Rasa barely cared. For Sunagakure, it didn't matter much.
What did interest him about Grass Village was one thing only.
The Fire Style sealing technique.
The three Kage sat straight-backed in their chairs, eyes locked on the arena.
The referee pulled the draw results and announced them.
"First match: Sunagakure versus Iwagakure."
"Sunagakure ninja: Baki."
"Iwagakure ninja: Kari."
Rasa shook his head.
This draw wasn't ideal for Sunagakure.
Kari was an Explosion Release kekkei genkai user. Against a straight elemental fighter like Baki, he already had the edge. Even with the Peacock Twin Swords in Baki's hands, Wind Style struggled in the tight arena space. Kari was also from Iwagakure, so his Earth Style was probably just as nasty. Strong defense on top of the explosions.
Onoki grinned wide.
"Wind Shadow, my apologies."
Like the win was already his.
The two fighters stepped onto the stage. No reconciliation seal needed. Once you were up there, it was win or lose. The outcome decided how big a slice each village carved from Grass Village's compensation.
Kari smirked.
"Wind Shadow's disciple? But all you've got is Wind Style. Are you even worthy of being his student? Your teacher's real power is Magnet Release. How much could he actually teach you? How much could you even learn?"
Baki stared back, cold and silent, both hands tightening on the Peacock Twin Swords.
"That's none of your concern."
The words still stung. As Rasa's disciple, he only had Wind Style. No Magnet Release.
"Begin!"
The referee's voice dropped.
Kari exploded forward.
From the high platform, Rasa frowned.
The fight's tone was set right away. Kari went full offense. Every strike carried a massive explosion. Even when they missed Baki, they cratered the ground beside him. Rock and dirt flew everywhere. In minutes the arena floor was a ruined mess of pits and rubble.
Baki could only dodge and backpedal, trying to create space. But the shattered terrain choked his Wind Style. The momentum shifted against him. Rasa could see Baki desperately wanted to flip the script, but Kari gave him zero openings.
"Winner: Iwagakure, Kari!"
Kari threw both arms up in triumph.
The Iwagakure ninja roared.
"Sensei… I'm sorry."
Baki lowered his head, fists clenched tight with shame.
Rasa didn't blame him.
This wasn't Baki's fault. It was just how the ninja world worked. Weak was weak. Strong was strong. Talent was talent. Lack of it was lack of it. Even Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin, had trained for decades only to get one-shotted by a thirteen-year-old Uchiha Itachi. Kari had a kekkei genkai. Against a normal elemental user like Baki, the advantage was real.
"Don't overthink it. Get ready for the next one. Win that."
"Yes, sensei."
Onoki's smile was shameless.
The referee read the next draw.
"Second match: Iwagakure versus Sunagakure."
"Kitsuchi versus Kisame Hoshigaki!"
Onoki watched the shark-faced ninja step onto the stage and frowned.
"Kisame Hoshigaki? That name doesn't sound like Sunagakure at all. More like Hidden Mist. And the look… definitely. Never heard of him in Sunagakure's younger generation before. Still, Kitsuchi's got this. After all, he's my disciple."
The match started fast.
"Earth Style!"
"Water Style!"
As the jutsu clashed, Onoki's suspicion locked in.
"This Kisame Hoshigaki isn't Sunagakure. He's from the Hidden Mist. They're sending an outsider? Sunagakure's youth really has no talent left?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked thoughtful, like something clicked.
"Wasn't he one of the ones the Mist sold to Sunagakure? Guess they didn't kill him. Or maybe he defected. Can't blame him after they sold him out. Rasa not only took him in but actually values him?"
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.
Onoki snorted, confidence untouched.
"Earth Style beats Water Style. Especially my disciple's Earth Style."
At first, Kitsuchi looked dominant.
But Rasa stayed perfectly calm.
Kisame was good with Water Style, sure. His real weapon was chakra absorption. No Samehada, but he had the Infinite Armor. Human skill plus tool stacked. His absorption was brutal.
Kitsuchi seemed to have the upper hand at first, then slowly realized something was wrong. Kisame showed zero signs of losing. And Kitsuchi felt his chakra draining way faster than normal. His jutsu looked flashy but did almost nothing to Kisame. By the time they reached him, most of the power was already gone.
"Chakra absorption technique?"
Kitsuchi's pupils shrank.
"Damn strong one too. Sucks the power right out of my jutsu and makes me burn through chakra like crazy. From the start till now I haven't landed a single real hit. And I've been feeding him chakra the whole time."
Kitsuchi's face went grim.
"No more ninjutsu. To win, it's taijutsu or nothing."
He dropped the hand seals and charged, his stocky frame barreling straight at Kisame.
Kisame raised an eyebrow.
"Finally figured it out? But if you're not using jutsu… my turn."
"Water Style: Great Exploding Water Shockwave!"
A massive torrent blasted out, flooding the entire arena in seconds. The stage turned into a lake. Both fighters were submerged.
But the effect was completely different.
Kisame was a Water Style specialist. In water, he moved like a fish in his element.
Kitsuchi was Earth Style. The aquatic environment was a massive handicap.
From that point, the outcome was obvious. Kitsuchi had no way to touch Kisame.
"Winner: Sunagakure, Kisame Hoshigaki!"
Onoki's face darkened.
This time, the one smiling was Rasa.