A Dazzling Array of Tactics

"Looks like I underestimated you!" Tetsuishi rolled on the ground, somewhat clumsily avoiding the shadow attack. "I originally wanted to hide the battle information to deal with that Takeda Shuichi, but now I have to resort to some methods."

Instead of letting Nara Rokujin continue manipulating the shadows to attack, Tetsuishi quickly Hand Seals on the spot, unleashing "Ninja Art: Sandstorm Technique!"

Suddenly, a large amount of fine sand swirled around him, then swept over Nara Rokujin like a tidal wave, completely obscuring the vision of both sides. The audience could also see the arena filled with sand and dust, instantly turning it into a yellowish-brown color.

"Is this a reverse application of Earth Release? A variant of Earth Release technique developed by Sunagakure themselves?" Shuichi analyzed the information about the Tetsuishi carefully from the stands. A lot of sand hit Nara Rokujin, but it didn't cause any damage; he just couldn't open his eyes to see what was in front of him.

Earth Release's Nature Transformation emphasizes heaviness, making it an attribute with excellent defensive capabilities. However, some Earth Release Ninjutsu have evolved in the opposite direction, such as the Light-Weight Rock Technique of Iwagakure.

The sand control technique that Tetsuishi used was completely different from Gaara. The sand had no power at all. It seemed to be a variant of Earth Release Ninjutsu that the Sunagakure had modified by imitating the environment of the Land of Wind, which could change the battle scene to something they were more accustomed to.

"I can't even see the other person now, so I have to be careful." Nara Rokujin squinted, his body poised to dodge any attack.

"Bang, whoosh, whoosh..." Here it comes!

Suddenly, the sound of Hidden Weapons came from the swirling sandstorm. He saw several black dots appear among the yellow sand and immediately made a dodge maneuver.

"Clang clang clang..." The Tetsuishi's attack struck the tree behind him. Nara Rokujin seized the opportunity to quickly scan the area and was stunned when he saw the type of Hidden Weapons.

"This is... a bow and arrow?" The arrow stuck in the tree was a rather unusual shape, less than half the length of one used by an ordinary soldier, which allowed it to be stored in the ninja's pouch.

From the high platform, Shuichi could clearly see Tetsuishi clinging to the edge of the sand and dust, holding Hand Crossbow about the length of an adult's forearm. He then took out an arrow, nocked it, and pulled the trigger to fire.

"Ninjas Hand Crossbow? Why is that?" After observing the speed and power of the arrows, I found that they were at most slightly stronger than ordinary Shuriken, but the trajectory of the arrows was almost a straight line, making them easier to predict than Shuriken, and therefore not as threatening to ninjas.

Nara Rokujin didn't know why his opponent kept wasting ninja tools attacking him. He felt that the situation hadn't gotten any worse, so he wasn't in a hurry to launch a new attack. Why wouldn't his opponent want to deplete his reserves?

As he prepared to dodge another round of Hand Crossbow attacks, he suddenly felt a dizziness and his attention wandered.

"Oh no, what's going on!" Sensing something was wrong, Nara Rokujin immediately bit his tongue and dodged the arrow at the last second, but he was still a step too slow and his shoulder was grazed.

Tetsuishi stopped his attack, and the dust in the arena slowly dissipated. The audience looked closely and saw that Nara Rokujin was trembling, while Tetsuishi stood calmly in place.

The arrow is poisoned!

Nara Rokujin felt his body growing weaker and weaker. He wanted to immediately Hand Seals to release the Shadow Imitation Technique, but his movements were much slower than usual, and he was interrupted by his opponent's shot before he could even begin.

When he finally tried to rush in for close combat, his opponent cunningly circled around him, seemingly knowing that the closer the distance, the stronger the shadow's speed and effect, or perhaps simply playing it safe and not wanting to add any risk to his victory.

A few minutes later, Nara Rokujin was paralyzed and almost unable to move, while Tetsuishi once again picked up his Hand Crossbow and aimed it at him, "If you don't admit defeat, then goodbye!"

"Damn it, I give up!"

"The winner Tetsuishi." Namikaze Minato called out in time, and Tetsuishi put down his weapon and went to retrieve his arrows.

"Hey, how do you think Nara Rokujin got caught?" Mokui asked Shuichi from the stands.

"I have some guesses." Shuichi felt that there were really a lot of strange and wonderful things in the Shinobi World. We shouldn't underestimate the role of ninja tools just because chakra is so versatile. Who knows, maybe the future will be the era of chakra technology, and ninja tools will become the mainstream.

"I should recall the ingenious ideas and creativity from my past life; who knows, I might come in handy someday." He felt that he had fallen into a small misconception before. Although the chakra system in the Shinobi World was quite comprehensive, and it seemed that the combination of technology and chakra did not have a very obvious effect, there were still people in the Shinobi World who studied these things. With his knowledge from his past life, he could put more effort into this area.

