[The Competitors' Balcony]
I walked up the concrete stairs to the competitors' box, stretching my arms over my head like I had just finished a light, refreshing morning jog.
The reception was mixed, to put it mildly.
"You are despicable!"
Sakura marched right up to me before I even reached the railing, pointing an accusatory, shaking finger squarely at my chest. Her face was bright red with secondhand embarrassment. "You completely humiliated her! You didn't even use ninjutsu! You just... you just groped her into submission! In front of the Feudal Lords!"
"Tactics, Sakura," I corrected smoothly, brushing past her outstretched finger. "The ninja world is built on deception and exploiting weaknesses. I found a psychological weak point and applied direct, overwhelming pressure. It's not my fault her weakness was being manhandled by a superior opponent."
"You're a pig," Tenten muttered loudly, crossing her arms and glaring daggers at me.
"A victorious pig," I winked at her, leaning casually against the railing. "Keep your safety shorts on, Tenten. I didn't touch your teammate."
Tenten immediately slapped a hand over her skirt, her face flushing as she remembered the Forest of Death incident.
Ino didn't say anything. She was leaning against the back wall, her face slightly flushed, staring intensely at the floor. She had watched the entire exchange very, very closely. The memory of the "Hard Armor" illusion combined with the very real, very dominant display I had just put on was clearly messing with her head.
I walked over to the railing, stopping right next to Shikamaru.
The Nara heir looked at me out of the corner of his eye, his lazy gaze narrowed in deep suspicion.
"Hey. Kenji," Shikamaru said slowly. "What was that look you gave me right before your match?"
"Look? What look?" I played dumb, resting my chin on my hands and looking down at the arena.
"You bowed to me. You looked like you were... apologizing," Shikamaru pressed, scratching the back of his neck in irritation. "It was creepy. What a drag... just tell me what you're plotting so I don't have to think about it."
"Shikamaru, my friend," I patted his shoulder solemnly, keeping a perfectly straight face. "I was merely mourning the loss of your motivation. You gave up a perfectly good match against a very capable opponent. I was paying my deepest respects to your legendary laziness."
Shikamaru squinted at me, clearly not buying a single word of my explanation. But, true to form, he was too tired to push the issue. "Whatever. You're too much work to figure out."
Down in the arena, Genma looked at his watch, sighing around his senbon.
"The final match of the first round," Genma announced, his voice echoing over the restless, murmuring crowd. "Gaara of the Sand versus Sasuke Uchiha. Will the competitors step forward?"
Gaara materialized in the center of the arena in a violent swirl of sand. He looked unstable. The sand was leaking from his massive gourd autonomously, swirling around his feet like a restless, hungry beast. He was twitching, his bloodshot, pale eyes glaring at the empty space where Sasuke was supposed to be.
"Mother is hungry..." Gaara whispered, his raspy voice carrying surprisingly well, making the front rows of the audience shiver.
Genma looked at the empty competitors' tunnel. "Where is Sasuke Uchiha?"
The crowd began to murmur. Then, the murmurs turned into loud, angry boos. They had paid good money to see the last Uchiha fight the Sand demon.
"If Sasuke Uchiha does not arrive in the next thirty seconds," Genma declared, raising his voice to be heard over the crowd, "he will be disqualified!"
"Ten bucks says he shows up at the exact last possible second to maximize the dramatic tension," I whispered to Naruto, who was leaning over the rail next to me, biting his nails.
"Sasuke wouldn't run away!" Naruto yelled down at the arena, ignoring my bet. "He's coming! I know it!"
Twenty seconds.
Ten seconds.
"Time is up," Genma raised his hand, preparing to call the match. "Sasuke Uchiha is dis—"
A sudden, violent gust of wind swept through the exact center of the arena. Leaves swirled in a miniature tornado, kicking up dust and momentarily blinding the front row of spectators.
When the leaves settled, two figures stood back-to-back in the center of the ring.
Kakashi Hatake, casually reading his little orange book.
And Sasuke Uchiha.
Sasuke had changed. He wasn't wearing his standard blue shirt and baggy white shorts. He was dressed in a sleek, all-black, high-collared one-piece outfit that clung to his frame. His hair was slightly longer, and he radiated a cold, focused, razor-sharp chakra that hadn't been there a month ago.
"Sorry we're late," Kakashi smiled his signature eye-smile at the exasperated proctor. "We got lost on the path of life."
The stadium erupted into deafening cheers. The Uchiha had arrived.
"Show-off," I muttered, crossing my arms. "He definitely planned that entrance."
****
The fight began exactly as the script dictated.
Sasuke didn't use ninjutsu right away. He used raw, blinding speed. The month with Kakashi hadn't just been about learning a new trick; it had been about conditioning his body to match Rock Lee's unweighted speed so he could bypass Gaara's automatic sand defense.
Sasuke blurred across the arena, striking Gaara from blind spots, landing heavy, physical blows that cracked the Sand Ninja's armor.
"He copied Lee's speed," Shikamaru noted, his eyes widening slightly. "Without the weights. He's fast."
