands back into his pockets as he walked.

"Alright, let's get you two of to the exams!" Himawari gave both of the young Shinobi a look that told them both to behave themselves and led the two to their destination. It took a few minutes of traveling through the village before they finally reached a large dome-like building. They entered through the front doors, which opened into a small sized plaza like room, inside stood six Genin along with their respective team leaders. Further into the room was a simple stage with a wooden pedestal placed near the front. The Genin within all turned towards the doors as Himawari's group entered. A few sneered at the two, passing words along to friends standing by, others simply gave a passing glance.

Kagasei looked around the room curiously, "Seems like a small group for such an important event." The boy recognized a couple of the other young shinobi from his classes in the academy, who looked at him with a particular disdain. Once everyone was done staring down the newcomers, the room filled back up with conversation. A lot of questions began to float around the room. "Is this everyone?" "What's all this secrecy about?" "Did someone forget to tell everyone the exam was today?" Oddly enough, the only ones that didn't seem to talk or ask questions were the Jonin. Even Himawari was oddly quiet about the whole thing. As the room began to swell with question after question, there was a sudden knocking as a figure stood behind the pedestal on the stage and hit it gently with a metal ring. The noise quickly died down as the attention of the room was pulled to the stage and standing behind the pedestal was Boruto, the Hokage of Konohagakure.

Boruto lifted a hand slightly as a smiled, "I'm glad you all could make it," As he began to talk a few Jonin began to set up some sort of stand next to him, a white cloth covering whatever was on it, "I'm sure you all have a lot of question, so let me just clear up a few things. As some of you may know, the previous Chunin Exams were broken up into three different stages, but this year things are going to be a bit different. The Hidden Villages of each of the five great nations have decided to do a large joint exam and to do this we have drastically changed the way this years exam will proceed. Throughout the past few weeks I have instructed your Squad Leaders to put each of you through a series of secret trails that would test your abilities and decided if you were ready to advance," A few of the Genin gave each other curious looks. Kagasei's eyes narrowed slightly, shooting a quick glance over at Himawari, "You eight have been chosen as a result to take apart of the final trail." Boruto raised his hand to the cloth covered stand as his adviser, Shikadai, pulled the cover away revealing a tournament board, "The eight of you will fight in a tournament style set of matches along side eight Genin from the other hidden villages to decide who will advance."

Suddenly the room erupted into a incoherent assortment of questions and concerns. One question in particular seemed to be repeated, "Does that mean only one of us will be able to be a Chunin?" Kagasei scoffed, if anyone was going to win it was going to be him.

Boruto sighed slightly, raising his hand. The room slowly began to quiet down, allowing the Hokage to speak, "I understand your concerns, but please do not worry. Although a tournament is designed for only one 'winner' you will instead be judged on your performance, in which case you could still become a chunin even if you lost your fist match." The Hokage gestured towards one of the Jonin standing at the bottom of the stage, now I want each of you to grab a number from the box and write your name under that number on the board."

With that the six other Genin rushed over to grab a number. Kagasei glanced over at Minato as they headed over to grab a number for themselves. "I wonder if I'll be able to face him..." The boy thought to himself as he stood in line. When he finally reached the box, Kagasei pulled a piece of parchment out of it and looked at it. Number Three. It looked like he was going to be the second one to have a match. The young shinobi approached the board and wrote his name, heading back over to Himawari when he was finished.

Once everyone was finished the group looked at the board as Boruto pointed at it, "The tournament will consist of two groups, numbers 1-4 will be group one and fight later today along with group one from all the other villages, numbers 5-8 will be group two and fight the next day along with all the other group twos. Finally on the third day the winners of group one and two will have a final bout and the five winners of each village will be declared. If there are no further questions, then I suggest group one prepare for their first match." Once he was done, the Hokage stepped off the stage and left the room.

Kagasei stared at the board and let out a bit of a sigh, this exam was certainly going to be an interesting one.

Minato had listened to Lord Hokage intently to the degree of ignoring all else. He admired this man and while his duty was to his family he wanted to be Hokage in the same way his mother had before him. When it came time for him to pull the number he smiled slightly and pulled the number and proceeded to the number 8 slot to write his name. When he returned to his team he looked directly at Kagasei and activated his sharingan to show his teammate he was serious.
"Kagasei Momochi," he began catching his teammates eye. "You had better meet me in the finals. No losing to anyone. I want us to finally prove once and for all who the better shinobi is." As he finished a determined smile spread across his face and he could feel the eyes of the others in the room around them as they all turned to look their way.

