https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-724-The-Unveiling-of-Danzo-s-Crimes/12946472/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-726-The-Shock-of-the-Shadows-The-Terrifying-Genius-of-Konoha/12946477/
Chapter 725: Aiming for the Top 8, Only Victory Against the Wind Shadow Will Do
Chapter 725: Aiming for the Top 8, Only Victory Against the Wind Shadow Will Do
Three days after the preliminary tournament, the Martial Arts Tournament officially commenced.
To differentiate it from the Youth Martial Arts Tournament, the Shinshu Temple did not use the original venue.
Instead, they constructed a larger open-air arena, with spectator seats and combat areas twice the size of those in the Youth Martial Arts Tournament.
The tournament rules remained unchanged, still following the old system of drawing numbers to determine the order of battles.
"May the Moon Sage and Six Paths Sage bless me with a favorable draw!" Kaito clasped his hands together, his eyes fixed on the large screen hanging on the wall, hoping for an exceptional draw.
In the tournament, if one's strength wasn't enough to sweep through all opponents, luck also played a significant role.
For instance, in the previous Youth Martial Arts Tournament, if Kaito hadn't drawn a favorable number, it would have been difficult for him to place second, as he likely wouldn't have been able to defeat Might Guy at that time.
Of course, apart from luck, one also needed a certain level of strength. Even if luck brought them against the weakest Kage, it was still a Kage, not someone an ordinary ninja could defeat.
The black screen began flashing frantically with the names and numbers of the participants, and after half a minute, the screen was filled with a dense display of participants' names.
"Number one, Might Guy..." Kaito quickly scanned the large screen, searching for his name among them.
Finally, Kaito found his name at number fifty-seven.
"So far back," Kaito muttered to himself.
He then continued scanning the screen to identify his potential opponents.
With the tournament numbers drawn, it was clear who he might face in the upcoming rounds.
For example, if Might Guy was number one, he would only need to pay attention to the top eight strong competitors before the quarterfinals.
"Useless Six Paths Sage, and Hikari Yawara's luck is even worse than mine."
Kaito's eyes widened as he saw the numbers sixty-three and sixty-four on the screen, belonging to Haruno Rin and Ra Sha.
Rin's luck was only slightly better than in the preliminary tournament, where she had faced Asama, the Hokage, in the first round. Now, her first opponent in the elimination tournament was the Wind Shadow.
Furthermore, if neither Kaito nor Ra Sha were eliminated early, they would meet in the top sixteen, and only the winner would advance to the top eight.
Kaito was stunned. He needed to defeat a Kage just to make it to the top eight? What kind of tournament was this?
He would never laugh again.
Kaito continued scanning the screen and realized that if he did advance to the top eight, he would also face his old rival, Chojiro.
"His luck isn't great either."
Kaito silently calculated in his mind and found that Chojiro's luck was even worse than his. Chojiro would face the younger Fourth Kage, while Kaito's opponent in the top sixteen would be the Third Mizukage.
Both of them had relatively unknown opponents in the first two rounds, ensuring a smooth advancement to the top sixteen, where they were almost certain to meet.
Kaito then searched for Kakashi's name and found that his number was relatively far back, at number forty-one.
There were two well-known ninjas near Kakashi's number: Sand Hero Yakura, who might be Kakashi's second-round opponent, and Killer B from the AB Pair, who could potentially be Kakashi's opponent in the top sixteen.
After that, Kaito stopped looking and hurried over to Rin's side to comfort her:
"Hikari, don't be discouraged. Everyone has their share of bad luck. Look at Asama; he's not much stronger than you, and he didn't even make it to the elimination rounds."
"It's okay," Rin said with a gentle smile. "We rarely get the chance to fight against a Kage, so this might be good luck."
She genuinely didn't care much about the draw.
Initially, Rin might have had hopes for a good result.
But after learning that the Five Kage and numerous strong participants were joining, she had adjusted her expectations.
She didn't possess the strength of Kaito or Kakashi; she was a medical ninja with limited combat prowess. If she placed poorly, so be it.
"That's quite reasonable," Kaito scratched his head and chuckled.
Seeing that Rin's mood wasn't affected, he felt relieved.
"Even if it's the Wind Shadow, I'll make sure you look good!" Kaito silently vowed to himself.
If Ra Sha eliminated Rin, Kaito would ensure that Ra Sha didn't advance easily.
"Stone Splitter and Kurugashi Shizuka..." Shizuru stared at the screen, deep in thought.
He was number seventeen, and if he advanced, he might face Stone Splitter in the second round and Kurugashi Shizuka in the top sixteen.
Shizuru was familiar with both of them. Stone Splitter was the captain of the Rock Hidden Village's Explosion Corps and had gained some fame in the Ninja World through his Explosion Style.
As for Kurugashi Shizuka, Shizuru had witnessed his abilities firsthand on several occasions, and he was indeed a formidable ninja.
"There are too many strong participants; it won't be easy for anyone to advance," Shizuru sighed inwardly.
It wasn't just him; Might Guy was also facing a strong opponent in the top sixteen, the Substitute Raikage.
"My friend, it's a shame we can only meet in the finals this time," Might Guy said to Kakashi with a regretful expression.
