Jiraiya vs. Yamada Soji
Mangetsu's steps were steady on the way back to the spectator seats, but Wolf Demon noticed that he had left his orange on the chair.
Mangetsu had never forgotten to take an orange he had peeled before. He did not return to his old seat, instead standing against the wall behind Sōji, his arms folded over his chest. He closed his eyes and let out a soft breath.
Sōji did not turn around. He simply pushed a cup of tea toward the empty seat beside him.
Mangetsu opened his eyes, glanced at the tea, and picked it up, draining half the cup in one go. Then he sank down against the wall, looking dejected.
"The Eight Gates Release—that was the taijutsu that utterly crushed the previous Seven Ninja Swordsmen. I never thought... the ninja blades would lose to that move again..." Mangetsu hugged his legs and buried his face between his knees.
"Just try harder next time. You're still young, and there's still room to develop your Hydrification Technique. Don't lose heart!"
Sōji pressed his lips together. After thinking for a long while, that dry reassurance was all he could squeeze out.
An odd, awkward silence settled over them.
After nearly an hour of emergency repairs by Konoha's Sealing Squad, the Arena's fighting platform was finally restored.
More than a dozen chunin used Earth Release to fill the craters and compact the ground again, while the Sealing Squad retraced the Barrier formula lines shattered by Daytime Tiger.
Only after confirming that the chakra barrier could withstand Kage-level impacts again did they signal the main stands. Throughout the wait, not a single spectator left early.
Four battles, two wins and two losses. The final match would see both sides' commanders take the field themselves, yet the lineup