"Then be careful." Mokui reminded Shuichi, "The next round of Sunagakure will probably be a series of matches against you, and this Tetsuishi probably still has some tricks up his sleeve."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. As for you guys, I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of 'performance' you'll put on."

The next round will be an internal battle between two Konoha Anbu. In this situation, no one would admit defeat without a fight, so the Third Hokage must have made arrangements for this in advance.

As Mokui and Yao walked into the arena, the audience grew quite dissatisfied with the previous match.

"What's going on? They started with so much dust we couldn't see anything, then just fired a few shots with that broken bow and that was it? Even my doorman could do that."

"Exactly, I suspected before that these two were just there to make up the numbers, and now I see I was right."

"..."

While the audience was buzzing with discussion, two Konoha contestants below made a move that was extraordinary in its impact, immediately drawing their attention.

With a swing of his longsword, Yao unleashed a slash that stretched for tens of meters in the air. Mokui, on the other side, wore a solemn expression and rapidly formed hand Hand Seals, causing a massive earthen wall to rise up.

"Boom!" After the two attacks collided, a huge sound exploded in the arena, and debris flew everywhere, all showing the scene of masters fighting.

"These two are both acting masters!" Shuichi observed very carefully. That Wind Release that looked like a flying slash had no real power; the chakra was loose and weak, it was just visually impressive.

Mokui's Earth Release was more like Mud Release, though it looked spectacular. Shuichi had excellent eyesight; he noticed that after using Ninjutsu, Mokui quickly attached an Explosive Tag to the earthen wall, but ordinary viewers wouldn't have noticed it.

Approaching the mysterious Aburame Shihei, Shuichi asked, "I'm curious how long these two have been rehearsing for the past month. Can you tell me?"

Aburame Shihei said expressionlessly, "You're overthinking it. They practice for up to eight hours a day for this match. It's a fantastic game that even I can't predict the outcome."

"Hehe..."

Off the field, Mokui and Yao's Ninjutsu clashed to a draw, so they spontaneously began Taijutsu duel.

Yao swung her knife with one hand, which Mokui dodged, but her knife skills were continuous. She slashed while rotating her body, flipping the knife up, down, left, and right. The audience could only see silver light flashing in the air, making the battle extremely exciting.

Her opponent, Mokui, was equally formidable, displaying a dazzling gymnastics-like performance. She leaned back 180 degrees to dodge the slash, showcasing her powerful waist strength, like an iron bridge. At the same time, she supported herself with one hand and performed a Thomas full twist, her legs lashing out at Yao like whips.

The spectators in the stands were almost stunned. They hadn't expected these two unknown individuals to be so strong. They watched the evenly matched battle intently, afraid of missing any details.

After more than ten minutes of intense fighting, both sides were panting heavily and looked like they wouldn't last much longer, but they did not give up thanks to their tenacious perseverance.

Suddenly, a sound came from beneath Yao's feet. A pair of hands appeared from the ground, grabbed her feet, and pulled her down forcefully. "Boom!"

The ground had already split open, and Yao was stuck in the crack, asking resentfully, "When did you create a clone and hide it underground?"

Mokui looked relieved. "Just now, during the brief exchange next to the tree, when I was out of sight... Luckily, I was fortunate, otherwise I would have lost if I hadn't hit him."

Namikaze Minato, seeing the situation, understood perfectly, "The winner Mokui!"

"That acting is amazing." Shuichi watched the whole thing and was speechless. The performance was so good that ordinary people couldn't tell the difference at all, and even the dialogue scenes were perfectly executed.

The Konoha Ninja mingling in the stands knew his mission had come again. "I happen to know some inside information about these two; they're legendary Genin of Konoha."

"Oh? Why is that?" The audience was immediately intrigued.

"They all Chunin or higher, but during a mission, they accidentally frightened their employer, and feeling deeply guilty about it, they resolved to Genin a 100% approval rating for a few years before taking on the burden of Chunin."

The other person immediately chimed in, "Indeed, Konoha has many ninjas like that. Last time I only hired a Genin, but they were easily defeated by Chunin- level bandit attack. It turns out they were hidden masters too."

"Hiss, so hiring Konoha Ninja is really cost-effective. Looks like I can do that in the future..." Many nobles and merchants from small countries thought to themselves.

Seeing this, the Third Kazekage on the high platform began to regret his actions. He never expected Konoha's scheme to be so sophisticated. This Hokage had made the most of Konoha's home advantage.

Sunagakure originally wanted to salvage its image, but ended up essentially doing all the work for Konoha. However, if the event were held in Sunagakure, the harsh environment would simply deter anyone from attending.

Sarutobi Hiruzen to the side, was quite pleased. He felt that this model was very promising, and even if Sunagakure stopped proposing it, Konoha should continue to implement it. This was much easier than winning a battle in the Shinobi World War, and the results were far better.

