How Could There Be a Hokage for Fifty Years?

But the match still had to continue. Next up was a special playoff.

Sasuke would face Keiichi, and only the winner would advance to the semifinals.

Sasuke didn't move. He simply stood there, waiting for Keiichi to step onto the battlefield.

"You know, I've been looking forward to fighting you for a long time." To everyone's surprise, Sasuke was the first to speak. The fighting spirit burning in his eyes was clearly much stronger than it had been when he faced Temari.

He still remembered how Kakashi-sensei had described Keiichi back then: a peer who was even more capable than he was.

And Keiichi's performance since then had proved Kakashi right. He really was formidable.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that their previous mission had gone smoothly entirely because of Keiichi's leadership.

So Sasuke had always wanted to have a proper fight with Keiichi, especially when his confidence was at its peak.

"Naruto said the same thing. How about I just forfeit and let you two fight instead?" Keiichi pulled on a trench coat and stopped ten meters away from Sasuke, smiling wryly.

"Everyone else thinks you're weak. 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 looked annoyed by Keiichi's words. He wanted Keiichi to give it everything he had and fight him—not deliberately avoid the match!

"I've already proved myself... in other ways. Whether I'm strong or not doesn't really matter. Passing the Chunin Ninja Exams isn't about who can fight better. Otherwise, the rules should just say that whoever wins gets promoted to Chunin."

Sasuke frowned. Keiichi's point clearly wasn't something he had ever considered before.

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

"Not really. I just haven't met an opponent who made me go all out." Keiichi answered honestly.

"Good. Then I'll make you go all out!"

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

A black blur darted forward like a leopard. Sasuke seized the initiative without hesitation, closing in on Keiichi.

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

But Keiichi did something no one expected—

"Summoning Jutsu: Magikarp!"

"Magikarp, Magikarp!"

A big-headed fish appeared on the battlefield, full of energy, its tail fin slapping against the ground.

Sasuke was startled and hurried to a stop, staring warily at the strange fish he had never seen before.

He knew Keiichi was too clever to do something pointless. This summoning might well be his opponent's trump card.

"Go! Use Splash!" Keiichi's expression was serious. He spread his arms and gave Magikarp its command.

Magikarp obeyed without question. It leaped straight up and headbutted Sasuke.

"..."

"..."

"Pat, pat."

Zero damage. Maximum humiliation.

"You bastard, are you making fun of me?!" Sasuke was so furious that he nearly awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan on the spot.

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

If not for Magikarp, it was hard to say whether he could have defeated Kabuto Yakushi back then!

Besides, he had only summoned it to soak up experience. How could it evolve without leveling up?

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A fireball burst from Sasuke's mouth, as if he meant to turn the big-headed fish that had humiliated him into grilled fish.

Sorry, fire-type damage is halved!

After the flames died down, Magikarp was still energetic, its fighting spirit undiminished.

But after venting his anger, Sasuke actually calmed down. He realized the strange fish posed no threat to him at all. He could just ignore it.

Perhaps Keiichi had summoned it on purpose to waste his chakra. He had nearly fallen for it!

As Sasuke turned his gaze toward him, Keiichi smiled faintly. His trench coat slid from his shoulders, revealing the hands beneath it, already forming Hand Seals.

While Sasuke had been focused on Magikarp, Keiichi had been secretly forming Hand Seals.

This was simply a jutsu that took a long time to prepare.

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

Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!

In an instant, three fire dragons burst from Keiichi's mouth and charged toward Sasuke from the left, center, and right. The sight seemed so unbelievable that Sasuke's reaction came half a beat too late, and he dodged in a panic.

How was this possible?!

Sasuke couldn't believe his eyes.

The moment Keiichi performed the jutsu, Sasuke's Sharingan had seen through his body. The network of channels around Keiichi's eyes had suddenly undergone a familiar change. It was unmistakably...

The Sharingan!

Where had Keiichi gotten a Sharingan?!

Who had given it to him?

No, that was impossible!

The Uchiha Clan had been wiped out. Sasuke was one of only two survivors!

At that moment, Sasuke's mind was in complete turmoil, and he could no longer focus on the fight.

With the Sharingan's aid, the fire dragons were also far more agile. Sasuke struggled to evade them, and several holes were burned through his clothes.

"How could this happen? Sasuke's actually on the back foot?" Sakura stared in disbelief.

"When Keiichi gets serious, even Sasuke might not be able to beat him," Naruto muttered beside her.

He had seen just how terrifying Keiichi could be when he got serious. Maybe he could even hold his own against Kakashi-sensei.

The big brother he'd chosen had been hiding his strength far too well.

"...Interesting." Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly. But he didn't activate his Sharingan, so he didn't see anything even more astonishing.

Everyone who knew Keiichi was surprised by his performance. Those who didn't know him were even more stunned. Faced with such a ferocious jutsu, many people looked at Keiichi in a whole new light. It seemed the kid really hadn't made it this far on luck alone.

The key was that plenty of knowledgeable ninja had already recognized the jutsu. Wasn't this the Sarutobi Clan's secret technique? What was his connection to Hiruzen, then? Hiruzen had even passed him a jutsu like this? Had the old man found himself a new student after seeing his own pupils and their pupils fall short?

