Shisui POV
The fights so far had been hard to watch, not because they were sloppy, but because of the level on display. If it were up to me, I would have promoted almost all of these genin on the spot. This generation was unusually dense with talent, to the point where an average chunin would look underwhelming standing among them. Noa was a clear example of that problem.
From my observations, the ice kekkei genkai user had likely been the strongest when it came to raw jutsu power. The trickiest was the puppet user, far too refined for his age and frighteningly efficient. And the Hidden Cloud team leader was on an entirely different level. I was quietly grateful Noa had not been paired with her, especially while he was weakened.
Kaen was visibly on edge, tension sitting just beneath his posture, while Sena remained her usual self, calm and observant, carefully tracking tactics and strengths rather than getting caught up in the spectacle. The arena was cleared as the next match was prepared, and despite the long day, the announcer's voice rang out strong. The excitement had not dimmed. If anything, the quality of the fights had only sharpened it.
"For the next match," the announcer declared, "we have a special pairing. Kaen of the Hidden Leaf, wielder of the Sharingan, versus our own Saburo of the Hidden Sand."
Cheers erupted at Saburo's name. He acknowledged them with a brief wave and a shallow bow, serious but respectful, accepting their support without feeding on it. I activated my Sharingan as Kaen stepped forward, his pace slow and deliberate, eyes fixed on Saburo. Saburo avoided direct eye contact, even though Kaen's dojutsu was not yet active.
Saburo moved with measured calm, without tension or haste. That was not a good sign for Kaen.
When both reached the center, the proctor appeared. He was an odd-looking man, but that hardly mattered. He glanced at them once, raised his arm, then dropped it sharply. "Fight." He flickered away just in time.
Kaen moved first, flickering forward and swinging his kunai in a clean, aggressive strike. Saburo was taller, with longer reach and a more solid build. He met the attack head-on, blocking the strike and shoving back with surprising force. Kaen skidded a half-step, clearly not expecting the power behind it. Saburo was reinforcing his movement with wind, subtle but effective, adding weight and momentum where it counted.
Kaen's Sharingan was already rotating as he adjusted, red eyes gleaming as he took in the difference in strength and reach. Irritation flashed across his face, but he was already analyzing, already recalibrating. That at least was reassuring.
Saburo kept his eyes on Kaen's body, then flickered forward again. Kaen reacted instantly, scanning for him, only for Saburo to appear at his side mid-slash. Kaen swung to intercept, but Saburo was already bringing his blade down. Kaen planted his feet and tried to block the push, yet Saburo's superior strength and reach were immediately apparent. Wind chakra sharpened and extended the blade unnaturally at the moment of impact, biting into Kaen's shoulder and carving a long, shallow cut that drew blood.
The spectators erupted in cheers as their village's genin pressed the advantage. Kaen grimaced through the pain and kicked out, forcing Saburo to disengage. Saburo leapt back unnaturally far, his body almost floating as wind carried him beyond what his muscles alone should have managed. He looked satisfied, testing his opponent's strength and reach before fully committing. So far, he was confident. "Maybe the Sharingan isn't as powerful as they say," he muttered, the taunt clear enough to carry. "Probably just cheap Konoha propaganda."
Kaen took the bait.
I resisted the urge to sigh as Kaen tore through hand signs with impressive speed. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu." A massive sphere of fire roared into existence and shot forward with frightening speed toward Saburo. Saburo flickered sideways, wind surging at his back to extend the distance and cleanly evade the blast, but Kaen was already moving.
Using his eyes to track chakra flow and shifting wind, Kaen arrived at the precise point Saburo would reappear. Saburo reacted with a kick aimed at Kaen's head, but Kaen ducked under it, rotating smoothly with the motion. Using that momentum, he snapped a kunai upward toward Saburo's face. The blade struck true, carving a thin slash across the left side of Saburo's face and drawing blood.
Saburo jumped back, annoyance flashing across his expression as he touched the cut. Kaen only smiled in response, unfazed. The spectators began to boo at the sight of their champion injured, but Kaen ignored them completely.