Minato had locked eyes with Kagasei, as he declared his challenge for the whole room of leaf shinobi to hear. The two stood, sights set on each other, the air having a tangible thick tensity to it. Kagasei's eyes narrowed as a cocky smile spread under his face mask, which he pulled down showing off his sharpened, shark-like teeth, a common practice done by the old Swordsmen of the Mist. He walked up to Minato, the young squad mates now standing just a few feet apart with Kagasei standing ever so slightly taller do to their age difference. "It's a deal," Kagasei let out a small chuckle, "The finals will be where we finally settle things." The others in the room stood silent watching the two, none wanting to disturb the tense atmosphere. Among the crowd, their squad leader Himawari shook her head slightly, embarrassed about the whole thing, but not able gain the courage to interfere. She hoped that it would all settle itself, which luckily for her, that's exactly what happened. Kagasei reached his hand out and bumped knuckles with his now tournament rival as a show of sportsmanship, "Better not lose. I'd hate to have an easy win." And with that Kagasei pulled his mask back up above his nose and walked off to prepare for his first match. Himawari letting out an audible sigh of relief.

After a few moments for the first combatants to get ready, the group was ushered to a large open room. Either side of the room had walkways for the combatants to observe each match from. On the opposite side of the entrance was another observation deck much higher than the walkways and sitting on a quite oversized seat was the Hokage, next to him stood his adviser Shikadai, looking as uninterested as usual. In the middle of the room was a large square outline, indicating the battleground boundaries. As everyone was escorted onto the walkways, Lord Boruto stood up and addressed the Genin, "Today will be the first three fights of the tournament consisting of the four Genin from group one. Each battle will end with one of three win conditions. One, you are rendered unconscious or unable to continue the fight by your opponent. Two, you announce that you give up and can not continue the fight. Or three, you are pushed past the boundaries of the ring indicated by the black square. This is not a battle to the death!" The Hokage looks over each combatant with a serious expression, "Any attempt on the life of your opponent will result in disqualification and automatic failure of the exam." When Boruto was finished he gestured over to a Jonin standing at the edge of the area and sat down.

The Jonin to which the Hokage had gestured to, nodded respectfully, "Thank you, Lord Hokage. Can I now have combatant numbers one and two please enter the indicated battleground." Two of the Genin dropped from the observation walkways and walked to the center of the room, facing each other. On one side stood a blue haired boy with a friendly smile on his face, on the other stood a blond haired girl with a serious expression. The two bowed and then after a second, the Jonin rose his hand into the air, two fingers pointing above his head. Giving each fighter one more look to ensure that they were ready, he dropped his hand, "Begin!"

The Jonin leaped to the observation walkway as the two began their battle. The blue haired boy seemed to be a very offensive styled fighter, seeming to consistently rush his opponent, using mainly ninja tools to try to overwhelm them. Even while he was in the middle of a fight he seemed to be having a good time, smiling and laughing as the battle progressed and even complimenting the other fighter every so often. The girl on the other hand was very silent and calculating. Her opponents onslaught of attacks didn't seem to faze her as she swiftly dodge kunai, shuriken and other assortments of ninja weapons with a sort of calculated grace. Dodging one of the young boys attacks, the female shinobi leaped backwards, sliding back a bit as she executed a string of hand signs. "Earth Style: Rock Shuriken!" Suddenly, the ground she stood on cracked and a handful of medium sized stones rose into the air, quickly beginning to swirl around her and one by one launching themselves at the blue haired Genin. Most seemed to miss the intended target, lodging themselves into the distant wall, while one or two of the projectiles slammed into the stomach of the young boy, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to drop to a knee and wince in pain.

