Chapter 446: I Can Only Help You This Far
Ever since the names of Sasuke and Hoshino appeared on the big screen, the cheers from the spectator stands hadn't stopped for a single moment.
A genius of the Senju clan facing off against a genius of the Uchiha clan—and considering Sasuke's highly exceptional background, everyone who understood the situation was looking forward to this duel with immense anticipation.
In Masahiko's lap, Tsukika tightly covered her ears, occasionally letting them go to confirm she hadn't been blasted deaf before letting out a breath of relief and plugging them back up. There wasn't much to say about this adorable sight: time to pinch her cheeks...
In the center of the arena, Sasuke and Hoshino stood fixed face-to-face. Sasuke clearly hadn't paid much attention to this classmate who was roughly as handsome as he was, and his gaze turned slightly bewildered as he looked down at her highly elevated tiptoes.
Hoshino politely nodded to Sasuke, her tiptoes causing her body to sway up and down.
"Your feet..."
"Match start!"
Genma Shiranui's voice announcing the start of the match cut off what Sasuke wanted to say. He knit his brows slightly, watching Hoshino's feet. Only when he noticed her heels slowly sinking toward the ground did he look up in satisfaction, shifting into a basic taijutsu testing stance.
Yet, the exact instant her back heel touched the ground, Hoshino's figure vanished without a trace!
The fierce wind whipping up behind him caused Sasuke to instinctively raise his arm to guard his right ribs. After intercepting a sharp whip kick, the girl used the momentum to spin at high speed. Her left leg hooked backward, flipping her body, and her left foot drove straight down toward the crown of Sasuke's head.
Sasuke hurriedly activated his three-tomoe Sharingan to track Hoshino's movements, but in the end, he only had enough time to slightly tilt his head to the right. He took a sharp kick squarely on his left shoulder.
The top-down force caused Sasuke's body to stagger slightly. Hoshino used the momentum once more to pivot her right leg, landing a direct hit cleanly across Sasuke's face... Sasuke went rolling through the air and crashed away.
All of this unfolded within the first two seconds after the battle commenced. The stands instantly became deathly silent.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried out in alarm from the stands.
Naruto was utterly dumbfounded: "Hey, you've got to be kidding me. What was that just now?"
Sasuke wasn't going to go down that easily. At the exact instant he was hit, he had turned his head, and flying backward was merely a maneuver to dissipate the force. However, this didn't conceal the deep humiliation swelling within his heart.
Staggering back to his feet, Sasuke's three-tomoe eyes locked tightly onto the tiptoes Hoshino had raised once more: What on earth is wrong with this person's feet?
Up in the stands.
"Wow! Brother Sasuke was blasted away, Brother Naruto is going to be so heartbroken!"
Masahiko pursed his lips, pinching her cheeks as he spoke: "Tsukika, remember this: the one Naruto likes is Sakura. The Great Ancestor simply misspoke a few months ago. With Sasuke getting blasted away, your brother should be ecstatic instead."
"Really? Then why does Big Brother look so full of worry?" Tsukika's large eyes rolled around.
Masahiko pondered for a moment: "Mmm... he and Sasuke are teammates, so at a time like this, he absolutely must put on a worried expression."
"So that's how it is."
Masahiko nodded: "Exactly. Just like how you are currently pretending to be completely clueless on the surface, while secretly laughing at the Great Ancestor in your heart."
"...Eh?"
"You little brat, prepare to meet your doom! Tickle tickle tickle tickle!"
"Hahahahaha... Great Ha-Ancestor, I was wa-wrong! Hahaha..."
Having dealt with the little brat, Masahiko looked back at the two crossing hands in the arena with a face full of smiles. Sasuke was gradually adapting to Hoshino's unique 'tiptoe taijutsu', but compared to Hoshino—who trained every single day by 'never sitting' and 'never standing fully'—he still possessed a distinct gap in raw close-quarters combat.
In particular, Hoshino's long, slender legs repeatedly flipped and kicked, leaving Sasuke completely stripped of any temper.
Sasuke was forced to pull back and create distance, weaving seals to unleash a Fire Style Jutsu. After a brief pause, Hoshino returned fire with an identical Fire Style technique, instantly making the air inside the stadium scorching hot.
Masahiko raised his eyebrows, turning his head to look at Haku. 'He' very conscientiously began lowering the temperature to cool everyone down...
"Hoshino's chakra pool is quite a bit inferior to Sasuke's. At most, after testing him with two or three more Fire Style trades, she'll have to use my Chidori."
"Huh? Great Ancestor, why does it look like... it's snowing?" Tsukika muttered.
Masahiko paused: "Don't talk nonsense. Snowing in July, how massive of an injustice would that have to be... Mmm? Feathers?!"
Masahiko snapped his head around, his gaze instantly locking onto the caster—Kabuto, who was currently disguised as an Anbu!
"Great-grandfather, this is a Genjutsu!"
"Something has happened, Kushina, Great Elder!"
As the spectators collapsed into slumber one after another, everyone realized that chaos had broken out...
Kabuto really is Orochimaru's man. But why does Orochimaru still dare to launch an attack? Doing this right in front of my face, how am I supposed to react? Masahiko felt a bit conflicted.
