Ryota Uchiha suffered terribly

Boom!!!

The two fireballs collided violently in midair!

Yet the deadlock lasted less than three seconds. The "Great Fireball" Lin Ze unleashed instantly overwhelmed Ryota Uchiha's fireball, swallowing, crushing, and annihilating it! The remaining flames and heat waves even surged back toward Ryōta!

"What?!"

"Impossible!!"

"How is his Great Fireball stronger than an Uchiha's?!"

The entire crowd erupted! Everyone, including the ANBU, was stunned!

Kurenai Yuhi covered her little mouth, her eyes wide. The grass stem in Asuma's mouth fell to the ground. Genma Shiranui also dropped his languid expression, his face filled with shock.

Of course, Lin Ze's meager chakra could not produce such a powerful Great Fireball Technique. Its actual driving force was the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon's Bolo Breath ability.

To make it look more like he was performing the Great Fireball Technique, Lin Ze had even deliberately gathered his scant chakra in his throat.

But Ryota Uchiha knew none of this. He stared dumbfounded at his effortlessly crushed Great Fireball, his mind blank. "N-no way! How could he... and stronger than mine... how is that possible?!"

His clan's pride was utterly shattered at that moment!

The scorching blast of air struck his face, singeing his bangs and bringing a searing pain that instantly extinguished his last shred of fighting spirit.

"I sur..." Before he could finish saying "surrender," Lin Ze appeared before him like a phantom!

"Want to surrender? Did you ask me?" Lin Ze's icy voice reached Ryota Uchiha's ears. The next instant, Lin Ze's right hand moved as fast as lightning. After taking him out of the fireball's path, he seized his collar and yanked down hard!

Riiip-!

With the sharp sound of ripping fabric, Lin Ze tore a large piece right off Ryota Uchiha's jacket! Before he could react, Lin Ze roughly stuffed the wad of fabric, still warm from his body, straight into his wide-open mouth, firmly choking off the rest of his surrender!

"Mmph, mmph, mmph!!!"

Ryota Uchiha's eyes widened in terror. He could only make muffled whimpers, desperately trying to spit out the wad of cloth as his hands clawed wildly.

But how could Lin Ze give him a chance?

"An Uchiha genius? This is all you've got?" Lin Ze sneered. His left hand clamped like an iron vise around Ryōta's wrist as he tried to resist, then gave it a light twist.

"Mmph-ah!" The intense pain left Ryōta's scream muffled in his mouth, and his body bent forward involuntarily.

Then Lin Ze's fists rained down!

Of course, Lin Ze controlled his blows with great precision. He struck only well-padded areas such as the buttocks, thighs, and arms, avoiding every vital spot and joint.

Every punch and kick ensured that Ryota Uchiha felt pain deep in his bones, yet caused only superficial injuries that did not even qualify as minor wounds. A few days of rest would have him bouncing around again.

"Mmph! Ow! Mmmph!"

Ryota Uchiha was beaten without any ability to fight back, howling on the ground like a human punching bag.

Ryota Uchiha tried to dodge, but Lin Ze's attacks always landed precisely on his body.

Tears, snot, and saliva mixed with dust smeared his face, leaving him looking utterly miserable.

For the first time, he felt despair and regret so clearly-regret over provoking this monster! Regret over using the Great Fireball back then! Regret over not listening to his older brother and surrendering outright!

Silence fell around the arena, broken only by the dull thuds of fists striking flesh and Ryota Uchiha's muffled groans of pain through his gagged mouth.

Hiss!!!

The other students nearby sucked in cold breaths, looking as though they had been stunned senseless. Some of the girls even turned away, unable to keep watching.

This was nothing but one-sided abuse!

Watching Lin Ze's ferocity in the arena, Kurenai Yuhi felt a little afraid, but even more satisfied.

The corner of Genma Shiranui's mouth twitched. "This guy... he really fights dirty." Yet there was little sympathy in his tone.

Asuma's eyelids twitched as he watched, too. He silently felt fortunate that, although he and Lin Ze did not get along, they had not reached the point of such deadly enmity.

Sweat beaded on the referee teacher's forehead. Several times, he wanted to speak up and stop it, but according to the rules, the match could continue as long as neither side surrendered or lost the ability to fight.

And now, with something stuffed in Ryota Uchiha's mouth, he really could not surrender clearly... This Lin Ze was plainly exploiting a loophole to take revenge! But this method of revenge was far too...

Hiss... it hurt just watching.

Finally, when Ryota Uchiha had been beaten black and blue and lay curled on the ground, able only to groan weakly and without even the strength to struggle, the referee teacher could bear it no longer. Using the Body Flicker Technique, he appeared in the middle of the arena and blocked Lin Ze's path.

"Enough! Lin Ze! The outcome has been decided! Stop attacking immediately!" the referee said sternly, quickly crouching down to pull the wad of cloth from Ryōta's mouth.

The moment the cloth came out, Ryōta let out an indistinct, tearful wail:

"I... I surrender... I surrender... stop hitting me... boo-hoo..."

His eyes were filled with terror as he looked at Lin Ze, as though he had seen some demon, and his body involuntarily curled back.

Only then did Lin Ze stop, looking as though he had not quite had his fill. He shook out his wrists as if he had merely warmed up. Looking down at Ryota Uchiha, whose face streamed with tears and snot, he said mildly, "Learn to speak properly from now on. Don't go playing with fire at the drop of a hat. It's dangerous."

Those words made Ryota Uchiha shudder all over and bury his head even lower. The last trace of resentment in his heart was completely replaced by fear, leaving only one thought: A demon! He's a demon! I absolutely must never provoke him again!

Lin Ze paid no further attention to the defeated opponent trembling on the ground. He turned and stepped off the platform, calmly returning to the rest area under countless complicated gazes.

Kurenai Yuhi immediately handed him a water bottle, her eyes holding both admiration for Lin Ze and a hidden sense of satisfaction that he had avenged what had happened last time.

Lin Ze smiled at her, took the bottle, and drank a mouthful.

With that, the first person to advance from the first arena had emerged: Lin Ze of Class B!

Watching Lin Ze take the bottle and rest in the distance, Obito Uchiha silently recalled what Lin Ze had said that day: "Don't worry. I'm not that petty, and I'm not a bad person."

*...*

He's a devil, plain and simple!

Watching Ryota Uchiha being helped off the platform by two fellow clan members, Obito silently shed a sympathetic tear for him in his heart.

Before long, all four semifinalists from the third arena had been decided: Lin Ze, Genma Shiranui, Asuma Sarutobi, and Ibiki Morino.

With five consecutive victories, Lin Ze claimed the top spot without any suspense and advanced to tomorrow's final round. Unfortunately, Kurenai Yuhi had not qualified, so Lin Ze made a point of spending some time encouraging her.

And the scene of "Ryota Uchiha suffering terribly" was bound to become a favorite topic of conversation over tea and meals for many of those present, as well as a vivid lesson reminding them not to casually provoke that monster named Lin Ze.