The battle continued on for a few minutes, the boy using his impressive skill with his seemingly unending amount of weapons and the girl responding with a collection of different earth jutsus. Most of the fight seemed to be one sided, the blonde Genin seeming to have the clear advantage with her tactical wit, but there was a sudden shift in power as the boy pulled out a scroll from his pouch. Opening it was a graceful flourish, he bit his thumb and ran his blood across the wording, "Unsealing Technique: Iron Hail Storm!" A plumb of smoke erupted from the scroll as an unbelievable "hail storm" of different weapons shot forth. In a vain attempt to block the onslaught of weapons, the young girl tried to summon a rock wall, but unfortunately she was unprepared for the shear amount of projectiles and a large amount of them pelted her into the ground. The Jonin Judge quickly droped down to check on the weapon riddled Genin and called over a group of medical ninja to treat her. When confident that she would be okay, he walked over to the young blue haired boy, gesturing over to him, "Sotan Omori is the winner of the first match!"

The combatants erupted into a mixture of cheers, astonishment and concern as the battle closed. Kagasei had watched with a smirk as the battle ended, it was his turn to battle and he was eager to crush his opponent.

"Combatants three and four, please come down to the arena."

Kagasei grabbed a large water skin from his pack and slung it over his shoulder as he dropped down to the ground floor and walked into the ring. Across from him now stood a tall, muscular boy with shaggy brown hair that Kagasei recognized at Juzo, a former classmate at the academy, "It's been awhile, Kagasei," Juzo smirked, seeming to enjoy that fact that they were paired up, "I'm looked forward to beating you down." The boy slammed a fist into an open hand making an audible thud. Kagasei was unfazed, secretly smiling under his mask, he too enjoyed the opportunity to put Juzo in his place.

"Good luck, Kagasei!" Himawari yelled from the walkway, smiling.

"Begin!"

Juzo lunged forward, throwing a wave of fists at Kagasei at incredible speeds. Kagasei was quick to dodge the blows, pushing some of the punches to the side causing Juzo to lose some of his balance and when he found his opening, the young shinobi spun around and kicked his opponent in the gut so hard that Juzo was thrown a foot or two into the air from the force. The larger Genin stumble back holding a hand to his gut and wincing, a look of anger washing over his face. Kagasei nonchalantly looked at his nails as a way of taunting his opponent, which seemed to further anger Juzo who proceeded to string a few hands signs together before clenching his fists, "Iron fists Jutsu!" Juzo's arms began to shine a little like metal as he slammed a fist into the ground, which cracked, sending a large group of rocks sailing towards Kagasei alongside a shock wave created from the impact.

Kagasei quickly unstrapped the massive Kubikiribōchō from his back and used the flat side of the blade to shield himself from the rocks, being pushed back a couple feet from the shock wave. The smaller shinobi peered passed the edge of the sharp blade, his eyes narrowed as he focused on his opposition. Hurling himself forward, Kagasei slashed at Juzo with a few swings of his large sword, seeming unburdened by it's size and weight. Juzo was barely able to dodge the attacks and hand to block the last swing with his bare hands, the blade clanging against his metal like skin causing a spark. The both of them leaped back for a moment and Kagasei used this small time to his advantage. He stabbed his sword into the ground and performed a few hand seals, "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu." Water began to flow out of the boys water skin and as the water flowed into the air it formed into a mist that began to cloud the whole arena.

"What is this? Hiding alrea..." Before Juzo could finish his sentence a chorus of slashing sounds accompanied by Juzo yelling in pain interrupted him. The room fell silent for a few moments as the mist finally began to disperse, revealing Kagasei standing over a bleeding and unconscious Juzo, his sword resting on his shoulder. The Judge quickly jumped into action, making sure Juzo was okay and calling over the medical ninja. The observing Genin gasped and whispered to each other as they watched the medics rush in.

"He's fine," Kagasei spoke as he slowly strapped his weapon back in place, "I didn't hit anything vital."

The Judge nodded slightly at Kagasei and once satisfied with the care of Juzo pointed towards the victorious Genin, "Kagasei Momochi is the winner of the second match! With the first two matches complete, we will take a break to allow the combatants a small resting period before the final match of today." With that Kagasei made his way back to where his squad was standing. Himawari smiling and clapping a little in celebration.

Minato smiled as he watched the battles unfold and one by one the other shinobi fell to one another in great displays of power and skill. The one he paid the most attention to however, was that of his now rival Kagasei. The young shinobi moved that monsterous sword so quickly it shouldn't be possible. That speed and the raw strength is just like him. All in until you're opponent is done. Just like the way they fought in the war. he thought as he watched the end of the match. After the match he and Himawari sensei dropped down to see him and congratulate him on the win.
"You did wonderfully Kagasei!" Himawari said smiling.
"Yeah but did you really have to take out the meat cleaver for Juzo?" Minato teased slightly.

