"Your hand seals were three-tenths of a second too slow."
A precise jab struck a chunin's chakra point. His chakra instantly fell into disarray, interrupting his hand seals and causing his ninjutsu to collapse.
"Your weight was too far forward when you struck. Your footing was unstable, leaving you wide open."
He sidestepped a surprise kunai attack, then lightly pressed down on his opponent's shoulder. The precisely applied force instantly threw the man off balance, sending him stumbling to the ground.
"Your predictions were too rigid. You only attacked and defended in straight lines, without adapting."
He blocked the attack with the back of his hand and turned its force against the third chunin, reflecting the strike back at him and throwing him into disarray.
"And the last one—too impatient, leaving every opening exposed."
A simple sidestep, a raised hand, a grip on the wrist—all flowed together seamlessly. The last chunin was instantly immobilized, stripped of any ability to resist.
In barely more than ten seconds, Kawaki Aoba had effortlessly subdued all four elite Sunagakure chunin. They lay sprawled on the ground, unable to fight.
Meanwhile, Yuhi Shinku was locked in fierce combat with the two Sunagakure jonin. Flames and windblown sand collided and exploded, with one thunderous blast following another.
Yuhi Shinku breathed out roaring flames. The searing fire swept forward, suppressing the sandstorm filling the air.
The leading Sunagakure jonin formed hand seals with one hand and barked coldly, "Sand Release: Sand Wall Defense!"
A thick wall of yellow sand rose instantly, blocking the raging flames. "You think mere Fire Release can suppress Sunagakure's ninjutsu? Ridiculous!"
The other Sunagakure jonin seized the chance to attack from the side, thrusting a chakra-coated kunai at an opening in Yuhi Shinku's flank. "Pin him down from the front, kill him from