Nagato was the first to rise and head toward the battlefield, with Obito following close behind.
The arrival of the contestants made the atmosphere in the venue even more heated.
Many spectators compared the two men's strengths and discussed who would win and claim the championship.
"A battle without suspense." Kitsuchi believed Nagato would definitely win, and quite easily at that.
Kitsuchi had watched every elimination match in the Youth Martial Arts Tournament from start to finish.
In his mind, the tournament's competitors ranked Nagato first, Might Guy second, and Sand Crab third.
Among the rest, Kakashi might rank fourth, but beyond that, it was hard to say.
For example, if Obito, who had reached the finals, encountered Kisame Hoshigaki, who countered him, he would most likely be eliminated by Kisame Hoshigaki.
Obito had also won against Shisui rather narrowly in the semifinals. It was clear that their strengths were nearly equal.
"Obito fighting Nagato... Sometimes, having too much luck isn't entirely a good thing." Asuma silently mourned for Obito for a second.
During the draw, Obito had gotten an excellent bracket, receiving a direct pass into the quarterfinals. His quarterfinal and semifinal opponents had also been evenly matched with him. A bit of luck combined with a bit of strength had allowed Obito to reach the finals.
But in the upcoming final, no amount of good fortune would help Obito, because Nagato possessed overwhelming absolute strength.
Asuma felt that Obito would become the second-place backdrop—the kind who got crushed by first place, then got discussed by others as being inferior to even the semifinalists.
Compared to that kind of second place, Asuma would rather have made the quarterfinals.
"No matter what, he's still second place. He can commission a Ninjutsu from Ninja Master Sōsuke." Namiashi Raidō said enviously.
He