Then some trolls started explaining how Keiichi had lucked his way into the third round, winning every match by doing nothing, and how this fight was hardly worth watching because he was bound to lose.
Of course, some people offered a more rational take. The Ninja Star Card had been created by Keiichi himself, and he'd put himself among the N-Rank cards. Maybe he was trying to lull his enemies into a false sense of security by deliberately feeding them bad intel.
Perhaps he'd make a stunning debut in a moment and leave everyone who'd doubted him eating their words.
In fact, quite a few Konoha Ninja were looking forward to Keiichi's performance. After all, he was one of their own. Wasn't it only natural to root for him?
But when they remembered that he came from a Commoner Ninja background, their confidence seemed to falter.
Dosu of the Sound Village slowly stepped onto the battlefield. As he gazed at the sea of spectators, a string of cold sneers rose in his heart.
Why did he have to fight an extra match?
Did their Sound Village have no rights at all?
Yet nobody actually stood up for him. It was as if everyone cared only about whether the bye-round Keiichi would get special treatment again, not whether Dosu's interests had been harmed.
But it didn't matter. In a moment, he'd make that arrogant brat pay with his life!
Let's see how Konoha could save face after losing two of its ninjas!
"Bad luck for you, running into me." Keiichi stepped onto the battlefield, and when he saw Dosu, he couldn't help making the remark.
"Hmph. You'd better not beg for mercy later!"
"Begin!" Seeing both of them in position, the referee immediately blew the whistle.
"Bzzzz!"
Dosu swung his right arm right from the start. The sound weapon attached to it let out an ear-splitting screech that made everyone feel irritated.
And that was only the residual sound. Keiichi was the one actually being hit by the sound waves. He was the one bearing the brunt of the attack.
"Dosu's no pushover," Rock Lee said, frowning as he watched from beside his crutch.
He'd fought Dosu before and had been injured by his sound-wave attack. The damage to his ears had destroyed his sense of balance, leaving him unable to make use of even his excellent Taijutsu.
Sure enough, Keiichi staggered as he walked, as though drunk, and could only make his way toward Dosu with difficulty.
"Haha! There's no point holding on! Let's see you stay on your feet now!" Dosu swung his arm excitedly, intensifying the sound-wave attack.
Yet, though Keiichi struggled to walk, he never fell. He kept closing the distance between them.
How could he hold out for so long?
Only when the two were less than a meter apart did Dosu sense that something was wrong. He was just about to retreat when Keiichi suddenly moved with ease, seemingly unaffected, and used the Body Flicker Technique to appear right in front of him.
Smack!
Keiichi shattered the flute-shaped sound weapon with a punch, then grabbed Dosu by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
Dosu struggled desperately, but couldn't change his predicament. Before long, his arms drooped and he lost consciousness from lack of oxygen.
"Keiichi wins!"
A clean, decisive victory!
Chapter 69: Sasuke's Late Arrival
[Spirit: Silence].
The item from the gift pack happened to counter all sound-based damage. That was why Keiichi had said Dosu was terribly unlucky to face him.
He'd only been putting on an act earlier. Otherwise, closing the distance with Dosu would have taken quite a bit more effort.
With the sound weapon rendered useless, was there any suspense left in the match?
But to the spectators, things looked completely different. All they saw was Keiichi walk over, grab Dosu by the throat with ease, and win.
He hadn't shown a single ninjutsu technique the entire time, yet he'd won?
Was there really a way to win that easily?
Either he was so strong that he'd crushed his opponent outright.
Or else he was...
Throwing the match!
For a while, shouts of "Refund!" rang out without end. Many spectators who didn't know the truth felt their intelligence had been insulted.
Was this a fight between ninjas?
You've got to be kidding me!
You're an N-Rank contestant. How come you won more easily than anyone else?
The Sound Village might not be much, but it couldn't be this weak. How had Dosu made it to the finals, then?
In short, that guy called Dosu must have been bribed by Konoha to put on a match so insulting to everyone's intelligence!
At least make it look convincing! Don't make it so obvious!
We know more about ninja battles than you ninjas do!
Even many ninjas couldn't make sense of Keiichi's performance. They couldn't tell how he'd managed to ignore the sound-wave attack, either.
Fortunately, Keiichi soon gave them an answer.
In front of everyone, he pulled out his earplugs and held them up for all to see.
Oh...
So that was how...
Like hell it was!
If sound-wave attacks were that easy to counter, the Sound Village might as well disband!
Keiichi didn't care whether they believed him. He believed himself, anyway.
Then he swaggered off the battlefield, completely ignoring the stream of abuse from the stands.
Was he supposed to go back and wake Dosu up so he could demonstrate it all over again?
They'd probably think it was even more fake.
"Keiichi, you're amazing! How did you do that?" Rock Lee asked excitedly, his eyes practically sparkling.
He was the one who knew best just how hard Dosu was to deal with.
"It's a secret technique. Want to learn it? Trade me the Eight Inner Gates," Keiichi replied with a broad grin.
"Then I'll pass..." Rock Lee immediately wilted.
