Entering Sage Mode—Konohamaru's presence surged.
"Ōnoki-senpai, from here on—I'm going all out!"
Ōnoki floated mid-air. Looking at Konohamaru—aura completely transformed. Sighed. "Sage Mode. You actually learned it. This is an ultimate technique even your grandfather Hiruzen couldn't master. The younger generation truly is formidable."
Konohamaru—humble. "You're too kind. I spent an entire year at Mount Myōboku. Only finally mastered it on the eve of the Grand Martial Exhibition."
Ōnoki smiled. "How long it took doesn't matter. The fact you learned it proves you have potential to surpass your predecessors. Well then—I can't simply treat you as a junior anymore. Let me show you my full power too."
Words falling. Ōnoki clenched his fists. Small body—erupting with astonishing chakra.
BOOM BOOM BOOM.
Scattered rocks on the ground—rising into the sky.
Konohamaru—amazed. "Such powerful chakra. You'd never guess he's an octogenarian!"
In the stands.
Uchiha Madara—arms crossed. Gaze low and serious. "It's not just a simple quantitative change."
Whoosh.
As Ōnoki formed seals with both hands—the chakra he released underwent qualitative change. Transforming into semi-transparent chakra cloak. Wrapping around his body.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Rocks shaken into the air—disintegrating into particles invisible to the naked eye. As they approached Ōnoki's body.
Konohamaru clenched his fist. Expression—completely grave. "That kind of chakra. Could it be..."
Yes. That's exactly what it was.
—DUST RELEASE CHAKRA MODE.
Crackle.
Ōnoki's pupils turned dark silver. "In this mode—all my taijutsu will possess Dust Release's pulverizing effect. This is an extension I developed to counter the Rinnegan's Preta Path ability. From now on—all jutsu-absorbing abilities will be useless against me."
Konohamaru's fighting spirit blazed. "Then I'll have to test that, kore!"
Whoosh. In his outstretched right hand—Sage chakra released. Condensed. Rotated. Compressed. As Fire Release nature transformation merged in—blazing core like a miniature sun. Wind blades protruding from edges.
After building up power—he hurled the scorching form skyward.
—Sage Art: Fire Release: Rasenshuriken!
Ōnoki charged straight toward it. Without hesitation.
Konohamaru—two fingers upright. "A Sage Art Rasengan infused with Fire Release nature transformation is like a bomb that can detonate at any moment. Something other natures don't have."
BOOM.
Before contact even occurred—the flaming shuriken exploded into firestorm. But before it could rampage wildly in the sky—Ōnoki charged straight in. Turning it into scattered flame spots across the heavens.
"As expected. It won't work. But you can't escape my sensing. Your Dust Release Chakra Mode is weaker than before. That means pulverizing Sage jutsu consumes massive amounts of your Dust Release chakra."
Words falling. Konohamaru formed seals. Forcefully struck the ground.
—Sage Art: Meteor Fire Rain!
Whoosh.
Crimson formula imprinted into earth. Entire dueling ground's temperature—immediately rose.
WHOOOM. WHOOOM. WHOOOM. WHOOOM. WHOOOM.
Countless flames appeared in the sky. Falling to earth like meteors.
Many people stood in shock. "HEY! This carpet-bombing Fire Release—are the Leaf's rookies really this strong?!"
Watching the overwhelming flames—Ōnoki's eyes narrowed slightly. "Overwhelming area coverage with Sage Art Fire Release. But there are still gaps. After all—not everyone is Uchiha Madara."
He formed hand seals.
—Earth Release: Ultra-Added-Light-Weight Rock Technique!
Whoosh. He reduced his own weight even further. Becoming light as a feather. Weaving through gaps in the flames. Even when he couldn't completely dodge—he could pulverize approaching attacks with Dust Release chakra.
This adaptation completely exceeded Konohamaru's expectations.
"I miscalculated. He made himself lighter than a feather to gain incredible speed. This hit rate isn't enough to wear him down sufficiently. The one being worn down is me instead."
While dodging—Ōnoki's thoughts flowed. "In Dust Release Chakra Mode, my taijutsu doesn't need to rely on force. Just touching an opponent means a one-hit kill. So I don't need to worry about strength reduction from Ultra-Added-Light-Weight Rock. I can fully exploit the speed leap from being lightweight."
"He's getting closer to me!"
With Sage Mode's superior sensing ability—Konohamaru's seals suddenly changed.
—Sage Art: Five Fire God Flame Fan!
WHOOOM. WHOOOM. WHOOOM. WHOOOM. WHOOOM.
Five blazing flames rose from the ground around him. Forming fire fans covering all directions. This was a defensive Sage Art Fire Release jutsu created by Kashin Koji in a past life. Taught to Konohamaru by Naruto.
Whoosh.
Ōnoki forcibly broke through the fire fan in front of Konohamaru. Dust Release chakra cloak on his body—flickering violently. Clearly—considerable drain.
But Ōnoki paid no heed. He clenched his fist. Struck toward Konohamaru's face. Victory—right before his eyes.
Konohamaru's gaze—suddenly sharpened. "This is the moment I've been waiting for!"
WHOOSH.
Natural energy fist emerging from the side. Made Ōnoki's cheek ripple like waves.
"This—this is!" Ōnoki's pupils contracted sharply. By the time he realized something was wrong—too late to dodge.
"I'm betting all my Sage power on this one move!"
—FROG KATA!
BANG.
Dull thud. Blood spraying. Ōnoki flew out like a cannonball. Crashing heavily to the ground. Creating a crater.
Crackle.
Konohamaru's Sage Mode reached its limit.
"Mount Myōboku Sage Mode's signature taijutsu—Frog Kata. Even your Dust Release chakra can't decompose pure natural energy, right? Otherwise it'd be truly broken. Taking that hit square on—you can't stand up again. This battle is my—"
But an unexpected scene occurred.
From that crater—Ōnoki actually stood up trembling.
Konohamaru—shocked. "How... is that possible?!"
Ōnoki wiped blood from his face. "If I hadn't sensed something wrong and immediately turned myself into Ultra-Added-Weight Rock—I probably would've died right there."
Konohamaru realized. "No wonder that Frog Kata had such a heavy impact. So that's what happened!"
At the same time—Konohamaru recognized a reality.
"Unlike Naruto-niisan, I can only store Sage chakra in one shadow clone. If I couldn't defeat my opponent before Sage Mode ended—that means this battle is my—"
Whoosh.
But just then—the Dust Release Chakra Mode cloak around Ōnoki's body dissipated.
Thud. He collapsed backward onto the ground. Almost completely spent.
Ōnoki sighed. "Time... spares no one."
Konohamaru walked over. Looking at the elder before him—complex emotions. "You didn't lose to me. You lost to age. I'm sorry. This tournament was crucial for you, wasn't it? Because of me—you couldn't become a Permanent Earth Ninja."
But Ōnoki smiled. "No. I'm genuinely happy. From you rookies—I see hope for the future of the ninja world. Keep going to even farther places."
"We're all children who grew up watching our predecessors' backs. No matter how far we go—we'll never forget the glory of those who came before."
Konohamaru helped Ōnoki up. Walked toward the edge of the field.
ROAAAAAR.
The entire audience spontaneously stood. Thunderous applause—for the Rock veteran and the Leaf rookie.
Matchup board rotated again.
Third match.
KIMIMARO KAGUYA VS. ROCK LEE
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