Sparring Match

The people around them consciously cleared a space for the two. In the Hidden Cloud Village, fights like this were commonplace, almost a traditional art. Not only did the onlookers not flee, but a large crowd of curious spectators gathered.

When they heard that disciples of two Jinchuriki were about to fight, their spectator souls ignited. What a spectacle! The Two-Tails Jinchuriki was inferior to the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki in every aspect, and in terms of relationships, she only had a few friends. The rest disliked her. Seeing such a good show, everyone felt like they had struck gold.

What's more, Moriyue, this disciple, was a Forbidden Jutsu practitioner who entered Darui's squad as a normal person. He had only been training with the Two-Tails Jinchuriki for a month. On the other hand, there was Karui from Samui's squad. She was already an excellent ninja, and her master was the perfect Jinchuriki, the current Raikage's brother, Killer Bee. They, the eternal genin, had no confidence in defeating Karui. Only the chuunin could contend with her.

Because of this, when Karui announced her challenge to Moriyue, no one dared to object. Object to what? To her not being strong enough? Don't be ridiculous. Even if she had taken the opportunity to challenge Moriyue, even if she won, she wouldn't go to Darui's squad... would she?

"Place your bets! Place your bets! Moriyue vs. Karui, odds are 1:1! Hurry if you want to bet!"

"I'm betting on Karui!"

"Me too! Damn it, while there aren't many people, I'm betting all on Karui!"

"There's a betting pool? Where? I'm going to check it out!"

The surroundings became much livelier. Many gamblers, upon hearing that a betting pool was set up here, swarmed over like sharks smelling blood, rushing to "pick up money."

In an instant, the odds for Moriyue and Karui reached "1:1.2" with a 3:1 ratio. Very few people favored Moriyue. Only a fool would bet on him. Bet on him? Did anyone have that much money?

When Moriyue saw this good thing, he thought, isn't this just picking up money? He had some confidence in his own strength. After the painful night yesterday, he had a flash of inspiration and thought of a new way to use Rai'gyaku. He shouldn't lose.

"Hey, hey, bet on me." Moriyue mouthed to Yugito Nii, who was standing nearby. She understood his gesture and had to take out her money to bet on Moriyue, considering it a form of comfort.

She had a good grasp of her own abilities. Moriyue was already stronger than most genin. If given time to train, she believed Moriyue would go further than her, and even becoming Raikage was not impossible. But it was still too early, and she didn't think Moriyue could defeat Karui.

Seeing that Yugito Nii had placed her bet, Moriyue nodded. There was no trust without reason. He knew he had to show his strength now. A disciple of the Eight-Tails? Is he that strong?

"We've wasted enough time, can we start?" Moriyue whistled and drew the unsharpened practice samurai sword from his waist, or rather, a steel rod would be more appropriate.

"A practice steel sword? You're quite interesting. But let me say this first, no using that life-burning Forbidden Jutsu of yours. If it gets out, Teacher Killer Bee will get punched again."

"Of course, no problem. Let's begin." The audience thought he would consider it, but to their surprise, Moriyue agreed readily. He was already doing small hops in place to warm up. Could it be that he really thought he could defeat Karui?

"I'm adding to my bet! I want to add!"

"Me too, me too! Add another bet on Karui for me!"

The odds between them had reached an astonishing 7:1.1. The bookies who set up the pool didn't expect it to be so popular, but they weren't worried. Instead, they were quite relaxed. This was a sure win. They had thoroughly investigated Moriyue during this period. Apart from practicing Forbidden Jutsu, he had nothing special. They only set him up because of Yugito Nii; otherwise, he wouldn't even have qualified to be set up.

Compared to the clamor outside the arena, the two inside were unusually quiet. They stared at each other from a distance. Karui seemed annoyed by the stare and was the first to draw the long sword from her waist and attack.

"Cloud Style: Front Slash!" Karui's speed was extreme. As she took her first step, she raised her long sword diagonally. The next moment, her figure seemed to have a speed boost applied. After a blur, she was already in front of Moriyue.

This strike, from top to bottom, was aimed diagonally at Moriyue. Karui's feet were slightly off the ground, and she used gravity to press down on the strike. Her jump height was just right, allowing the sword to gain a gravitational boost while avoiding the problem of jumping too high to defend. It was evident that she had put a lot of thought into this move.

"Such a fast sword!" The surrounding crowd exclaimed. Seeing a small detail revealed the whole picture. The handling of this strike was extremely skillful. In actual combat, it would definitely leave a deep impression on anyone seeing it for the first time. Beginners would likely be flustered and have no chance to defend.

"Very fast, but there's an opening!" Moriyue was not intimidated by this sudden attack. What a joke, he had seen big scenes before. How many people practiced with Jinchuriki in their tailed beast form? His mind was as calm as still water, and he calmly analyzed Karui's attack.

From the moment she took her first step, Moriyue had assumed a defensive stance. He crouched down forcefully, shifting his center of gravity downwards, and held the steel sword horizontally in front of his chest, constantly vigilant against any incoming attacks.

As expected, Karui appeared in front of him on her next step. The opponent was prepared, but wasn't he also prepared? As Karui's sword descended from mid-air for a downward slash, Moriyue's hands, holding the sword horizontally in front of his chest, exerted force. One hand gripped the hilt, and the other pressed down on the blade's spine, aligning the sword with the descending long sword. With simultaneous force from both hands and feet, he lunged forward, directly pushing Karui away.

The long sword collided with the steel rod. Although the steel rod wasn't as sharp as the long sword, it was sufficiently thick and heavy. The blade's edge missed the steel rod, guided to the sides by Moriyue. He then followed up with an elbow strike, sending Karui flying far away.

Karui steadied herself in mid-air, performed a backflip, and landed on one knee, inserting her sword into the ground. She let out a soft, muffled breath. This guy in front of her didn't seem as weak as she had imagined.

"You've got some skill. Come again!" Her fighting spirit was ignited. She had intended to teach this ignorant kid a lesson, but now it seemed this kid wasn't as simple as he appeared.

After just the initial exchange, the surrounding spectators noticed Moriyue's skillful handling. This kid had learned something in the past month. He really had some substance.

"Tch, what's so great about knowing a few tricks? Ninjas aren't samurai. They can easily counter this kid with long-range ninjutsu."

"Exactly. The fight has just begun, it was just a probe. He probably used all his focus to deal with this move. Don't think he can turn the tables."

"Let's keep watching. This kid doesn't seem as useless as the rumors say. I'm a bit interested in him now."