"Next match, Tenten of Konoha versus Akatsuchi of Iwagakure!"
Before the referee had finished speaking, Tenten leaped onto the stage with her ninja tool scroll, swinging it behind her in a clean arc. With her double-bun hairstyle and Chinese-style outfit, she looked as adorable as a little good-luck doll.
Tenten chuckled. "Heh~ Finally, my turn."
"Good luck, Tenten!" Rock Lee shouted.
Neji cautioned her, "Be careful. He's no pushover." His presence was powerful, his chakra immense.
Guy said with a broad smile, "My dear student, show them everything you've learned. Your teacher has your back."
Across from her, Akatsuchi walked out of the passage with steady steps, and the stands fell silent for a moment. He really did resemble a small mountain on the move, his shoulders nearly as wide as two Tentens put together. Yet his dark brown face wore an honest, good-natured smile, the corners of his narrowed eyes crinkling together. He looked more like a kindly elder, without a trace of the fierceness people associated with the rumored "Peerless Shield."
"So that's Akatsuchi? He doesn't look fierce at all," Naruto muttered, scratching his head.
Shikamaru studied him through narrowed eyes. "Don't let appearances fool you. Qingwu said people with perpetually narrowed eyes are all monsters. He's definitely no pushover."
The starting signal sounded, and Tenten attacked first.
The scroll in her left hand unfurled with a rustle, her fingers flying through hand seals. "Ninja Tool: Senbon Dance!"
A dense barrage of senbon shot toward Akatsuchi like a rain of silver needles, targeting even the blind spots behind his ears and around his neck.
But Akatsuchi merely raised a hand with a cheerful smile. Ochre chakra condensed into a thin layer of stone armor over his palm. "Such nimble ninja tools, young lady."
"Earth Release: Stone-Binding Rock!"
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