Under the eyes of the entire arena, the countless white papers fluttering everywhere folded themselves into shuriken in mid-air.
And then rapidly assailed Chōza!
Chōza tried to block with his large hands, but the shuriken were imbued with Wind Release chakra, and were also made of source material paper.
Though seemingly just white paper, they were in fact no different from steel shuriken.
Before long, the paper shuriken cut him, leaving numerous wounds.
Chōza immediately realized these couldn't be withstood directly. He curled himself into a ball and began to spin at high speed.
"Human Bullet Tank!"
His red hair became like armor, scoring deep gouges into the ground.
In this form, Chōza was slightly more agile, but he couldn't discern directions. He could only rely on faint sensory input to gauge Konan's position.
But Konan was flying in the sky, utterly unafraid of his technique. However, there was a rule in the match: flying contestants couldn't fly too high, otherwise, it would affect fairness.
Even so, Konan handled it with ease.
A black swallow danced lightly around the arena, with a massive red human bullet tank rolling relentlessly behind it.
After about a minute or two, Konan's paper shuriken were all expended, and Chōza immediately stopped his Human Bullet Tank mode.
Looking somewhat breathless, he seemed to have expended a great deal of energy. His gaze at Konan in the sky grew increasingly fearful.
In the spectator stands, the Akimichi Clan Head shook his head helplessly. "The difference in strength is too obvious. Though Chōza is a few years older, in terms of both tactics and raw power, he lost completely."
As a father, he was still convinced. It was no disgrace for his son to be outmatched by the Hokage-sama's disciple, and there wouldn't be any gossip in the village.
However, Chōza was sure to be down for a while. After such a beating, he would need some good consolation.
In the arena, Konan saw Chōza's severe stamina exhaustion and chose to take the offensive. She infused chakra into the source material, and almost instantly, a vast amount of white paper burst forth from her chest again!
It was overwhelmingly vast! As if to drown the entire arena, some of the white papers coalesced around Konan's wings, reinforcing them into thicker, more substantial wings.
Each beat of her wings generated gusts of wind.
Then Konan swiftly formed hand signs. A portion of the white papers floating in the sky transformed into paper spears and shot towards Chōza!
Chōza, sensing danger, quickly dodged, only to see the paper spears, made of white paper, embed themselves deeply into the ground.
"Is that still paper? Even steel wouldn't do that…"
The audience gasped in astonishment. They knew Konan would be strong, but they hadn't expected her to be this strong.
Even some veteran Chunin of average talent couldn't master such powerful ninjutsu. Konan was only eleven years old, and she could achieve this?
"Divine Punishment." Konan said, her voice calm.
Chōza looked up towards Konan. Amidst the sky filled with fluttering paper, Konan, with her white wings, gazed at him indifferently. Her seemingly emotionless face was like an angel truly descended from heaven, about to bring divine retribution.
The next second! The countless paper spears in the sky all shot down towards Chōza! Immediately, sand and stones flew, and paper scraps danced wildly.
At this moment, the Akimichi Clan Head immediately stood up, staring somewhat nervously at Chōza, who was engulfed in dust on the arena floor.
The Nara Clan Head, standing nearby, comforted him. "What's there to be afraid of? It's just a match. Hokage-sama's disciple surely knows her limits."
The Akimichi Clan Head paused, then let out a wry chuckle. "You're right. What am I worrying about? Hokage-sama would never let his disciple harm someone from our own village,"
The other spectators also showed no signs of worry, instead cheering enthusiastically, celebrating Konan's impending victory.
No one worried that Konan would harm Chōza, because they were all from the same village, and they trusted each other.
Konan powerfully flapped her wings once, and instantly, the dust and smoke dissipated, revealing Chōza on the arena floor.
All the paper spears had bypassed his body, firmly embedding themselves in the arena ground, surrounding Chōza.
Chōza had just regained his senses. For a moment, he truly thought he was going to die. Thankfully, it was just a match.
When he saw Konan's expression then, it was as if she were truly looking at a condemned criminal about to be executed.
It scared him silly.
She was three years younger than him, and it was one thing to be so strong, but how could she also have such an imposing aura?
He had lost so humiliatingly.
Chōza looked up again, and still saw Konan's face. Against the sunlight in the sky, she appeared incredibly sacred.
He couldn't help but swallow. Just as he was about to speak, Konan spoke first. "You lost."
"Yes, I lost…" Chōza lowered his head helplessly and sighed.
Nara Anka immediately came onto the arena and declared Konan's victory!
The entire arena erupted in cheers for Konan once more.
Konan herself slowly descended to the ground. The wings on her back suddenly disintegrated into countless white papers, which then all returned to Konan's chest, absorbed back by the source material, and converted back into chakra.
A gentle expression reappeared on her face. Konan nodded towards the still somewhat bewildered Chōza. "I apologize, Chōza, I might have been a bit too rough."
Then she extended her hand, and a butterfly folded from white paper flew out from it, slowly flapping its wings as it flew into Chōza's hand.
"Consider this a small gift to express my apology." She then waved at the villagers who supported her, and cheerfully walked off the stage.
In the spectator stands where the Kage were seated, the Kazekage started applauding to himself.
"Oh my, I never expected Konan to be so strong. When she fought Sasori that day, she really held back, didn't she?"
Torifu smiled and said nothing. Today, Konan had brought him honor. Under the eyes of so many villagers and Kage, she had displayed her true strength.
It also indirectly showcased Torifu's teaching abilities as a master.
But upon hearing the Kazekage's words, Ōnoki seemed a little puzzled. "What do you mean? Kazekage-sama, your disciple has already sparred with Konan?"
The Kazekage laughed heartily. "Indeed. The day after arriving in Konoha, I brought Sasori to visit the Hokage, and he sparred with both of his disciples. The result was just like Chōza's; a complete defeat."
Seeing Konan's strength, the Kazekage no longer harbored hopes for Sasori to win the championship.
Judging from Konan defeating Sasori even while holding back her strength, Yahiko must have also concealed a lot of his power.
However, his own disciple had fought Yahiko and Konan almost without holding anything back.