"Fourth match: Namikaze Minato versus Senju Nawaki!"
Minato approached Nawaki, who was standing not far from him, and said with a smile.
"Seems like we haven't sparred since the academy. I'm really interested to see how much you've grown."
Nawaki, already warming up as if preparing for a deadly battle, replied with wild excitement.
"Don't hold back, Minato! I want to defeat you at your full strength!"
Hearing this, the blond simply nodded, after which the two of them descended into the arena. There, the examiner, making sure the fighters were ready, gave the signal to start.
"Begin!"
Nawaki decided to act first.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
From a cloud of smoke that formed around him, ten clones appeared, and without delay all of them formed hand seals for a technique.
"Earth Release: Stone Bullets!"
Dozens of dense stone projectiles burst from Senju's mouth and flew toward Minato, covering almost all space for retreat. But he simply disappeared in a swirl of leaves and in an instant appeared behind Nawaki.
Creating three shadow clones and taking shuriken in his hands, Namikaze infused them with lightning chakra and threw them straight at the target, while forming another series of hand seals mid-flight.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique"
After that, the dozens of launched projectiles turned into a deadly stream of hundreds of blades. Nawaki only at the last moment managed to raise a stone wall in front of himself, while all his clones were dispelled.
"Do you think you can avoid my attack?"
A voice from the side reached Senju, and as he turned, he saw that from all directions he was being attacked by a dozen copies of Minato. Dodging one strike, Nawaki ducked and concentrated chakra in his fist to deliver a counterattack, but it passed right through the clone. Realizing it wasn't physical, the Senju heir was momentarily caught off guard, causing him to miss a blow from a shadow clone.
Tsunade, watching the fight intently from the stands, slightly clenched her fist and looked at Jiraiya in surprise.
"A combination of lightning release and shuriken shadow clones, plus such clever use of shadow and regular clones… truly an astonishing young man."
"Of course, Minato is a true genius, and besides, he's my personal student!"
"That's what worries me."
Returning to the battle, after taking a series of hits, Nawaki concentrated chakra to the maximum in his fist and struck the ground, shattering it and throwing all the clones away from himself. But he didn't stop there—having gained space, he once again formed a series of hand seals and used the Stone Spikes technique, which instantly began bursting from the ground, piercing the blond's copies.
All created clones dispersed, but the real Minato was behind Senju, using his own technique.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Charge!"
A powerful pulse of lightning chakra concentrated near Namikaze's hands and, in a winding arc, shot straight at Senju. In response, he managed to use a technique learned in one of his battles with nukenin.
"Earth Release: Stone Armor!"
His body was covered with a dense layer of earth, creating protection, but to his misfortune, lightning release is the natural enemy of earth release. As a result, damage was still dealt.
"Damn, you're as fast as ever, but that doesn't mean I'll give up!"
Nawaki shouted through the pain from the attack and moved forward. Minato, meanwhile, silently analyzed the situation, his deep blue eyes not leaving his opponent.
Senju's chakra reserves and endurance were enormous. If the fight dragged on, it could become a decisive factor and hinder the blond in future battles.
Then I need to finish this quickly.
The thought flashed through Minato's mind, and using shunshin repeatedly, he appeared from one side, then the other, striking with precision, and countered any retaliation with the substitution technique.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, Nawaki decided to pour in a huge amount of chakra and once again used the Stone Spikes technique, which blocked Minato's path while also altering the arena's terrain. The young man breathed heavily, but his eyes burned with confidence.
"Now you have nowhere to go!"
A couple of seconds passed, but no response followed. Senju looked around and did not see his opponent. In the next second, kunai and shuriken flew at him from all directions. He was ready to deflect them, but instead of Nawaki himself, the blades began embedding into the stone spikes around him.
Missed? No!
In the next moment, he noticed that each projectile was embedded at a specific angle. Some were already crackling slightly with electricity. Namikaze appeared behind them, forming hand seals.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Prison"
A discharge burst from his hands and traveled from one kunai to another, forming a triangular network. The electric arc closed around Senju, forcing him to cry out in pain. His entire body convulsed, and although he tried to move, his muscles would not respond.
A moment later, the young man collapsed unconscious, thus ending the match.
"Senju Nawaki cannot continue. Winner — Namikaze Minato!"
In the stands, Tsunade slowly exhaled, then instantly appeared beside her brother's unconscious body and immediately used the Mystical Palm Technique, while Jiraiya laughed joyfully and slapped Orochimaru on the shoulder.
"See that?! That's my student! One–zero!"
Orochimaru snorted irritably, but genuine interest flashed in his eyes. Kuro quietly nodded to his own thoughts.
Minato has already reached the level of Tokubetsu Jonin. No wonder that once he learns the Flying Thunder God Technique, he'll instantly be on par with a Kage. And Nawaki… despite the loss, it's clear how much he's grown.
The examiner raised his hand, calling for silence.
"With this, the second round of matches is complete! Advancing to the semifinals are: Nara Kuro, Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Mikoto, Hyuga Hizashi, Uzumaki Kushina!"
Whispers began to spread throughout the stands. Only two matches remained until the final, and after a quick draw, the pairs became known.
"In the semifinal matches, Nara Kuro will face Namikaze Minato, and Uzumaki Kushina will fight Hyuga Hizashi. Uchiha Mikoto advances to the final without a match."
The next fight was to be Kushina's. The kunoichi stood next to Hizashi and immediately said with a smile:
"So, ready to show everyone what we can do?"
"I'm afraid I won't be able to hold back like during our training."
"What did you say?! Who's holding back here?! I'll beat you with one hand! Dattebane!"
"Hey guys, maybe be a bit more careful, we're all on the same team," Minato tried to mediate, but in response received only a murderous glare from Uzumaki and immediately fell silent.
"Hey, that's not fair! Why do my students have to fight each other while yours made it to the final without even a battle?" not far from them Jiraiya complained, to which he received a mocking comment from Orochimaru.
"Maybe your team inherited your bad luck?"
"What did you say?!"
Amid these conversations, Kushina and Hizashi descended into the arena and stood opposite each other. Uzumaki, who had rested the entire previous round, with a wide, daring smile, flame-like red hair fluttering, and an eager expression, could no longer stand still.
"Begin!"
In the next second, Kushina formed a seal and twenty clones appeared around her, each with a slightly sadistic smile. After that, they all rushed into attack.
Watching her through the Byakugan, the Hyuga could only sigh once again at the unfairness of how enormous his teammate's chakra reserves were. But he had no time to dwell on it, as he also knew that the kunoichi's physical strength after training with Tsunade had become frightening, and taking hits was not an option.
Therefore, without much thought and waiting for the clones to approach, he used Revolving Heaven, a technique he had managed to learn thanks to his brother's help right before the exam.
A not entirely stable sphere of chakra spun around him like a vortex. All of the girl's clones crashed into it and were thrown away like dolls, dissolving into smoke. Hizashi himself took a deep breath and looked at Kushina with full seriousness.
"Don't underestimate me."