Amid the shouts for refunds, the matches continued.
"[Iron Fan Princess] Temari versus [Unhappy] Sasuke Uchiha!"
Temari strode onto the battlefield, but her opponent was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, wasn't the deal that if he didn't show up by the time it was his turn, he'd be declared the loser?" Kankuro complained.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Sasuke will definitely come!" Naruto protested just as angrily.
He'd won his own match, but Sasuke had dropped the ball. How were they supposed to settle things in the end?
Seeing the crowd grow increasingly restless and hearing more and more complaints, Genma Shiranui hurried over to where the Hokage was seated to ask for instructions.
Hiruzen sighed and was just about to say Sasuke would be considered to have forfeited when leaves suddenly drifted down around him, then gathered toward the center of the battlefield.
In a moment, a great many leaves swirled into a storm. Then they burst apart, and two figures appeared out of nowhere at its center: Kakashi and his student Sasuke.
"Sorry for the wait, everyone. We got lost contemplating the meaning of life and lost track of time. We're not late, are we?" Kakashi said with a grin, scratching the back of his head and speaking in a flippant tone.
"Kakashi-sensei, you're so unreliable! You scared me to death!" Naruto yelled angrily.
"My fault, my fault!" Kakashi jogged off the battlefield, being thoroughly cooperative.
"Honestly, one after another, they're all such a handful!" Genma Shiranui couldn't help muttering.
"He's so handsome! So handsome!"
"His entrance was amazing!"
"So there are handsome guys like him among ninjas!"
"Can I go down and ask him for an autograph?"
In an instant, more than half the women in the audience turned into lovestruck fans, hearts practically popping out of their eyes.
They didn't care whether he was good or bad. Looks were what mattered!
"Sasuke is mine! Mine!" Sakura frantically staked her claim, but nobody paid her any attention. So many people wanted Sasuke to be their husband that she barely stood out.
"Begin!" Seeing the commotion grow, Genma Shiranui quickly blew the whistle.
Temari played it very cautiously. She immediately put some distance between them, then swung her giant fan, whipping up a gale.
In an instant, sand and stones flew everywhere. Dust gradually engulfed the battlefield, obscuring whatever was happening inside.
"What's the point of that? How are we supposed to see what's going on?" the spectators complained.
"Temari's clever. Sasuke relies on his Sharingan, so if she keeps him from seeing clearly, it's like taking away one of his trump cards," Keiichi explained with a smile to his friends beside him.
"Could Sasuke lose?" Sakura immediately grew worried.
"Sasuke would never lose!" one of the women in the crowd behind them said, unaware of the truth. They wouldn't tolerate anyone speaking ill of Sasuke!
Sakura held back her fist. Hmph, she wouldn't stoop to arguing with these women!
"Exactly! Sasuke would never lose!" Naruto chimed in.
"Naruto, sit down!"
Sakura promptly punched him down a notch, and he meekly sat back down.
"Don't panic. Have you forgotten what happened when Kakashi fought Zabuza?" Keiichi whispered to Sakura.
At those words, Sakura's eyes immediately lit up.
But things weren't looking good on the battlefield. Temari had already unleashed several Kamaitachi Techniques. The living blades of wind darted around the field, clearly meant to injure Sasuke by seeking him out on their own.
If your eyes are better than mine, then I'll make sure neither of us can see and beat you my own way!
You might be handsome, but sorry—we're enemies!
But just as Temari was feeling confident, several Kamaitachi suddenly veered in her direction. At first she didn't think much of it, but when they flew straight at her, she finally realized something was wrong.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Temari wasn't hurt, but several huge holes had been torn in the fan she'd used to defend herself!
A gale immediately swept through, blowing away all the dust. Sasuke stood there, breathing out a powerful gust. Clearly, he'd used his Sharingan to copy Temari's ninjutsu.
And, of course, the Kamaitachi had been copied as well.
"I forfeit!"
Just as Sasuke closed in on her, Temari suddenly raised her hand and surrendered.
She had to conserve her strength and go along with the plan that came next...
Temari thought to herself as she left the arena.
"Sasuke wins!"
Chapter 70: Go, Magikarp
The next match should have been between Kankuro and Shikamaru, but before Shikamaru even stepped onto the battlefield, his opponent had already forfeited.
Hiruzen couldn't help looking at the Kazekage beside him in surprise, unsure what the man was up to.
Sunagakure had finally managed to get three contestants into the finals. Shouldn't they be fighting tooth and nail to build up their village's influence?
Temari was clearly still capable of fighting, yet she'd surrendered as soon as things started to go against her. That was completely at odds with Hiruzen's impression of Sunagakure ninjas as bold and combative.
And Kankuro had been even more straightforward. He hadn't moved at all before forfeiting.
Shouldn't the Kazekage be furious at a time like this, yelling at them or even smashing his cup and storming out? How could he still be sitting there?
He didn't even seem to care. Was he really planning to rely on Gaara alone for everything that came next?
Hiruzen thought it over, but couldn't figure out what the Kazekage was scheming.
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