"Oh crap!"
Akatsuchi felt a chill shoot up his spine and instantly bent backward.
Rock Lee's kick grazed his stomach and obliterated one of the stone giant's feet in a spray of rubble.
"So fast!"
Every ninja watching had the same thought. Akatsuchi, the one getting chased, was sweating bullets.
"Gotta go all out!"
Fighting indoors was a nightmare for Iwagakure earth-style users, but the Steel Body Technique (the most versatile jutsu in Iwa) let Akatsuchi adapt.
Chakra surged. He melted into the stone giant above him.
Fusion complete, the rock's hardness and toughness jumped a tier.
Broken parts could regenerate on the fly.
"He merged?!"
Lee's thick eyebrows knotted.
He stomped, cratering the floor, and vanished into afterimages.
In a blink, he was in front of the giant, fist flying!
BOOM!
The giant staggered. Lee got launched backward by the recoil.
"Konoha's finest, I'm done holding back!"
Akatsuchi's head popped out of the giant's chest. Chakra surged into the massive stone fist, which rocketed down at airborne Lee.
Half-conscious, Lee forced his eyes open. Seeing the fist, his stubborn will flared.
"Sorry, Might Guy, I've gotta use that move!"
101kanshu.101kan. Full manual typing, no typos!
A trickle of chakra rose from Lee's gut, racing through his meridians to his brain.
"Eight Gates: OPEN!"
Brain limiters released. Chakra bled off him like steam.
Mid-air, he curled into a ball, using the spin to accelerate his fall. The instant his feet hit the ground, he exploded upward.
He landed on the giant's arm and sprinted toward Akatsuchi's heart.
"No you don't!"
Akatsuchi saw it coming. He gathered chakra in his mouth and spat a barrage of rock bullets.
"Gate of Healing: OPEN!"
Lee's speed cranked up another notch. He wove through the bullets like they were standing still.
No effect. Akatsuchi shrugged and smashed off his own left arm with the right.
Dust and smoke swallowed the entire second floor of the tower. Everyone lost sight of both fighters.
"That Iwa guy's in trouble!"
Sasuke's Observation Haki blanketed the arena. He muttered to Sakura beside him.
She waved smoke from her face and shook her head. "Not necessarily."
At the giant's heart, Akatsuchi scanned warily for his opponent.
WHOOSH!
A sonic boom. Lee shattered the floor again, launching into the air.
His skin flushed red, green energy flaring. Bandages whipped wildly, snaring Akatsuchi.
"Gate of Life: OPEN! Hidden Lotus!"
Lee yanked the bandages, using the fall and his own momentum to unleash Hidden Lotus.
But Akatsuchi smiled. The severed stone hand on the ground shot up and clamped Lee's fists and feet.
The lotus stopped one step from Akatsuchi, an uncrossable chasm.
"That's enough. You did great. Forfeit."
Akatsuchi actually felt a flicker of respect for the kid still struggling.
"No! I will live my ninja way!"
Ignoring the restraints, Lee twisted his own limbs in the final burst of the Gate of Healing.
The surprise strike slammed into Akatsuchi's chest, blasting him out of the giant and through the tower wall into the Forest of Death.
Lee blacked out too, tumbling from the crumbling rock. Might Guy caught him just in time.
Both unconscious fighters were carried off by their jonin. Moonlight Hayate stepped up.
"Both combatants unable to continue. First prelim: no one advances!"
"Huh?" The crowd groaned.
The very first match was that brutal. The rest of the genin looked grim.
Medics rushed in. Akatsuchi would be fine. Lee? Not so much.
Third Gate, forcibly twisting his own limbs to land the hit—his body was wrecked.
But when the medics spotted the pink-haired girl on the balcony, they hoisted Lee and bolted straight to her.
Best medic in the village? Right here. Anywhere else was a waste of time.
Konoha Hospital? Please. Tsunade's direct disciple—that's the gold standard, bro.
"Sakura, can the kid be saved?"
Under stunned stares, Hiruzen Sarutabi leaped to the balcony beside her.
"Yeah, but a few more stunts like that and even if I fix him, he won't live long."
Sakura scanned Lee's body, summoning her tools. She started reattaching bones and torn muscle.
While healing, she shot a glare at a certain green-jumpsuit wearer.
"Uh… my fault?"
The Konoha Rare Beast scratched his head, shrinking.
"Guy-senpai, maybe think about your students' future medical bills next time?"
Sakura, hands on hips, aura maxed. Guy folded like origami.
"Hahaha! The future of Konoha is in your hands, Sakura!"
Hiruzen chuckled and hopped down.
"Hmph. Konoha sure churns out talent." Ohnoki's platform reeked of sour grapes.
"Ha! Iwa's got plenty too. Not like us in Suna—harsh desert, talent drought, you know?" Rasa played the pity card.
Of the four, only Darui from Kumo wasn't a Kage. He stayed quiet in the corner.
Center stage, Hayate kept hosting. The "random" screen rolled again.
Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akagari.
Sasuke—full chakra, healthy, Observation Haki, lightning nature—wasn't even trying. Fried the guy into charcoal before he could absorb a single drop.
Sakura's win counter: +1.
Next:
Takigakure ninja vs. Temari → Temari wins.
Kumo Samui vs. Tenten → Samui wins.
Shikamaru vs. Kin → Shikamaru wins.
Gaara vs. Amegakure ninja → Gaara wins.
Choji vs. future wife Karui → Choji loses (rip).
Tos vs. Kumo Omoi → Tos wins.
Kurotsuchi vs. Kusagakure ninja → Kurotsuchi wins.
Kankuro vs. Kenmisumi → Kankuro wins.
Through the nonstop fights, Sakura spotted the pattern.
Every village's seeded player was systematically eliminating same-village or small-village genin in the prelims.
Seeded players facing each other early? Didn't happen. Not once.
"Caught on?"
While everyone watched the fights, Kakashi slid up to Sakura's makeshift med station.
"This is straight-up rigging!"
Blunt as ever.
"Who said that? This is just saving the good stuff for later~"
Kakashi leaned against the wall, single eye smiling.
Elite village showdowns too good to waste in prelims.
One month from now, the real tournament would host every major nation's VIPs and every big-shot organization head. That's the stage to flex.
Show off village power there, and mission resources would flow like water.
So the small villages and weaklings? Konoha had them scheduled for elimination.
Big nations playing 4D chess. Little nations want a seat? Menu's that way, pal.
As Sakura sighed, the screen flipped to the next names.
Haruno Sakura vs. Yamanaka Ino!
"Tch. You still gonna say there's no rigging?"