Because these were young children, the technical level of the fighting was naturally quite limited. But even so, it was possible to see talent and ability that clearly exceeded their peers.
From the very start of the match, Kabuto immediately chose to go on the offensive, pressing forward without hesitation. His taijutsu was of decent quality and he had some close-combat experience, putting Amaru on the back foot almost immediately.
Amaru did attempt to fight back using throwing weapons, but her attack intentions and movements were read completely by Kabuto.
Most critically, Kabuto was already capable of consciously channeling and applying chakra within his body, while Amaru's level in this regard was considerably weaker.
To put it simply, Amaru still fell within the range of an ordinary young child's standards. Kabuto already showed the makings of an exceptional ninja.
That said, Amaru did manage some meaningful counters. She produced a distinctly specialized surgical scalpel from somewhere, and when Kabuto closed in several times she suddenly deployed an unusual body technique combined with precision tool work, targeting weak points on Kabuto's body in a sequence that was genuinely sharp.
She also demonstrated ninja tool control technique, with a fine steel wire attached to the scalpel's handle that she used to continuously throw or swing the blade at Kabuto from a distance.
But in the end, Kabuto used a Shadow Clone to deceive her and pinned her to the ground.
The referee called the result immediately.
First match. Konoha's Kabuto wins.
Outside the arena, Konoha's spectators erupted in congratulations and cheering once more.
Amaru's ninja tool application technique resembled the Sand Village's training curriculum at a glance, but it had actually been derived from Yuji's own blade intention teachings.
This particular method of using ninja tools had been incorporated into the Sand Village's academy training program, alongside the simplified version of what Yuji called Data Taijutsu, the combat methodology he had developed based on his own understanding as a Genin.
The younger children in the village, unlike Yuji, did not have vast reserves of ninjutsu data and combat information in their heads to draw on, making it impossible for them to fully execute Data Taijutsu.
So the academy had focused on having these students conduct basic anatomy study from a young age, including working with practice models constructed to represent human body structure, helping them learn the vulnerable points and mechanical functions of the body to enrich the combat effectiveness of their taijutsu in actual fighting.
But even so, she had still lost to Kabuto.
This outcome was not something Yuji dwelled on. Kabuto's actual ability genuinely exceeded Amaru's by a large margin. The former could already use chakra. The gap between them was simply too wide.
Shimizu standing behind Yuji drew a slow breath.
In the arena, Amaru's eyes had gone red from crying, her face full of grief and grievance.
"There is still a significant gap. Talent is something you are born with. Even though I have developed every aspect of the Sand Village to a reasonably good level, children like Amaru are still too young to fully benefit from the village's resources yet. At this age, raw talent still determines everything."
Yuji leaned slightly to one side, resting his chin on one hand, his gaze settling on Kabuto.
This little one was essentially a second Orochimaru in the making. His potential needed no elaboration.
And Yuji could see clearly that Kabuto had not shown his real strength. He had visibly held back.
Even at this young age, careful not to reveal what he truly knew. Knowing how to hide his ability.
Not far away, Danzo wore a quietly satisfied smile. He was clearly very pleased with Kabuto's performance.
Then came the second match.
Shira versus Uchiha Itachi.
The fight began. Shira launched forward immediately with an explosive assault, deploying sharp and aggressive taijutsu attacks. Having been personally identified by Yuji as a taijutsu prodigy and placed under special cultivation, Shira had received dedicated taijutsu instruction from a Sand Village Jonin after entering the academy.
Yuji had even personally guided Shira in the subtleties of breathing rhythm. Among the academy's students of the same age, Shira's taijutsu was unquestionably first among equals.
His mental fortitude and willpower were also exceptional. Everyone had placed considerable expectations in him.
But unfortunately, his opponent this time was something beyond any normal standard. He was facing a genius who sat an entire level above him.
The future legend Uchiha Itachi.
Most critically, one should not be deceived by how small Itachi still was. He had already experienced real combat. He understood the cruelty of actual fighting in a way that Shira simply could not match.
No matter how sharp Shira's taijutsu was, he could never land a touch on Itachi.
And after Itachi calmly analyzed Shira's attacking patterns, he identified the critical timing and finished the match cleanly and decisively.
The speed was so fast that Shira had no opportunity to even react.
Second match. Konoha wins again.
Compared to Kabuto, Itachi had been even less serious about the whole thing. He had not even deployed Shadow Clone or any other techniques.
And this was an Itachi who could already use Fire Release at this age. His ninja tool precision and throwing weapon ability were in a class of their own.
None of this had been shown.
Compared to Shira, Itachi had simply dominated.
To be honest, Itachi appearing in this age group at all was fundamentally not a fair matchup.
Simply because of his age.
