An hour later, six large arenas stood in a hexagonal formation on the Ninja Academy's training grounds. The areas around them were packed with spectators who had come to watch. An atmosphere of nervous excitement filled the crowd as everyone eagerly discussed the morning's thrilling matches. The most memorable had been Hiruzen Sarutobi against Hidemune Hatake in Arena One and Kagami Uchiha against Biwako in Arena Two. Someone shook their head and sighed. "Those two students were so strong. They had a chance at the top six, but they ran into the two strongest opponents. Just like that, their chances at becoming Hokage are gone. What a shame!"
With help from the medical team, the fifteen remaining students hurried to recover from their injuries. Each also took the time to restore their chakra and stamina in preparation for the final battle.
Time flew by, and before long, the break was over. Tobirama Senju summoned the fifteen students and had them draw lots again to decide the final matchups.
The fifteen students each drew a numbered slip. Shimura Danzō held number one, and when he saw that Aoki Kawa had drawn the same number, he breathed a sigh of relief. Good thing it's not Hiruzen or Kagami. Otherwise, I'd be in trouble.
Kagami Uchiha held number two and smiled and nodded at Zeya Hyuga, who had drawn the same number. Zeya, however, held nothing back. "I'll let you have a taste of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist in a bit. You really think beating a woman makes you so great?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi drew number three. Muranzi, who held the same number, cursed his luck inwardly and muttered, "My luck really couldn't be worse."
Torifu Akimichi drew number four and grinned goofily. Hakukei Gekko looked at him with disgust. "What the hell are you laughing at, you fat bastard? I'll slice you up in a minute."
Mitokado Homura drew number five. Frowning, he cautiously studied Mokubon Kurama, who had drawn the same number.
Tai Chiba drew number six and would face Kyūgen Aburame.
Koboku Ito held number seven and looked with some relief at Nannen Uchiha, who held the same number. He thought that water countered fire, so his chances of winning were even better.
Utatane Koharu drew a zero. She looked around in bewilderment, unsure what was going on.
Tobirama Senju looked at Utatane Koharu and said with a cheerful smile, "Congratulations, you advance directly! I think a ninja's luck is part of their strength too. Sometimes luck matters more than anything else. I've seen plenty of strong people die on the battlefield because they had bad luck, and I've seen people who weren't all that strong survive because they were exceptionally lucky. So I hope all my students will have good luck."
Utatane Koharu danced with joy when she heard that. The other students cast envious looks her way.
Tobirama Senju turned to the other students. "Go to the arenas matching your numbers and prepare for the final battles!" The students answered in unison, "Yes!"
Shimura Danzō and Aoki Kawa had taken their positions in Arena One. Aoki Kawa stood with an agile bearing, a fierce look in his eyes. His hands twitched slightly inside his sleeves, clearly ready to attack at any moment. Shimura Danzō's expression was cold, his eyes full of confidence. Someone who plays with hidden weapons can't possibly break through my Wind Release Ninjutsu. I've got this fight won.
As soon as the match began, Aoki Kawa struck first. He flung up both hands, sending dozens of concealed silver needles at Danzo like a torrential shower. Danzo remained calm and quickly formed hand seals. "Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!" A powerful wind blade burst from his mouth, blowing the hidden weapons to the ground.
Seeing this, Aoki Kawa refused to back down. He moved quickly toward Danzo, continuously throwing shuriken from different angles. Danzo defended himself with Wind Release Ninjutsu while watching for an opening. He noticed that Aoki Kawa's steps paused slightly whenever he launched hidden weapons in succession.
Danzo seized the opportunity and sped up his hand seals. "Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!" Huge balls of high-pressure wind, one after another, roared toward Aoki Kawa, each wrapped in countless wind blades. Aoki Kawa hurried to dodge, but there was no escaping an attack that covered such a wide area. He was hit and fell to the ground. If the referee hadn't reacted quickly and blocked the attacks that followed, the wind blades would have torn him to pieces. Gasps rang out from the stands, followed by thunderous applause. Everyone had been won over by Danzo's masterful Wind Release Ninjutsu.
Tobirama Senju nodded slightly and remarked, "Shimura Danzō has a deep grasp of Wind Release, and his timing was just right. Aoki Kawa's skill with hidden weapons is impressive, but he still fell a little short in the face of overwhelming strength." Uchiha Tomioki snorted. "His Wind Release merely suppressed the hidden weapons. If they'd fought in a forest, it's anyone's guess who would have won!"
In Arena Two, Kagami Uchiha and Zeya Hyuga faced each other. Kagami stood tall, his Sharingan glinting coldly, his face full of pride and confidence. Zeya's expression was grave as he raised his hands in the opening stance of the Gentle Fist. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his Byakugan was activated.
