https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-724-The-Unveiling-of-Danzo-s-Crimes/12946472/
Chapter 723: The True Father-Son Match
Chapter 723: The True Father-Son Match
After effortlessly defeating his first-round opponent, Kaito decided to visit other competition areas to observe the situation.
He had intended to explore the tournament grounds with Asama, but Asama wanted to adjust his state and maintain peak performance, so Kaito went alone.
Kaito could somewhat understand Asama's decision; after all, neither of them had a chance to advance to the elimination rounds, so watching other competitors in different zones was pointless.
Kaito first headed to the A4 District where Haruno Rin was competing.
Perhaps due to some participants withdrawing from the A1 District and Kaito's swift victory, he arrived at the A4 District just in time to catch Rin's battle.
Normally, Rin's match on the 25th would have been before Kaito's on the 30th.
Rin's opponent was a Rock Hidden Village upper-level ninja in his thirties who skillfully utilized Earth Release techniques.
However, compared to Kaito and Might Guy, Rin's strength was lacking, but handling an ordinary upper-level ninja was not a challenge for her.
After a brief test, Rin didn't summon Menas and instead focused her breathing to the extreme, unleashing a massive amount of chakra with her Taijutsu to shatter the Rock Hidden Village ninja's Earth Release technique, swiftly defeating him.
"The winner is Haruno Rin!" the referee announced the end of the battle.
"That was a clean and efficient victory, Rin," Kaito praised her with a chuckle as she descended.
"Thank you. How about you, Kaito? Did everything go smoothly?" Rin asked with a smile.
"I'm definitely advancing without a problem, but Asama is out of luck," Kaito replied, informing Rin and Kakashi about Enma's presence in their A1 District and his number one position.
"This..." Rin didn't know what to say.
There were sixteen districts in total, each with four slots, and it just so happened that Asama encountered one of them.
"It's not a big deal. Even if we made it to the elimination rounds, there's no guarantee of a good ranking. This tournament feels off. I just saw the Third Raikage and the Substitute Raikage in the B1 District," Kakashi said gravely.
After his victory, Kakashi immediately went to gather information from other districts and returned just before Rin's battle was about to begin.
What surprised Kakashi was that not only the Third Raikage but also the new AB Pair had joined the Martial Arts Tournament.
Both the Third Raikage and the Substitute Raikage were in Might Guy's B1 District, but their numbers were far apart, so they wouldn't meet in the preliminary tournament.
In addition to these heavyweight Cloud Village ninjas, Kakashi also spotted several other well-known upper-level ninjas from the Ninja World.
This struck Kakashi as odd.
Although the tournament's rewards were attractive, it didn't seem worth the Cloud Village's attention.
"It might not just be the Third Raikage; perhaps the Third Mizukage is also participating," Kaito sighed.
With the Raikage's participation, he suspected that the Third Mizukage at the registration might not be there solely for leading the team.
Kakashi nodded in agreement.
He had a bold guess in his mind: perhaps not only the Third Mizukage and the Third Raikage but also all the current Kage of the Great Ninja Villages, except for Yu Sheng Mu Yue, might have entered the tournament.
To verify his suspicion, Kakashi, Kaito, and Rin went to other districts to gather intelligence.
In the C1 District, they indeed saw the Third Mizukage, and then in the C3 District, they encountered their old acquaintance Kurugata Shizuka.
In the D District, they also spotted Daimoku and Ra Sha.
Kaito was stunned; a single Martial Arts Tournament had gathered five Kage. If luck wasn't on his side, he would have to defeat two Kage to reach the top four.
He was just a fifteen-year-old boy with the dream of becoming the Hokage, and reality was treating him too harshly.
Kaito felt a bit nostalgic for the age-restricted tournaments, as he wouldn't have to face ninjas old enough to be his father or even grandfather.
"It's not right that all the Great Ninja Villages have sent so many elite ninjas..." Kakashi's eyes flickered, sensing the anomaly.
Not only had the Great Ninja Villages sent their Kage, but they had also dispatched other powerful ninjas, like Rock Hidden Village's Yellow Earth and Retsuseki, and Mist Hidden Village's Kurugata Shizuka and the Sword Shinobi.
The concentration of ninja power in Six Paths City at this moment was astonishing, and the Shinshu Martial Arts Tournament shouldn't have such a draw.
