An exhausted Samui was carried away.
Although the people of Kumogakure were not so petty as to bully the weak by sending someone stronger to retaliate against Araki, as a village that upheld the spirit of martial combat, they still had to send someone out to reclaim their honor.
And that task naturally fell to their final ace—Darui.
Before he stepped onto the field, Dodai bent down, placed both hands on Darui's shoulders, and said earnestly:
"Darui, the opponent is highly skilled with the sword and proficient in Wind Style. He is extremely fast. This is all the intelligence Samui gathered for you at the cost of her full effort. Storm Style is even faster than Wind Style and is not as easily countered as Lightning Release. So, carry Samui's resolve with you and win this round!"
The dark-skinned, white-haired boy's expression stiffened slightly. He reluctantly opened his sleepy half-lidded eyes, his tone utterly helpless.
"Teacher Dodai, you saw how terrifying the move that defeated Samui was. How could I possibly beat him?"
"Get fired up, Darui!"
Dodai spoke excitedly as he began shaking the boy by the shoulders.
"You are the number one genius of Kumogakure's new generation!"
That was right. Although Darui was the youngest among Kumogakure's three representatives and had only graduated this year, his outstanding swordsmanship talent, exceptional Lightning Release aptitude, and Storm Style Kekkei Genkai put his combat strength in an entirely different league from Toroi and Samui.
In Dodai's view, if Toroi and Samui continued to grow steadily, they could become excellent jonin within five to ten years. Darui, however, possessed the talent to contend for the title of Kage.
It was just that the brat's lazy personality had always infuriated him.
Though he never slacked off during training, Dodai felt that his aversion