He tore through hand seals even faster than before. "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu." A volley of fireballs burst forward in rapid succession. Saburo leapt above the incoming flames, sending a spread of kunai down toward Kaen, only to stiffen as Kaen's own kunai were already flying up to meet him. Metal clashed in midair. Saburo blocked some outright, while carefully shaped wind diverted the rest, turning aside the most dangerous angles as he landed a good distance away.
I could tell Saburo wanted to close the distance, but Kaen was smart enough to use fire to keep him at range. Saburo's Wind Release was impressive, but against the Sharingan it felt insufficient, though that might have been the Uchiha in me speaking.
As if Kaen wanted to prove me wrong, Saburo was already preparing a powerful move. He manipulated air pressure subtly, steadily leaking chakra into the field as the air itself thinned and resistance dropped. Kaen could see the interference clearly enough, but due to his lack of experience, he did not yet fully understand what was happening.
While Kaen fought from range, Saburo used the extra space to finish shaping the battlefield, all while Kaen carefully observed the changes with patient focus.
Once it was done, Saburo did not hesitate. Wind exploded behind him as he launched forward at full speed. Kaen immediately began weaving hand seals, but Saburo was faster. A compressed wind slash tore through the air, its speed amplified by reduced resistance and focused chakra shaping, and it reached Kaen before he could finish.
Kaen flickered sideways just in time. His movement was slower than it should have been, and the edge of the blade caught his arm. Blood sprayed lightly into the air as the cut opened, trailing behind him.
Saburo grinned, already confident in his victory, and Kaen returned the expression without hesitation. Saburo flickered forward again, slashing down the instant he appeared, wind surging along his blade to amplify both speed and force. This time, Kaen did not rush to block. His Sharingan finally caught the pattern. He let the strike pass, slipping just outside the blade's trajectory and the extended edge of cutting wind, then moved in sharply and slashed across Saburo's side as he passed.
Saburo retaliated immediately, blocking Kaen's follow-up kick with his leg as Kaen released the kunai in his hand mid-motion and sent it toward Saburo's chest. Saburo knocked it aside with his own blade, wind flaring to reinforce the deflection, but Kaen spun at the same moment. The kunai did not fall. The wire attached to it snapped taut, dragging the blade back through the air in an unnatural arc that cut across Saburo's back. Saburo's eyes widened as realization struck. Kaen was not fighting his wind head-on. He was using momentum and control to slip past it.
Cursing under his breath, Saburo flickered back fast, trying to regain distance, but Kaen chased without hesitation. Saburo instinctively followed the same pressure lanes he had been using throughout the fight, and Kaen tracked them perfectly. His eyes burned with intense focus as he slipped through the air currents, evading a desperate wind slash before swinging the wire low. The weighted arc caught Saburo's leg and opened a deep cut, forcing him to stumble as his balance finally broke.
Saburo growled and lunged forward, trying to grab Kaen and force the fight into close quarters, but Kaen was already moving. He stepped back just enough to avoid the grasp, then surged forward in the same motion, using Saburo's overextension against him. Kaen vaulted onto Saburo's arms as they came up instinctively and drove a brutal kick into his face. Saburo reeled backward, overwhelmed for the first time, his control unraveling as blood splattered across the ground beneath him.
Kaen landed and tore through hand seals, forcing chakra into the technique to compensate for the thinned air Saburo had created. A massive fireball roared into existence and surged toward Saburo, who was bleeding, off-balance, and burning through chakra just to stay upright. Saburo reacted on instinct, collapsing the air pressure directly in front of him to destabilize the flames. The fireball spread violently into a wide arc as his wind scattered it, leaving the flames weakened and unstable.
Kaen moved. He flickered through the thinnest edge of his own fire, skin singing as dying flames licked past him, using the wall of fire as cover. He emerged directly in front of Saburo, blade swinging in a tight arc before stopping at Saburo's neck, drawing a thin line of blood as Kaen halted just short of the killing strike.
Saburo exhaled slowly, closed his eyes, and spoke with quiet resignation. "It is my loss."