The Secret of the Sand
Seeing that his opponent had made a move, Shuichi didn't use the Body Flicker Technique to run around to the other side. He figured that would make his opponent even more anxious, but the audience might not be satisfied. Therefore, he decided to use Ninjutsu to target his opponent and see how he would react.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Shuichi opened his mouth and took a deep breath, completed the hand Hand Seals, and then exhaled towards the front.
"Whoosh!" A large, visible gust of air shot out from his mouth, hitting the sand and blowing it all backward. Tetsuishi was caught in the sand he had created while it was still moving.
The Wind Release technique was very effective this time; the sand and dust between the two were sent flying to the sidelines by this attack, instantly clearing the field.
"Damn it, he can even Wind Release." Tetsuishi never expected that Shuichi would display a second Nature Transformation, catching him completely off guard.
"This is troublesome." Tsuchisuna frowned in the stands. The genius from Konoha Tosha the other side was proficient in more than one Nature Transformation, and Wind Release was the most effective technique against the Tetsuishi Style. Now, the only option was to use his age advantage to wear down the opponent's chakra, and then figure out a solution.
"Zi-Mao-Xu, Wind Release: Vacuum Orb!"
Shuichi's hands didn't stop; the three seals were completed almost instantly, and multiple tiny air balls shot towards the Tetsuishi like powerful marbles, with transparent white light visible streaking through the air.
Tetsuishi dodged left and right, avoiding most of the Vacuum Orb, but a few grazed his shoulder and calf, drawing blood from the wounds. Although the injuries were not serious, he looked very disheveled.
He swiftly drew his Hand Crossbow from behind him and fired three arrows with lightning speed, then seized the opportunity to unleash another Ninjutsu, "Earth Release: Earth Clone."
"Ninja Art: Sandstorm Technique!"
The area affected by this sandstorm was not large, only about ten meters.
Since the opponent knows Wind Release, let's see if we can trick this child out of all his chakra. Tetsuishi thinks that if this small Ninjutsu can be exchanged for the opponent's Wind Release, it would be quite worthwhile.
With a swift movement, he dodged the Hand Crossbow attack, and the two were locked in a stalemate once again. Shuichi understood his opponent's intentions and did not rush to use Ninjutsu to attack.
Knowing that he would be under close scrutiny from various countries and villages, he decided to conceal his true strength.
While both sides can wear down their opponent by trading chakra, doing so would reveal more information, especially that one's own chakra reserves are very large.
He has basically figured out the opponent's hand, now it's time to find a good opportunity to take advantage of the information gap and launch a counterattack.
Several Shuriken were thrown, Shuichi's body quickly followed, "Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
"Whoosh, whoosh..." A small number of Shuriken, as if copied and pasted, instantly transformed into a wide-ranging ninja tool attack.
"I already had a countermeasure for this move, it's useless." The Sunagakure Village had spent a month studying Shuichi repeatedly. Although this move was powerful, it could be easily defended by someone proficient in Earth Release, because its single-target damage was insufficient.
A small earthen wall rose from the dust, and Tetsuishi and his Earth Clone hid behind it, watching the shurikens Shuriken unharmed.
At the same time, he continued to use chakra to control the sandstorm. The moment the earthen wall disappeared, he saw that Shuichi was not far away from him. The sandstorm expanded rapidly, this time with a clear direction, directly enveloping Shuichi.
The sand in the air suddenly became so dense that it was impossible to open one's eyes. Tetsuishi's hands were still forming hand seals. "Victory or defeat hinges on this!"
A gust of sand swept by, Shuichi could be seen standing motionless in the yellow sand, as if he were asleep.
A smug smile appeared on Tetsuishi's face. He clasped his hands together without letting go, and the Earth Clone next to him took the Hand Crossbow from his body, calmly cocked it, and then shot it directly at the motionless Shuichi.
"Thud!" The short arrow pierced Shuichi's body. "It's over. I won this battle. I am the hero of Sunagakure!"
"Sizzle!" A kunai pierced through the Tetsuishi from behind, causing his eyes to widen in Kunai. He shouted, "How is this possible? When did you..."
Behind him, Shuichi's Shadow Clone said with a smile, "Take a good look at what's in front of you!"
"Ah!" The Kunai twisted violently inside the Tetsuishi's body. The intense pain seemed to instantly clear his mind. The Shuichi who had been hit by the arrow disappeared before his eyes like Utakata. In fact, there was no one in this sandstorm.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a figure standing on the edge of the sandstorm, with Shuichi's hands clasped together, looking unusually calm.
"You... you knew I was using Genjutsu, yet you activated Genjutsu even earlier. When exactly?" Tetsuishi's expression was one of disbelief. It turned out that the scene that struck Shuichi was because he had fallen into the other's Genjutsu.
His ultimate weapon, the Genjutsu technique, was used against him by his opponent before it could even be unleashed, rendering it futile.
"It was right when you used Earth Release!" Shuichi generously answered his question.
At the same time, his hands didn't stop. He pulled on Tetsuishi's waist, and several of his ninja tool pouches fell to the ground. Most of them were filled with sand, and the rest were ordinary arrows.
"You're actually a Genjutsu ninja who transmits Mental Energy through sand, aren't you?" Shuichi explained loudly when he saw the entire audience looking at him intently, essentially becoming a commentator.
"Although this sand looks the same color as ordinary sand, its effects are completely different. It can help you cast Genjutsu on the enemy more easily, which is why you keep using that large-scale sand Ninjutsu. On the surface, it's to obscure the enemy's vision and create chaos."
"The real purpose is to release these special sands in the process. Once they come into contact with the enemy, if you then release Genjutsu, the speed of (Yin Release) chakra transfer can be two to three times faster, and the opponent will find it very difficult to detect."
He turned and kicked the Tetsuishi -clad Earth Clone, then picked up the specially made Hand Crossbow from the ground. "The reason you use this special ninja tool is for this reason. You need a particularly convenient and effective ninja tool to finish off enemies on your own while using Genjutsu. This Hand Crossbow only requires pulling the trigger. For example, your Earth Clone can easily do it for you. It's very fast."
"That's why I don't use Shuriken or Kunai." Shuichi snapped the arrow in two, and a bluish-black liquid flowed out from the middle.
"Pain will break the opponent's Genjutsu, so a strong Toxin is needed as an aid."
"This venom is contained within the arrowhead, allowing for a larger quantity to be injected, and even has the force to push forward towards the arrowhead. Even a mere glancing blow can inject a small amount of venom, and a direct hit would likely allow it to continuously enter the body, rendering the opponent defenseless very quickly."
He picked up an arrow and stabbed it into Tetsuishi's body. "Ah!" Tetsuishi, who was seriously injured, was too weak to even shout. He was also affected by the Toxin and died on the ground in no time.
"This little guy is such a show-off! Orochimaru, did you corrupt him?" Jiraiya was speechless in the stands.
Defeating his opponent is one thing, but exposing their entire background to the audience is another; it's practically a psychological blow. Tetsuishi was incredibly unlucky to have met him.
Orochimaru looked at his shameless teammate with a strange expression, thinking of his foolishness as a child... "Heh..."