Although they had noticed the unusual nature of this tournament, Kakashi remained calm.
Even if the other Great Ninja Villages had brought many strong ninjas, Konoha was still the strongest.
Enma, Yu Sheng Mu Yue, and Fuyuki Kamizono alone formed a formidable force.
As the time for their respective matches approached, Kakashi, Kaito, and Rin returned to their respective districts to prepare.
...
"In the third round, contestant number one, Enma, will face contestant number eight, Asama."
As the referee announced the matchups, the Konoha Ninjas in A1 Arena all put on serious expressions, trying their best not to burst into laughter.
There was no helping it; this battle was just too dramatic.
It was yet another match against the Hokage, and on top of that, it was a father-son fight.
Fortunately, most of the participating ninjas were elites with excellent emotional control, and even if they did laugh, it was a subtle one.
"Go ahead, just do your best."
Kaito patted Asama's back encouragingly.
"Mm."
Asama nodded and strode confidently towards the battlefield, passing by Enma and reaching the combat area first.
Enma smiled and quickened his pace slightly, taking a position opposite Asama.
Looking at the all-too-familiar figure before him, Asama's fingers twitched unconsciously.
Despite deliberately spending a lot of time adjusting his state, Asama found his efforts futile as he stood before Enma; he was still nervous.
The current distance between him and Enma was fifteen meters, farther than when Enma was at home.
Logically, this distance shouldn't have put too much pressure on him, as he hadn't felt anything even when they were closer at home.
But Asama was nervous, and not just a little. He felt like he was about to break into a sweat.
"Huff."
Asama took a deep breath, and the rising power within his body helped stabilize his emotions.
"You're indeed something, old man."
Asama exhaled and sighed in his heart.
Enma was his father, the revered Hokage respected by countless people, and an incredibly powerful ninja—a fact Asama had known for a long time.
Perhaps to some outsiders, Asama seemed like a rebellious child who didn't respect Enma.
In truth, Asama had always viewed his Hokage father as a role model, aspiring to become a ninja as formidable as Enma.
If Enma could acknowledge him, Asama wouldn't mind even if others attributed his achievements to being the Hokage's son.
After all, how could outsiders' words compare to the praise of the closest person to him?
But Enma never did, and even a simple 'good' was rarely heard from his mouth.
Sometimes, Asama wondered if he truly was a talentless, mediocre person.
Fortunately, Yu Sheng Mu Yue appeared and recognized his talent. She taught him ninjutsu and, in the process, acknowledged himself.
Recalling the moments spent with Yu Sheng Mu Yue, Asama's mood gradually calmed, and he was no longer nervous.
So what if it was the Third Hokage or the pinnacle ninja Enma? He was ready to fight!
"The battle begins!"
Just as Asama's fighting spirit reached its peak, the referee shouted the start.
"Wind Breath Chakra Mode!"
At the battle's commencement, Asama immediately focused his Wind Breath to the extreme, entering the Wind Breath Chakra Mode.
His opponent was a pinnacle existence in the ninja world, and he didn't have the luxury of testing the waters; if he didn't go all out from the start, he might not get another chance.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
With the boost from Wind Breath Chakra Mode, Asama instantly completed the nature transformation of wind-attribute chakra without hand seals, and consecutively unleashed eight powerful wind blade strikes.
Whoosh!
Enma, battle-hardened from countless fights, discerned Asama's attack intent and immediately gathered chakra in his legs to dodge.
Bang! Bang!!
Boom!
The eight wind blade strikes landed where Enma had just been standing, and the powerful wind-attribute chakra instantly turned the ground into ruins.
"Not bad," Enma thought, nodding slightly.
Wind Release was one of the five nature transformations, and as an expert in the Five Elements Jutsu, Enma was naturally well-versed in it. Asama's current Wind Release level had surpassed his own at the same age.
Seeing that his attack was ineffective, Asama wasn't surprised. After all, this was the very person he had always wanted to become.
Whoosh! Whoosh!!
Asama drew a shuriken from his ninja tool pouch with his other hand, and with the Wind Release boost, the shuriken's speed and power were greatly enhanced.
Enma also drew a shuriken from his pouch but didn't apply a nature transformation to it. He quickly formed hand seals after throwing it.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!
