Spiral Flash Super Round Dance Howl Style Three

The clouds drifted across the sky, yet Danzo was in a foul mood.

He had received word that Orochimaru had entered the village.

Had he not been Hokage, he might have found a use for this rogue ninja, but now, he wished for nothing more than to see him eradicated.

"Gather all ninja. Prepare to surround and kill Orochimaru!"

Danzo issued the order directly, but Anko stepped in to stop him.

"Lord Hokage, if you decide to launch a full-scale assault on Orochimaru now, he will stop at nothing to destroy Konoha. Furthermore, a portion of our forces has already been dispatched to the Land of Wind. The risk is simply too great—the man is one of the Sannin, after all."

Hearing this counsel, Danzo calmed down. He could not ignore the threat of Orochimaru, but he had to ensure the safety of the village first.

"Anko, go and summon Hiruzen as well. After all, Orochimaru was his student."

Danzo thought of the Third Hokage; with the village's combat strength currently stretched thin, and Orochimaru being the Third's disciple, it was only natural to let him handle the confrontation.

He also needed to head to the High Tower himself—partly to discern Orochimaru's true objective, and partly to lecture the new generation of Konoha.

According to his original intentions, only Konoha teams would remain by the third round, allowing him to showcase the formidable national power of Konoha before the feudal lords of various nations.

He had hoped to secure more funding and missions, but there had been far too many unexpected variables.

The scene shifted to the High Tower, where, after five days of competition, the final results were finally in.

The teams that advanced were: Kabuto Team, Gaara Team, the Sound Ninja trio, Kiba Team, Neji Team, and Shikamaru Team.

Everyone looked at the other advancing teams, each lost in their own thoughts.

Naruto didn't... make it...

That Feng Yao is the rogue ninja who defeated the Third Hokage. Damn it, how am I supposed to tell anyone this news? I'm under his constant surveillance.

Was that Sasuke taken care of? Never mind, if he was dealt with, it just means that kid wasn't much to begin with.

The aura of the person next to me feels so comfortable.

Watching the crowd on the field, Kakashi and the other jonin walked into the hall alongside Danzo.

"First, congratulations to everyone for passing the second exam. Now, I ask the Hokage to announce the rules for the third exam."

Danzo stepped forward slowly to the center, his gaze sweeping across the room before finally fixing on a man with vertical pupils wearing a Konoha forehead protector leaning against the wall. He knew this was Orochimaru.

After a brief moment, he withdrew his gaze.

Feng Yao saw Danzo's eyes, which showed no flicker of emotion, as if they were meeting for the first time.

He could not afford to show any flaws to his opponent now. With so many jonin present, if a fight broke out, he would likely be the one to die.

"The requirements for the third match are simple: it is a series of individual duels. However, I must make one thing clear: I want you to spare no effort in securing victory for Konoha. This is not just a competition for you as individuals; it is a microcosm of the wars between nations."

"If you win, you will bring great prestige to Konoha in the eyes of neighboring countries, serving as a diplomatic deterrent. You must be willing to sacrifice your lives to bring victory to Konoha."

Danzo spoke with a harsh tone, directed at the Konoha ninja before him.

A commotion rippled through the crowd, and then Gekko Hayate appeared to take charge of the scene.

Although he had not died at the hands of Hideyoshi, he had lost one eye, which slightly hindered his combat effectiveness.

"Please leave the rest to me, Lord Hokage."

Just as in his memories, the following matches were intended to reduce the number of participants.

But what raised suspicions was that the three Sand Ninja happened to be matched against Feng Yao's Sound Ninja trio. A moment's thought revealed it was likely Danzo's doing.

Kin and Zaku were defeated by Kankuro and Temari without any suspense. Next was the match between Gaara and Feng Yao.

Seeing it was Feng Yao, Gaara's eyes clearly faltered for a moment. He struggled between his mission and his friendship with Feng Yao.

"Gaara, what are you waiting for? I've been looking forward to crossing blades with you."

While Gaara was still hesitating, Feng Yao jumped down first, using his actions to tell Gaara there was no need to waver.

Seeing this, the corners of Gaara's mouth curled upward slightly.

He used his sand to carry himself down to the arena, and the match between the two officially began.

"Hehe~ Yao-kun's match, is it?"

Orochimaru watched with great interest from the sidelines; he was deeply obsessed with Feng Yao's body.

Gaara launched the first attack. Although he had never witnessed Feng Yao's offensive capabilities, he would not underestimate the man before him.

