Chapter 521: Kill with One Punch
"The Land of Rain's shinobi forces have developed well. That contestant named Nagato looks extremely strong," the Fire Country Daimyo said to the Rain Country Daimyo beside him.
The Fire Country Daimyo did not understand chakra nature transformations, but every ninjutsu Nagato used tore up the arena with spectacular destruction. To him, that alone meant overwhelming strength.
"Indeed." The Rain Country Daimyo laughed and nodded along.
For the first time, he felt the Shinobi Sect was not bad at all. At the very least, it made him look good.
If even ordinary people could feel Nagato's pressure, then the participating shinobi felt it far more clearly.
Earth Release was this terrifying too… Kakashi's thoughts turned heavy. If that's the case, is it possible he's also proficient in Lightning Release and Water Release?
Ninja Master Sosuke was famous not only for defeating Hanzo with Fire Release, but also for being praised as someone who mastered seven chakra nature transformations. If Nagato was studying under Sosuke, mastering multiple elemental techniques was not impossible.
When estimating an enemy's strength, it was always safer to assume the worst. Overestimating was far better than underestimating.
But what Kakashi cared about most was not Nagato's ninjutsu. It was the Sage's Eyes.
Just from perceiving those eyes through Transparent World, Kakashi felt an instinctive, fatal threat, as if the gaze itself could pierce his life.
What exactly can those eyes do?
He glanced at the match list again.
We can only hope Shibi and Hashori force him to reveal more, Kakashi thought.
"Oily Girl Shibi" had drawn number three. If Shibi won his next match, he would face Nagato in the second round.
"I have to beat him to enter the final four. That's annoying." Sasori casually checked the bracket and saw Nagato sitting precisely on the path he needed.
If Nagato had been his opponent in the match for the final four, Sasori would have either surrendered or deliberately lost. He only wanted the chakra blade prize anyway.
But now Nagato had become his obstacle to reaching the final four, which meant Sasori had to consider how to defeat Nagato without exposing himself.
He was not afraid of a ninjutsu cannon like Nagato. Sasori's specialty was poison. No matter how violent your techniques were, one careless moment and you would be trapped in death.
"Number three, Shibi versus number four…" The referee's voice echoed into the waiting room again.
Shibi silently adjusted his sunglasses with a finger and walked toward the arena.
His opponent, an Iwagakure shinobi, followed after exchanging a quick word with his companion.
The result was exactly what Kakashi expected.
Shibi won.
Kakashi had never fought Shibi, but he knew Shibi was participating because the Third Hokage personally recommended him. That alone meant Shibi's strength was reliable.
Soon, the tournament reached the fourth match of the first round. Hearing the names, Kakashi's focus sharpened.
"Number seven, Yahiko versus number eight, Hashori!"
"Yahiko, be careful of hidden weapons," Nagato reminded him quietly. "Puppeteers like to use poison."
"Yes, I know." Yahiko nodded with an easy smile. "Leader Kakuzu warned us about him too."
Kakuzu's intelligence was already detailed. If Yahiko still lost, it would be because his strength was lacking, not because he was unprepared.
"Yahiko, good luck," Konan said softly.
"I'll do my best." Yahiko laughed and stepped toward the arena. "Even if I can't reach the finals like Obito said, I'll still aim for the top eight. Losing in the first round would be embarrassing."
If Yahiko reached the top eight, his next opponent would be Nagato. He understood the gap between them, so top eight already counted as success.
And if he made it, he even planned to drag Konan and Nagato out for a celebratory meal.
"Begin!"
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
The instant the referee spoke, Yahiko formed hand seals and sprang upward, blasting a massive sphere of water toward Hashori.
He wanted to create conditions that favored continuous Water Release.
Hashori kept the same indifferent expression. He stepped back, pulled out a scroll, and released Hiruko, controlling it to attack while avoiding the water's impact.
"Water Release: Water Clone Technique!"
Wary of poison, Yahiko used Body Flicker to widen the distance, then split into two water clones. He intended to have the clones handle the puppet while he pressured the main body.
