"Yeyue Ziyun... disappeared!"
The next moment, the spectators all blinked hard.
They had realized that Yeyue Ziyun had vanished from the arena without their noticing.
Even Kage Level experts like Hiruzen Sarutobi and Hatake Sakumo were stunned.
They knew Ziyun hadn't disappeared. He was simply moving too fast.
He was too fast for their eyes to follow, but the flashes of lightning that occasionally streaked through the stadium showed that Ziyun was still inside.
He was just moving nonstop.
But he was far too fast!
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened. Ziyun's speed was already approaching that of the Flying Thunder God Technique created by his teacher, Tobirama Senju!
If this were a battlefield between Hidden Cloud Village and Konoha Village, Yeyue Ziyun could use that terrifying speed to slaughter Konoha Ninja.
The real problem was that no one could do anything about him. What a headache.
The Third Raikage watched from the side, immensely gratified.
Ziyun was much faster than he had been when he first dueled Yotsuki A.
He had grown far too quickly.
"Uchiha Fugaku, weren't you so proud of the Uchiha Clan's eyes?"
"What about now? In the face of absolute speed, any Kekkei Genkai is useless."
"No matter how powerful the Sharingan is, if you can't see your enemy, how is it any different from being blind?"
Ziyun's voice kept coming from every direction in the arena, each word like a slap across Fugaku's face.
Whenever Ziyun spoke, Fugaku immediately looked toward the source of his voice, but he couldn't see so much as an afterimage.
Even with his visual prowess, he couldn't track Ziyun's movements at all.
In fact, even if he could see them clearly, his body couldn't keep up with Ziyun's speed.
Spotting an opening in Fugaku's guard, Ziyun flashed in front of him and sent him flying with a strike infused with the power of the Lightning Fruit.
The moment the blow landed, white smoke rose, and Fugaku's body turned into a piece of wood.
"A Substitution Technique? Just what I'd expect from a member of the Uchiha Clan."
Ziyun's voice rang out, his tone full of mockery.
"Finally, I've got you!"
Just then, Uchiha Fugaku appeared in front of Ziyun at just the right moment, unleashing his Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
"What a Sharingan. How terrifying~" Ziyun said mockingly, meeting Uchiha Fugaku's gaze without the slightest fear of his Sharingan.
He wanted to shatter the Konoha genius's confidence in every way. That would make things more interesting.
Otherwise, if he kept flying around, Uchiha Fugaku might think he was afraid of his Sharingan.
"What an opportunity!"
"Genjutsu-Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!" Fugaku shouted coldly and cast his Genjutsu.
A vast illusion instantly engulfed Ziyun's mind.
Wedges made of huge stones pinned Ziyun's body, leaving him suspended in midair.
The sight made Hiruzen Sarutobi's breathing grow heavier.
If Genjutsu worked, he could make his move right now.
Unfortunately for him...
"So this is the Sharingan's Genjutsu? As expected of the Kekkei Genkai of Konoha's strongest clan. I almost fell for it."
Still talking and laughing, Ziyun deliberately used Elemental Transformation on his body, instantly breaking the Genjutsu. At the same time, he spotted Fugaku trying to approach him with a Kunai.
"How could this be? He broke out so quickly?"
Uchiha Fugaku was horrified. As he saw it, to maintain that strange lightning-transformed state, Ziyun had to stay focused and gather Chakra at all times.
Once he fell under a Genjutsu, his Lightning Transformation Technique would naturally fail, and Fugaku could stab him to death with a Kunai.
Who could have imagined that Ziyun would break his Genjutsu almost instantly?
In fact, even if Ziyun was struck by a Genjutsu, his body would automatically undergo Elemental Transformation when it was in danger.
Like the knee-jerk reflex, it was an instinct.
"What an unbeatable Ninjutsu!"
At that moment, even Fugaku had to admit that this genius from Hidden Cloud Village really was terrifying.
An ability that made him almost immune to all Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, and even Genjutsu couldn't do anything to him...
Compared with his Lightning Transformation Technique, the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan really did seem inadequate.
"Fugaku, watch out... behind you!"
Just then, the Uchiha Clan Head shouted from the stands, his anus clenching as he tried to warn Fugaku.
