Hokage: You Call This Guy the Savior?!

However, the tournament had to continue; next up was a special preliminary match.

Sasuke versus Keiichi. Only the winner between them would advance to the semifinals.

Sasuke simply stood his ground, waiting for Keiichi to walk onto the battlefield.

"You know? I've been looking forward to a fight with you for a long time." Surprisingly, it was Sasuke who spoke first, the fighting spirit burning in his eyes clearly far more intense than it had been against Temari.

He still remembered how Kakashi had evaluated Keiichi—this was a peer even more formidable than himself.

Subsequent events had proven that Kakashi's words were no exaggeration; he was indeed incredibly strong.

During their previous mission, it wouldn't be an overstatement to say that its success relied entirely on his command.

That was why Sasuke had always wanted to have a proper bout with Keiichi, especially now, while his self-confidence was at its peak.

"Naruto said the same thing. How about I just forfeit and let you two fight to your hearts' content?" Keiichi, draped in a trench coat, stopped ten meters away from Sasuke and gave a wry smile.

"Everyone else thinks you're weak, but I'm the only one who knows you might be even stronger than me. Don't you want to prove yourself in front of everyone?"

Sasuke seemed somewhat angered by Keiichi's words; he wanted his opponent to go all out against him, not deliberately avoid the fight!

"I've already proven myself... in other areas. As for whether my strength is high or low, it doesn't really matter. Passing the Chunin Exams isn't about who can fight better; otherwise, the rules would have been changed to 'whoever wins gets promoted to Chunin'."

Sasuke frowned. Keiichi's perspective was something he had never considered before.

"Is that the reason you've always kept such a low profile?"

"Not exactly. I just haven't encountered an opponent who required me to go all out," Keiichi replied truthfully.

"Very well, then I will force you to go all out!"

As soon as Sasuke finished speaking, the referee blew the whistle.

A black shadow darted out like a cheetah; Sasuke seized the initiative without hesitation, intent on closing the distance with Keiichi.

He even activated his Sharingan immediately, holding nothing back from the start.

Yet, Keiichi made an unexpected move—

"Summoning: Magikarp!"

"Magikarp, Magikarp!"

A flopping, big-headed fish was summoned onto the battlefield, its tail fins slapping against the ground.

Sasuke was taken aback and hurriedly stopped in his tracks, staring at this bizarre fish he had never seen before with extreme caution.

He knew that with Keiichi's intelligence, he would never do anything meaningless. This summon might very well be his trump card.

"Go, use Splash!" Keiichi said with a serious expression, arms spread wide as he issued the command to Magikarp.

Magikarp was very obedient; it leaped from the spot and slammed headfirst into Sasuke.

"..."

"..."

"Slap, slap."

Zero damage, but the humiliation was extreme.

"You bastard, are you mocking me?!" Sasuke was furious, nearly awakening his three-tomoe Sharingan on the spot.

Keiichi, however, was dead serious. Who said Magikarp was useless?

If it weren't for this fish back then, it would have been hard to say if they could have defeated Kabuto Yakushi!

Besides, he brought it out just to farm experience; how else was it supposed to evolve without leveling up?

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A fireball erupted from Sasuke's mouth, as if he intended to turn this big-headed fish that had humiliated him into a grilled snack.

Sorry, fire-attribute damage reduced by half!

After a burst of flames, Magikarp was still flopping about, full of fighting spirit.

However, after venting his frustration, Sasuke calmed down. He realized this strange fish posed no threat to him at all and that it was best to just ignore it.

Perhaps this was just Keiichi trying to waste his chakra—he had almost fallen for it!

Seeing Sasuke shift his gaze back to him, Keiichi smiled slightly. The trench coat draped over his shoulders slid off, revealing his hands, which had been hidden underneath, currently forming hand seals.

It turned out that while Sasuke had been focusing his attention on Magikarp, Keiichi had been secretly weaving seals.

It was only because this ninjutsu required a rather long preparation time.

Ram, Horse, Snake, Dragon, Rat, Ox, Tiger...

Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!

In an instant, three fire dragons erupted from Keiichi's mouth, lunging toward Sasuke from the left, center, and right simultaneously. The latter looked as if he had seen something inconceivable, his reaction delayed by a split second, forcing him to dodge in a very disheveled manner.

How is this possible?!

Sasuke couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Because the moment Keiichi performed the ninjutsu, his Sharingan peered through Keiichi's body and saw the meridians around his eyes suddenly undergo a very familiar change. This was clearly...

Sharingan!

How could Keiichi possess the Sharingan?!

Who gave it to him?

No, this is fundamentally impossible!

The Uchiha Clan has already been wiped out; he himself is one of only two survivors!

At this moment, Sasuke's mind was in complete disarray, to the point where he couldn't focus on the battle at all.

Furthermore, with the assistance of the Sharingan, the agility of the Fire Dragon was greatly enhanced, making it difficult for Sasuke to dodge, leaving him with several scorched holes in his clothes.

"How can this be? Sasuke is actually falling behind?" Sakura couldn't believe her eyes as she witnessed this scene.

"If Brother Keiichi gets serious, even Sasuke might not be able to win," Naruto muttered from the sidelines.

He had witnessed just how ferocious Keiichi could be when he was serious; he might even be able to trade blows with Kakashi-sensei.

The brother he had chosen to acknowledge was hiding far too much.

"...Interesting." Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly, but since he hadn't activated his own Sharingan, he didn't see the more astonishing details.

Those familiar with Keiichi were surprised by his performance, and those who weren't were even more so. Seeing this incredibly violent ninjutsu, many began to re-examine Keiichi with a new perspective; it seemed this kid really hadn't reached this point purely by luck.

