First Stage Ends, Victory and Defeat Begin

Hozuki Gengetsu hurriedly opened the Giant Clam, and the Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson struck the shell of the Giant Clam.

The Giant Clam's hard shell remained unscathed after the attack; Uzumaki Shori realized his long-range attacks could not penetrate the opponent's defense, so he formed hand seals.

"Body Flicker Technique."

He condensed chakra into his feet to move at high speed, pursuing Hozuki Gengetsu.

Hozuki Gengetsu watched as Uzumaki Shori constantly changed directions, every Water Gun Technique shot hitting only the afterimages left by the opponent's high-speed movement, while he analyzed intelligence on Uzumaki Shori in his mind.

The mist from the Giant Clam gradually covered the entire battlefield.

Uzumaki Shori's sensory ninjutsu, "Mind's Eye of the Kagura," began to blur as the opponent moved.

Hozuki Gengetsu noticed that Uzumaki Shori's running path had begun to go astray; as expected of the Uzumaki Clan's "Mind's Eye of the Kagura."

His sensory ability was surprisingly strong, but as the Giant Clam's formation gradually took shape, the opponent began to miscalculate, so he formed hand seals.

"Water Style: Water Gun Technique - Enhanced Rapid Fire."

An enhanced version of the Water Gun Technique, where both hands could continuously fire dense water projectiles at the opponent, forcing them to dodge frequently.

Uzumaki Shori saw the Water Gun attacks becoming increasingly dense, and his long-range attacks against Hozuki Gengetsu were all blocked by the Giant Clam.

He had no choice but to engage in close-quarters combat; he scanned the scene with his Mind's Eye of the Kagura and formed hand seals.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique."

Thirty copies of Uzumaki Shori ran toward the locations where Hozuki Gengetsu might be hiding.

Hozuki Gengetsu fired continuously, and Uzumaki Shori's shadow clones were eliminated one by one.

Under the sensory interference of the Giant Clam's mist, all of Uzumaki Shori's shadow clones had been wiped out; he hurriedly scanned the scene with his chakra, but Uzumaki Shori was nowhere to be found.

Hozuki Gengetsu had not yet realized this and continued to fire with the Water Gun Technique.

In the next instant, Uzumaki Shori, who had leaped into the sky, descended rapidly and formed hand seals.

"Earth Style: Rock Fist Technique."

He covered his fist in hard rock to form a massive stone fist, descending from the sky with the power of a falling meteorite.

Hozuki Gengetsu felt the wind pressure coming from above and looked up.

A massive rock fist descended upon him with astonishing wind pressure; his expression turned grim as he formed hand seals.

"Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave."

Hozuki Gengetsu violently spat out a massive amount of seawater, instantly forming a giant sphere of water, and retreated rapidly within it to escape the range of the Rock Fist.

Uzumaki Shori smashed down with the massive rock fist, and Hozuki Gengetsu narrowly escaped the attack range.

However, the Giant Clam was not so lucky.

The next instant, "Boom."

The Rock Fist and the Giant Clam's shell collided with a deafening sound, and the shell shattered inch by inch.

The power carried by the Rock Fist was transmitted directly into the earth, causing a violent explosion, and the Rock Fist itself gradually crumbled away.

When the smoke cleared, Uzumaki Shori stood upon the fragments of the Rock Fist.

The Giant Clam had been defeated by the Rock Fist and had vanished without a trace; perhaps it could not withstand the attack and had summoned itself back.

Uzumaki Shori looked ahead to see Hozuki Gengetsu, who had timely used "Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave" to envelop himself.

Yet, he had still been caught by the shockwave of the explosion and looked at Uzumaki Shori in a somewhat disheveled state.

Uzumaki Shori jumped down from the fragments of the Rock Fist, surprised that Hozuki Gengetsu had managed to dodge the attack.

The second round of battle began once more.

Uzumaki Shiro moved rapidly toward the western battlefield.

Kushimaru Kuriarare watched Uzumaki Sasuke, who had been grazed by the steel wire of his long blade, Nuibari, retract his leg the very moment the wire swept across his thigh.

It seemed the opponent was a ninja proficient in taijutsu; if that was the case, he would bring out his assassination ninjutsu to fight.

Kushimaru Kuriarare picked up Nuibari and began to sprint rapidly around the perimeter.

Uzumaki Sasuke stood his ground, looking at his wound; he needed greater speed to defeat the opponent before he could defend himself.

The powerful chakra of the Uzumaki Clan erupted, condensing within Uzumaki Sasuke's body and producing an effect similar to the Eight Inner Gates.

Along the chakra-flowing meridians, chakra rotated rapidly, strengthening and flooding the major acupoints of the human body, gradually circulating throughout his entire frame until his muscles bulged with veins from the influx of chakra.

Staring at Kushimaru Kuriarare, who was moving rapidly around him, he unleashed all his chakra in a single instant.

"Leaf Great Whirlwind."

A spinning high-kick, reinforced with abundant chakra, making its range and power even more formidable.

Kushimaru Kuriarare watched as Uzumaki Sasuke, who had been standing still, suddenly appeared before his eyes; caught completely off guard, he was kicked flying into the sky.

Uzumaki Sasuke leaped with both legs, rising to the same altitude as Kushimaru Kuriarare.

"Leaf Gale."

He rotated his body and kicked downward with his thigh.

Kushimaru Kuriarare was struck directly, slamming into the earth with immense impact.

After being hit by the low kick, Kushimaru Kuriarare's brain went blank, and he collapsed to the ground without any reaction.

Uzumaki Sasuke descended from the air, gasping for breath; his chakra was overloaded, his muscles were completely exhausted, and his chakra-filled meridians were battered and torn.

He couldn't hold on any longer and fell to the ground, using his hands to keep himself from sprawling flat.

Yet, as he stared at the ground before him, his entire body stiffened, and he suddenly looked up at Kushimaru Kuriarare.

Kushimaru Kuriarare slowly braced his arms and stood up, looking at Uzumaki Sasuke with an expression of feigned regret.

"That was truly a formidable attack. I was just a hair's breadth away from being defeated by your hand—what a pity."

Upon hearing this, Uzumaki Sasuke's face fell in despair; I no longer have the strength to support this body. What a shame.

Kushimaru Kuriarare controlled the chakra in his hands, and while he had been circling Uzumaki Sasuke, the multiple steel wires of Nuibari had already been hidden underground.

As long as Uzumaki Sasuke entered the control range of the wires, activating the sharp steel wires of Nuibari would allow them to slice through and dismember his opponent.

"Goodbye, my opponent."

"Longsword Ninja Art: Earth Spider Stitch."

Kushimaru Kuriarare flicked the steel wires with his fingers, and they immediately shot toward Uzumaki Sasuke, who could only stand in place and accept his fate.

Just then, a shout came from the distance, followed by the forming of hand seals.

"Earth Style: Earth Core."

By using chakra to control the earth to rise or sink, the ground beneath Uzumaki Sasuke lifted him up instantly.

Uzumaki Shiro leaped over, grabbed Uzumaki Sasuke, and jumped toward a large tree.

The steel wires sliced into the raised earth, and in less than three seconds, the mound was leveled to the ground.

When Kushimaru Kuriarare saw Uzumaki Sasuke being rescued, his previously joyful smile turned ugly in an instant. He gripped Nuibari in his hand and pointed it at the newcomer.

"So, it's another captain from the Uzumaki Clan guard. Your support arrived just in time, though I wonder if your strength is anything like that fellow lying on the ground, who couldn't even last two rounds before I knocked him down."

Uzumaki Shiro placed Uzumaki Sasuke on the large tree and stepped forward.