"The winner is Ryuma Hatake!" the proctor announced.
Ryuma walked back to the stands, where his team was watching.
"Nice job, Ryuma," Kazuki said, giving him a fist bump.
"Thanks," Ryuma replied.
Akari said, "I'm glad you all are in the quarter finals, but now you'll have to face each other. I hope all of you have some hidden cards."
All of them nodded.
They waited for about thirty minutes as the arena was cleared.
Finally, the large screen above the stadium began to flicker, revealing the next matchups.
'Yuki vs Kazuki'
'Ryuma vs Akira'
The team went silent for a moment. Kazuki and Yuki looked at each other.
"Well," Yuki said, breaking the silence with a smile. "I guess it's our turn."
"Best of luck to both of you," Akari said.
"I'm not going to hold back, Kazuki, so you better give it your all as well." Yuki said.
"I wouldn't want you to," Kazuki replied. "No hard feelings, okay? Let's just give it everything we've got. Good luck."
"Good luck," Yuki nodded.
They both walked down to the arena floor and stood opposite each other. The crowd was buzzing; seeing two teammates from the same village face off was always a highlight.
"Begin!" the proctor shouted.
Kazuki immediately closed his eyes and opened them again, his pupils glowing red with the Sharingan.
Yuki narrowed her eyes, "Fighting him in close combat won't be wise, his kenjutsu is superior to my taijutsu, and now he's got the sharingan as well. I should just try to make him run out of chakra."
She quickly made several hand signs. Kazuki's eyes tracked them perfectly, and he began making his own signs at the exact same speed.
Yuki used, 'Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!'
Kazuki used, 'Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!'
A massive dragon made of water clashed with a burning dragon of flames in the center of the arena. The collision created a massive explosion of steam that obscured everyone's vision. The water eventually extinguished the fire, but the heat was so intense that the water turned completely into steam.
Through the fog, Kazuki rushed forward. He didn't want to give her time to breathe. He threw a punch, which Yuki blocked with her forearm, countering with a sweep of her leg. For a few minutes, they traded blows.
Yuki thought, "It's just like the academy days, but Kazuki has grown much stronger now, I guess its time for me to get serious.'
Yuki's movements became heavier and more precise. She began to overwhelm him with raw strength.
Kazuki grunted, his Sharingan spinning. 'Her blows are too heavy.'
He began copying her Senju-style taijutsu movements. He wasn't as naturally powerful as her, but with the help of his sharingan, he was now able to add chakra to his punches just like her.
"You're getting better at copying, Kazuki!" Yuki yelled, jumping back and infusing her limbs with a massive amount of chakra. "But can you keep up with this?"
She lunged forward with incredible speed. Kazuki barely had time to raise his arm to block a roundhouse kick. When the blow landed, the force was like being hit by a falling boulder.
Kazuki was sent skidding back several meters. He gripped his forearm, wincing. "Ouch... my arm hurts. Just how much chakra did you put in that kick?" he muttered.
"I told you I wouldn't hold back!" Yuki called out.
Kazuki stood up straight and took a deep breath. He performed a long string of signs.
'Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!'
He spat out a massive wall of fire. It wasn't as large Madara's, but it was still big enough to cover a large area.
Yuki didn't panic. She also made some rapid hand signs, 'Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique.'
'What the...?' Kazuki's eyes widened. 'That's a freaking A rank jutsu.'
Both the jutsu collided, but there was so much water that kazuki's jutsu looked like a ember in front of it.
The fire was extinguished in mere seconds and the water style jutsu collided into Kazuki, washing him away with it. Kazuki somehow managed to not get hit by it directly and avoided being knocked out, but he was not in good shape, he was soaked in water and every inch of his body was in pain.
Kazuki thought, 'I know she was Tobirama's descendant, it's quite obvious by her silver hair but now I'm even more certain.'
Kazuki looked around but he couldn't find Yuki. He searched for her using his mind's eyes of the kagura and sensed three of her underground. Kazuki realized what she was planning to do and got in position.
Yuki and her two shadow clones used. 'Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears'
Dozens of sharp stone spikes erupted from the ground beneath Kazuki's feet. He moved like an acrobat, flipping and twisting through the air to avoid being impaled. As he dodged the final, largest spike, a figure appeared directly behind him.
It was the real Yuki. She pulled her fist back, aiming a devastating punch at his spine. "Got you!"
Her fist connected to him.
But suddenly he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"A clone?!" Yuki gasped as she landed on the ground. "But I didn't see him make one!"
She suddenly realized what had happened. 'He used his Mind's Eye to hide his own chakra signature while the clone distracted me!'
Before she could turn around, she felt the cold steel of a blade resting against the back of her neck. Kazuki had appeared behind her, now showing his chakra.
"You lose, Yuki," Kazuki said softly.
The proctor stepped forward. "Kazuki wins!"
Yuki stood still for a moment, then she let out a long sigh and smiled softly. She turned around to face him. "You've gotten stronger than me, Kazuki. I really thought I had you there."
"It was close," Kazuki admitted, sheathing his sword. "I won by cleverness, not by strength."
"That's part of being a shinobi," Yuki replied.
"Well, don't even think about slacking off," Yuki said, pointing a finger at him. "Because I'm going to beat you the next time we fight."
Kazuki nodded. "I'll be looking forward to it."
They walked back up to the stands together. Ryuma was waiting for them, looking focused.
"Great fight, both of you," Ryuma said.
"Thanks," Kazuki replied. "Now it's your turn. Good luck against Akira, Ryuma. I want to fight you in the finals."
Ryuma nodded.
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