42 Consecutive Victories!

The murmurs from the sidelines grew steadily louder.

"A winner-stays-on format? He wants to take them all on by himself?"

"He's getting arrogant just because he beat Hyuga Osamu. It's not like Hyuga Osamu is the strongest one here."

"Still, you have to admit, that last match was a beautiful win..."

The girls, however, were focused on something entirely different.

Looking at Qingyu's handsome features, they felt he only grew more dashing the longer they stared.

"Qingyu-kun is really so handsome."

A girl whispered this, and her companion beside her immediately nodded in agreement, her face flushing red.

Among the boys, the reactions were far more complex.

"He's way too cocky."

Yamanaka Tsukano crossed his arms, his brow furrowed.

"Arrogance requires capital."

Akimichi Domaru, for once, stopped stuffing potato chips into his mouth and mumbled vaguely.

"Wasn't Hyuga Osamu just an example of that?"

"I admit, Qingyu is indeed strong."

Nara Inshui leaned against a tree trunk by the sidelines, hands behind his head, and let out a lazy yawn.

"But a ninja isn't a machine; chakra and stamina will always run out. He's being so reckless now—he'll learn his lesson once he suffers for it."

"Father, isn't Qingyu being too arrogant?"

In Kakashi's eyes, Qingyu's strength was indeed formidable—so much so that he had to admit the other boy had already surpassed him.

Yet, even he wouldn't dare to face the next opponent without resting after a match.

The Qingyu he knew wasn't the type to lose his head; everything he had done since enrollment was methodical, and he had never taken a risk he wasn't sure of.

So what was going on today?

Hatake Sakumo looked down at Kakashi.

"Do you think he will lose?"

Hatake Sakumo countered with a question.

Kakashi was silent for a few seconds, then slowly shook his head.

"I suppose... not?"

Inexplicably, Kakashi felt that Qingyuan could win.

"Then keep watching."

Hatake Sakumo turned his gaze back to the arena.

Umino Shika and Koji Moku exchanged a look, briefly conferring with one another.

Finally, Koji Moku nodded, and Umino Shika turned back, clearing his throat.

"Very well, as per Qingyu-kun's request, we shall switch to a winner-stays-on format. Those who wish to challenge him may step forward."

"You first, or me?"

Uchiha Domon looked toward Inuzuka Saori.

Inuzuka Saori crouched down and patted the head of the grey-and-white Ninja Dog beside her.

"I'll go first."

Inuzuka Saori stood up, took two military rations pills from her ninja tool pouch, shoved them into the Ninja Dog's mouth, and chewed one herself.

She loosened her wrists and ankles, her joints emitting faint, crisp pops.

She was different from Hyuga Osamu.

Hyuga Osamu had lost because he was too arrogant, trying to end the fight quickly with Eight Trigrams Palms, only to be kited to death by Qingyu's long-range ninjutsu.

She would not make the same mistake.

The Inuzuka Clan excelled in sense of smell and speed; as long as she didn't let him create distance, she wouldn't be forced into a passive position.

Inuzuka Saori walked to the white line and stood firm, performed the Seal of Confrontation with Qingyu, and then formed a single seal with one hand.

"Beast Human Clone."

The figure of the Ninja Dog beside her suddenly blurred, becoming identical to Inuzuka Saori.

This technique allowed a Ninja Dog to mimic the appearance of the user, used to confuse the opponent.

Qingyu watched the two identical Inuzuka Saoris with keen interest.

Does this count as human-beast play?

The next moment, Inuzuka Saori and her Beast Human Clone dropped to all fours simultaneously, pouncing toward Qingyu like true wild beasts.

Four-Legs Technique!

At the very moment the two were about to pounce, Qingyu formed hand seals.

Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu.

His figure submerged into the ground.

Bang!

Inuzuka Saori lunged into empty air, braking to a halt alongside her Beast Human Clone, then turned her head to scan the surroundings.

The Inuzuka Clan possessed senses far beyond those of ordinary people, especially their sense of smell.

Inuzuka Saori lowered her head, her nostrils twitching slightly.

Soil, the smell of scorched earth, sweat... and that faint, lingering scent of medicinal herbs on Qingyu.

