Victory

Bam!

Another dull thud, accompanied by faint cracking sounds of shell and bone.

Karura flew backward like a kite with its string cut, the violent impact exploding across her body as the residual chakra from the Rasengan whipped her up in a turbulent gust.

She crashed through and plowed up the sand and gravel in her path, finally slamming heavily into the ground dozens of meters away, rolling several more times before stopping, half her figure buried under the rising dust and debris.

For an instant, the entire arena fell dead silent.

Then, like cold water dropped into boiling oil, the stands erupted!

"What—what happened?!"

"What technique was that?! How could it be so powerful?!"

"The Sand Shield... was broken?! The Absolute Defense was broken?!"

"My god! That blade earlier was a Transformation Jutsu disguise?!"

"A chain of schemes! He used that big move to create chaos and exhaustion, then struck with the Transformation Jutsu and that blue orb!"

"Incredible! So he'd been hiding such a trump card all along!"

"That blue ball... feels so dangerous! Getting hit means certain doom!"

"His Transformation Jutsu mastery is this high? He could hide a killing move while transformed?"

"Is it over?!"

Gasps, doubts, fervent analyses, and incredulous shouts wove into a deafening roar.

"That was a Sealless Jutsu?"

Even Pakura, the referee in the arena, whose face was usually cool and composed, showed clear surprise for the first time.

She was closest and saw it most clearly—that Konoha brat hadn't formed a single hand seal.

"Pity, Karura still lacks combat experience. Otherwise, that kid's Transformation Jutsu, with such obvious chakra fluctuations, could never have fooled her."

On the high platform, the Third Kazekage's composed expression vanished. He shot to his feet, leaning forward, staring intently at the dust-shrouded arena below.

Beside him, the Third Hokage remained seated like a mountain, only saying calmly, "Lord Kazekage, it seems a young person's tenacity is indeed not to be underestimated."

In the arena.

"Cough... cough..."

A faint coughing sound came from the drifting smoke.

Sand and soil slid down with a rustle as a figure staggered slowly to its feet.

It was Karura.

The Sand Armor covering her body had shattered considerably from the impact, now flowing like quicksand off her shoulders, arms, and cheeks, yet under her will, it gathered again, adhering to her skin to form a new, thinner layer of protection.

Her hands hung unnaturally limp, clearly injured from the block, but her eyes remained clear, her face showing neither anger nor resentment—only a calm after the dust settled, and a trace... of relief.

She lifted her head, her gaze piercing through the dissipating dust toward Shinichi, who was also catching his breath on the opposite side, and spoke clearly and steadily:

"Referee, I concede."

She still had strength to fight; the sand still answered her call.

But she knew well that in that split-second, fatal moment, the opponent had every chance to drive that dangerous chakra orb toward her head.

Even with her Sand Armor protecting her, she would have suffered severe injury.

He had chosen to strike her blocking arm instead—that was clearly holding back.

Her nature was gentle, averse to conflict, and though she understood her concession might disappoint the Third Kazekage, who had placed high hopes on her... this was her choice.

The words of surrender spread clearly through the suddenly quiet arena.

After a brief silence, murmurs spread like a tide.

"Won... won? That Konoha kid actually won?"

"Karura conceded? The Absolute Defense was broken!"

"What was that last move? Too fast, didn't see it!"

The chatter grew louder, filled with disbelief and shock.

Then, as referee, Pakura cleared her throat, suppressing the surrounding noise, stepped forward, and announced clearly and formally: "The match is decided. According to the rules, the winner of this final round is—Higashino Shinichi of Konohagakure!"

After the announcement, she didn't immediately dismiss Shinichi but turned to him and asked directly, "Kid, what was that technique just now?"

Good question!

Shinichi praised inwardly, but his face showed nothing: "It's called the Rasengan."

"Rasengan?" Pakura's sharp brows furrowed slightly as she searched her memory, finding no trace: "I've never heard of it. Was it newly developed by some Konoha jonin skilled in shape transformation?"

Shinichi shook his head, his tone calm but firm: "It's normal that you haven't heard of it, senior, because this technique was only recently created, and its developer isn't a jonin from the village... it's me."

"What?!"

Pakura's usually calm eyes flew wide open in that moment, a clear shock spreading across her cool features, and even her voice rose involuntarily:

"You developed that technique?!"

"Exactly." Shinichi nodded firmly, offering no further explanation.

Their conversation wasn't deliberately hushed, echoing clearly over the arena that had just settled slightly after the victory announcement.

"No way, are you kidding?! That terrifying blue sphere, that Konoha kid invented it himself?"

"How old is he?! It's ridiculous enough that he's this strong, but he also created his own jutsu? Shouldn't it be some Konoha secret technique?"

"Developing a jutsu with that much power on his own? How is that possible! Even a genius..."

"I remember this Konoha shinobi is called Higashino Shinichi, right?"

"What kind of monster did Konoha produce?!"

The noise that had just died down erupted again with even greater ferocity! Gasps, doubts, and frantic chatter flooded the stands.

Countless gazes, like spotlights, locked onto the black-haired boy in the arena—not tall, even somewhat weary, yet shining brilliantly in that moment.

On the high platform, the Third Kazekage turned to the Third Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, is this true?"

And the Third Hokage, at the moment Shinichi so openly admitted it, felt a brief pause in his heart, instinctively furrowing his brow.

Regarding the developer of the Rasengan, Konoha's internal policy, out of protection for the young genius and to avoid the unnecessary trouble of "the nail that sticks out," had deliberately controlled the spread and intensity of this information within the village after Shinichi's demonstration at the opening ceremony.

He hadn't expected that Shinichi, a child who had always acted composed, thoughtful, and quite shrewd, would choose this occasion and this method to reveal it directly to the public.

But on second thought, this was the moment of victory, seizing the championship under the eyes of thousands. A young man in high spirits, eager for broader recognition and praise, was only human nature.

No matter how mature and sensible he seemed, he was still just a nine-year-old child after all.

Since things had come to this, he might as well go with the flow.

With that thought, the slight concern in the Third Hokage's mind dissipated. He waved his hand and said to the Third Kazekage in a tone that sounded like complaining about a mischievous child:

"Ah, Lord Kazekage, don't even mention it. Back when I learned that this kid had secretly tinkered with such a dangerous jutsu all on his own, hiding it from everyone, I was both shocked and angry, worried for days and couldn't sleep well. Sigh, he's really a little troublemaker who never lets you rest easy."

The Third Kazekage's expression stiffened uncontrollably at that, the corner of his mouth barely twitching into a response. He let out a dry "heh heh," then averted his gaze back to the noisy arena below, saying nothing more.