The first to arrive at the Forest of Death were undoubtedly Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Tsunade.
By the time they got there, however, the match between Yakumo and Shinji had already begun.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The constant rumbling echoing through the Forest of Death, along with the flashes of fire that appeared and disappeared, made the three of them frown in unison.
This was a little beyond what they had expected!
"Isn't this getting a bit out of hand?"
Kakashi looked worried.
Yakumo and Shinji were both exceptionally talented youngsters from the village. If either of them got hurt in a match, it would be a considerable loss for Konoha.
Jiraiya nodded slightly, then said, "But with Tsunade here, nothing too serious should happen."
Tsunade, standing beside him, said nothing.
Her brow furrowed as she stared solemnly into the distance.
By her assessment, Shinji Uchiha should have been slightly weaker than Sasuke Uchiha, who had already awakened his Sharingan.
But the commotion before them clearly didn't match that assessment.
After all, Yakumo had needed only a single punch to defeat Sasuke. Even if Sasuke's carelessness had played a part, that was enough to show the gap in strength between them.
Under normal circumstances, then, even if Shinji performed somewhat better than Sasuke, the difference shouldn't be that great.
Before long, the Ninja Academy students arrived as well.
Before they could even enter the Forest of Death, many of them were stunned by the unending explosions inside and the flames shooting into the sky.
"Are they having a war in there?"
"Did Yakumo and Shinji do all that?"
"That's ridiculous!"
Amid the chorus of exclamations, everyone began climbing over the iron fence.
Kiba, lost in the crowd, asked Hinata beside him, "Could you see? Are Yakumo and Shinji fighting in there?"
Hinata,