Few Seconds Later
"Cough, cough, cough." Sasuke lay down as he coughed smoke while his entire body was burned.
"Uchiha Sasuke, you are strong. If you were the same age as me, I wouldn't have won. Let's fight again lat—" As Ryu was finally about to embed the kunai into Sasuke to end him, he paused midway.
"Hehehe, you are indeed sharp.
The moment you defeat an Uchiha, you must understand that you are trapped in a Genjutsu."
The next moment, the world started cracking.
When Ryu opened his eyes, his pupils shrank in fear and shock. It's because around him, more than a dozen creepers were about to explode. Mind you, more than ten hours had passed, and each monster was now as strong as a Chunin.
If the explosion of a single Genin-level creeper was equivalent to threatening a Jonin, then a dozen or more creepers could even take down a Kage if they weren't prepared.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOMMMM
"Although your Ninjutsu and Taijutsu are Jonin or even Elite-Jonin level, ultimately your weakness happens to be my forte."
The next moment, Sasuke and Shion appeared in front of the burnt corpse of Ryu.
He was indeed confident that he could take Ryu alone, but this wasn't a one-on-one battle where he could give his all. He had to conserve chakra, so he just asked Shion to control the creepers (Bombs) and wait for an opportunity.
As for why he needed the help of creepers to take care of Ryu when he could just take his life with kunai or other jutsu... well, Ryu must also know his weakness, so from the beginning, he was covered in thick rock armor.
Although he could break it, it would consume much more chakra. And with this noise ( Creeper explosion ), the participants might flee if they were attracted.
---
Somewhere Else
PIERCE
"Maybe I should have really joined the elite group. Forty-one kills, and I still haven't found my match."
Kimimaro took back the bone piercing the Kirigakure ninja and said with disappointment.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you really are a monster. To be able to make the madman of the Kaguya clan fear you and your potential... now I can be sure that it's indeed legit."
"Uchiha Tengen... shouldn't you fight for points instead of watching a show... or do you want to eliminate me?"
"Who wants to fight a pointless battle? I came to make a deal with you. There are less than four hours remaining until the end of this round, but I think there are still too many participants left."
"You want to team up with me to eliminate them? If that's your intention, then there is no need, as I am eliminating them myself, and I am more than enough to face anyone."
"That's too inefficient. Less than a hundred participants are left in the game. All those who are left are either too hidden, have teamed up, or are strong. Even if we team up, we can eliminate a maximum of a dozen or two, if we are lucky."
"Do you know sensory Ninjutsu?"
Kimimaro, hearing Tengen's words, nodded in approval and asked for a solution.
"I know, but that won't work here. What I am saying is that we don't have to personally eliminate the candidates. There are already many things for them."
"You mean the monsters? They are still too wea.... you mean, we should kill monsters and make them stronger? Won't that backfire on us?"
"That's why we have to team up. I have already convinced Haku, Kaori, Arata, and Neji. With you, we will have a perfect team, and in this way, we can get points by killing monsters and also eliminate others."
"That does sound interesting.... I also wanted to check the limit of these monsters."
"Hehehe, happy cooperation."
---
Two Hours Later
Lightning Spear Style: First Form: Thunder Cannon
"Haah.... haah.... those idiots... Shion, what are they doing now?"
Sasuke removed the lightning spear from the ground as he asked Shion, who had also killed a zombie and was panting.
"They are now fighting the Kumogakure and Kirigakure combined group four kilometres away. Many other people are also rushing towards them, but most of them have already encountered the monsters. With the monster's Jonin-level strength and increased senses, most of them will probably be eliminated."
Yes, in the past few hours, with the intense dedication of Kimimaro and his group, the strength of the monsters had increased to Jonin level, and their weakness of low senses had also been compensated for, making them a nightmare to all the present candidates.
Even if the participants hide in the highest floor with the most advance Concealment Jutsu they know, within minutes a rain of arrows will pierce through them.