The battle erupted in an instant. Zeya Hyuga charged first, moving nimbly as both palms struck rapidly at Kagami Uchiha. Kagami activated his Sharingan, easily saw through the paths of Zeya's attacks, and moved swiftly to evade them. At the same time, he muttered, "Lightning Release: Lightning Blade Rush!" A powerful electric current instantly gathered around his arm and enveloped his Ninja Blade as he thrust it at Zeya.
Zeya Hyuga hurriedly turned aside, using the Gentle Fist's force-redirection technique in an attempt to guide Kagami Uchiha's Lightning Release away. Seeing this, Kagami immediately switched ninjutsu. "Great Fireball Technique!" A massive fireball burst from his mouth and swept toward Zeya. Forced back again and again by the flames, Zeya had parts of his clothing scorched.
But Zeya Hyuga didn't give up. Instead, he saw this as a good opportunity. With a roar, he unleashed the Hyuga Clan's secret technique-the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. Countless palm shadows split the Great Fireball and struck at Kagami Uchiha. Blinded by the flames, Kagami couldn't dodge in time. Several palms struck him, and he couldn't help spitting up blood. He deeply regretted being too careless. Roaring in anger, he moved quickly to open up some distance, his Sharingan spinning rapidly as he used genjutsu to hold his opponent back. Then his hands formed seals in rapid succession, alternating between Lightning Release: Swift Lightning Light and Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson.
Zeya Hyuga hurriedly activated the secret Rotation technique, blocking every attack. But by then, Kagami Uchiha had already opened up some distance and directly unleashed his ultimate move-the Great Dragon Fire Lightning Explosion. A fire dragon wreathed in lightning lunged at Zeya, forcing him to use the secret Rotation technique again. The lightning-fire dragon collided violently with the Rotation and was torn apart and flung away. When the Rotation vanished, Zeya staggered.
Kagami Uchiha seized the opportunity to use another ninjutsu-Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson. More than a dozen fireballs, each containing a hidden weapon, flew at him again. Zeya Hyuga frantically slapped the fireballs and hidden weapons aside with the Gentle Fist, but one still struck his leg. Kagami charged at Zeya with a longsword, and the two engaged in a desperate fight to the death.
In the end, Kagami Uchiha suffered an injury to his heart meridian and knelt on the ground, blood pouring continuously from his mouth. Even so, he narrowly defeated Zeya Hyuga at the cost of severe injuries. Zeya lay on the ground with seven sword wounds, his life hanging by a thread. The spectators were stunned by the brutal battle. The grounds fell silent at first, then filled with cries of regret.
Tobirama Senju frowned. "Kagami Uchiha was too conceited. If not for the Sharingan's abilities, he would have had a hard time winning today." Tennin Hyuga shook his head and sighed. "Zeya Hyuga did everything he could, but his Gentle Fist still wasn't refined enough. He couldn't finish it in one strike. Zeya is too young. Against Kagami Uchiha, with his Sharingan and powerful ninjutsu, it really was too difficult."
In Arena Three, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Muranzi, a civilian ninja, stood facing each other. Hiruzen wore a smile, his eyes gentle and confident, his hands hanging loosely at his sides. It was clear he was confident about the fight. Muranzi looked solemn, his feet planted firmly on the ground. A powerful aura emanated from him, and his hands had already begun forming the seals for Earth Release.
The battle began, and Muranzi attacked first. "Earth Release: Earth Spear Thrust!" Earth spears rose from the ground one after another, advancing rapidly toward Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen remained unhurried as his hands quickly formed seals. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" A massive water dragon burst from his mouth and crashed into the earth spears. Water and earth collided, sending up a huge spray of water and dust.
Taking the opportunity, Muranzi lunged at Hiruzen Sarutobi, driving a powerful fist toward his head. Hiruzen flashed aside, easily dodging the punch, and said, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Countless small fireballs shot from his mouth and flew toward Muranzi. Muranzi hurriedly used Earth Release to raise a defensive barrier in front of himself, blocking the fireballs.
Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi formed seals again. "Lightning Release: Lightning Flash!" A powerful current gathered in his hand, transforming into a burst of swift lightning light that rushed toward Muranzi. Muranzi defended himself with all his strength, but Hiruzen's ninjutsu were too fast, numerous, and ingenious. His defenses gradually crumbled. In the end, Hiruzen easily defeated Muranzi with his skillful combinations of ninjutsu. The spectators cheered and applauded his spectacular performance.
Tobirama Senju praised him. "Hiruzen Sarutobi has already mastered the use of the Five Basic Nature Transformations, and his ability to adapt in battle is even more outstanding."
Even Uchiha Tomioki had to admit, "He does have reason to be proud. He won that fight beautifully."