His caution proved justified.
The moment Yahiko shifted away, Hiruko opened its mouth and spat a storm of high speed poison needles.
If Yahiko had not created distance in time, those needles at close range would have been nearly impossible to dodge.
The two water clones rushed Hiruko. Yahiko himself aimed for Hashori.
The best way to deal with a puppeteer was to strike the main body. A puppeteer's flesh was never as durable as their puppets.
"Water Release: Water Spear!"
Yahiko formed hand seals. A swirling vortex of water condensed in his palm, spinning faster and faster until it hardened into three long water spears.
They shot forward with piercing force.
This was a Water Release technique developed by Mugetsu, focused on penetration.
Hashori did not even flinch.
With one hand, he kept Hiruko's tail stinger busy against the clones. With the other, he pulled out a second scroll, summoned another puppet, and used it to block the incoming spears.
Yahiko reacted immediately.
One of the clones dealing with Hiruko peeled off to stall the newly summoned puppet, while Yahiko used Water Instant Body and surged straight for Hashori.
But Hashori clearly had no intention of letting Yahiko close in.
After the second puppet appeared, he produced two more.
Four puppets moved at once under his control.
Yahiko slammed on the brakes.
He was not confident he could break through that defense and defeat Hashori before poison or hidden weapons caught him.
Yahiko's momentum paused, and Hashori pressure spiked.
Three puppets attacked and defended in smooth, ruthless rhythm, forcing Yahiko backward and quickly eliminating one water clone.
On the other side, Hiruko also shredded the second clone and, under Hashori's control, surged toward Yahiko.
In a blink, the situation flipped.
Yahiko was surrounded by four puppets.
"What is going on with this Hashori?" Baki, already eliminated and watching from the stands, stared in shock. "No young shinobi in our village can control puppets like that."
Baki might have specialized in Wind Release, but he had watched puppet users his entire life. He understood puppet combat well enough to know how absurd this level of control was.
A rogue puppeteer appearing out of nowhere and surpassing Sunagakure's standard made his mind reject the scene in front of him.
No… his style looks too similar to the village's.
The more Baki watched, the more wrong it felt. This did not look like a wild technique. It looked like pure Sunagakure Puppet Jutsu.
"Hashori isn't simple," Kakashi, still in the waiting room, murmured as he raised the threat level again.
As a puppeteer, Hashori's strength was clearly extraordinary.
That only made Kakashi more eager for what might happen later. When a ninjutsu cannon collided with a puppeteer who fought through numbers and poison, who would win?
"Yahiko…" Konan's expression tightened with worry.
Hashori's true strength was even sharper than what Kakuzu's intelligence predicted.
Under relentless puppet pressure, Yahiko could barely form hand seals, let alone create a clean Water Release counter. Hidden weapons kept him constantly reacting, constantly dodging, constantly losing ground.
"Hashori wins!"
In the end, Yahiko fell under the puppets' encirclement.
The moment the referee declared the outcome, Hashori returned the puppets to their scrolls and walked back to the waiting room without sparing anyone a glance.
"I really lost in the first round…" Yahiko looked up at the sky and scratched his head.
Even with thick skin, his cheeks still warmed.
Not long ago, he had been talking to Obito about making the finals and becoming famous. Now he had been eliminated immediately.
Shinobi Sect medics carried Yahiko away for treatment, and the referee called the next match.
"Number nine, Kisame Hoshigaki versus number ten, Yura!"
Kisame and Yura stepped onto the arena.
Now I'm the only Sand shinobi left, Yura thought, jaw tightening. No matter what, I have to win.
Even if the Kazekage did not seem to value this tournament, Yura believed that if Sunagakure participated, their performance could not be embarrassing.
His determination was real, but it could not bridge the gap.
Even though Yura resisted fiercely, Kisame's raw strength was simply too far ahead. Within two minutes, Yura was defeated, his body torn by Kisame's water sharks.
When the referee announced the result, Kisame did not spare Yura another glance. He returned to the waiting room with cold indifference.
