The next day.
Afternoon.
The blazing sun hung high.
Dazzling sunlight streamed down from the sky, shining into Konoha's circular arena and onto the two figures facing each other.
Uchiha Shingen rested a hand on Kotetsu's hilt, yet he still could not suppress the blade's hum.
This sword, passed down from Izuna Uchiha, seemed to have bloodlust engraved into its very instincts. It might even have developed a trace of sentience.
It could absolutely be called a demon blade.
And the opponent who had Kotetsu so uncontrollably excited was the figure standing across from Uchiha Shingen.
A woman.
She had long golden hair braided and tied behind her head. She wore Kumogakure's signature fitted white soft armor, which further accentuated her slender figure.
She appeared one or two years older than Uchiha Shingen. Everything about her exuded competence, and she vaguely resembled a cheetah.
She was Uchiha Shingen's opponent in this match.
Yugito Nii!
The first half of the main tournament had long since ended.
The eight contestants who had advanced from the preliminaries differed vastly in strength. Since the three strongest had not met early, the battles naturally ended quickly.
But whether Konoha had done so intentionally or not...
Of Kumogakure's remaining two contestants besides Yugito, Samui had been eliminated by Yagura, while Darui had been kicked straight back into the stands by Uchiha Shingen.
The final qualification slot had instead been claimed by an unknown Konoha Genin.
A, who already had a fiery temper, could not hold himself back. He stood and angrily accused Konoha of rigging the matches.
Nara Shikaku, who happened to witness it, righteously rebuked him. "Our arrangements were reasonable, fair, and within the rules. Don't blame others for your defeat just because you lack the strength."
"The Kumogakure shinobi I knew used to be