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Hayate took a breath. "There are no rules at all."
That hit harder than anything else.
A collective breath hitched across the room.
"You will fightā¦ until someone dies, collapsesā¦ or admits defeat."
His voice did not waver as he spoke with grim clarity.
ChÅji looked visibly pale.
Sakura clenched her fists.
Even Tenten exhaled slowly, her gaze darting briefly toward Neji, who remained perfectly still.
Hayate looked around, eyeing the reactions carefully.
"Andā¦ please admit defeat right away if you don't want to die."
COUGH! COUGH!
Hayate doubled over again, his coughing echoing around the hall. He covered his mouth quickly, pausing to breathe. Even in this moment, the weariness etched in his body betrayed nothing of weakness, only of experience.
"Errā¦" He said with a faint rasp, "I don't want to needlessly increase the dead bodies..."
"So I will intervene and stop the match if necessary. Or something to that effectā¦"
"What holds the key to your destinies is...." Hayate stopped as he turned towards Anko.
Anko nodded as she spoke into the radio. "Open it!"
Grrrr.....
A stone on the wall ascended, revealing a giant black screen...
"This..."
"The names of two foes will be randomly selected and be displayed on this electronic signboard."
"Now then, let's get straight down to it."
"And announce the two names for the first battle."
His gaze swept over them one last time.
"And rememberā¦ From here on outā¦ your lives are on the line."
With that, Hayate stepped back, and the screen flickered with staticāthen began to spin through names.
Tick...Ā Tick...
Tick... TICK...
The sound of the name reel was deafening in the silence.
Everyone's breath were caught in their throats and their searts pounded in their chests.
Match 1: Uchiha Sasuke vs. Yoroi AkadÅ
"Hmm?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
"Yoroi?" Kakashi muttered, his single eye flicking toward the masked Genin. "That's a name I haven't heard in a whileā¦"
"Looks like he's first," Ino whispered.
Sasuke stepped forward without hesitation, his eyes locked on the figure across from him.
Yoroi was a young man clad in gray armor, his face obscured behind black sunglasses and a cloth mask.
He said nothing, just tilted his head slightly like a hunter sizing up prey.
Naruto watched calmly, but his fingers were already tracing subtle symbols on his wrist.
Let's see how far you've come, Sasuke.
As both opponents descended to the arena, Hayate moved to the center once again.
"Let the first matchā¦ begin."
And just like that, the Preliminaries had truly begun.
------
'Sharingan!'
Sasuke's stared at his opponent, his gaze was cold when it started. His eyes flared crimson with black tomoe spinning in deadly focus.
Yoroi had foolishly gathered a dense build-up of chakra in his hand, aiming to sap Sasuke's own strength.
A tactic that worked on the slow and unaware.
But Sasuke had changed.
"Hmph."
He vanished in a flicker of movement that startled even the veteran jonin.
"Huh?!" Yoroi's eyes darted, confused.
He didn't even have time to blink before Sasuke reappeared beneath him.
"Go Sasuke-kun! Let the power of youth EXPLODE!" Rock Lee shouted, fist raised, eyes gleaming with passion.
A grin touched Sasuke's lips. He hadn't needed encouragement, but he welcomed it.
And then, the Lion's Barrage unfolded.
A brutal flurry of taijutsu exploded from Sasuke's limbs. He spun in the air, legs lashing out with clinical precision. One, two, three...Ā
Yoroi's defenses were peeled away like paper. Sasuke twisted mid-air, then came crashing down, his heel slamming into Yoroi's chest with the all hi weight.
BOOM!
Yoroi's body hit the floor hard, cracking the tiles beneath him.
Gasps echoed in the hall with even the jonin instructors left mildly stunned.
"Sasuke-kun!! That's so cool!!" Ino squealed, her eyes sparkled with admiration.
From the shadows above, a cloaked figure watched. His lips curled in a pleased smirk.
Orochimaru, hidden in the skin of another, tapped his chin.
'Yesā¦ his chakraā¦ it's growing more refined. Naruto's training has balanced him just enough... He would have been a great vessal if not for Naruto gifting me something even better...'
As the dust settled, Sasuke landed lightly, his breathing calm, not a single ounce of wasted movement in his body.
Hayate bent down beside the unconscious Yoroi. He didn't even bother checking for vitals.
'No need to check. That match was over before it began.'
He straightened and announced, voice echoing through the chamber.
"I'm stopping the match here. Any further would be needless harm."
He turned toward the gallery of genin and jonin alike. "The winner of the first battle ā Uchiha Sasuke. He advances to the next round."
Sasuke turned slowly and began ascending the stairs back to his waiting team.
From the sidelines, Gai folded his arms and looked toward Kakashi.
'Two movesā¦ he finished it in two moves. What a genius. Kakashiā¦ this boy reminds me of you when you were his age. He is confident, calm, and sharp.'
But Kakashi didn't show any particular reaction. His visible eye was fixed on Sasuke's backā¦ and then briefly shifted to Naruto who hadn't reacted at all.
'Narutoā¦ what are you thinking? You've molded Sasuke into something even sharper than I expectedā¦ but I can't help but feel you've also steeled yourself for more than just these examsā¦'
Meanwhile, medics ran in and lifted Yoroi onto a stretcher. The arena floor was cleared.
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
"He didn't even use a single ninjutsuā¦"
"Was that taijutsu style from Lee?"
"Noā¦ it was adapted into his own versionā¦"
And soon, the second match began...
Match 2: Abumi Zaku vs. Aburame Shino
Zaku stood tall, sneering, arms twitching with anticipation.
"I'll blow that insect freak to bits," He spat.
Shino didn't reply. He adjusted his collar calmly, insects already gathering under his skin.
The match began.
Zaku raised his arms with air cannons embedded into them, and fired.
BOOOOM!
Wind exploded through the room and Shards of tile and dust blasted into the ai, but Shino wasn't there.
"Huh?!"
Zaku spun around but it was too late.
Shino's insects were everywhere, surrounding him.
"W-What the hell?! Get them off!"
"They've already begun draining your chakra," Shino replied coldly, stepping into view.
Zaku screamed and fired another shot, but it sputtered and his arms didn't respond.
His cannons were jammed with bugs.
BOOM!
His own arms exploded from internal pressure, and he hit the ground, groaning in agony.
"Winner ā Aburame Shino," Hayate said plainly.
The next match was between Misumi Tsurugi and Kankuro.
Misumi smiled behind his bandages. His body twisted unnaturally, wrapping around what he thought was Kankuro.
But when his arm snapped the neck, it didn't bleed.
"What theā?!" Misumi's eyes widened.
"Too badā¦" Kankuro's voice came from the side. "That's my puppet."
The real Kankuro yanked on chakra threads. The puppet's arms exploded outward, gripping Misumi in a painful bind.
He screamed as wood and steel crushed his limbs.
"Winner ā Kankuro!!"
---- ā¦ ā¦ ā¦ ----
Spoilers for the next three chapters!
Chapter 201: Blooming Thorns
Chapter 202: Confrontation
Chapter 203: Naruto Vs Kiba
--- ā¦ ā¦ ā¦ ---
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