Hatake's Victory over Katsuhira

"No matter who my opponent is, I will defeat them with my Taijutsu! I will become the brightest star in this competition! My dad will be watching me too!" Might Guy was still dressed in his familiar attire. He was completely different from the other contestants, extremely excited, as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

Kurenai and Nao were still worried about Shiyu and were a little anxious.

Nara Kakuru seemed indifferent; losing one person meant one less competitor, and besides, he knew how strong Shiyu was.

Time passed quickly, and the examiners began drawing lots.

What's baffling is that the examiner randomly drew a number and got the information about Uchiha Shigure fighting Might Guy.

"Shiyu is so unlucky! At this rate, he'll lose before the battle even starts!" Nao was speechless.

Then a Jonin whispered something in the examiner's ear, and the examiner nodded and announced it.

"Due to special circumstances, the first match has been postponed to the end, and we will proceed with the draw for the second match!"

"Match Two! Katsuhira Yoshida vs. Kakashi Nao!"

Kakashi Nao is also a favorite to win, so the audience's enthusiasm has only increased!

"It's my turn. I must defeat him this time." Nao was full of confidence. He was very confident in himself, as he had endured a lot of hardship over the past three months.

"Yes, it's him." Katsuhira nodded, still with that indifferent expression, quite different from his earlier playful demeanor.

"Contestants, enter the examination room immediately!" the examiner urged. Soon after, Nao and Katsuhira entered the examination room, and the atmosphere instantly became interesting.

Nao drew his Grey Fang Blade.

"Begin!" The examiner raised his hand and waved it down, and immediately, Katsuhira and Nao began their fight.

"Clang!" Nao deflected several shuriken and Kunai, and charged towards Katsuhira, using the short length of his Gray Fang Blade to slash swiftly.

"Kakashi Sword Style?" Katsuhira's movements became extremely agile, and he dodged Nao's attack with a roll.

Then Katsuhira quickly formed hand seals, a speed that surprised Nao.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!" Katsuhira actually used the Uchiha Clan's signature technique, and Sanjo fire dragons immediately charged towards Nao.

"Wind Dragon Cut!" Nao's gray blade slashed rapidly, instantly forming a gray-white sword aura. The power of the sword aura was so great that it could rival the Great Dragon Fire.

The audience erupted in cheers. This visually stunning battle was incredibly exciting, and it was exactly what they loved to watch.

The Third Hokage in the stands exclaimed in surprise, "Gray Fang Zayu's son? He can actually unleash such powerful sword energy now! Truly amazing!"

"That guy named Katsuhira is not bad either; he actually possesses such a powerful Fire Release Ninjutsu." Mitokado Homura was equally surprised.

"I wonder who will ultimately win?" Utatane Koharu was also very much looking forward to it.

Nao's sword strike, unleashing a burst of energy, struck Great Dragon Fire, much to Katsuhira's surprise.

"Such powerful sword energy! It seems your forte is Nintaijutsu, right? Well then..."

"I will also use swordsmanship to fight you!" Katsuhira drew his kodachi from behind his back, and flames instantly engulfed the kodachi.

"Sword Leap Flames!" Katsuhira suddenly charged at Nao with his flaming katana, but with a "clang!" Nao drew his Grey Fang and blocked Katsuhira's attack.

"I never imagined you were such a master swordsman! I truly underestimated you!"

"Jingle bells!"

Nao and Katsuhira began various sword battles, exchanging blows back and forth. Every time the situation was most dangerous, both of them managed to escape unscathed.

"Imbued with flame and wind chakra? What a genius!" Nao was increasingly surprised as the battle progressed. The Katsuhira he knew loved to use Ninjutsu, but the current Katsuhira seemed to be subtly suppressing him even in swordsmanship.

"Something's not right. Could it be that he's not Katsuhira? Where did the real Katsuhira go?" Nao's clone was kicked by Katsuhira.

"You're distracted. You're no match for me," Katsuhira said calmly.

"You're not Katsuhira. Katsuhira won't be this cold forever. That guy's Tenten grinning. Besides, your Nintaijutsu isn't something he can use. He only knows Ninjutsu, "Nao boldly guessed.

The audience was so noisy that no one could hear what they were saying.

Katsuhira shook his head and said calmly, "Let's talk about everything after you can defeat me."

"Gray Sudden Strike!" Nao didn't hold back either, unleashing the thrusting attack he had used in his fight with Kakashi.

"Clang!" Katsuhira's shojita once again blocked Nao.

Both fighters were quite skilled with their swords, and after a while, they were both exhausted.

"I didn't expect you to be so strong that you can only use this one move." Katsuhira formed a hand seal, and then, Nao suddenly felt dizzy. In the next moment, Katsuhira in front of him turned into a giant skeleton.

"It's Genjutsu!" Although Nao reacted quickly, he was still delayed because he was unfamiliar with Genjutsu.

"Release!" As soon as Nao broke the Genjutsu, Katsuhira unexpectedly said, "Sorry, you lost."

Katsuhira struck Nao on the head with the hilt of his sword, and Nao immediately fainted.

The examiner stepped forward to examine Nao, then announced, "The winner! Katsuhira Yoshida!"

Cheers and shouts erupted from the stands once again. After all, the Hatake Clan was already very strong, but in the end, another person emerged victorious. This reversal made the match incredibly exciting for everyone.

The advisors in the stands were also stunned.

"This child actually managed to defeat a Hatake Clan? His future is limitless!"

"Yes, Hatake is indeed very strong, but unexpectedly he still lost to that person."

"Hiruzen? Why do you seem completely unsurprised?"

Hiruzen gave a meaningful smile and said, "Yes! Nao is strong, but he's bound to lose. We need to prepare a worthy opponent for my disciple, right?"

Hiruzen. So that's who he was.

"Your actions seem somewhat inconsistent with what you yourself uphold."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and said, "I am the Third Hokage, and I still stand by what I stand by. You're overthinking it. This wasn't something I arranged on purpose. This ninja Katsuhira Yoshida was already eliminated by the Uchiha and the others during the second team competition."

"At the time, I was worried that the Uchiha Clan would target Shiyu, so I sent an Anbu ninja in. At the same time, Katsuhira told this Anbu Ninja that he hoped he could take his place and have a real fight with Shiyu, and I also happened to need an Anbu to protect Shiyu."

"Therefore, this Anbu had been disguising himself all along, just to have a serious battle with Shiyu." Hiruzen explained the whole story, and only then did the advisors understand.

Hiruzen asked with a smile, "Don't you want to know just how strong my last disciple, Shiyu, really is?"