Gaara, frustrated and bleeding, retreated. He encased himself in a massive, impenetrable sphere of hardened sand—the absolute defense. A grotesque eyeball made of sand floated above the sphere, tethered to it, watching Sasuke.
Inside the sphere, Gaara was preparing something terrible. The killing intent leaking from the sand was suffocating.
"He's stalling," I noted, my [Observation Haki] picking up the massive spike in demonic chakra inside the sphere. "He's trying to fully transform."
Sasuke didn't wait. He leaped high up onto the stadium wall, sticking to the sheer vertical surface with his chakra.
He formed three hand seals.
Monkey. Dragon. Rat. Bird. Ox. Snake. Dog. Tiger. Monkey.
(Or however many he actually used. He went fast).
He grabbed his left wrist with his right hand.
CHIRP. CHIRP. CHIRP.
The sound of a thousand birds chirping echoed through the stadium. Visible, violent arcs of blue lightning erupted from Sasuke's left hand, illuminating the shadowed wall of the arena. The sheer concentration of lightning chakra was blinding.
"Chidori!"
Sasuke launched himself off the wall, rocketing downward like a human lightning bolt, leaving a trail of destroyed masonry in his wake.
He thrust his lightning-coated hand directly into the impenetrable sphere of sand.
CRACK!
The lightning pierced the earth defense instantly. Sasuke's arm sank deep into the sphere.
A horrifying, inhuman scream echoed from inside the sand. It wasn't Gaara's voice. It was the monstrous shriek of the Shukaku.
Blood—thick, dark red blood—splattered onto the dirt floor beneath the sphere.
Sasuke yanked his arm out, panting heavily, his Sharingan blazing red. He had wounded the monster.
But as the crowd roared, cheering for the Uchiha's spectacular strike...
I felt it.
[Observation Haki: MASSIVE ANOMALY DETECTED.]
It wasn't just Gaara's chakra spiking. It was everywhere.
The air in the stadium suddenly felt thick, heavy, and incredibly sleepy.
White feathers began to fall gently from the clear blue sky, drifting down like snow over the cheering crowd.
"Genjutsu," I whispered, immediately channeling a pulse of chakra through my network to dispel it, though my [Gamer's Mind] rendered me immune regardless.
Around me, the Feudal Lords, the merchants, and the civilian spectators slumped forward in their seats, instantly unconscious.
Sakura realized it a second later, quickly forming the release seal. "Release!"
Shikamaru was already on the ground, pretending to be asleep to avoid work, but he was wide awake.
I looked up at the Kage Box.
The Fourth Kazekage—Orochimaru in disguise—suddenly moved. He grabbed the Third Hokage, a kunai pressed to the old man's throat, and leaped backward onto the tiled roof of the stadium.
Simultaneously, four Sound Ninja emerged from the shadows on the roof, rapidly forming a square formation around the two Kage.
"Ninja Art: Four Flames Formation!"
A massive, impenetrable purple barrier erupted around the Hokage and Orochimaru, locking them inside a deadly cage.
Down in the arena, Gaara's sand sphere crumbled completely. He was clutching his bleeding shoulder, his face twisted in pure agony and rage, half-transformed into the Shukaku.
Temari and Kankuro leaped from the balcony, landing next to their brother, grabbing him by the arms.
"The plan is moving up!" Baki, the Sand Jonin, yelled from the stands. "Take Gaara and fall back! He needs time to heal before he can unleash the beast!"
The Sand siblings nodded, fleeing into the forest surrounding the arena.
Sasuke didn't hesitate. He immediately bolted after them, his Sharingan locked onto his prey.
"The Konoha Crush has begun," I muttered, looking around the chaotic stadium.
Sound and Sand Ninja were revealing themselves everywhere, throwing off their disguises and attacking the Leaf Jonin. Explosions echoed from the village outside the walls. Giant, three-headed snakes were summoned in the distance, crashing through the outer walls of Konoha.
Kakashi and Guy were standing back-to-back in the stands, fending off dozens of Sound Ninja with effortless precision.
Kakashi looked up at our balcony. He bit his thumb, summoning a small pug with a Konoha headband.
"Pakkun!" Kakashi ordered. "Track Sasuke! He's going after Gaara!"
Kakashi threw a kunai perfectly, burying it into the concrete railing right between Naruto and me.
"Naruto! Sakura! Kenji!" Kakashi yelled over the din of battle. "This is an A-Rank Mission! Follow Pakkun! Stop Sasuke, and whatever you do, do not let Gaara fully transform! Go!"
Naruto slammed his fists together, his eyes burning with determination. "You got it, Kakashi-sensei!"
"An A-Rank mission?" Sakura trembled, looking at the chaos.
"A free pass to hunt," I grinned, reaching into my inventory.
I pulled out my red silk tunic and swapped it for my standard, dark tactical gear in a flash of inventory magic.
"System," I whispered, watching Pakkun sniff the air and bolt toward the forest. "Let's go catch a raccoon."
Author's Note:
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