He was number one, while Kakashi was number forty-one.
It was as if one was in the upper half and the other in the lower half, and they could only meet if they fought their way to the top.
However, the participants in this tournament were incredibly strong, and even someone as confident as Might Guy couldn't guarantee making it to the finals.
"The more difficult the challenge, the more we must charge forward. That's what youth is all about! Let's strive to meet in the finals!"
Might Guy enthusiastically gave Kakashi a thumbs-up, inviting him to a summit clash.
Not having confidence is one thing, but whether or not to put in the effort is another. Might Guy has never been afraid of challenges or failure.
Kakashi looked at Might Guy with a black line across his forehead. Challenging difficulties is a good quality, but this difficulty is simply too much.
If Kakashi could make it to the top eight, his opponent would be Enma.
Facing a Ninja Arts professor who is proficient in over a thousand Jutsu and Genjutsu, could he possibly win?
He's definitely going to lose! If the opponent were a Fourth Shadow like Ra Sha, Kakashi would still have some hope.
But when it comes to Enma, Kakashi truly doesn't know how to win.
Soon, the match officially began, and the announcer started calling out the names of the contestants.
"First match, Number One Might Guy versus Number Two Firelight! Contestants, please enter the arena quickly."
The referee's voice reached the contestants' waiting room.
Might Guy gave his teammates a thumbs up and headed towards the passage leading to the battle arena without looking back.
Firelight greeted the Stone Hidden Village ninjas briefly and was also preparing to leave.
"Just do your best. That guy is not someone you can handle," Yellow Earth said, offering a reminder.
He had briefly fought Might Guy during the final battle of the Third Ninja World War.
Although the encounter was brief, Might Guy left a deep impression on Yellow Earth. He was a Taijutsu ninja with formidable strength.
Firelight: ...
He knew Yellow Earth meant well, but he was still a renowned high-level ninja in the Stone Hidden Village. Hearing such words before the match even started was a bit disheartening.
Fortunately, Firelight understood Yellow Earth's straightforward personality and knew he wasn't being sarcastic about his abilities.
Firelight nodded slightly in response and then entered the passage without further hesitation.
In the unique viewing platform above the spectator seats, Ra Sha saw Firelight walking out and smiled, saying to Daimoku:
"Is this Firelight the one who received our Sand Village's puppet modification on both arms? I have an impression of him; he's a very capable high-level ninja."
Currently, the Sand Village's puppet prosthetic technology still couldn't compare to Shinshu's, but they had solved the issue of puppet prosthetics for ninjas.
Besides disabled ninjas, some ninjas would also modify themselves to a certain extent in pursuit of greater strength.
"Hmm, Firelight is indeed quite good, but his opponent is a super genius," Daimoku replied, glancing at Enma and Moon Sage, who were not far away.
Although they were also contestants, due to their special identities, they still had a special viewing area.
They only needed to go through a special passage before the battle to conveniently reach the arena.
"In Might Guy, I see another possibility for Taijutsu."
Enma praised with a hearty laugh.
Before Might Guy, Enma had never imagined that a pure Taijutsu ninja could reach such heights.
Chen Sensei once held the title of the strongest Taijutsu user in Konoha, but he wasn't limited to Taijutsu. He knew many Jutsu and even some Genjutsu. He was simply most skilled in Taijutsu.
Might Guy was different. Besides Summoning Jutsu, he had virtually nothing else.
There was no purer Taijutsu ninja in the entire ninja world than Might Guy.
Moon Sage didn't speak, feeling a bit odd as she sat with her Shadow Clone.
"Eight Gates, Earth Gate, Open!"
After assessing Firelight's strength, Might Guy instantly opened five gates, and a powerful chakra surged within him, his aura rapidly intensifying.
Might Guy focused his breathing to the extreme, using Rock Style Chakra Control to enhance his physical abilities.
"Leaf Steel Cyclone!"
Might Guy's incredible speed allowed him to dodge the blades on Firelight's arms, and he gathered a massive amount of chakra in his feet, delivering a heavy kick.
Boom!
Firelight, who was kicked, flew like a cannonball and slammed into the thick wall at the edge of the arena, knocking him unconscious.
"Might Guy wins!"
The referee, seeing that Firelight couldn't get up, immediately announced Might Guy's victory.
Even though their high-level ninja had lost, Daimoku's expression remained unchanged.
Firelight's defeat was within his expectations. Although Firelight was good, Might Guy was already at the level of Yellow Earth, a strong ninja in the ninja world, and a unique pure Taijutsu ninja. A crushing defeat was only to be expected.
"Contestant Number Three..."
The referee continued to announce the names according to the match list.
The first round didn't have any intense clashes, and the well-known strong ninjas hadn't met each other yet.
Most of the Five Shadows' first-round opponents were forfeits, as many didn't want to lose face in front of so many spectators.
Haruno Rin didn't give up or forfeit, but she had little resistance against Ra Sha's Magnet Style and was quickly defeated.
Besides Haruno Rin, Asuma Sarutobi also suffered a first-round elimination.
A
Y
After the first round of battles, there was a five-day break before the second round began.
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