He could tell that Yeyue Ziyun was about to use the same move he had used on Jiraiya.
If Fugaku suffered the same attack as Jiraiya, it would be too great a loss for the Uchiha Clan.
After all, Uchiha Fugaku was the Uchiha Clan Head's personally chosen candidate for the next clan head.
But he was sitting in the stands, too far away for Uchiha Fugaku to hear him.
"Finger Pistol secret art: Thousand Years of Death!"
Just as Ziyun circled behind Fugaku and prepared to hit him with a Thousand Years of Death, Anbu Captain Hatake Sakumo appeared and blocked Ziyun's Finger Pistol with his Hatake short blade.
"Let's end this duel here."
At this critical moment, he, the Anbu Captain, had no choice but to step in.
Uchiha Fugaku, even if he was of the Uchiha Clan, was also a genius of Konoha.
Jiraiya was already gravely injured. Konoha couldn't afford to lose another genius.
"Anbu Captain, Hatake Sakumo. Why aren't you hunting down the spy? What are you doing here, getting in my way?"
Ziyun looked at Hatake Sakumo and spoke mildly.
Hearing Ziyun's words, Hatake Sakumo felt a pang of distress.
The Third Hokage had ordered him to investigate the spy secretly communicating with Hidden Cloud Village over the past few days.
So he had thoroughly investigated the Anbu and even some of the higher-ups, only to find no one secretly communicating with Hidden Cloud Village.
He had even begun to suspect that Yeyue Ziyun really had been making a wild guess.
But the Third Hokage refused to believe it, so he would have to keep toiling away at the investigation.
It took one sentence to start a rumor and endless work to disprove it. Hatake Sakumo was miserable.
"Anyway, this match is over. Fugaku, admit defeat."
Ignoring Ziyun, Hatake Sakumo turned to Uchiha Fugaku.
"Damn it~~"
Fugaku gritted his teeth. He was unwilling to accept it, but he had to admit that Yeyue Ziyun's Lightning Transformation Technique was simply too obnoxious.
Immunity to all Ninjutsu and Taijutsu-that effect alone was already heaven-defying enough.
He could even break Genjutsu at incredible speed. This Lightning Transformation Technique really did surpass the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.
"All right, I admit defeat."
After thinking for a while, Fugaku conceded.
He had seen Ziyun silently make a thrusting gesture for the Thousand Years of Death at him.
If they kept fighting, he would become the next Jiraiya.
Uchiha Fugaku would rather die than have his "ass violated" in front of so many Konoha villagers.
"Hahaha! Third Hokage, what do you think of our Hidden Cloud Village genius?"
When the words [Winner: Yeyue Ziyun] appeared on the big screen, the Third Raikage laughed heartily once more and asked Hiruzen Sarutobi, who sat beside him.
"Yeyue Ziyun truly deserves his title as Hidden Cloud Village's number one genius. He is in no way inferior to Konoha Village's many geniuses."
At this point, all the Third Hokage could do was force a smile.
He was also anxious. He had confirmed that Ziyun's Lightning Transformation Technique could grant him immunity to Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu.
That left only Sealing Jutsu.
Senju Kazami was a Senju Clan genius skilled in Sealing Jutsu. Hopefully, Sealing Jutsu could affect Yeyue Ziyun.
If even Sealing Jutsu was useless against Yeyue Ziyun, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know how he could kill him.
His long-prepared plan might even die before it began.
"Kazami, don't disgrace our Senju Clan. Give that pretty boy from Hidden Cloud Village a good beating!"
Before he entered the arena, Tsunade, the Senju Clan's eldest princess, cheered on her clansman.
She wasn't particularly close to Uchiha Fugaku, and her bond with Jiraiya was merely that of a former classmate.
But seeing Konoha's geniuses lose one after another to a genius from another ninja village still made Tsunade unhappy.
"I understand, Lady Tsunade."
Senju Kazami nodded, then leaped into the stadium.
"Senju Kazami, a member of the Senju of the Forest. The once-famous God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, founded Konoha Ninja Village together with Madara Uchiha, and also established the basic structure of the Shinobi World."