Seeing Senju Kazami, someone he had never encountered in the original story, Ziyun grew a little more cautious.
Since they had arranged for him to go last, he was presumably one of the best of Konoha's younger generation.
Perhaps he had trained in some of Konoha's unusual secret techniques.
As for why he had never seen him in the original story, it was obviously because a genius like him had been schemed to death by those two old schemers, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura.
"That's right, the Senju Clan represents Konoha! So, as a member of the Senju Clan, I'll defend Konoha's honor to the death."
Senju Kazami spoke resolutely.
"How touching. No wonder there are only a dozen or so ninja left in your Senju Clan."
Ziyun's lips curled upward. Over the past few days, he had made a point of asking Mikoto and Kushina about the Senju Clan.
Once the greatest clan in the Shinobi World, it had now declined until only a few dozen members remained.
Two-thirds of them were civilians who knew nothing about being ninja, leaving only a dozen or so ninja.
At those words, black lines appeared on Senju Kazami's forehead.
This Yeyue Ziyun was truly cutting and mean, but he was also right.
The Senju Clan's decline was an established fact.
Hadn't Uchiha Fugaku called the Uchiha Clan the strongest clan without anyone objecting?
Senju Kazami rapidly formed hand seals, and pitch-black markings appeared all over his body.
This was the opening move for a Sealing Jutsu, meaning Senju Kazami was about to unleash one.
The task the Third Hokage had given him this time was not to defeat Yeyue Ziyun, but to probe for Yeyue Ziyun's weakness!
"A Sealing Jutsu? It's finally here."
Seeing the pitch-black formula, Ziyun smiled faintly.
There was no doubt that Sealing Jutsu could threaten his Elemental Transformation.
After all, even an immortal, indestructible body like Otsutsuki Kaguya's could be sealed, so Elemental Transformation would naturally be no exception.
But the weakness of Sealing Jutsu was that it took too long to prepare. Catching Ziyun would be impossible unless someone was faster than him.
"Ha!"
With a low shout, Senju Kazami used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of Ziyun, pitch-black markings bursting out of his body.
The markings formed a huge net that swept toward Ziyun, seeking to seal him inside.
"Too slow!"
Ziyun spoke leisurely as his whole body turned into lightning, and he appeared dozens of meters away in an instant.
Just then, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an eyebrow in the stands. Got it!
This was the first time Yeyue Ziyun had made a move to dodge.
That was enough to prove that Sealing Jutsu worked against his troublesome lightning transformation technique.
Hiruzen Sarutobi then beckoned Hatake Sakumo closer and whispered some instructions. Hatake Sakumo nodded and withdrew.
"Sealing Squads One, Two, and Three, hurry! Come with me!"
"Barrier Team members, come with me too!"
Upon receiving his orders, Hatake Sakumo immediately mobilized three Sealing Squads, a total of forty ninja skilled in Sealing Jutsu, and headed for the stadium.
To be safe, he also called up several members of the Barrier Team.
Today, they were determined to kill Yeyue Ziyun.
Bang, bang, bang!
Blows.
In the center of the stadium, Senju Kazami and Ziyun kept exchanging
Most of the time, however, Senju Kazami attacked while Ziyun merely dodged.
It would have been easy for Ziyun to deal with Senju Kazami, but he was waiting for Hiruzen Sarutobi to make his move.
After all, Ziyun had kept his Observation Haki active the whole time and knew Hiruzen Sarutobi had already begun gathering people for an ambush.
So many spectators from Konoha Village would witness their Hokage's shameless tactics. The thought was amusing.
"Why aren't you attacking?"
Senju Kazami also sensed that something was wrong. With Yeyue Ziyun's strength, it would have been all too easy for him to deal with him.
Yet until now, he had only dodged, never once taking the initiative to attack.
Ignoring Senju Kazami, Ziyun continued dodging, bored. He even hoped the members of Konoha's Sealing Squads would arrive sooner so the show could begin.