"Sand Shower!"

The sand from his gourd wrapped around him, firing a massive barrage of spherical sand bullets forward.

"Summoning Jutsu: Silver Moon Wolf!"

The white-furred wolf king appeared once more by Feng Yao's side. Feng Yao grabbed its fur to dodge Gaara's attack; the wolf occupied nearly a tenth of the small arena.

Seeing such a speed-type summon, Gaara changed his strategy. He performed hand seals again, his single hand pinching toward Feng Yao's position.

"Sand Prison!"

A vast expanse of sand surged up from the ground; the capture range of this technique was immense.

Seeing that he could not dodge, Feng Yao summoned a beast to deal with the situation.

"Summoning Jutsu: Cold-Heart Sea Lion!"

This was a sea-based summoning contract Feng Yao had pulled strings to acquire.

As soon as the sea lion emerged and saw the scene before it—about to be engulfed by sand—it immediately understood the situation and opened its mouth wide.

"Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu!"

The Cold-Heart Sea Lion was one of the few high-level summons in Feng Yao's arsenal, capable of using ninjutsu and communicating with him.

A massive sphere of water slammed into the sand; the sand became heavy upon contact with the water, and the Sand Prison collapsed on its own.

"Lord Feng Yao, how did I do?"

The sea lion asked Feng Yao smugly, but Gaara had no intention of giving them time to chat.

He intended to decide the outcome with his next move; if Feng Yao kept summoning beasts, he might be worn down to death.

"Spear of Shukaku!"

Sand condensed and fused before him, eventually forming a massive sand spear nearly two meters long—the strongest spear, said to be the counterpart to the Shield of Shukaku.

Damn, this kid Gaara is actually going for the kill. It looks like I have to get serious. Seeing Gaara unleash his ultimate move, Feng Yao had no choice but to stop playing around.

He pulled several Kunai from his pouch, followed by a few flash grenades.

As Gaara hurled the Spear of Shukaku, Feng Yao simultaneously threw his Kunai, which were marked with the Flying Thunder God formula.

"Spiral Flash Super Round Dance Howl Style Three!"

This was the signature technique that had once made the Fourth Hokage famous, though in Feng Yao's memory, the Fourth had never actually used it, except when saving Kakashi.

In truth, it was quite simple: use flash grenades to emit a blinding yellow light, tricking the opponent into thinking it was a vision-obstructing ninjutsu, then use the Flying Thunder God to move in and defeat the enemy logically.

The dazzling light did not affect Feng Yao; he moved rapidly across the battlefield using the Kunai. The automatic defensive sand could not keep up with his speed. Gaara was left blinded, unable to aim the Spear of Shukaku, and Feng Yao used his Kunai to slice a dozen holes into Gaara's clothes.

After the light faded, Gaara voluntarily conceded; Feng Yao had clearly held back just now.

"I never imagined Yao-kun had mastered the Flying Thunder God."

"That technique just now?"

"Was it a ninjutsu to obstruct vision?"

The crowd continued to discuss it, as not everyone was privy to the secrets of the Flying Thunder God or the Fourth's signature technique.

What followed was a chaotic battle among the Konoha teams.

Yakushi Kabuto forfeited from the start as before, and because there was an extra person, Neji received a bye.

In the end, the ones who advanced were Rock Lee, Shino, Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, Tenten, Kankuro, Temari, and Feng Yao himself.

The final matches would be held in three days—earlier than Feng Yao had anticipated. He suspected Danzo had some sort of plan in motion.

After the matches.

"Sakura, what on earth is going on! Where are Naruto and Sasuke?"

Kakashi looked at Sakura with an anxious gaze. He had just returned to the village only to find that neither Naruto nor the others had advanced.

That in itself wasn't a major issue, but the fact that only Sakura had emerged, with Naruto and Sasuke missing, was alarming. Sakura wouldn't answer his questions, only insisting that they weren't dead.

The village elders, including Danzo, were not yet aware of this news. If they found out the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had been lost within the village, the situation would turn chaotic, especially given the current climate.

"Kakashi-sensei, I... I can't say. I can only tell you after the tournament ends, otherwise Sasuke and the others will be in danger."

Seeing Sakura's fearful expression, Kakashi's heart softened, and he could only sigh.

At that moment, a figure stood not far away.

"I think I can tell you what happened, Kakashi-sensei."

The person stepping out from the shadows was none other than the future mastermind of Konoha, Shikamaru Nara.