"Number eleven, Might Guy versus number twelve, Iwagaki!"
Kisame's gaze sharpened as he watched Guy walk toward the arena.
"Might Guy… how much stronger did you get after fighting the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"
The Hidden Mist had concealed details of that defeat, so Kisame, who had remained in the Land of Water, did not know the exact outcome. He only knew Guy, under Mugetsu's lead, had clashed with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in an encounter battle and won decisively.
"Finally. It's Iwagaki's turn."
Kitsuchi's face broke into a simple, honest smile as the Iwagakure prodigy stepped out.
Among the shinobi Iwagakure sent, Iwagaki was the strongest. Kitsuchi had high hopes for him.
Meeting me means you're unlucky, Iwagaki thought as he sized up the opponent, a confident smile forming.
Iwagakure had sent twenty one participants, spread across nearly every bracket, and they had gathered intelligence on almost all qualified contestants.
According to their reports, Might Guy was a taijutsu specialist who had not used ninjutsu in all four preliminary matches.
And Iwagaki was the perfect counter to taijutsu fighters.
His Explosion Release development followed the same path as Gari's, focusing on explosive close range combat. If you dared to trade blows with him, you would be trading blows with an explosion.
"Begin!"
"Eight Gates… Gate of Pain, open!"
Guy opened four Gates in an instant. Chakra surged out like a flood, boosting his physical power again and again.
Iwagaki's eyes flickered with surprise at Guy's sudden pressure, but he still did not care.
A shinobi could defeat a stronger opponent through counter relationships.
He condensed a massive amount of chakra into his fist and used Body Flicker to rush forward.
Guy had already heard Kakashi's intelligence. He knew Iwagaki carried Explosion Release, so he had prepared chakra in his legs in advance.
Whoosh!
Boom!
Iwagaki's explosive fist smashed into the ground where Guy had been standing, blasting out a crater.
"If this is his level, Rock Breathing Chakra Mode will be enough," Guy assessed calmly.
Despite being a taijutsu specialist, Guy did not fight like a mindless brawler.
With the destruction Iwagaki displayed, Guy could endure it through Rock Breathing Chakra Mode plus chakra reinforcement. At most, he would suffer minor external injuries.
And with Breathing Technique Chakra Mode accelerating recovery, external injuries were nothing, as long as there was no poison.
"Explosion Release: Exploding Fist!"
Iwagaki condensed chakra again and charged.
His voice rose with challenge.
"If you've got the guts, come. A real man's taijutsu battle. Fist to flesh."
Guy laughed, bright and fearless.
He almost wished Kakashi would say something like that to him.
"Alright!" Guy shouted. "That's youthful! Let's go!"
Guy pushed his breathing to the limit and entered Rock Breathing Chakra Mode. His aura surged again.
"Leaf Hand Blade!"
He gathered a massive amount of chakra into his right palm, spread chakra through his body for protection, and then charged straight forward without dodging.
Iwagaki's heart leapt.
I won!
He could hardly believe Guy fell for it so easily.
If Guy had kept running, Iwagaki would have struggled. Guy's speed was clearly above his, and he might never get a clean hit.
But now, Guy was coming to him.
Iwagaki sprinted at full speed, desperate to seize this chance.
The two collided.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A violent explosion erupted, mud and stones spraying outward. Thick dust swallowed the arena.
Bang!
A figure shot out of the yellow mist like a cannonball and slammed into the reinforced wall at the arena's edge, leaving a deep indentation.
Kitsuchi's eyes widened.
From his angle, he could see clearly who had been launched.
He rose halfway from his seat, disbelief twisting his face, and looked again.
He was not mistaken.
"How is this possible?" Kitsuchi's voice caught. "Our Iwagakure prodigy… was instantly defeated by one punch?"
No matter how absurd it felt, it had happened.
Their Explosion Release genius had been dropped with a single blow by Konoha's taijutsu monster.
"Might Guy wins!" the referee announced after struggling to pry Iwagaki out of the wall.
.....
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