Kagasei shrugged a little at Minato's question, "I didn't kill him, he'll be mostly fine."

Himawari sighed glancing at both of them, "Come on you two," She placed a hand onto Kagasei's shoulder, "You need to get some rest and prepare for your next fight."

Kagasei nodded, "Yes, Sensei." The young shinobi took the time during his break to take a breather and think over his next opponent's match. That blue haired Genin seemed extremely well versed in almost every ninja weapon one someone could think of, not to mention his collection of scrolls with all sorts of tools sealed inside. This fight was going to be tricky, but Kagasei was not going to lose to him, there was nothing getting in his way of having a chance to go one on one with Minato.

A few minutes past before the Judge made his way back to the ring. "It is time for the third and final match of today, can I please have combatants one and three enter the ring." The blue haired boy, Sotan, dropped down to the ground floor and walked to the ring, his hands rested behind his head with a rather large, friendly smile on his face. Kagasei made his way to the ring shortly after, arms crossed and eyes locked on his opponent. Lifting his hand into the air, the judge looked at both Genin and then his hand dropped, "Begin!"

Despite being in such a laid back pose, Sotan was surprisingly quick to drop into a low stance and throw a volley of shuriken at Kagasei. But unfortunately for Sotan, his opponent was just as quick. As soon as the blue haired shinobi let the shuriken loose, Kagasei jumped back slightly, spinning around just fast enough for the projectiles to clang of the flat surface of his sword strapped to his back before completing his full rotation and making a three point landing, sliding back a few feet. Sotan let out a chuckle, "This is going to be a fun fight!" He swung his hands to the side causing two hidden kunai tied to thin metallic thread to shoot out into his hands as he ran forward to attack.

Kagasei's eyes narrowed, stringing a few hand signs together quickly, "Water style: Water Clone Jutsu." The water in his water skin once again began to flow out, this time melding into a human figure similar to Kagasei and then solidifying. Now crouching next to him was an identical clone of Kagasei. The clone sprang to action, lunging forward and blocking Sotan's oncoming attack, locking him into a clash. The blue haired boy was amazingly able to hold back the massive blade with just his two kunai. As Sotan spouted some compliments towards Kagasei for the impressive clone, Kagasei flanked his side and unstrapped the real Kubikiribōchō, swinging down at the boy with massive force.

"Not so fast!" Just as Kagasei's blade was going to make contact, Sotan vanished and both the real and clone swords slammed into the ground with an impressive booming sound, rocks and dust erupted from the impact, clouding the arena for a few moments before quickly dispersing. Standing in the center of the ring was Kagasei and his clone, both blades lodged halfway into the ground and a five foot crater surrounding them. Off to the side, close to the boundary line Sotan was smiling, mimicking the gesture of wiping sweat off his forehead, "You're quite fast with that thing, that's pretty impressive for a Genin."

Kagasei and his clone peered over in Sotan's directions, both of them pulling their swords free from the ground with one quick motion, "A battle is not the place to be striking conversation," The boy flicked his sword to the side, flinging all the dirt and rocks off the blade, "You should take this more seriously." You could hear a hint of anger in Kagasei's voice as he spoke. He took in a deep breath, calming his nerves the best he could. He couldn't let his anger take over, he need to say focused. Kagasei would never be able to forgive himself if he got disqualified from the tournament. The young shinobi quickly glanced over at Minato, reminding himself of his goal and took a fighting stance once more.

Sotan shook his head a little, blowing some of his blue hair out of his face and preparing for another attack, "I think you're taking this too seriously." The boy smiled as he launched the two kunai in his hands into the air, grabbing onto the threads. Running towards Kagasei he used the threaded kunai like bladed whips, slinging them in his opponent's direction. Kagasei parried the knives with two kunai of his own, giving his clone an opening to run in and take a swing at Sotan, who gracefully leaped over the clone and, using the momentum of his threaded kunai's new trajectories, sliced the clone in two casing it to revert into water and pool onto the ground.

While this was going on, Kagasei signed a string of hand seals, "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu." The puddle of water, that once was Kagasei's clone, slowly rose into the air creating a think fog that consumed the area.