The scent was coming from beneath the ground, the position was...

"On the left!"

Inuzuka Saori spun around violently, and the clone transformed from the Ninja Dog turned its head in unison.

But it was already too late.

A hand reached out from the soil beneath her feet, grabbing her ankle.

Immediately following, a tremendous force surged from that hand.

Qingyu exerted strength from beneath the earth, tossing Inuzuka Saori and her clone away together.

The clone transformed from the Ninja Dog burst into a puff of white smoke in mid-air, while Inuzuka Saori's own body tumbled uncontrollably several times. Before she could adjust her landing posture, a cold glint stopped right in front of her throat.

Inuzuka Saori lay flat on the ground, her chest heaving violently.

She stared at the cold, gleaming tip of the blade before her, then let out a heavy sigh.

"I yield."

[Trait available for collection detected: Superhuman Smell]

[E-rank Trait: Superhuman Smell]

[Effect: Able to detect more subtle scents; sense of smell increased by 20%.]

Qingyu sheathed his blade and reached out to pull Inuzuka Saori up from the ground.

Superhuman Smell.

This trait was actually quite good.

In battle, one could track enemies through scent, which was more covert than relying purely on vision.

Furthermore, olfactory perception could not be deceived by ordinary tricks; smoke bombs and the Substitution Technique would be greatly diminished in effectiveness against it.

"Next."

Qingyu said indifferently.

"Interesting."

Uchiha Domon stepped out; he was a head taller than Qingyu, with shoulders a size broader as well.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

After arriving in the center of the field, he immediately unleashed a Fire Style ninjutsu.

A massive fireball surged forth from his mouth.

Unlike the half-baked fireball Obito produced, which was only half the size, this fireball was a full two meters wide.

Qingyu stepped on a specific spot on the ground.

The area beneath his foot suddenly caved in along a line, revealing a shallow pit.

This was the tunnel he had left behind when he used the Headhunter Jutsu to submerge earlier; at this moment, the soil layer beneath Uchiha Domon's feet was hollow.

Uchiha Domon was putting his full effort into maintaining the fireball when he suddenly stepped into empty air.

His center of gravity shifted instantly, and his entire body tilted uncontrollably to the side, nearly throwing out his back.

The fireball grazed past Qingyu's side.

"Damn it!"

Uchiha Domon had never expected that a vulnerability would be exposed right beneath his feet.

Qingyu seized this opening, pushed off the ground, and shot through the sparks and smoke kicked up by the fireball.

Water shimmered across the samurai sword as a water blade spun at high speed along the edge.

Water Release: Water Blade Slash.

Uchiha Domon had no time to readjust his stance and hurriedly drew his Kunai.

Clang!

Uchiha Domon's hand went numb from the impact, and the Kunai flew from his grasp.

Uchiha Domon stood where he was, empty-handed, looking down at the blade tip pressed against his throat.

He felt an inexplicable sense of frustration, like someone who had once dreamed of roaming the world with a sword, only to have their teeth knocked out around the very first corner.

He hadn't even been able to display his full strength before a single careless mistake disrupted his rhythm, causing him to lose the entire game!

"You win."

Nevertheless, Uchiha Domon spoke these words.

The proud Uchiha did not allow for excuses!

At worst, he would simply have to fight a proper match next time.

[Collectible trait detected: Sword Path Mastery]

[D-rank trait: Sword Path Mastery]

[Effect: Sword techniques are performed with greater fluidity, and sword moves are executed instinctively.]

Qingyu sheathed his blade.

Sword Path Mastery—the effect of this trait was exactly as its name suggested.

He had previously obtained [Swordsmanship Foundation] from Kakashi, as well as [Sword Fanatic] from Hatake Sakumo.

With these traits stacked together, the feeling of holding a blade was completely different from when the school year had begun.

He glanced at his trait panel.

One more trait, and he should be able to synthesize Sword Bone.

Because [Sword Fanatic] + [Counter-Attack Intuition] + [Sword Path Mastery] could be synthesized into [Sword Bone].

Now, Qingyu was only missing the final [Counter-Attack Intuition].