Crucially, many knowledgeable ninjas had already recognized it—wasn't this the secret ninjutsu of the Sarutobi family? What kind of relationship did he have with Hiruzen to have been taught such a technique? Could it be that the old tree had blossomed, and seeing his own disciples and grand-disciples lacking, he had found himself a new apprentice?

And since he was a civilian ninja, it certainly fit the old man's style.

They didn't know the truth behind the scenes, so they could only guess blindly.

Only Hiruzen wore a bitter smile. He hadn't expected Keiichi to fight his way into the finals, let alone display this technique under the gaze of so many people; it was bound to spark endless speculation.

Did this kid really not know, or was he just pretending?

"Your..."

"Hold it!" Sasuke's interrogation was cut short by Keiichi.

"With so many people watching, if you have questions, you can ask me in private. This public setting isn't appropriate."

Sasuke nodded and said no more.

The power of the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet had been exhausted. Although Sasuke had been burned and looked quite disheveled, he had reacted quickly enough to avoid the most lethal damage, suffering only minor losses.

Immediately after, the two engaged in a melee of fists and kicks. Both possessed the high-level perception of the Sharingan, and their speed, strength, and taijutsu were on the same level; for a time, they fought to a standstill, neither gaining the upper hand.

Perhaps Sasuke's perception was slightly superior, but Keiichi's strength lay in his far more extensive combat experience.

"To think his taijutsu is on par with someone from the Uchiha family..."

"Who exactly is this Keiichi? Isn't his talent a bit too much?"

"At this rate, is Sasuke going to lose?"

The crowd buzzed with discussion, all shocked by the current situation.

No one had expected that Keiichi, who initially seemed like a filler contestant, could fight at such a high level; it truly made everyone's jaws drop.

One had to remember that Sasuke was a favorite to win the tournament, and many had high hopes for him.

The haters who had previously claimed Keiichi was throwing the match finally shut their mouths; if someone at this level needed to throw a match, wouldn't it be a laughingstock?

That Sound ninja hadn't lost unjustly; he had simply been crushed by pure strength.

Of course, there were some extreme haters who claimed that if he had this kind of strength, why hadn't he shown it earlier, causing them to misjudge the situation—in short, it was all his fault.

However, they didn't dare say such things out loud, so they could only secretly cheer for Sasuke, hoping he would quickly knock this guy who was "playing the pig to eat the tiger" off the stage.

Every minute he stood on that stage felt like a mockery of their own shortsightedness.

After dozens of exchanges, realizing that taijutsu couldn't suppress his opponent, they broke off the engagement and put distance between themselves once more.

"Keiichi, you are indeed strong, but I am stronger than you. I hadn't intended to use this move yet, but you have earned the right!"

As he spoke, Sasuke crouched down, his left hand reaching out into the air while his right hand began to channel chakra. Lightning began to gather in his palm.

But this was already within Keiichi's expectations. He knew that once Sasuke realized he couldn't win quickly, he would resort to his finishing move—the Chidori.

Kids, after all, loved showing off their new toys.

The principle of the Chidori was actually quite simple: lightning-natured chakra was converted into high-pressure electricity and gathered in the palm. The overflowing current would stimulate the cells of the entire body, temporarily granting unimaginable speed to pierce through the target.

Its power was top-tier among conventional ninjutsu.

However, it was difficult to use in practice because the move had to be paired with the observational eyes of the Sharingan to hit the target accurately; otherwise, the speed was so great that the user might not even be able to react themselves.

And since Sasuke was a Sharingan user, Keiichi knew very well that if he let him execute it, he would have no good way to counter. His only chance of winning was...

"Gate of Opening, open!"

Keiichi's eyes widened as he secretly opened the first of the Eight Inner Gates. Because there were no significant changes to his appearance, no one noticed.

Releasing the limits of his body, he closed the distance with a speed that caught Sasuke off guard.

How could he be this fast?!

Sasuke was taken aback; he had only just learned the Chidori and was far from proficient in its execution. The critical issue was that the technique required a long charging time, and he simply wasn't ready!

Thwack!

Sasuke was sent flying, slamming directly into a tree, and couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of blood.

I was careless!

"Remember, never tell your opponent before you unleash your ultimate move. Do you really think they'll just stand there and wait to see how powerful it is?" Keiichi shook his wrist, which was aching from the impact, looking every bit the mentor instructing a junior.

Sasuke felt quite frustrated. Of course he knew that principle, and he had timed it perfectly; if you hadn't suddenly accelerated, I would have had plenty of time to prepare!

Just as he was preparing to regroup and continue the fight against Keiichi, the sound of a commotion suddenly reached his ears, and he was stunned to discover that an anomaly had occurred in the surrounding spectator stands.

The Anbu ninjas, who had been maintaining order just moments ago, suddenly made their move. They threw small pellets from their hands, and thick smoke erupted from them.

"It's sleeping gas!"

A ninja recognized what it was and shouted out.

In truth, this caught many people off guard because they had all viewed the Anbu as Leaf Village security and trusted them implicitly; who would have suspected that these "own people" were the problem?

The result was that many Leaf Village ninjas inhaled at least some of the gas, either falling into a deep sleep or collapsing to the ground, losing all combat effectiveness.

Moreover, by choosing to strike at this exact moment, when the majority of the village's ninjas had gathered to watch the match, it meant that the village had effectively lost the bulk of its fighting force in one fell swoop.

"Is there such a thing as a fifty-year Hokage in this world? We ask Lord Hiruzen to abdicate and choose a more capable successor!"

"Abdicate immediately and choose a more capable successor!"

"You have sat in that seat for far too long!"

"There are only Hokage who die in battle, not Hokage who die of old age!"

"The Leaf Village is not the personal fiefdom of any one man!"

One treasonous statement after another spilled from the mouths of the rebelling Anbu.