"You can't beat me as easily as you could Juzo." Sotan smilled, unstrapping a large windmill shuriken from his back and spinning it in his hand, "You gotta be a little more creative than that!" With the shuriken spinning rapidly, he too began to spin causing a gust of wind strong enough to blow the mist away. Just as the mist cleared up, a loud clang echoed throughout the room as Sotan's shuriken collided with Kagasei's sword, sparks burst from the impact. "Come on, you really didn't think that was going to work did you?"

"No, but that was the plan." A voice spoke from behind Sotan, the blue haired shinobi's eyes widened. Sotan looked back to see another Kagasei standing behind him, one hand signing the Seal of Confrontation and the other hand open and inches from Sotan's back. Kagasei let out a little chuckle, "Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu." Sotan looked at the version of Kagasei that was locked in with his shuriken as it began to melt away into water and form around his body. The young blue haired boy struggled against it in vain as the water slowly shaped itself into an orb completely encapsulating Sotan inside. The now imprisoned Genin fought to free himself, but the constant chakra flow from Kagasei's open hand held the spherical water prison together. "You should never take your opponent lightly, it could be the death of you." With his free hand, Kagasei once again unstrapped Kubikiribōchō from his back, slowly embedding it into the floating ball of water until it was gently against Sotan's neck, "Give up?" Sotan nodded furiously, desperately wanting to be released. Kagasei slide his sword from the water, strapping it onto his back, and released the water prison, dropping the boy and the water to the ground.

As the now soaked Sotan gasped for air, the Judge dropped down to the ground and, after checking over Sotan, gestured towards Kagasei, "The winner of the last round is Kagasei Momochi. This concludes the group one matches. The exam will continue with the group two matches tomorrow in this same arena." He turned to the Hokage, "You're finishing words, Lord Hokage."

Boruto nodded, standing up and getting the rooms attention, "Good job to all of today's combatants," The Hokage gave a smile to Kagasei, who nodded in response, "Now I ask that all of you in group two take the day to prepare for tomorrow and as for today's winner," He turned his focus to Kagasei, "Get some well needed and well deserved rest, you'll need it for the finals. You all are dismissed." With that Boruto, after bowing slightly to everyone, turned and left.

Kagasei walked up to his squad, Himawari clapping a little, "Great Job out there, a little over the top, but great none the less."

"Thank you, Sensei." Kagasei bowed to her and then turned to Minato, "Better do good tomorrow, I'd hate to be disappointed."

Minato shrugged off the comment made by Kagasei as he was already working out a strategy for each of his possible opponents for tomorrow. Trying to remember their jutsu and skills and how he could best counter them. To him, his speed was going to be his best bet against some of those he was facing especially the Akimichi boy he would face first. Almost completely ignoring the rest of his team he left for his house and began some more training in the courtyard to try and be as prepared as possible. After a few hours, he went in for dinner and basically ignored his family his mind still moving a mile a minute as he thought through every possible scenario. After his sleep, he awoke slightly later than normal and met with the others out from greeting them as simply as possible to keep his focus. Once they got there the Hokage gave a similar speech to remind everyone how this was going to work. then the next match began. It was a smaller red-haired boy facing off against an older blonde haired girl. The two battled fiercely each of them using the most of their arsenal until the red-haired boy made a fatal mistake he looked away from his opponent who he had knocked prone and started gloating. The blonde woman surged forward and placed a kunai at his throat. The chunin examiner smiled slightly and announced her the winner. Next was Minato leaping down to the battlespace he smiled to his opponent Akamichi, Chozen. The young man smiled back and they bumped fists before stepping back and taking their stance.
"Begin!" the examiner called to them and the two boys went to work Chozen flashing through hand seals preparing for a jutsu while Minato flashed forward pulling his sword and smacking the flat of the blade against Chozen's hands disrupting his seals before holding the tip to Chozen's neck.
"Sorry Chozen, not this year," Minato said with a grin which was mimicked by Chozen who admitted his defeat. Turning to his team and leaping up before the announcement of a break Minato grinned as he had the fastest victory of the exams so far. "Guess I'm well on my way." He said simply.
"Minato that was incredible where did you learn to use a sword like that?" Himawari sensei asked.
"Well both my grandfathers used a sword at one point and they taught me." Minato replied with a shrug.

