You Call This Guy the Savior?!

Then, the haters began to chime in, claiming that Keiichi had only coasted into the third round through sheer luck, so this match was a foregone conclusion and a complete waste of time.

Of course, others offered more rational perspectives, suggesting that since the Ninja Star card was Keiichi's own creation, his self-classification as an N-Rank Card might be a ruse to lull his enemies into a false sense of security.

Perhaps he was planning to shock everyone and slap the faces of those who doubted him.

In fact, many Leaf Village ninja were looking forward to a brilliant performance from Keiichi; after all, he was one of their own, so wasn't it only natural to stand on his side?

However, the moment they remembered his commoner origins, their confidence wavered.

Dosu of the Sound Village stepped onto the battlefield, his heart sneering coldly as he gazed at the sea of spectators.

Why must I be the only one forced to fight an extra round?

Does our Sound Village have no human rights?

Yet, no one stepped up to defend him, as if everyone was only concerned with whether Keiichi would receive further favoritism for his bye, regardless of whether Dosu's interests were being compromised.

But it didn't matter; soon, he would make that arrogant brat pay with his life!

If I kill two Leaf Village ninja in a row, let's see if the Leaf Village can still hold its head up!

"Running into me—that's your bad luck," Keiichi remarked as he stepped onto the field and saw Dosu.

"Hmph, just make sure you don't beg for mercy later!"

"The match begins!" Seeing both were in position, the head referee blew his whistle immediately.

"Hum!"

Right from the start, Dosu swung his right arm, the sonic weapon fixed to it emitting a piercing noise that made everyone's heart feel stifled.

And that was merely the aftermath; Keiichi, being the primary target, bore the brunt of the sonic assault.

"This Dosu is no simpleton," Rock Lee, who had come to watch the match while leaning on his crutches, said with a frown.

He had fought this man before and ended up with his ears damaged by the sonic attacks, which caused him to lose his sense of balance and rendered his superior taijutsu useless.

Sure enough, affected by the sound, Keiichi staggered as he walked, looking like a drunkard as he barely managed to move toward Dosu.

"Haha, persistence is useless! Watch as you fall!" Dosu swung his arm excitedly, intensifying the sonic assault.

Yet, although Keiichi walked with great difficulty, he never fell, continuing to close the distance between them.

How could he hold on for so long?

It wasn't until they were less than a meter apart that Dosu sensed something was wrong. Just as he tried to retreat, he saw Keiichi suddenly move with agility, as if completely unaffected, and flash directly in front of him.

Smack!

The ocarina-shaped sonic weapon was shattered instantly by Keiichi's fist, and in the next moment, he grabbed Dosu by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

Dosu struggled desperately, but it did nothing to change his predicament; before long, his hands went limp, and he fell unconscious from lack of oxygen.

"Keiichi, winner!"

A clean and decisive victory!

Chapter 69: The Tardy Sasuke

[Spirit: Silence].

This item, pulled from a gift pack, was the perfect counter to any sound-based damage, which was why Keiichi had said Dosu was truly unlucky to face him.

His previous act had been just that—an act; otherwise, closing the distance to Dosu might have required a much more arduous effort.

With the sonic weapon rendered useless, was there any suspense left in the outcome?

But in the eyes of the onlookers, it was a different story. All they saw was Keiichi walk over, grab Dosu by the throat with ease, and win.

He hadn't displayed a single shred of ninjutsu throughout the entire match, yet he won?

Could a victory really be that easy?

Either he was so powerful that he simply crushed his opponent.

Or...

It was a fixed match!

Suddenly, cries for "refunds" echoed through the arena; many spectators, unaware of the truth, felt their intelligence had been insulted.

Is this a battle between ninja?

Don't kid me!

As an N-Rank contestant, how could you win more easily than anyone else?

Even if the Sound Village wasn't great, they shouldn't be this weak—how did he even make it to the finals?

In short, this Dosu fellow must have been bought off by the Leaf Village to put on a show that insulted everyone's intelligence!

At least make the acting convincing so we don't notice!

We know what a ninja battle looks like just as well as you do!

In truth, even many ninja found Keiichi's performance incomprehensible, as they couldn't fathom how he had managed to ignore the sonic attacks.

Fortunately, Keiichi provided his answer soon enough.

He took out his earplugs in front of everyone and showed them to the crowd.

Oh...

So that's how it was...

As if!

If sound-based attacks were that easy to counter, the Sound Village might as well just disband!

Keiichi didn't care whether they believed him or not; he believed it himself, and that was enough.

He then swaggered off the battlefield, completely ignoring the chorus of jeers from the stands.

Did they really expect him to go back, wake Dosu up, and demonstrate it all over again?

They'd probably just think it was even faker.

"Keiichi, you're so amazing! How did you do that?" Rock Lee asked excitedly, his eyes sparkling.

He was the only one who truly understood just how difficult Dosu was to deal with.

"A secret technique. Want to learn it? Trade me the Eight Inner Gates for it," Keiichi replied with a grin.

"Never mind then..." Rock Lee immediately wilted.

