[Beep, beep, beep—]
[The large screen above the training hall emitted a notification sound.]
[Immediately after.]
[The names on the left and right sides froze and began to flash continuously.]
[Uchiha Sasuke vs. Sekido Kai.]
["Cough, cough..."]
["Those whose names appear on the screen, please stay... the rest of you, head up to the second-floor observation deck and wait... Similarly, once your names are displayed later, please come down on your own."]
[As Gekkō Hayate finished speaking.]
[Inside the Sealing Space, the Great Fox grew interested.]
["Naruto, that Old Thing seems to be able to manipulate the matching mechanism."]
["As expected."] Naruto wasn't surprised by this; his heart remained calm and undisturbed.
[The Great Fox curled her lip, seeing that Naruto had fallen silent again.]
[Her lively, large eyes darted around.]
[Then, she let out a mischievous laugh.]
[She silently extended her Spiritual Power to communicate with the few Anbu Ninjas who were rigging the matches.]
[The faces of those Anbu Ninjas behind their animal masks were originally expressionless.]
[Only when their gazes swept over Naruto did a look of wild fanaticism surge forth.]
[Suddenly.]
[The Anbu Ninjas' bodies all jolted.]
[Then, their faces filled with wild joy, and the burning light in their eyes seemed even more blinding than the sun outside.]
["Yes... yes... understood!"]
["Rest assured, Lady Fox... er... right, rest assured, Madam!"]
["We will certainly complete the mission!"]
["Yes, yes, yes, there will absolutely be no accidents! We guarantee it with our lives!"]
["Don't... we have enough Chakra, and the relief funds provided by Lord Naruto have helped us through our most difficult times... my wife wants to thank you in person..."]
["Madam, we are truly grateful to you... even if we cannot 'be exposed to the sunlight' like normal people in the future, we will have no regrets."]
["It is our honor to serve you and Lord Nar— Lord Master... if word gets out that we were able to help, the others will surely be very envious!"]
["But... Madam, if we do this, the Lord Master won't blame us, will he?"]
["Sorry, sorry, you are the Madam, you're right!"]
[...]
[A communication within the New Shinobi Sect took place without Naruto's 'knowledge'.]
["Uchiha Sasuke and Sekido Kai, stay."]
["Everyone else, please head to the second-floor observation deck as soon as possible to wait."]
[Gekkō Hayate signaled for everyone to leave the battlefield.]
[In the back.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was somewhat unsightly.]
[He hadn't intended for Sasuke and Sekido Kai to fight this match.]
[After all, both were Konoha Ninja.]
[Even if there were some issues with Yakushi Kabuto's three-man team.]
[But right now, if they were exposed, the one losing face would still be Konoha.]
[To have allowed three Genin suspected of being spies to stay in Konoha for so long.]
['Someone from the Root Organization?' Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes narrowed slightly, and he couldn't help but think of his close friend, who had been abnormally quiet lately, as if he had resigned himself to fate.]
[As the seeds of doubt were sown in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind.]
[Everyone had arrived at the second-floor observation deck.]
[Only Sasuke and Sekido Kai remained in the arena.]
[Sasuke had his hands in his pockets.]
[Sekido Kai, however, was on high alert.]
[Although his face was covered by a mask and sunglasses, one could tell from his posture that he was not at peace internally.]
[However, Sasuke couldn't muster even a shred of interest.]
["The battle ends when one side surrenders."]
["Begin!" Gekkō Hayate didn't waste any words.]
[Of course, even if he wanted to be wordy, he couldn't.]
[Whoosh—]
[The moment Gekkō Hayate's voice fell.]
[Sasuke vanished from the spot.]
[Behind his sunglasses, Sekido Kai's pupils shrank violently.]
[He instinctively sensed danger.]
[Then, without hesitation, he struck back.]
[At some point, a sharp Kunai had appeared in his hand.]
[As expected, Sasuke had indeed used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind him.]
[But... when the Kunai passed through 'Sasuke', it went straight through.]
[As if he were swinging at thin air.]
[A Phantom Clone?!]
[Sekido Kai was stunned.]
[He immediately felt a surge of anger.]
[To be humiliated like this?!]
[Whoosh—]
[Instinctively, Sekido Kai struck back again.]
[Since the one behind was a feint.]
[Then, in that lightning-fast moment, it was normal for Sekido Kai to make such a decision.]
[Unfortunately, his strength was still insufficient.]
[Click—]
[Sasuke's Kunai was held against Sekido Kai's neck.]
[Sekido Kai froze on the spot.]
[His face was filled with a look of utter disbelief.]
['How is this possible?!']
[It takes a long time to describe, but in reality, it was over in a single round.]
[On the observation deck, Orochimaru folded his arms, wearing a half-smile.]
['As expected, it's Shisui's Afterimage Body Flicker.']
[Then, he nodded.]
[After receiving Orochimaru's subtle hint.]
[Sekido Kai sat down dejectedly and said weakly, "I lose."]
[Not far away, Gekkō Hayate breathed a sigh of relief.]
[It had been so sudden that even he hadn't been able to react in time.]
['An Uchiha?']
['Truly a genius... even I, without prior intelligence, might have met a bitter end on the battlefield because of this.']
['This year's rookies... none of them seem simple; I need to stay sharp.']
[Then, he decisively announced the result.]
["Sekido Kai surrenders, Uchiha Sasuke wins!"]
[This way of fighting.]
[Directly triggered Hiruzen Sarutobi's stress response.]
[He stood up abruptly, his cloudy old eyes filled with wariness.]
['Body Flicker... Shisui?!']
['How does Sasuke know this technique?']
[For a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze became sharp.]
[However, he quickly restrained himself and sat back down.]
[Asuma looked at his elderly father in confusion, not understanding why he had such a violent reaction.]
['Shisui and Itachi were close... perhaps it's a legacy left from that time.']
['Itachi... I'll observe for a while for now.']
[At this time, on the large screen above the training hall, the combatants were assigned.]
[Shino Aburame vs. Zaku Abumi.]
[Sasuke leaped up and glanced at the Sound Ninja Trio opposite him.]
[The three were also looking at him, a look of wariness appearing in their eyes.]
[Sasuke gave a cold snort and then raised his chin.]
[Kiba was even more arrogant, crossing his arms and mocking the Sound Ninja Trio opposite them.]
["You two, please enter the arena."]
[After taking a moment to cough twice, Gekkō Hayate had Shino and Zaku enter the arena.]
["It seems we're being looked down upon... Zaku, show these Konoha Genin our power."]
["Leave it to me!" Zaku leaped down.]
[An arrogant smile hung on his face.]
[Shino still had his hands in his pockets, looking at Zaku expressionlessly.]
[Buzz—]
[Suddenly.]
[A buzzing sound rang out.]
[Immediately after, a large number of Parasitic Insects swarmed out from behind Shino.]
Fu: "Wow~!"
Fu: "Does the Aburame clan... also deal with these cute insects?"
As the Bug Queen, Fu was naturally interested in insects.
[Whoosh—]
[The next instant.]
[A large number of Parasitic Insects flew into the arena.]
[As they scattered, Shino's figure appeared amidst the swarm of Parasitic Insects.]
[This scene made many girls' skin crawl.]
["The second selection... begin!"]
[At the same time, Hydrangea trotted over to Naruto.]
["Uzumaki... Naruto, Mas— Angel-sama wants to meet with you."]