Most of the audience present had already stood up from their seats, nerves stretched tight.
With a battle like this, missing it would be a lifelong regret!
On one side was the Hidden Lotus, terrifying from its sheer momentum alone. On the other was a high-level Lightning Release that sounded like a thousand birds crying out at once. The crowd could hardly wait to see which of the two would prove superior!
Amid the audience's intense anticipation, the two fighters in the arena finally moved.
Sasuke gripped his left wrist with his right hand and shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, lightning trailing along the ground and carving a long scorched line behind him.
On the other side, Lee streaked through the air as a red blur. The two collided head-on with full force.
Boom!
Their clash kicked up a massive cloud of dust. Just as the audience craned their necks, desperate to see the outcome, Hoshiyomi—seated among the spectators—shook his head slightly.
"Lee ultimately lost because of his bloodline," he said.
Hearing this, Rinne tilted her head in confusion.
"Dad, why do you say that?"
Ryūshin didn't speak, but quietly perked up her ears. Hoshiyomi rubbed both of their heads and explained:
"To the naked eye, their speeds look about the same. But in Sasuke's Sharingan, Lee's movements are clearly slowed down.
"In the Chidori state, as long as Sasuke can withstand Lee's first attack using his high speed, Lee will have a hard time continuing the Hidden Lotus. Meanwhile, Sasuke's Chidori can cripple Lee with a single hit. That's why this fight is Sasuke's victory."
There was one thing Hoshiyomi didn't say out loud: Lee was indeed a genius born of hard work—but Sasuke was a walking cheat.
Originally, with Lee opening the Fifth Gate, Sasuke's two-tomoe Sharingan shouldn't have been able to fully track his speed. In that situation, without precise visual tracking, landing Chidori decisively would have been extremely difficult.
But unfortunately, Sasuke "leveled up" at the critical moment.
What happened occurred in an instant. Most people couldn't clearly see the change in Sasuke's eyes—but Hoshiyomi saw it perfectly.
He clearly witnessed Sasuke's Sharingan evolve from two tomoe to three in that brief moment. The only question was whether this battle-born breakthrough would fade afterward—after all, Sasuke had precedent for that.
Sure enough, just as Hoshiyomi predicted, when the dust finally settled, Sasuke was still standing in the arena, though his arm was badly torn and dripping with blood. On the other side, Lee lay collapsed on the ground, a deep gash carved into his shoulder.
He was lucky to be alive. At the last moment, relying on the speed granted by the Fifth Gate, he barely avoided a fatal strike. Otherwise, Lee might have died on the spot.
With the outcome decided, Kurenai announced the winner. Haku immediately entered the arena with two medical shinobi and carried both fighters away. Before long, he returned with a report that both were stable and wouldn't suffer serious long-term injuries.
That news greatly relieved Hoshiyomi. No matter what, Lee's ending was far better than in the original timeline.
After a brief pause to allow staff to repair the damaged arena floor, Kurenai stepped onto the stage once more and announced:
"Next match: Hyūga Neji of Konoha versus Gaara of Sunagakure. Both contestants, please prepare."
At those words, Gaara and Neji wasted no time and cleanly stepped onto the arena. The two didn't know each other beforehand, so there was no trash talk—just immediate combat.
Since Gaara hadn't faced Naruto or Sasuke, his mood was noticeably irritable. The moment the fight began, he released all the sand from his gourd. The torrent of sand gathered together like a gigantic python, surging toward Neji.
This was Gaara's most commonly used tactic: Sand Binding Coffin followed by Sand Burial—simple, brutal, and designed to leave the enemy no chance to fight back, crushing them into pulp.
But this time, Gaara's signature strategy failed to achieve its intended effect.
Facing the roaring sand avalanche, Neji's expression remained calm. He didn't even attempt to dodge.
Seeing this, Kankurō couldn't help but comment from below the arena:
"Has this guy been scared stupid?"
But the very next second, Neji—who was about to be engulfed—spoke calmly:
"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!"
Neji spread his right palm and began spinning rapidly, his entire body rotating like a top. As he moved, high-concentration chakra poured out from the major tenketsu across his body.
Instead of dispersing, the chakra was guided by Neji into a rotating chakra barrier. The high-speed curtain of chakra collided head-on with the surging sand waterfall and cleanly shattered the sand—condensed by Gaara's chakra—into pieces.
Seeing this, not only Kankurō but even Gaara himself froze in shock. This was the first time someone had ever countered his Sand Burial so directly and brutally.
Unwilling to believe it, Gaara once again gathered his sand into another sand torrent and sent it toward Neji—but the result was the same, effortlessly blown apart. At that, Gaara finally showed a smile.
"I think… I underestimated you. But if you can dodge attacks from the front, what about ones from below?"
As he spoke, a stream of sand suddenly burst up through the floor beneath Neji, shattering the tiles—but Neji was already gone from that spot.
Gaara was startled by the speed and blurted out instinctively:
"How is it possible for you to dodge that?!"
Neji calmly raised his head. As he did, the veins around his eyes bulged prominently.
"Before these Byakugan eyes, all your little tricks are meaningless. And you've probably used up all your moves by now, haven't you? Next… it's my turn."
With that, Neji charged forward at high speed. Gaara's expression changed—he realized he had underestimated Neji's speed. His sand couldn't keep up at all!
As Neji closed in, Gaara recalled the strange spinning technique from earlier. Gritting his teeth, he abandoned offense and instead used the surrounding sand to encase himself into a massive sphere.
"Sand Tsunami!"
Sharp spikes formed across the surface of the huge sand ball.
Gaara thought this would force Neji to retreat—but instead, Neji smiled.
"If you like being a sandbag that much, then I'll grant your wish!"
Neji assumed a starting stance and shouted:
"Watch closely—Gentle Fist Technique: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Ordinary civilians didn't react much to the name, but in the stands, Hyūga Hiashi and Hyūga Hizashi jumped to their feet, eyes blazing with excitement.
Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm! That was an extremely high-level technique even among the Eight Trigrams style. To think Neji could already use it at his age—his talent far exceeded their expectations.
The shockwave unleashed by Neji's Vacuum Palm smashed into the spikes formed by the Sand Tsunami, blasting the terrifying protrusions away in an instant.
Looking at the sand sphere now stripped of its spikes, Neji smiled again. Without those defenses, this was nothing more than a giant punching bag.
"Gentle Fist Technique: Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!!"
...
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