The two of them walked up to the stands and sat in the empty seats beside Team Guy.
Lee spotted Takuma from a distance and waved excitedly.
"Takuma! That fight just now was incredible! The precision of your strikes was so impressive, even Neji—"
"Quiet." Neji interrupted him coolly. His Byakugan opened slightly as he glanced at Takuma. "You only beat a Genin from Otogakure. It's nothing worth bragging about."
Tenten frowned, about to retort, but Takuma waved a hand. His gaze had already shifted to the arena.
Sasuke versus Akado Yoroi.
A murmur swept through the stands as Sasuke came out.
The name of the Uchiha Clan's last survivor was a spectacle in itself.
With his hands in his pockets and an impassive expression, he walked toward the center of the arena, his black hair stirring slightly in the wind.
Akado Yoroi was already waiting on the other side.
He was tall, his arms wrapped in bandages and the lower half of his face hidden by a mask.
"He's certainly good at acting cool," Tenten muttered.
Takuma didn't reply.
He was watching the flow of Sasuke's chakra.
The Uchiha Clan's chakra naturally leaned toward Yin Release. It was the foundation of the Sharingan.
At that moment, the chakra inside Sasuke's body was circulating rapidly around his eyes. Though he hadn't awakened them yet, the chakra pathways around his eyes were far more active than an ordinary person's.
Akado Yoroi attacked first. Chakra burst from beneath the bandages on his arms, and he lunged at Sasuke like a blur.
Sasuke dodged sideways at the last moment, his right leg sweeping toward Akado Yoroi's knee like a whip.
Akado Yoroi took the hit head-on. His body only swayed slightly before he reached back to grab Sasuke by the neck.
Just before his hand made contact, his chakra suddenly gathered into an absorbing form.
Sasuke clearly noticed and quickly retreated to put some distance between them.
The two moved at high speed around the arena, exchanging Taijutsu blows for more than ten rounds.
Sasuke's Taijutsu was clearly more refined, but Akado Yoroi's ability to absorb chakra made him wary of getting close. He had to hold back with every attack.
"That Otogakure ninja's arms are strange," Neji suddenly said, his Byakugan already activated. "They're absorbing chakra."
Lee scratched his head. "Doesn't that put Sasuke at a disadvantage?"
Neji didn't answer. He simply continued watching.
Just as Sasuke gathered chakra to defend himself, the Cursed Seal of Heaven Orochimaru had left on his body flared up. A searing pain spread along his chakra pathways, and he faltered, nearly collapsing.
Akado Yoroi attacked again.
He spread his arms in an embracing motion, clearly intending to drain the rest of Sasuke's chakra in one go.
Sasuke lowered his body slightly, shifting his weight onto his legs.
The instant Akado Yoroi's hands closed around him, Sasuke dropped low and slid beneath his arm, almost skimming the ground.
He kicked Akado Yoroi precisely in the ankle.
Akado Yoroi's leg buckled, and he pitched forward, losing his balance.
Sasuke didn't give him a chance to recover.
His second kick shot upward, slamming into Akado Yoroi's chin and sending him flying into the air.
Then Sasuke's figure vanished.
He leaped into the air and spun, his right leg tracing an arc as he slammed Akado Yoroi down toward the ground.
Sasuke pursued him like a shadow. Just before Akado Yoroi hit the ground, Sasuke appeared behind him, wrapped both arms around his waist, and arched backward, driving him headfirst into the arena floor.
Lion Combo.
Akado Yoroi's head slammed into the arena, sending chips of stone flying.
Sasuke let go and dropped to one knee, panting heavily. The markings of the Cursed Seal were still spreading across his neck.
"The winner—Uchiha Sasuke!"
Tenten let out a long breath. "Not bad. At least he didn't embarrass himself."
Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba.
As soon as Naruto stepped into the arena, he started shouting and taunting Kiba from across the ring. "Hey, dog boy! Watch how I beat you!"
Kiba rolled his eyes. Akamaru lay on his head, barking along with him.
Tenten covered her forehead with her hand. "How does he always have so much energy?"
"That's Naruto," Takuma said, the corners of his mouth lifting.
