Some also said that Yahiko had yet to participate in a single battle, his strength still unknown, making it too rash to declare him a contender for the championship.
Sasori was also a Kage's disciple, and had a strong possibility of competing for the championship.
For a time, opinions were divided, with supporters for various candidates.
Even some Iwagakure contestants, whom the Tsuchikage himself didn't favor, had villagers who believed they could win.
By the end, the predictions felt more like a joke or a game.
Amidst the villagers' discussions, an orange-haired youth, clad in a black long robe adorned with golden lotuses, slowly made his way to the arena.
Nara Anka announced the next pair of contestants, and Yahiko slowly walked onto the stage.
Across from him was a samurai, slightly taller than Yahiko, with a rather refined appearance.
As the two contestants stepped into the arena, a gasp erupted from the crowd.
"What the hell, how did they pair these two together! Doesn't this mean one of the two strongest contenders for the championship will be eliminated directly!"
"This… I really don't know what to say about Kaito's luck."
The villagers in the stands began another heated discussion, because Yahiko's opponent was no ordinary samurai.
He was the young samurai taken in by Mifune after he became general, and his talent was quite exceptional.
In the previous rounds, he had easily annihilated his opponents, winning his matches in less than a minute.
His strength presented a stark contrast to the other contestants.
Like Sasori, Konan, and Yahiko, he was rated by the villagers as a strong contender for the championship.
But unexpectedly, he had encountered Yahiko right here!
One of them was bound to be eliminated, which the audience found incredibly regrettable.
The tournament was only halfway through, and to eliminate a championship contender at this point was truly a tough pill to swallow.
The entertainment value of the match would also be greatly diminished.
However, despite their discomfort, the villagers couldn't change the already assigned match-ups, and could only view this battle as a semi-final.
The Kazekage, on the other hand, felt immense relief at this moment, letting out a huge sigh.
His disciple hadn't crossed paths with Yahiko; instead, Mifune's disciple had run into him.
Even if Sasori performed poorly, he could still place third, and would likely receive the Hokage's mysterious reward.
If he could also acquire a chakra herb, then Sasori's future would be secure, and becoming Kazekage would only be a matter of time.
While the Kazekage was content, Mifune was far from pleased. His own disciple was about to be eliminated before even reaching the top three, and no matter how he looked at it, he was undoubtedly feeling terrible.
However, the pairings were completely random, and he had no recourse. He could only say that Kaito himself had bad luck.
To encounter the Hokage's disciple so early.
He could only console himself in this way.
In the arena, Nara Anka stepped back, and the two contestants began to introduce themselves.
"Hello, I am Kaito, General Mifune's disciple."
Yahiko politely nodded as well: "Hello, I am Yahiko, the Third Hokage's disciple."
Kaito then drew his katana, taking up an offensive stance.
To be honest, he was extremely nervous. The moment he learned his opponent wasn't some ordinary contestant, but the Hokage's disciple, all his aspirations for the championship crumbled.
He knew deeply that he couldn't possibly defeat the Hokage's disciple. In a duel between a samurai and a ninja, the samurai was already at a disadvantage, and this ninja was also the disciple of the strongest ninja.
Kaito knew he had no chance of winning whatsoever.
But even so, Kaito didn't give up. He came to the arena, prepared to face Yahiko honorably and see just how great the difference in their strength was.
At this thought, Kaito's gaze suddenly sharpened, and then a dazzling blade light slashed out.
Even the ground was marked with a deep gash!
Seeing this, Yahiko also wanted to use a ninjutsu to block, but the blade light was too fast; it was already too late.
He could only quickly dodge sideways.
Then, he quickly formed hand signs: "Water Style: Water Arrow Jutsu."
Several water spheres shot from Yahiko's mouth, then burst open! Each droplet condensed into a miniature water arrow, shooting towards Kaito.
This sky-filling rain of arrows didn't make Kaito feel any fear.
Two more flashes of blade light cut through the air, and the rain of water arrows was instantly obliterated, leaving only droplets scattered across the arena.
Kaito pressed his advantage, lunging fiercely towards Yahiko, when a black gleam appeared before him.
"Swallow Reversal." Kaito leaped into the air, then rolled backward, unleashing multiple slashes of blade light that descended from mid-air towards Yahiko.
At such close range, it was incredibly difficult to dodge.
Yahiko could only quickly form hand signs, releasing a Water Clone to help him block the attack.
The Water Clone was shattered by the blade light almost instantly, forming a puddle at Yahiko's feet.
"Water Style: Water Lock Jutsu."
Countless chains formed from water shot out from beneath Yahiko's feet, rushing towards Kaito, who was about to land.
However, Kaito's reaction was also quite swift. Upon landing, he quickly adjusted his position and stance.
The chains only managed to bind Kaito's left foot, which he severed with a single slice of his blade.
All of this had happened in mere moments; even the observing Kage were astonished by Yahiko's hand sign speed.
Many veteran ninja didn't possess Yahiko's speed in forming hand signs, and felt somewhat ashamed about it.
"As for hand signs, was that also specifically taught by the Hokage-sama? For an eleven-year-old child to have such speed, he must have put in a lot of hard work, no?" the Kazekage asked.
He, too, was surprised by Yahiko's speed. As a Kage, he no longer needed to form hand signs to channel chakra.
He was simply astonished by how the Hokage had trained him.
Torifu merely waved his hand with a smile: "It's nothing, just frequent practice. I started training them from the moment they first learned ninjutsu, and these two children are also very diligent."
Torifu spoke quite casually, but the true hardships involved were known only to Yahiko and Konan themselves.
As it turned out, fast hand sign formation was a great aid to safety.
With such close-range attacks, it would have been impossible to complete a ninjutsu release without Yahiko's speed.
Otherwise, he would have been forced to have his rhythm disrupted by the opponent's attacks, putting himself at a disadvantage.
The samurai knew the weakness of a ninja's hand signs, and so he had been continuously trying to interrupt Yahiko's ninjutsu with rapid attacks.
However, he clearly hadn't expected Yahiko to be so fast.
Kaito in the arena was indeed stunned by Yahiko's hand sign speed. When a weakness became an advantage, it became incredibly difficult for him to press his attack.
Kaito himself gritted his teeth, secretly thinking, Why are the Hokage's disciples all such freaks?