Outside the barrier, there was dead silence.
Everyone stared blankly at the boy in the arena whose golden vertical pupils had yet to fade.
"Shukaku the One-Tail... was beaten head-on... by a sixteen-year-old boy?"
"This goes beyond 'Genin'... With strength like that, he'd be a top combatant in any village!"
"Dragon Release Village... what kind of monster have they raised..."
In the VIP seats, the representatives of every Ninja Village stood up.
Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged a glance, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes.
"Complete-body senjutsu, with his power controlled precisely enough to defeat the tailed beast without hurting the jinchūriki..." Jiraiya smiled bitterly. "This kid's mastery of senjutsu is almost on par with the two sages, Fukasaku and Shima."
Tsunade slowly sat down and let out a long breath. "Lin Ze's Dragon Release Village... has produced an incredible genius."
Inside the barrier, the gold slowly faded from Kimimaro's eyes, his bone horns retracted three inches, and the snake-scale markings disappeared.
He looked at the unconscious Gaara and said flatly, "The monster inside you wasn't much, either."
With that, he turned and walked toward the edge of the barrier.
Genma Shiranui hurriedly dispelled the Four Violet Flames Formation and announced loudly:
"The w-winner-Kimimaro!"
There were no cheers.
The entire venue remained deathly silent.
Everyone was still digesting what they had just witnessed. It had overturned their understanding of "Genin" and "the younger generation."
In Dragon Release Village's spectator section, Karin was so excited that tears spilled from her eyes. "Kimimaro! You were so cool!"
Haku smiled and applauded. "That was amazing."
Jūgo nodded. "Just what I'd expect from Kimimaro. His control of senjutsu has improved again."
Itachi watched Kimimaro return and said calmly, "Well done. Lord Lin Ze will be pleased."
Kimimaro gave a slight nod, returned to