"Death or life notwithstanding?!"
The words stirred up a huge commotion. The other Kage were all stunned when they heard them. No one had expected the Raikage to be so uncompromising. They had no objections to a simple competition, but fighting without regard for life or death was another matter entirely.
It was not that they feared death. Their villages had only just been established, and this was precisely when they needed capable people. To secure more resources, each village would surely send its three most elite ninja. If anything went wrong, it would severely affect the village's future development.
Resources were important, but high-end combat power was equally indispensable.
Ishikawa immediately rejected the proposal. "I don't think that's appropriate. A competition is fine, but we can't let a single contest cost the village its elite talents."
"Exactly." Byakuren echoed, "A ninja's sacrifice should not happen here."
"Hmph!" A snorted and retorted, "But if they can't disregard life and death, ninja won't be able to unleash their full strength. What meaning would such a competition have?"
There was nothing wrong with that statement, but battles between experts were nothing like the Chunin Ninja Exams of later generations, where someone could forcibly stop the match in a critical moment. At their level, once a true fight to the death began, even experts of equal standing would find it difficult to intervene.
"I think we can adopt a compromise." After thinking for a moment, Hashirama suggested, "During the competition, if one side voluntarily admits defeat, the side with the advantage must immediately stop. What do you think?"
Everyone pondered it for a while. In many situations, it would still be difficult to stop during a battle, but at least it left them a way out.
"I have no objections." Madara was the