Nagato was the first to stand up and walk towards the battle arena, followed closely by Obito.
The appearance of the participants made the atmosphere of the venue even more intense.
Many spectators were comparing the two's strengths, discussing who would gain victory and seize the championship.
"A battle with no suspense." Kitsuchi believed Nagato would certainly win and quite effortlessly at that.
Kitsuchi had watched all the elimination matches of the Youth Martial Arts Tournament.
In his heart, the rankings of the Youth Martial Arts Tournament should be Nagato first, Might Guy second, and Sunagani third.
Among the remaining contestants, Kakashi might be fourth, but beyond that, it's hard to say.
For instance, Obito, who made it to the finals, if he were to encounter Hoshigaki Kisame who restrains him, would likely be eliminated by Kisame.
In the semi-finals, Obito's win over Shisui was quite narrow, showing that their strengths were almost evenly matched.
"Obito fighting Nagato, sometimes having such good luck isn't entirely beneficial." Asuma silently lamented for Obito for a second.
During the draw, Obito drew a favorable lot that sent him straight to the quarter-finals, and then his opponents between the quarter-finals and semi-finals were also relatively evenly matched, a combination of some luck and some skill got Obito into the finals.
But in the upcoming finals, even if Obito has more good luck, it won't work because Nagato has an overwhelming advantage.
Asuma thought Obito would become a backdrop, being defeated by the number one, and then discussed as being inferior to the semi-finalists.
Rather than being such a second place, Asuma would prefer being in the top eight.
"In any case, being second allows customization of a Ninjutsu by Ninja Master Sosuke." Namiashi Raido said with some envy.
He didn't even make it to the elimination rounds, truly just accompanying the examination.
"I didn't expect Obito to actually make it to the finals, doesn't that make me seem a bit inadequate?" Yahiko joked to himself.
At the start of the elimination rounds, he had talked to Obito about how making it to the finals could greatly increase fame, and Obito really did make it to the finals, whereas Yahiko was eliminated in the first round.
"There's nothing you can do; the person you encountered was too strong, even Uchiha Obito would likely be eliminated upon meeting him, except for Nagato, maybe only Might Guy has a chance to beat him." Konan comforted.
Yahiko's luck was quite average, encountering Sasori, who had a comprehensive strength that ranked in the top three, in the first round.
"Anyway, losing is losing." Yahiko nonchalantly smiled, looking towards the battlefield.
By this time, Nagato and Obito had both taken their positions, with the battle about to begin.
"Charizard, I made such a big sacrifice yesterday, please be strong today." Obito took a deep breath, hoping today's Charizard could retain yesterday's momentum.
Obito knew himself well; wanting to beat Nagato with his Fire Release prowess alone was a pipe dream, even with a stellar performance.
To win, he could only rely on his and Charizard's coordinated efforts to catch Nagato, who was unaware of Charizard's capabilities, off guard.
"Begin the battle!" Seeing both were ready, the Ninja Sect referee announced.
"Summoning Technique!"
As soon as the referee's words fell, Obito wasted no time in forming hand seals and striking the ground to use the Summoning Technique.
Nagato's strength was too great, he alone might not withstand Nagato's offensive.
Boom!
Amidst the white smoke, Charizard's figure emerged.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Jutsu!"
Having watched several of Obito's matches, Nagato knew Obito's strength was Fire Release, thus he started with Water Release to counter it.
A massive water sphere rapidly formed in front of Nagato, surging towards Obito and the summoned Charizard.
Whoosh!
Charizard suppressed the urge to unleash its first flame at Obito, quickly flapping its wings to take off.
Swish!
Activating his Sharingan, Obito also promptly used Instant Body Jutsu to evade.
"There's actually a summoning beast never called before." Hanzo was somewhat surprised.
Obito had advanced to the finals with narrowly won battles; he hadn't expected Obito to have secretly reserved a summoning beast, kept hidden so thoroughly he wasn't afraid it would remain hidden among the audience seats.
"Could it be he has actually hidden his true strength?" Hanzo became interested.
He originally thought Nagato would easily crush Obito to win the championship, but Obito seemed to be not quite as simple as he appeared.
"Heavenly Attraction!"
The appearance of Charizard, while surprising Nagato, didn't provoke a major emotional response; he stretched out his right hand aiming at Obito to release gravitational force.
In his perception, Charizard's strength was inferior to Obito's; it wasn't worth worrying about.
"This really is unreasonable." Feeling his body uncontrollably hurtling forward, Obito internally complained.
Compared to Nagato's Almighty Push and Heavenly Attraction, his Fire Release Ninjutsu seemed like child's play.
However, Obito had anticipated this, concentrating his breath to the limit as the battle commenced, ready to enter the Breath of Flame Chakra Mode at any moment.
"Fire Release: Mighty Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
Just before being drawn to Nagato, Obito, entering Breath of Flame Chakra Mode, spouted two high-temperature fire dragons in succession.
Whoosh whoosh!
Burning orange high-temperature fire dragons, under Obito's control, shot straight at Nagato.
In previous battles, Obito had also entered the Breath of Flame Chakra Mode, demonstrating Fire Release without Seal, and Nagato had always remained vigilant.
"Almighty Push!"
Nagato's Rinnegan trembled sharply, a powerful repulsive force erupted centered on him, instantly repelling both the two fire dragons and Obito.
It was at this moment that the airborne Charizard acted.
Before the battle began, Obito discussed a battle plan with it: as long as Nagato performed Almighty Push, Charizard must attack Nagato with all its might to probe the cooldown time of Almighty Push.