More than ten minutes later, Ziyun finally sensed Hiruzen Sarutobi's move.
Dozens of Sealing Squad members were lying in wait around the stadium, needing only a pretext to show themselves.
"Lord Hokage, everything is ready."
Returning to the Third Hokage, Hatake Sakumo signaled that the ambush was in place.
"Mm, begin."
A trace of delight flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, and he signaled to Hatake Sakumo that they could begin.
"I hereby declare this duel over!"
Upon receiving the Hokage's order, Hatake Sakumo flashed into the center of the stadium and stopped Senju Kazami and Ziyun.
"What's wrong?"
"Why stop it all of a sudden?"
"Wasn't the Hidden Cloud Village's genius being pushed back?"
The bewildered spectators craned their necks.
After Ziyun had trounced their side in two matches, a Konoha genius had finally gained the upper hand, only for the match to be stopped.
At the same time, Uchiha Mikoto and Kushina Uzumaki grew tense in the stands. Their palms were sweating, and their breathing grew heavier.
Was the future Ziyun had told them about last night about to come true?
"Oh? Hatake Sakumo, it's you again. You've interrupted me over and over. What are you trying to do?"
Ziyun looked at Hatake Sakumo and asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Hmph, what am I trying to do? I'm going to seek justice for our Konoha Ninja, of course!"
Seeing that Ziyun had taken the bait, Hatake Sakumo gave a cold shout and stepped forward. His whole demeanor abruptly changed from warm and cheerful to chillingly cold!
His voice rang throughout the stadium.
"What's wrong?"
"Did something happen?"
"What on earth is going on?"
The spectators were completely bewildered, unsure what Hatake Sakumo was trying to do.
"Hatake Sakumo, what do you mean? What's this about seeking justice for the Konoha Ninja? Explain yourself!"
At the same time, the Third Raikage and Dodai flashed over to Ziyun and stood in front of him.
They naturally knew Ziyun's plan. For now, they were merely playing along with Konoha's performance.
"Hmph, what do I mean? Just now, we found the body of Uchiha Mikoto of the Uchiha Clan!"
"The autopsy showed that Uchiha Mikoto was injured by Lightning Release Ninjutsu!"
"As far as I know, Uchiha Mikoto had a serious conflict with your Hidden Cloud Village genius Yeyue Ziyun a few days ago, and Yeyue Ziyun immediately proposed using Uchiha Mikoto to test his new Ninjutsu! But you ended up killing her!"
"Our Konoha kindly formed an alliance with your Hidden Cloud Village and even gave you a great deal of supplies and money, only for you to take an inch and ask for a mile again and again!"
"You killed a Konoha Ninja inside Konoha Village itself. People of the Hidden Cloud Village, you have no regard for our Konoha Village at all!"
With that, Hatake Sakumo drew his White Fang Short Blade. A razor-sharp edge formed from condensed Chakra appeared on the blade.
He also unleashed the full aura of a Kage-level powerhouse!
An uproar swept through the stadium.
"What? Yeyue Ziyun killed Uchiha Mikoto?"
"Is that true? The Hidden Cloud Village's genius is far too arrogant!"
"Damn it, this is Konoha Village! Killing a Konoha Ninja inside Konoha Village itself—the Hidden Cloud Village has gone too far!"
After hearing Hatake Sakumo's "righteous" speech, the spectators were filled with indignation.
In the stands, Hiruzen Sarutobi remained unmoving and smiled faintly.
Public opinion had been stirred up. When the time came, killing Yeyue Ziyun would follow naturally!
"No way, what Ziyun said was actually true!"
"Lord Hokage, he really did use Mikoto's death to make a move against Ziyun. That means the Anbu Ninja who came to assassinate you last night really were sent by Lord Hokage!"
Hearing this, six-year-old Kushina was stunned.
This scene was exactly the same as what Ziyun had described to her last night!!
That meant... everything Ziyun said was true!
How could this be? How could Lord Hokage be that kind of person?
"Kushina, I've actually seen this kind of darkness before."