Ping! Pong! Pong!
The puppet—Crow—crashed to the ground, reduced to a heap of broken parts.
Shigure calmly slid his blade back into its scabbard.
Kankurō, standing in front of him, froze in disbelief. His puppet—his pride as a puppeteer—had been dismantled before the fight had even truly begun.
For a puppeteer, the terrifying advantage lies in sending their creations to battle. Puppets can perform attacks and techniques far beyond human capability, often striking with tricks that opponents cannot anticipate.
But if a puppet is destroyed by sheer force, then the puppeteer is left with almost no means to fight back.
Normally, destroying a puppet is no easy feat. Yet Shigure had dismantled Crow with such effortless precision that it dealt Kankurō a crushing blow—not only to his strategy but to his confidence.
No matter how refined his puppetry was, it was useless before Shigure's overwhelming strength.
What could he do? Bring out another puppet? Even if he did, Shigure would cut it down in a few strikes.
"I… I forfeit!" Kankurō raised his hand.
Gaara's eyes widened. He hadn't expected Kankurō to give up so quickly.
If one were to count, the entire fight had lasted no more than five seconds.
"The winner: Moonlight Shigure!"
Moonlight Gekkō Hayate, serving as referee, allowed himself a small smile. Shigure's strength was now undeniable—he could crush any genin of his generation without difficulty. The Moonlight clan was rising swiftly.
But as Shigure turned to leave the arena, Hayate spoke again.
"Next match: Moonlight Shigure vs. Rock Lee!"
"What?" Shigure blinked in confusion. He had already won, so why was another fight being called?
Hayate coughed before clarifying, "Since too many candidates passed this round, the rules have changed. To qualify for the finals, each participant must secure two victories."
Shigure gave a helpless smile. So this change is because of me… Too many passed thanks to my interference in the second exam.
Still, he wasn't one to complain. If another match was required, then so be it.
He stepped back into the center of the arena, turning his gaze to Rock Lee, who stood in the stands above.
Lee immediately leapt down, landing lightly in front of him.
"Moonlight Shigure," Lee said earnestly, "you are very strong. I once believed the only one worth watching in your Team 7 was Uchiha Sasuke—but now, I see that you are the one most deserving of attention."
He bowed, extending his hand in challenge. "Please, allow me this fight!"
As a fellow Leaf shinobi, Shigure nodded.
From the side, Hayate raised his hand. "Begin!"
This time, Shigure didn't wait.
He struck first, his movements sharp and precise.
At the same time, he gave a mental command to the Great Sage within him.
"Analyze Rock Lee."
[Great Sage: Analyzing…]
Shigure did not even draw his sword. Instead, he charged straight at Rock Lee, driving his fist forward with a simple, unadorned punch.
The sheer speed behind it made Lee's eyes widen in shock.
So fast!
Forced to retreat, Lee narrowly avoided the strike.
From the sidelines, both Neji and Tenten froze in disbelief.
Lee—retreating? Against a close-range attack? That alone was proof of how dangerous Shigure's taijutsu was. For Rock Lee to yield ground meant the opponent's strength in hand-to-hand combat was no less than his own.
Lee landed, then glanced up at his teacher.
"Gai-sensei! The enemy is very strong. I request permission to remove my weights!"
Might Guy hesitated. This wasn't a life-or-death battle. But when he saw the burning determination in his student's eyes, he clenched his fists and nodded firmly.
"Lee! … Remove them!"
Shigure stood calmly in the center of the arena, not rushing to attack. He simply waited, watching patiently as Lee reached for the heavy bands around his legs.
Clang!
The moment the weights hit the ground, a shockwave of dust erupted, rolling across the stage.
Every genin in the stands went silent. Eyes widened. Mouths hung open.
"T-That guy… has he really been carrying that insane weight all this time?!"
Temari exclaimed, unable to believe her eyes.
How could he move normally with something that heavy… let alone fight?!
Freed from the burden, Rock Lee's aura seemed to blaze around him. His eyes locked onto Shigure, burning with fiery resolve.
"Shigure! I won't lose to you. From here on, I'll fight with everything I have—so prepare yourself!"
Shigure offered no reply. He simply placed his hand on the hilt of his blade. That gesture alone was his answer: he, too, would be serious.
And then—
Whoosh!
Lee vanished. His speed was so fast it resembled a Shunshin—the Body Flicker Technique—but this was pure taijutsu.
Anticipating it, Shigure drew his sword in a flash, slashing to the side.
Ninjutsu—Ryūjin!
His left hand weaved a seal. Though Shigure could use ninjutsu without hand signs, there was no need to reveal that trump card just yet.
From the obsidian-black blade flowed a stream of chakra, glowing faintly like twilight rippling along the edge.
"What kind of ninjutsu is that?" Guy muttered, eyes narrowing.
Asuma crossed his arms, analyzing calmly. "He's channeling chakra nature transformation into the blade. Flowing it like a current, sharpening the edge… that's high-level sword enhancement. Not something you just pick up."
He was right. Developing such a technique required both extraordinary chakra control and mastery over elemental transformation. Few could achieve it.
Shigure swung.
The whistling arc of the blade intercepted Lee's charge, cutting through the momentum. If Lee had pressed forward, his limbs would have been severed.
Lee's eyes widened—then, in a blur, he circled to Shigure's flank and launched a punch.
Shigure reacted instantly, twisting his body and bringing his blade up to defend.
Bang!
Lee's fist slammed into the flat of the sword, forcing Shigure back.
Without pause, Lee pressed on. His figure blurred, attacking from all angles in rapid succession.
But Shigure's reactions were just as fierce. His sword danced in the air, intercepting strikes with incredible precision.
Kunai flashed into Lee's hands, clashing against the blade as he combined raw taijutsu with sharp counters.
The arena rang with the endless clang! clang! clang! of steel meeting steel.
And then—
Thud!
Lee's foot hammered into Shigure's chest, blasting him backward.
Gasps erupted from the crowd—
Only for Shigure's form to explode into countless streams of light.
His body vanished.
And then, in an instant, he reappeared, re-forming as though he had never been struck.
Lee froze mid-step, stunned.
"What… what technique is that?!"
From the stands, Guy's voice rang out—part instruction, part astonishment.
"The Body Flicker Technique… Shunshin no Jutsu!"
His face tightened, however, as the reality sank in.
"At this age… to master the Body Flicker so perfectly… This boy's skill in ninjutsu might already rival that of a Kage…"
...
TN:
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