"Lord God! Do we fight?"
"Great Ancestor, I'm so sleepy..." Tsukika's resistance to Genjutsu was limited, and she drifted into slumber right in Masahiko's arms.
Masahiko pondered briefly, turning his head to look at the stadium that had devolved into total chaos, then at Minato and Kushina who were looking at him with inquiring gazes: "Oh my, this won't do. The Great Ancestor has fallen victim to the Genjutsu as well."
Poof! Masahiko fell flat on his back while holding Tsukika.
Kushina: "..."
Minato: "..."
"Lord God (Great Elder)?"
Engaged in a fierce exchange, Sasuke and Hoshino realized something was amiss and pulled away from each other. Right at that moment, a figure suddenly flickered into the space between them. The Fourth Kazekage had unexpectedly appeared, holding Hiruzen hostage with a kunai.
"What happened?" Sasuke muttered, a familiar large hand clamping down onto his right shoulder: "Big Brother?"
"Come with me first, Sasuke!" Itachi instructed.
On the other side, Hoshino was similarly carried away via Body Flicker by Kiba.
Hiruzen still got taken hostage anyway? Masahiko cracked his eyes open slightly, meeting Kushina's glare, and hurriedly shut his eyes tight again.
Kushina: "..."
Right then, four figures leapt down from the spectator stands, taking up positions at the four corners of the arena floor: "Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames..."
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Kushina and Minato completely ignored Masahiko, who had mysteriously fallen into a 'Genjutsu coma'. Each using a single strike, they instantly blasted Kidomaru and Tayuya away through the air. The other two Sound ninja were similarly sent flying by Nawaki and Daoshan, and the four of them took over the four corners of the arena floor instead.
Held hostage by the 'Fourth Kazekage', Hiruzen suddenly barked: "Isolate the battlefield according to the plan!"
The four exchanged a glance, simultaneously weaving hand seals: "Ninja Art: Four Red Yang Formation!" A deep-crimson barrier instantly manifested, enveloping Hiruzen and the 'Fourth Kazekage' completely within.
"Orochimaru, to think you would actually make such a low-level blunder!" Hiruzen took a deep breath, raising his voice to speak.
"So you really discovered me?" Orochimaru 'ripped off his face skin', driving the kunai in his hand ruthlessly downward, only for Hiruzen to slowly dissolve into a puddle of mud.
"A Mud Clone?" Orochimaru licked his lips with a sinister chuckle, failing to show even a shred of panic as he appraised the crimson barrier around them. "As expected of Teacher Hiruzen. You arranged things well in advance to trap me inside?"
Outside the Four Red Yang Formation, a heavy contingent of Konoha Jonin had already completely surrounded the barrier, with Obito and Hiruzen standing at the very front. The remaining Chunin and Genin who were still awake were systematically carrying the unconscious civilians away to secure areas under Sakumo's command.
"Hey, what on earth is going on here?" Up in the stands, Karin muttered under her breath, turning toward the 'unconscious' Masahiko: "Great Elder! Get up right now!"
"What happened to Senior?" Sakumo noticed the situation over on Masahiko's side.
Karin curled her lip: "The Great Elder fell for the Genjutsu, he's completely out cold."
"Is that so." Sakumo nodded thoughtfully: "Then you guys take care of Senior."
Orochimaru, I can only help you this far... Masahiko muttered in his mind.
Outside the Four Red Yang Formation, Obito received Sakumo's reply. After a brief contemplation, the space around his body slowly warped. Regardless of why Masahiko had 'fallen for the Genjutsu', he was going to lead a squad of Konoha's S-rank ninjas inside to catch a turtle in a jar!
Choosing to conduct the battle inside the barrier would mean losing the defensive support of four S-rank combatants on the outside, but it would prevent any destruction from leaking out into Konoha, and more critically, it would protect the unconscious crowd inside the stadium.
Orochimaru licked his lips: The Senior's commission can be considered complete. Next, should I begin considering how to run for my life... Reanimation Jutsu!
Three coffins slowly rose from the ground. Hiruzen spoke with urgency: "Obito, hurry up!"
Obito was also anxious: "I want to be fast too, but the intensity of this Four Red Yang Formation is too high, it's dragging down the speed of my Space-Time Ninjutsu!"
By the time Obito finally managed to transport the group of S-rank ninjas into the barrier, the three coffins in front of Orochimaru had fully emerged and were slowly sliding open.
The very first one contained the Fourth Kazekage, but the two behind it... were completely empty?
For the first time, an expression of complete flabbergasted shock appeared on Orochimaru's face. He glanced at the Fourth Kazekage on his side, then appraised Hiruzen, Obito, Itachi, Kiba, Fugaku, Hiashi, Kakashi, Guy, and the rest standing opposite him...
"The First Hokage and Second Hokage actually failed to summon? How can this be?! Fascinating! This time, I really have to run for my life..."
Up in the stands, Masahiko opened his eyes a fraction: Sorry about that, Hashirama and Tobirama are currently outside the service area.
Orochimaru, I can only help you this far. I hope you can survive this... sincerely...
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