And Keiichi was a Commoner Ninja, which really did fit the old man's style.

They had no idea what had really happened, so all they could do was speculate wildly.

Only Hiruzen wore a wry smile. Back then, he had no idea Keiichi would make it all the way to the finals, let alone use this jutsu in front of so many people. It was bound to set tongues wagging.

Was the kid really clueless, or was he pretending?

Chapter 71: How Could There Be a Hokage for Fifty Years?

"Your—"

"Hold it!" Keiichi cut Sasuke off before he could finish his question.

"There are too many people watching. If you have questions, ask me in private. This isn't the place."

Sasuke nodded and said no more.

The Fire Dragon Flame Bullet had run its course. Sasuke looked badly singed, but he had reacted quickly enough to avoid the worst of it. He had only taken a minor loss.

The two of them immediately launched into hand-to-hand combat. Their Sharingan gave them both exceptional eyesight, and their speed, strength, and Taijutsu were evenly matched. For a while, neither could gain the upper hand.

Sasuke might have had slightly sharper vision, but Keiichi had the edge in combat experience.

"His Taijutsu can actually match someone from the Uchiha Clan..."

"Who is this Keiichi? His talent is ridiculous!"

"Is Sasuke going to lose at this rate?"

The crowd buzzed with discussion, stunned by the turn of events.

No one had expected Keiichi, who had seemed like a mere filler entrant, to put on such a high-level fight. The sight left everyone wide-eyed.

After all, Sasuke was a favorite to win the whole thing. Plenty of people had backed him.

The haters who had accused Keiichi of throwing his earlier matches finally shut up. If he fought this well, what would be the point of throwing a match? They'd only make fools of themselves.

That Otogakure ninja hadn't lost unfairly. He had simply been overwhelmed by superior strength.

Of course, some particularly extreme haters still insisted that if Keiichi was this good, he should have shown it sooner. He had made them judge the match wrong, so it was all his fault.

But they didn't dare say that aloud. They could only cheer Sasuke on under their breath, hoping he'd hurry up and knock this wolf in sheep's clothing off the stage.

Every extra minute Keiichi spent up there felt like a mockery of their shortsightedness.

After several dozen exchanges, they confirmed that Taijutsu alone wouldn't let either of them overpower the other. They broke apart and retreated, putting some distance between them again.

"Keiichi, you really are strong. But I'm stronger. I wasn't planning on using this move yet, but you've earned it!"

As he spoke, Sasuke crouched down, extending his left hand toward the ground while channeling chakra into his right. Lightning began to gather in his palm.

But Keiichi had expected this. He knew that once Sasuke realized he couldn't win quickly, he would use his trump card—Chidori.

Kids loved showing off their new toys.

Chidori's principle was actually simple. Lightning-nature chakra was converted into a high-voltage current and gathered in his palm. The escaping electricity stimulated every cell in his body, temporarily granting him an unimaginable burst of speed, which he used to pierce his target.

It was one of the most powerful conventional jutsu.

But it was difficult to use in practice. The move had to be paired with sharp dynamic vision, so the user could accurately hit the target. Otherwise, it was so fast that even the user might not be able to react in time.

And Sasuke had the Sharingan. Keiichi knew full well that if he let Sasuke carry on, he'd have no good way to deal with it. His only chance was...

"Gate of Opening, open!"

Keiichi widened his eyes and secretly opened the first of the Eight Inner Gates. Since it caused no obvious outward change, no one noticed.

With his body's restrictions released, he closed the distance at a speed Sasuke hadn't expected.

How could he be so fast?!

Sasuke was shocked. He had only just learned Chidori and still hadn't mastered it. The worst part was that it took time to charge, and he wasn't ready yet!

Smack!

Sasuke went flying and slammed into a tree, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

He'd let his guard down!

"Remember: don't tell your opponent before you use your ultimate move. Do you really think someone's going to wait around to see how powerful it is?" Keiichi shook out his painfully throbbing wrist, looking every bit like a senior giving a younger fighter advice.

Sasuke felt frustrated. Of course he knew that. He had timed everything perfectly. If Keiichi hadn't suddenly sped up, he would have had plenty of time to prepare!

Just as he was about to get back on his feet and continue fighting Keiichi, a commotion suddenly reached his ears. He was startled to see movement in the spectator stands all around him.

The Anbu Ninja who had been keeping order suddenly made their move. They hurled small pellets from their hands, and smoke began pouring out of them.

"It's knockout gas!"

A ninja recognized it and shouted.

The attack caught many people off guard. They had thought of the Anbu as Leaf Village's security force and trusted them. Who would have suspected that their own people were behind this?

As a result, many Leaf Village ninja inhaled at least some of the gas. Some fell asleep, while others collapsed, completely unable to fight.

And they had chosen this very moment to strike, when most of Leaf Village's ninja had come to watch the match. In one stroke, the village had lost more than half of its fighting force.

"How could there be a Hokage for fifty years? Lord Hiruzen, step down and let someone more capable take your place!"

"Step down at once! Let someone more capable take your place!"

"You've sat in that seat for far too long!"

"Only a Hokage who dies in battle avoids dying of old age!"

"Leaf Village isn't one man's dictatorship!"

One outrageous declaration after another came from the Anbu who had launched the rebellion.