Amidst the calls for refunds, the tournament continued.

"[Iron Fan Princess] Temari vs. [Unhappy] Uchiha Sasuke!"

Temari walked onto the battlefield with grace, yet her opponent was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, hey! Wasn't it agreed? If he doesn't show up by the time his match starts, he should be disqualified, right?" Kankuro complained.

"What's the rush? Sasuke will definitely come!" Naruto retorted indignantly.

He had already won his own match, but if Sasuke dropped the ball now, how were they supposed to settle the score?

Seeing the audience growing restless and the murmurs of discontent rising, Genma Shiranui hurried toward the Hokage's position to seek instructions.

Hiruzen sighed and was just about to declare Sasuke a forfeit when, suddenly, leaves began to drift slowly down around him, converging toward the center of the arena.

In an instant, the mass of leaves swirled into a storm and exploded, revealing two figures standing abruptly in the center: Kakashi and his student, Sasuke.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone. We got lost on the path of life and accidentally lost track of time. We aren't late, are we?" Kakashi scratched the back of his head, laughing with a slick, insincere tone.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're so unreliable! You scared me to death!" Naruto shouted angrily.

"My bad, my bad!" Kakashi jogged off the battlefield, looking perfectly compliant.

"Honestly, neither of them is ever any peace of mind," Genma Shiranui couldn't help but mutter.

"So handsome! He's so handsome!"

"His entrance was so cool!"

"Are there really such handsome guys among the ninjas?"

"Can I go down there and ask for his autograph?"

In an instant, more than half of the female audience turned into fangirls, hearts practically popping out of their eyes.

They didn't care about skill or character; good looks were the only thing that mattered!

"Sasuke is mine, mine!" Sakura desperately tried to stake her claim, but no one paid her any mind; there were simply too many people who wanted Sasuke as their husband, and she was far too inconspicuous.

"The match begins!" Seeing the commotion growing, Genma Shiranui hurriedly blew his whistle.

Temari acted with great caution, immediately creating distance before waving her giant fan to whip up a violent gale.

In an instant, sand and stones flew, and dust gradually shrouded the battlefield, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

"What is this? How are we supposed to see what's going on?" the audience grumbled.

"Temari is clever. Sasuke relies on his Sharingan, so by obscuring his vision, she effectively neutralizes one of his trump cards," Keiichi explained to his friends with a smile.

"Is Sasuke going to lose?" Sakura immediately grew worried.

"Sasuke won't lose!" This came from the uninformed female bystanders behind her; they wouldn't allow anyone to speak ill of Sasuke!

Sakura clenched her fists. Hmph, I won't lower myself to the level of these women!

"That's right, Sasuke won't lose!" Naruto actually chimed in at this moment.

"Naruto, sit down!"

With that, he was flattened by a heavy punch from Sakura and sat down obediently.

"Don't panic. Have you forgotten what happened when Kakashi fought Zabuza?" Keiichi whispered to Sakura.

Hearing this, Sakura's eyes immediately lit up.

However, the situation on the field was looking grim, as Temari had already unleashed several Kamaitachi Techniques. Wind blades, moving as if they were alive, darted across the arena, clearly intended to seek out Sasuke and inflict damage through their autonomous tracking.

Since your eyes are better than mine, I'll just make it so no one can see, and then I'll defeat you in my own way!

Even though you're handsome, I'm sorry—we are enemies!

But just as Temari was brimming with confidence, several wind blades suddenly veered toward her direction. At first, she didn't pay them any mind, but when they came hurtling straight at her, she finally realized something was wrong.

Pfft, pfft, pfft!

Although Temari was not injured, her iron fan used for defense now had several large gashes in it!

Immediately following this, a gust of violent wind swept through, blowing away all the dust. It was clear that Sasuke had used his Sharingan to copy Temari's ninjutsu and was now exhaling a gale from his own mouth.

The Kamaitachi from just a moment ago had naturally been the same.

"I forfeit!"

Just as Sasuke closed the distance to her, Temari suddenly raised her hand to surrender.

I must preserve my strength to coordinate with the plan ahead...

Temari thought to herself as she walked off the arena stage.

"Sasuke, winner!"

The next match was supposed to be the duel between Kankuro and Shikamaru, but before Shikamaru could even step onto the battlefield, his opponent had already forfeited outright.

This caused Hiruzen to look toward the Kazekage beside him in surprise, unable to fathom what this guy was up to.

Your Sunagakure rarely manages to get three contestants into the finals; shouldn't they be fighting to the death to garner influence for the village?

Temari clearly still had the strength to fight, yet she surrendered the moment the situation looked unfavorable—this did not align with his impression of Sunagakure ninja as daring and tenacious fighters.

Kankuro was even more direct, not even moving an inch before throwing in the towel.

Shouldn't you, the Kazekage, be furious right now, perhaps cursing or even smashing a cup and storming off? How can you still sit there so calmly?

You don't even look like you care; are you really planning to pin all your hopes on Gaara alone for the rest of the tournament?

Hiruzen pondered for a long time, but he could not figure out what the Kazekage was planning.