At this point Shimizu's expression had become somewhat strained. He had already read the situation clearly. Konoha's children's division had essentially dominated the Sand Village in two consecutive matches. But Yuji still wore the same easy and untroubled expression throughout.
Third match, fourth match, all the way through to the sixth.
Six matches in total for the children's division. The Sand Village won only two. A thorough swallowing of defeat.
Next came the Genin division. Also six matches in total.
Konoha's representatives included Yugao, Iruka, and Mitarashi Anko among others.
At the Genin level, the Sand Village's situation improved considerably. The two sides finished even at three wins apiece.
Konoha's Yugao and Anko each won their matches. Iruka lost to a Sand Village puppet corps Genin.
Anko, as Orochimaru's student, was still performing at an outstanding level for this age group. She was twelve years old this year, apparently just beginning to undertake missions together with Orochimaru.
The Sand Village being able to win three matches owed a great deal to the large amount of ninjutsu resources the village had accumulated in recent years, combined with the presence of many strong Jonin in the village who had elevated the quality of instruction at the academy.
This group of recently graduated Genin were among the first cohort to have genuinely benefited from the Sand Village's accumulated resources.
But with the village's current development and its institutional systems still only recently consolidated, training and cultivation quality had improved but certain gaps remained. The advancement in these Genin's strength was therefore relatively limited.
At the Genin level, combat naturally shifted toward ninjutsu as the primary factor, with each competitor's distinct fighting style and approach becoming more visible.
The children's division and the Genin division were not the competitions that the two villages' senior figures were paying close attention to.
What came next was the true main event of this exchange gathering.
The Chunin and Jonin divisions.
Because it was the young people in these two groups who represented the generation with the potential to actually influence the balance of power between the two villages and shape the ninja world's future situation.
The Sand Village's Chunin division fielded four competitors.
Two of them were Yuji's students. Yashamaru and Sakamoto.
A third was a Sand Village puppet corps soldier who had shown exceptional talent, someone Sasori had personally praised with a single encouraging comment at some point. In the puppet corps, receiving even one word of praise from Sasori was a considerable honor, and it had demonstrated this fighter's genuine talent with puppet techniques.
The fourth was a young Fuma clan ninja named Fuma Josam, who carried the Fuma clan's spider secret technique lineage and had been hardened through the Land of Rain battlefield with solid results.
Konoha's four representatives were Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai, Might Guy, and Uchiha Shisui.
"No problem. At minimum we should at least be able to fight to a draw," Shimizu said, studying Konoha's four carefully with a serious expression.
His confidence rested on the fact that Yashamaru and Sakamoto were the Kazekage's personal students who had participated in the Third Great Ninja War and had already been in combat against the Hidden Mist Village before the war even began. Their practical combat experience and capability were solid. The puppet corps newcomer had demonstrated exceptional talent within the corps. And the Fuma clan's secret technique fighter added another distinct dimension to the lineup.
Looking at the four opponents, one was an Uchiha, one was the Third Hokage's son, and the other two were relatively unremarkable on the surface. If the Sand Village could take those two, at minimum the results would not be embarrassing.
Yuji heard this and smiled quietly, saying nothing in reply.
In his honest internal assessment, he had already acknowledged that Yashamaru's group would lose. Because a single Guy and a single Shisui between them could end the competition decisively.
Shisui's reputation had not yet spread widely through the ninja world simply because the Third Great Ninja War had not developed the way the original story called for, combined with the chain reaction effects the Uchiha clan's situation had created.
Otherwise, by the late stages of the Third Great Ninja War, even at eight years old, Shisui would have already set foot on the battlefield and begun making a name for himself, further cementing his reputation through the post-war skirmishes that would have followed. In other words, never mind Chunin, even an ordinary Jonin, Shisui at age eight might well have been able to handle.
Of course, objectively speaking, without the battlefield serving as a crucible and without large amounts of real combat experience shaping his development, his current strength was certainly lower than his original story counterpart. But dealing with Yashamaru's group was more than sufficient.
As for Guy, this passionate young fighter's Eight Inner Gates cultivation level was uncertain at this point. But even at a moderate level, opening four or five Gates would be beyond anything Yashamaru's group could handle.
That said, a low probability of winning was still a low probability. And using the opportunity to get a look at where these story characters currently stood in their development was itself worthwhile.
Before coming to Konoha, Yuji had already held a rough internal prediction of how this exchange gathering would end. His deeper purpose in bringing the village's newer generation here had more to do with wanting Yashamaru's group and the others to understand something.
To develop a genuine and clear-eyed understanding of the ninja world. To understand that beyond every person there is someone stronger, and beyond every mountain there is a higher peak.
The sooner they recognized their own relative smallness, the better. Eating a loss was not necessarily a bad thing.