Kiba struck first. He dropped to all fours and used Beast Mimicry Ninja Art, his speed surging.
His Taijutsu style relied on wild instinct. He attacked from tricky angles, slashing repeatedly with Kunai like claws and fangs.
Naruto was on the defensive from the start, barely able to protect himself.
Kiba was too fast. Naruto couldn't keep up.
But Naruto could take an astonishing amount of punishment.
He took several heavy blows and was still full of energy. If anything, the more he got hit, the more fired up he became.
"Is that all you've got?" Naruto wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and grinned.
Kiba lost his temper and used Beast Human Clone.
Akamaru transformed to look like Kiba. The two attacked from opposite directions, doubling the intensity of their assault.
Naruto was driven to the edge of the arena.
Then he formed a hand seal.
Shadow Clone Technique.
Suddenly, the arena was full of Narutos.
The Beast Human Clone's attacks were instantly overwhelmed by a sea of clones.
"How is that possible—" Kiba's eyes widened.
Twenty Narutos charged at him at once, raining down punches and kicks. No matter how strong Kiba's Taijutsu was, he couldn't withstand a group beating. It only took a few moments for his face to swell and bruise.
Several clones chased Akamaru around the arena, and he yelped as he ran.
Kiba was eventually beaten into surrendering. Naruto stood where he was, hands on his hips, laughing wildly before he'd even wiped away his nosebleed. "Hahahaha! I won!"
Neji versus Hinata.
The atmosphere was entirely different for this match: the Hyuga Main Family and the branch family, a cousin against his younger cousin.
When they stepped into the arena, Hinata's body trembled slightly, while Neji remained expressionless.
Once the battle began, Neji showed no mercy.
Every Gentle Fist strike landed precisely on Hinata's pressure points. Chakra entered her chakra pathways, gradually restricting her movements.
Hinata couldn't land even a single strike with Eight Trigrams Palms before she was suppressed.
She gritted her teeth and kept going, getting back up again and again as she spoke continuously.
Takuma couldn't make out exactly what she was saying, but he knew it was Hinata's way of the ninja.
A way of the ninja that never gave up.
But Neji remained unmoved.
His eyes were so cold that he didn't seem to be looking at a relative. It was as if he were looking at a specimen that proved fate was real.
A relentless barrage of strikes broke through Hinata's defenses and sealed all her major pressure points.
Hinata collapsed to the ground, unable to get back up.
The referee declared Neji the winner.
The stands erupted in boos at Neji. He turned and left the arena without looking back once.
Neji Hyuga wasn't a cold-blooded fighting machine.
He was only a bird trapped in a cage, using hatred as the only way he could spread his wings.
Lee versus Gaara.
The entire arena fell silent for this fight.
The moment Lee removed his weights, the dull thud of the iron weights hitting the ground made everyone suck in a breath.
Tenten bit her lip, a glimmer of tears in her eyes.
"He's always worn those training weights..." she murmured.
Takuma had seen Team Guy's training with his own eyes. That kind of reckless approach couldn't be judged by ordinary standards.
Once the fight began, Lee's speed shocked the entire arena.
Gaara's Sand Defense couldn't keep up with his movements. The sand couldn't catch his afterimages.
Sharp kicks slammed into Gaara's defenses from every direction, each one cracking his shell of sand.
For the first time, Gaara's expression changed.
His Sand Defense repaired itself automatically. Lee's attacks were dense and relentless, but he still couldn't break through for good.
Then Guy gave him a look.
Lee nodded.
He opened the Five Gates in succession, and his body became a burning blue.
Frenzied chakra burst from within him. The increased blood flow turned his skin crimson.
He became a streak of light too fast for the eye to follow, leaving one afterimage after another across the arena.
Gaara's Sand Armor was shattered completely.
Lee wrapped him in bandages and spun him down from high in the air, slamming him toward the ground.
The impact shook the entire arena.
At the last moment, Gaara substituted a pile of sand from his gourd for himself.
Sand Binding Coffin. Lee's left arm and left leg were crushed. Guy dashed into the arena and rescued him.
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