Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi took their positions in the center of the square, their burly bodies casting two heavy shadows in the sunlight.
Kitsuchi ground his foot lightly against the ground. Chakra seeped through his sole into the gaps between the stone slabs, quietly reinforcing the rock beneath him.
Akatsuchi's hands hung at his sides, his fingers slightly spread. A faint, dark yellow sheen had already appeared on the ground beneath his fingertips.
They did not expect to win. But at the very least, they wanted everyone to see that Iwagakure's shinobi could put up a better showing than those from Kirigakure and Kumogakure.
Yongye stood ten paces away, his hands still in his pockets. His gaze swept over their tense bodies, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Wind God Kick!
He vanished.
No warning. No afterimage. He disappeared completely into thin air.
Kitsuchi's eyes were still fixed on the empty spot where Yongye had stood when Yongye appeared directly above him.
A foot came stomping down!
The sole landed on the crown of Kitsuchi's head. Yongye had not used his full strength; the motion was almost casual.
But his timing was mercilessly precise. Kitsuchi's Earth Release Chakra had only just surged from his feet to his shoulders and neck. Before it could form a complete layer of rock armor over his body, that foot drove it back down from above.
Kitsuchi's knees buckled!
With that foot pressing on his head, his neck compressed and he dropped half a head shorter.
He swung an arm up to grab Yongye's ankle. His fingers had barely reached his shoulder when the pressure on his head vanished.
Yongye appeared in front of him. His other foot came up from the side, planting its sole squarely against Kitsuchi's left cheek!
The force snapped