Back at the venue, Saki's expression was solemn. Although Sunagakure had defeated Konoha's Genin, including the Uchiha Clan, such methods couldn't be openly discussed. The real Genin showdown in the Third Exam would probably be between him and the Hyuga Clan, and neither of them would give up.

Hyuga Akiha wore a tight-fitting robe today, a change from her attire during the preliminaries, but she didn't look any different from others.

"Swoosh!" Saki drew her sword ahead of time, gripped the hilt with both hands, and was ready to fight even before the match began.

Hyuga Akiha didn't relax either, "Byakugan!"

"He wasn't carrying anything else, which suggests he has great confidence in his knife, or perhaps he knows I can see through it and that carrying anything would be useless. Thus, the outcome will be decided in an instant."

Once both sides were in position, Namikaze Minato announced, "Let the match begin!"

Hyuga Akiha stood with one foot forward and the other back, palms apart, in the standard starting stance of Gentle Fist, not in a hurry to launch an attack.

Saki took small, tentative steps, constantly probing Hyuga Akiha. He had the advantage of a long sword, but he would be in danger if the distance was too close, so he had to make good use of the length of his weapon.

After a period of stalemate, the two suddenly closed in quickly. Saki's forward slash was dodged by Hyuga Akiha, who then thrust her finger at her from the side. Saki reacted quickly, lightly tapping the attack with the hilt of her sword, and then used her footwork to create distance again.

The fight between the two sides was a contest of Taijutsu. Generally speaking, Hyuga Akiha, who was unarmed, was undoubtedly at a disadvantage, but she did not show any weakness in the repeated pulling and sparring.

"The opponent's response seems flawless, and my footwork doesn't seem to pose much of a threat anymore." Saki sensed something was wrong. The opponent's Byakugan could easily predict his slashes, and he seemed very familiar with the patterns of swordsmanship.

"Looks like this is a sure thing." Shuichi, seeing their earlier probing, felt that Hyuga Akiha already had an 80% chance of winning. "Those who use swords can easily improve their strength in the early stages, but they are not good at combining with various Ninjutsu. All their combat power is concentrated in that one sword, making them very vulnerable to being targeted."

For the past month, Shuichi used his decent swordsmanship and even more unpredictable movement techniques to practice with Hyuga Akiha many times, simulating Saki's fighting style, and teaching her the key points and routines of sword power.

Sunagakure had no idea that Shuichi could also use swordsmanship. Although he was not as experienced as Saki, his agility was superior. Therefore, Hyuga Akiha was always calm and composed in her responses, because she had figured out the routines for dealing with swordsmanship during practice.

After another period of entanglement, when Saki's swordsmanship could no longer exert enough pressure, it was actually him who was wielding the sword who was expending more physical strength.

"This won't do," Saki thought anxiously. "I have to speed up my attack and force her to reveal an opening."

After carefully observing the area, he chose a suitable moment to launch his attack.

"Swish, swish, swish..." This time, his attack frequency suddenly increased, completely disregarding the consumption of physical strength, and he continuously Hyuga Akiha, forcing the opponent to retreat.

"Crack." A soft sound came from under Hyuga Akiha's feet. It turned out that she had accidentally stepped back onto the Earth Release crack that Mokui had created earlier, and her right heel suddenly slipped, causing her to lose her balance.

"The opportunity has come!" Saki rushed forward, wanting to seize this opportunity to make a name for herself, and slashed her long sword powerfully from above at Hyuga Akiha's shoulder.

Just as Hyuga Akiha was about to be severely injured, her right foot, which had missed its footing, suddenly burst forth with chakra, instantly pulling her body back. At the same time, she raised one hand upwards towards the blade.

"What? She doesn't want her hand anymore?" Saki's sword was completely out of control, and in that instant, Hyuga Akiha's forearm perfectly intercepted his slash at a 45-degree angle.

"Clang!" The sound of metal clashing came from where the arm met the knife. Saki's knife only managed to cleave her sleeve before being pulled to the side by the Eight Trigrams Palms, leaving her defenses wide open.

In a fleeting glance, he saw the other man's forearm gleaming silver in the sunlight; clearly, he had struck the metal gauntlet with his blade. "Damn it!"

Hyuga Akiha wore a tight-fitting white robe today instead of a loose one, precisely to conceal the protective gear that could block slashes. He also gave up all his ninja tool pouches to reduce weight, and slowed down his initial offensive pace, all in order to wait for such an opportunity during a long and arduous battle.

"Gentle Fist Style: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"

"Tap tap tap... Ah!"

A small amount of chakra could be seen overflowing in the air, clearly indicating that Hyuga Akiha counterattack. Saki's upper body was as if it had been hit by a series of bullets, and her long sword fell to the ground with a "clang," with blood gushing from her mouth.