"Number Six Mitsuishi versus Number Eight Sunagani."
Sasori stood up with an indifferent look and walked toward the arena, not sparing Kakashi a single glance on the way.
Even though his heart was full of killing intent, before he found a chance to strike, he would never show his hatred in front of Kakashi, because that would be meaningless.
Once the battle officially began, the ninjas in the rest area all turned their attention to the match.
After four rounds of preliminaries and one elimination round, even if there was some luck involved, the ninjas still remaining on the field were not weak; most of them possessed solid ninja qualities.
But Mitsuishi seemed to be exactly the type of ninja who had a bit of luck on his side. Unlike Yahiko, he didn't manage to force Sasori to use four puppets; Sasori took out only two puppets and quickly defeated him.
Kakashi didn't really care; he was actually hoping Sunagani would be a bit stronger, so Nagaishi wouldn't just be taken out by one of Nagato's regular high‑power Ninjutsu.
"Number Nine Hoshigaki Kisame versus Number Eleven Might Guy!"
Hearing his own name, Might Guy sprang to his feet, gave himself a big thumbs‑up, and walked into the arena with a confident grin. Hoshigaki Kisame followed close behind.
Staring at the figure that had given him a bitter defeat in his memories, Kisame's sharklike face took on a grave expression.
Although long years of harsh training had greatly improved his strength, that overwhelmingly powerful punch from Might Guy in their first fight had already told Kisame that he wasn't the only one who'd gotten stronger—Might Guy had too, and maybe even more than him!
"Hoshigaki Homen, we meet again, huh. This time it's still gonna be my win!" Might Guy planted his hands on his hips and laughed out his declaration of victory.
Hoshigaki Kisame: ?
Kisame was speechless. So he wanted to use this kind of tactic to provoke him again, huh? The referee had literally just shouted his full name, and he could still get it wrong.
"Hoshigaki Kisame. That's my name," Kisame emphasized.
Normally, with his personality, he wouldn't bother responding to this kind of tactic, but Might Guy had never once gotten his full name right. Kisame still hoped Guy would at least call his name correctly once.
"Did I remember it wrong? No way, I'm sure I called you that last time too," Might Guy rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful.
Kisame was speechless. Is there not a chance that you got it wrong last time too?
"Contestants, please get ready. The match is about to begin!" the Ninja Sect referee reminded them.
A line or two of banter was enough; they couldn't keep chatting forever.
Kisame had no choice but to temporarily give up on correcting him and assumed a fighting stance.
Might Guy also cast aside all thoughts and threw himself fully into the battle that was about to begin.
"Begin!"
"Eight Gates, Opening Gate, open! … Injure Gate, open!"
Might Guy immediately opened four of the Eight Gates in succession, releasing the Chakra restraints in his body. A massive amount of wild, surging Chakra flooded out inside him.
"Water Release: Great Bursting Water Wave!"
Kisame instantly leapt backward, and the huge amount of Chakra gathered in his throat rapidly converted into Water Attribute Chakra and was expelled in one breath. A terrifying torrent like a raging sea wave crashed straight into the arena.
"That move again, huh."
Might Guy made a snap decision and opened the Fifth Gate of the Eight Gates, while constantly focusing his breathing and drawing in a huge gulp of air, entering Breath of Rock Chakra Mode.
In that instant, an overwhelming aura erupted from Might Guy's body.
Back during the Chunin Examination, when facing this same Water Release from Kisame, Might Guy had only barely managed to win, so he didn't dare underestimate it now and went all out from the start.
At the same time, the massive torrent from the Great Bursting Water Wave swept away everything in the arena, forming an enormous ellipsoid Water Prison.
"Using a super large‑scale Ninjutsu in a restricted area like this is just cheating," Obito couldn't help complaining.
There was simply no way to dodge this jutsu from Kisame, because the entire arena was covered. No matter how fast you were, it was useless.
Right now, Obito could only be glad he'd drawn a good lot. If he had run into Kisame, that would've been 'done for' with all caps, because there was no way he could beat Kisame in the water.
The audience in the stands also became highly interested. Kicking things off with a spectacle like this clearly meant this wasn't going to be an ordinary fight.
"Water Release: Hundred Shark!"
Kisame's Chakra exploded, and in a single breath he created a hundred shark‑shaped water bullets that lunged at Might Guy to tear him apart.
Kisame knew his own strengths very well.
His Chakra Amount was naturally outstanding. For others, a large‑scale Water Release like this would cost an enormous amount of Chakra, but for him it was nothing more than a trivial appetizer.
And now, all he needed to do was use Water Release inside the Water Prison to drain Might Guy's stamina, then seize the final victory.
"Now this is more like a real fight!" Might Guy's face lit up with excitement.
The fight with Nagaishi had been way too easy for him. After watching so many spectacular battles, Might Guy's fists had long been itching.
His muscles tensed, veins bulged, and he seemed to transform into a tiger ready to pounce. He poured all his strength into his fists and, at a speed almost impossible for normal eyes to track, unleashed a continuous barrage of punches on a single point in front of him.
Hirudora was originally an Advanced Taijutsu technique that required opening seven of the Eight Gates to use, but with the boost from Breath of Rock Chakra Mode, Might Guy with Five Gates open could barely reach the threshold to perform it.
Under Guy's blisteringly fast blows, the air was continuously compressed, and the surrounding water rippled under the impact of that terrifying power.