The shuriken split into four, then eight, and sixteen, instantly turning into a shuriken rain. It blocked Asama's shuriken while simultaneously sealing off Asama's dodging space like an impenetrable net.
The audience was shocked by the father-son duo's ruthless use of large-scale ninjutsu.
Faced with an attack that seemed impossible to dodge, Asama remained calm and quickly unleashed his wind-attribute chakra, enveloping his entire body in a pale blue aura.
Whoosh!
A deafening roar filled the air as countless shuriken rained down, creating a thick cloud of smoke that obscured the battlefield.
When the dust settled, the spectators were amazed to find no trace of Asama on the ground.
Enma couldn't help but look at Asama with surprise as he flew in the air, his body glowing with a blue light.
Noticing Enma's expression, Asama couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.
"You're surprised, huh? I can fly!" With the help of the Wind Breathing's characteristics and his understanding of Wind Release, Asama had developed a flying jutsu that could only be used in Wind Breathing Chakra Mode.
However, as it was a newly developed technique, chakra consumption and flight duration were still significant challenges, but it would be more than sufficient for a single arena battle.
"Wind Release: Infinite Vacuum Ball!"
Asama gathered chakra in his throat, and his chakra underwent a nature transformation, releasing a massive amount of Wind Release chakra.
The speed and quantity of the chakra blasts were akin to a Gatling gun firing in rapid succession.
Moreover, because Asama was flying in the air, the trajectory of the chakra blasts was more unpredictable than if he had released them on the ground, making them even harder to dodge or defend against.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Sensing that Asama had brought out his ultimate technique, Enma quickly performed hand seals and created two shadow clones.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall!"
One of the shadow clones used Earth Release to create a thick, impenetrable wall of mud in front of Enma, providing a solid defense against the Wind Release attacks.
"Wind Release: Cyclone!"
Seizing the moment as Asama flew in to attack, the other shadow clone unleashed a terrifying storm.
Whoosh!
Boom! The storm not only neutralized Asama's attack but also destabilized his flight path.
Whoosh!
At the same time, Enma's main body dashed along the mud wall, seizing the opportunity to leap up and punch Asama.
Enma's counterattack was so swift and sudden that Asama had no choice but to block it with his fist.
Boom!!
The immense force from Enma's punch sent Asama crashing to the ground, landing on the ruins destroyed by his own Wind Release technique.
"Hiss... Is this what a true powerhouse is like?"
Lying on the ground, Asama felt the pain in his arm and took a sharp breath.
He had only shown a slight opening, and Enma had seized the opportunity to end the fight.
Only now did Asama realize just how powerful Enma was.
Asama had been in Wind Breathing Chakra Mode, with his physical abilities far surpassing his normal state, and he had even enhanced his fist with chakra, yet he was still overwhelmed by Enma's strength.
"Enma wins!"
After Enma used the Shunshin Jutsu to appear next to Asama, the referee declared the match over.
Enma helped Asama up from the pile of rocks and brushed off the dirt from his body.
Before Asama could say anything, Enma spoke up:
"Your Wind Release is impressive. Among the Leaf Village's Jonin, there are few whose mastery of Wind Release surpasses yours."
Asama's performance had indeed caught Enma off guard.
Especially the final aerial Wind Release bombardment—even elite Jonin would likely have perished under such an attack.
Asama's lips curled up slightly, and he straightened his back, focusing on his breathing to accelerate his recovery. "Of course, my Wind Release was taught by Yu Sheng Mu Yue."
After saying this, Asama removed Enma's hand and walked off the stage with his head held high, heading towards Kaito.
Kaito, seeing that Asama seemed to be in good spirits, breathed a sigh of relief. He had been waiting to console Asama in case he lost.
After all, Asama had been incredibly unlucky this time.
"Stop smiling like an idiot and help me up!" Asama said in a low voice as he approached Kaito, who didn't seem to understand.
Asama had finally shown off in front of his old man, and he wanted to maintain his cool until the end.
But after taking a few steps, Asama realized that the old man was not holding back at all, and his punch nearly shattered Asama's body.
"Oh, I understand." Kaito quickly helped Asama without showing any reaction.
PS: Seeking a guaranteed monthly vote at the beginning of the month...
(End of Chapter)
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