"How many are the enemies?"
"Fourtee... no, thirteen now."
"Let's go there as well. The outside area is now filled with monsters... we have to team up with them to survive."
Indeed, the number of monsters had always been constant, so if there were ten thousand Genin previously, then now there were ten thousand Jonin.
Sasuke and Shion weren't safe if they were surrounded by even four or five monsters with their current strength. So, the best thing was to group up with the strong.
Five Minutes Later
"How dare you Kirigakure ninjas bully the Uchiha... take this."
Lightning Spear Style: First Form: Thunder Cannon
The next moment, the Kirigakure ninja, with a hole in his chest, fell to the ground in disbelief. First because of his sudden death and second because of the absurd words of Sasuke... wasn't it the opposite?
"Brothers, don't worry, I will protect you all."
Sasuke ignored the expression of the dying ninja and said to the others present with resolve. It would have been even better if this Kirigakure ninja hadn't been the last enemy.
"Sasuke, you are late."
Naruto, seeing Sasuke acting cool, complained with a grin.
"Tigers do not hunt in packs."
"Does that mean you won't join us?" Naruto asked with suspicion.
"Lions are my favorite animals, and I can't leave you all alone here."
"Hmph, in the end, you are just acting tough."
Seeing Sasuke's true intentions, Naruto said with disdain.
"What are you looking at, brat?"
Seeing Boruto smile after hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke said arrogantly.
"Ahh, me? Nothing..."
"Okay, silence. Sasuke and Shion will join the group. One more hour is left until the next round. Everyone, we will try to score the maximum points and eliminate all those hidden candidates. Shion, with her butterfly summon, is the perfect sensory ninja."
Raikuro, who placed second in the first round, seeing Sasuke and the others arguing endlessly, said coldly.
"Yes." × 11
---
Outside
"Raikage, my condolences for the elimination of the last Kumogakure ninja. Although they are weak, I still appreciate their spirit of participation."
Ohnoki, seeing Haku freeze the last Kumogakure participant, said to Ai with a gloating smile.
"Hmph, at least they are not a traitor and coward like you."
"Youuu!!!"
"That's called understanding the situation. Brutes like you won't understand."
Hiashi, seeing Ai gloating, said coldly.
"Hmph, even a mere Konoha ninja dares to speak. It seems you forgot the fear of Kumogak....."
As Ai said this, his voice slowly faded as he felt the gazes of Tobirama and Hashirama.
"...."
---
"Shisui, you should rest now. I am fully rested."
Just then, Minato appeared before Shisui and said with a smile.
This competition is twenty-four hours long, and of course they all wouldn't watch it the whole time.
After a few hours, most of the audience had left to explore Mizumori and go shopping.
Now that the competition was in its final stage, the audience was once again filling the seats. As for the Kages of the different villages, they didn't go to rest and watched the entire round.
The bickering between Ohnoki, Ai, and Hiashi was just a means of passing time, and it had occurred more than a dozen times in the past few hours.
"Big sister, my Wood Release is still too weak. I didn't expect to lose to Uzumaki Karin, the support and medical ninja, or Tengoku."
Somewhere else, Nawaki was disappointed, talking to Tsunade.
"Idiot, you mean to say, medical Ninjas are weak ? If you lose, then you lose. It hasn't been long since you awakened it, so of course you can't use it well. I will teach you super strength after we go home."
Tsunade, seeing Nawaki disappointed, slapped his back and said encouragingly.
"Hahaha, Nawaki, I can also teach you more advanced jutsu. With that, you can definitely defeat that Uzumaki child."
Hashirama, beside Nawaki, laughed and said with a smile.
"Okay, I will defeat Karin first, then Sasuke, and finally Itachi."
"Hahaha, that's the spirit."
Hashirama, seeing Nawaki motivated, laughed in nostalgia. Seeing Nawaki, he felt as if he were back in the past, always trying to improve himself to defeat Madara or other enemies until he became the strongest.
---