Kagasei scoffed, Always the show off. He thought to himself as Minato leaped up to the observation walkway. The time record was objectively impressive, but it didn't really showcase the full extent of the younger boy's power and skill. Kagasei was disappointed mostly with the lack of information gained by the fight. Don't let him catch you off guard, was basically the only thing that could be learned and that was something Kagasei already knew. The young mist born shinobi sighed quietly to himself, but nodded respectfully towards his tournament rival, sure the two didn't get along and Kagasei was especially ready to put Minato in his place, proving he was the better ninja, but one thing that Kagasei respected above all else is battle prowess. Besides, he wanted to keep most of the gloating and comments for when he does slam Minato's skull into the ground.

After the short rest, Minato leapt down and walked to the battle arena before them. The older blonde was already standing in the arena waiting for him.
"Glad you could finally make it. Must be nice having the Hokage's sister as your Jonin teacher." she said in a snarky tone.
"It has its perks." Minato said coyly. The instructor announced the match and the pair took their stances. As soon as the signal to begin was given Minato launched forward the same way he did with Chozen. His reasoning was to reveal as little of what he had learned to anyone else saving it for his fight with Kagasei. The blonde was ready though and leapt back deflecting his sword with a kunai and seemingly sending it flying into the ground. Minato leapt back grinning as he began weaving hand seals together.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he shouted inhaling deep and breathing a jet of flame from his mouth toward his enemy who dodged easily and began to get cocky.
"You really think those old tricks can stop me?" she said watching as Minato disappeared and six of him appeared around her all kicking and punching her throwing her up into the air before Minato leapt up from the crowd and spiraled through the air around her kicking her in the stomach.
"Lion Barrage!" he shouted as she plummeted to the ground just outside the arena.
"Ring out battle ended!" the exam proctor said after Minato landed retrieving his sword. He walked over to where the young woman was laying a little dazed but still okay.
"Congrats you won and get to fight your teammate." she said as he reached his hand out to help her up.
"Nothing personal. I'm Minato by the way. Never caught your name." he said in reply. The blonde laughed and tucked her hair behind her ear with a grin.
"Hikari you can call me Hikari." she said smiling before leaping up to her team. Minato did the same looking to Kagasei briefly before looking to Himawari who was gushing and asking a million questions.
"Why didn't you retrieve your sword after she knocked it away? How did she even do that you had such immense control last fight?." Minato raised his hand calmly to address the fact that she had been rambling.
"I let her knock it aside when I realized I made a mistake and underestimated her." he said plainly as he turned to await everything that would follow before his fight with Kagasei.

Kagasei chuckled silently to himself as he turned to the Hokage for his final speech, they young boy was getting almost excited for his final match against Minato. The Hokage explained that the final matches for each village would take place in three days at a large Arena that had been built in Konohagakure. Each Kage would be attending to watch the Grand Finals and the Hokage expressed to the two young finalists that they needed to be ready and prepared to show off their best.

During the days leading up to his final fight, Kagasei trained more than he had ever before. Usually closing himself off in a training room with his blade for the entire day. He would take time to meditate, ponder his strategies and hone his skills. Himawari was concerned about the young Genin and his sudden isolation, but understanding how important this was for the young boys, she didn't want to bother him.

The three days passed and it was time for the final match to decide the winner. Himawari ushered the two into the large arena building, taking them to the contestant's waiting area, which had a view of the battleground. It was much larger then the small area used in their previous fights. Kagasei looked out over the arena, focusing his mind on his fight to come. Taking a moment to look over at Minato with a determined expression, letting his teammate know that he was not going to be backing down.

Minato was more than excited for his fight with Kagasei. This was the moment he would get to prove himself to not only Kagasei but the entire village. The three-day delay bothered him at first but later he loved it. three days to train and get even stronger. All three days were spend honing his sword skills and refining all of his techniques. Training relentlessly with his grandfathers and doing anything he could to make sure he knew his opponent inside and out. Being teammates with him was a good thing as that helped this process a lot.

Finally, the day arrived and after meeting up with Himawari sensei and KAgasei they made their way to the arena and prepared for their fight. Minato after a moment caught Kagasei looking at him wearing a determined expression. With a grin, Minato's eyes showed the same determination as he held his teammates gaze being sure to show that he was not backing down under any circumstance.