And so, Yahiko successfully secured his spot in tomorrow's grand finals. It was safe to say that his worst possible outcome would be second place.
After their match concluded, it was time for the final bout of the second group.
There were no surprises left; the contestants were Konan and Sasori.
For this battle, there were no more Sasori fans boasting, as they had already witnessed Konan's power.
Once Sasori entered the arena, he meticulously arranged his puppets and planned his strategy.
But it was useless. Konan simply flew into the air and fought just as she did when sparring with the Kumotsuru Clan.
She quickly dispatched Sasori, securing her advancement.
The Kazekage was not surprised by this outcome; it was the result he had already anticipated.
"As expected, it will ultimately be the Hokage's two disciples sparring against each other." Ōnoki said with a chuckle, taking a bite of fruit.
Torifu offered a slight smile but said nothing.
"Since the champion is undoubtedly going to be the Hokage's disciple, why don't we see if the third-place winner will be the Kazekage's disciple or this Nara Shikaku?"
Mifune chuckled immediately after hearing this. "There's no need to watch, is there? With Sasori's strength, third place is surely his."
If his own disciple hadn't been eliminated so early, then Sasori certainly wouldn't have claimed third place so easily.
But his disciple had been out of the running quite early, so Mifune stopped dwelling on such 'what ifs'.
The Kazekage waved his hand repeatedly. "You can't say that, General Mifune. We still need to see how the younger generation performs. Strength on paper doesn't represent everything, and this Nara Shikaku is exceptionally clever; Sasori is weak in that regard."
Despite his words, the Kazekage was already certain that Sasori would take third place.
Although Nara Shikaku was intelligent, his previous battles were all narrow victories, winning by the skin of his teeth. Even a slight mistake would have led to his elimination.
There was definitely some element of luck involved, whereas Sasori had easily crushed his opponents in every match, leaving them utterly convinced of his superiority.
It was only against Konan that no jutsu seemed to work, and he was easily defeated.
However, this next battle should be an easy win.
Soon, under Nara Anka's announcement, Nara Shikaku and Sasori stepped into the arena. Third place would be decided between them.
The villagers cheered for their favorite contestants as usual, even though they could no longer win the championship.
Still, competing for third place held significant value. It meant they were second only to the Hokage's disciples among ninjas of their age group.
This title was quite prestigious.
Sasori and Nara Shikaku bowed to each other, then began their battle.
Shikaku used Shadow Imitation Jutsu to continuously restrain Sasori's puppets, carefully dodging attack after attack.
Watching from the stands, the clan heads of the three clans were incredibly anxious, wishing they could jump into the arena to help Shikaku compete.
They desperately wanted Shikaku to win this match, but alas, the disparity in strength was too great.
Initially, Shikaku managed to withstand Sasori's assault, but as Shikaku continuously released jutsu, his chakra reserves dwindled significantly.
Sasori, on the other hand, knew Shikaku excelled at war-of-attrition tactics using minor schemes. Therefore, all of his attacks utilized the pre-set mechanisms within his puppets.
Such as firing kunai or shuriken.
Simply controlling the puppets, however, didn't consume much chakra.
Finally, just as Shikaku's chakra was nearly depleted, and he was preparing to launch one last desperate assault to see if he could succeed... all of Sasori's puppets simultaneously burst forth, completely shattering Nara Shikaku's hopes. Faced with this, he could only declare his surrender.
The third-place winner of this competition was decided amidst the cheers of the audience.
They felt neither disgust nor shame because Sasori was not from their village.
Instead, they cheered for him enthusiastically, primarily because Sunagakure was an ally of Konohagakure, and the two villages shared an excellent relationship.
Seeing the enthusiasm of Konohagakure's villagers, Sasori returned their bow in the arena.
Nara Anka walked into the arena and, after confirming that Shikaku had not sustained any obvious injuries, she announced Sasori as the third-place winner of the competition.
At the same time, this also marked the end of today's matches.
After a brief period of cheering, the audience gradually dispersed.
The Kage in the spectator stands also exchanged a few laughs before going their separate ways.
Torifu had no intention of hosting another banquet for them. His two disciples had advanced, and while this was an anticipated outcome, it still called for a celebration.
Sasori, as the third-place winner, exited the arena directly through the contestant's passage to rendezvous with the Kazekage outside.
A somewhat exhausted Shikaku, meanwhile, left the arena under the guidance of Nara Anka.
They were all family; Nara Anka was Shikaku's elder. Although Shikaku's failure to secure third place left her a little disappointed, but, his opponent was the Kazekage's disciple, and Shikaku had already performed remarkably well.
Just as the two of them were about to leave the arena, they unexpectedly encountered Torifu.
"Hokage-sama, what are you doing here?"
Seeing him, Shikaku immediately lowered his head and said, "My apologies, Hokage-sama, I lost to Sasori and brought shame to the village."
Shikaku was fourteen this year, still a child. Without hesitation, Torifu ruffled his hair.
"There's no need to blame yourself. Your opponent is the Kazekage's disciple and also the grandson of the First Kazekage. He arguably received the best training in Sunagakure. You did very well to achieve what you did."
The disparity in their strength was vast, yet Shikaku still managed to wear down his opponent with his tactics.
Although the outcome wasn't ideal, Shikaku was only fourteen; he had performed quite admirably.
"I don't have a way to restore chakra, but a good night's rest should relieve your exhaustion. Go home and rest without worry; no one will blame you."
Then Torifu added, "If your father or the other two clan heads say anything disparaging to you, just send them to me."
Shikaku smiled upon hearing this. "Haha, Hokage-sama, you worry too much. Father and my two uncles wouldn't give me a hard time."
Torifu nodded. "That's for the best."
After that, he gave his young secretary instructions on matters to attend to tomorrow, then turned and left.
Shikaku was still a bit bewildered. He looked at Anka beside him, who was his aunt by familial generation.
"Aunt Anka, did Hokage-sama come specifically to comfort me?"
Nara Anka thought for a moment. "I believe so. Hokage-sama has many responsibilities every day. Your performance in the match must have caught his attention, which is why he came to find you."
"Otherwise, even if you were the young clan head of the Nara Clan, Hokage-sama wouldn't say much to you. After all, no title is greater than Hokage, and no genius ninja surpasses his own disciples."