One Against a Hundred

Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Hiashi were far from calm.

Fugaku noticed the astonishment in his clansmen's eyes and watched them swallow nervously. The corners of his mouth lifted.

It's working! The stronger Eiji is, the more their pride will be brought down!

Hiashi, meanwhile, was thinking that after this fight, Ryuuzaki Eiji and his unique Kekkei Genkai were bound to become famous.

If he proposed bringing Ryuuzaki Eiji into the fold now, he probably wouldn't face much resistance.

VIP Spectator Area

No, this won't do at all!

The Daimyo frowned in the VIP Box. This alone wouldn't make Eiji famous. What was so impressive about a one-on-one match?

He might not understand Ninja, but he knew how to make someone famous!

Now that he was certain Eiji's strength was overwhelming, he felt confident enough to make a slight change to Lady Mito's plan.

"Lord Hokage, there's not much point in continuing like this. Why not change the rules again? I have a much better idea!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing nearby, felt his mouth twitch at the Daimyo's flippant tone.

Please don't come up with another 'better idea.' Isn't this competition chaotic enough already?

But when he heard that the Daimyo intended to add more funding to Konoha's war budget, he had no choice but to accept.

He summoned an Anbu Ninja, gave him an instruction in a whisper, and sent him off.

At first, the Anbu Ninja thought he had misheard. Then he saw the Third Hokage's serious expression and hurried out of the VIP Box.

Eiji was on the verge of yawning as he waited for the next contestant to be eliminated.

An Anbu Ninja emerged from the contestants' preparation area, used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before the Jonin serving as referee, exchanged a few words with him, then vanished again.

The spectators stared in bewilderment. What was happening now?

The Jonin referee returned to the center of the arena and announced loudly:

"The rules have been changed again! The Battle Royale is now a Team Battle! All remaining contestants will attack Ryuuzaki Eiji together! If they defeat him, every remaining contestant wins. Otherwise, Ryuuzaki Eiji wins!"

"What!? You've got to be kidding me!"

Kushina's mouth fell open in disbelief.

"That's not fair! It's completely unfair!"

She wanted to report whoever among the village's leaders kept targeting Eiji. It was infuriating!

"What...?"

Minato looked just as lost. Was this really happening? How had things come to this? Did they want Eiji to lose that badly?

"You've got to be kidding! If you don't want him to win, just say so!"

"Exactly! You keep changing the rules. Look what you've done!"

"What happens to the bets we placed before the match? How are those going to be settled?"

"Give us our money back!"

Some villagers who didn't know the full story began shouting in protest at the absurdity of it all.

Their bets were already lost, so they had hoped to at least enjoy the match. Then this happened.

"Uh, did your disciple do something to upset our teacher?"

Jiraiya leaned toward Tsunade and asked cautiously. That was the polite way of putting it. He was starting to suspect Ryuuzaki Eiji had burned off Teacher Sarutobi's eyebrows to be singled out like this.

"Shut up!"

Tsunade jabbed Jiraiya with her elbow, finally silencing him.

She wasn't sure what was going on either. Weren't they just supposed to give Eiji some publicity? Did they really have to go this far?

Tsunade turned her gaze to Eiji, who stood in the arena.

Come to think of it, that brat is probably delighted.

As far as Tsunade could tell, Eiji had come to the arena to crush opponents who were no match for him. The Battle Royale had already put him in the spotlight, and now it had become a Team Battle.

If he won this one easily too, the kid would be able to strut around Konoha as if he owned the place.

Upon hearing the rule change, the remaining contestants filed out of the Rest Room and onto the arena floor.

The Combat Arena now presented a strange sight. Eiji stood on one side, while more than eighty remaining contestants stood on the other.

Almost every graduate eliminated earlier had been defeated by Eiji alone. So despite outnumbering him nearly a hundred to one, no one dared attack first. They feared a sudden Ninjutsu from him would take them out instantly.

Some swallowed nervously. Others gripped their Kunai tightly. Every one of them stood tense, watching the lone enemy before them with wary eyes: Ryuuzaki Eiji.

Eiji looked at the opponents glaring at him, and the corners of his mouth rose. Facing so many enemies for the first time, he grew a little more serious.

I guess this counts as a warm-up for the Shinobi World War. Once I'm on the battlefield, I can't expect one-on-one fights. If anything, this sort of situation will be more common.

"D-damn it... Don't look down on us!"

A Civilian Ninja could no longer stand the tension. Kunai in hand, he charged at Eiji.

It was as though he had lit a fuse. The others steeled themselves, gritted their teeth, and rushed at Eiji in a fury!

"Don't get cocky! You think you can take on all of us?"

"Show your seniors some respect!"

Eiji noticed that Uchiha Yo and Hyuga Yamashiro had not joined the charge. Did their family pride keep them from taking part in such an unfair fight? Or were they letting the others wear him down?

Either way, the result will be the same.

Eiji raised a hand and used Azure to yank the leading contestant toward him. He drove a fist into the man's chest!

Air burst from behind the man as if it had punched straight through his body. He flew backward into the contestant behind him, and the two tumbled away in a heap!

Then shadows fell over Eiji. Enemies had surrounded him on every side!

He scanned his surroundings with the Six Eyes, sidestepped a slash from a Ninja Blade, then seized the attacker's arm and threw him over his shoulder!

He leaped high, dodging a contestant who had used Earth Release to burst from the ground beneath him. Kicking out with both legs, he knocked two more unconscious and out of the match!

Finally, Eiji flipped in midair and sent the contestant who had emerged from the ground flying with a kick!

Eiji landed steadily and used Azure to seize another contestant by the throat. Unable to breathe, the man tried to grab Eiji's arm, but the Limitless kept him from touching it.

Eiji raised his head. His vivid blue eyes met the man's, and he spoke in a low voice.

"Do you want to dance too?"