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Chapter 43: Twelve-Year-Old Kage Level
BOOM!
Seventeen to eighteen meters high, five to six meters wide—the sword energy descended like an enraged giant elephant, violently crushing the earth beneath it. Dark red light flooded everything in its path. The overwhelming sense of crisis, combined with Ryuzen's warning moments before, sent Neji and Shiranui Genma diving desperately to the side.
They barely escaped the sword energy's direct path when the shockwave caught them, hurling them across the arena floor like leaves in a storm.
The blade's power continued its relentless advance. It tore a trench several meters wide and deep across the arena, the gash spreading for hundreds of meters until it crashed against the massive wall surrounding the complex—a wall more than ten meters high.
The entire venue shook.
Thick dust filled the air like fog.
When the dust finally settled, when the last echoes of destruction faded, the audience beheld an impossible sight.
The entire arena had been split in two. A massive chasm divided the fighting ground from where Ryuzen had stood to the far wall. And that wall—the supposedly secure barrier separating the arena from the village beyond—had been completely severed. Through the gap, one could clearly see the rooftops and streets of Konoha.
Absolute silence gripped the stadium.
Then came the storm.
"Are you... are you joking?! That kind of slash came from sword skills?!"
"Is that some kind of bloodline limit? No, even bloodline limits aren't this exaggerated!"
"Who is that silver-haired boy?!"
"He's not a genin at all—that's not something any genin could do!"
Voices lost control of emotion echoed everywhere.
Just as Kurenai Yūhi and Zabuza Momochi had been shocked by Ryuzen's four-to-five-meter sword energy months ago, these ninja simply couldn't process what they had just witnessed. Seventeen meters of concentrated destruction, delivered without a trace of chakra, carving through stone and steel and earth like paper.
Even the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage—Orochimaru in disguise—rose from their seats, horror evident in their eyes.
"That slash carried no chakra fluctuation, yet it possessed undeniable S-rank power..." The Kazekage's voice carried a noticeable tremor beneath its disguised calm.
The Third Hokage's pipe trembled slightly in his grip. His voice, when it came, was barely above a whisper:
"A twelve-year-old Kage level."
S-rank ninjutsu. Forbidden techniques. The kind of power that defined the difference between ordinary jōnin and the legends who shaped the world's history. Such techniques couldn't be learned through mere talent or effort—they required something more, something intangible that separated the exceptional from the transcendent.
Any ninja who mastered S-rank techniques possessed the power to threaten a Kage.
And Ryuzen's slash had clearly demonstrated that level of power. It surpassed even Kakashi's famed Chidori—an A-rank technique that had earned its reputation through the Copy Ninja's skill. This was something else entirely.
The aura radiating from that single strike had already formed the prototype of Kage-level presence.
A twelve-year-old Kage level.
What kind of monster had been born in this peaceful era?
In the shadows throughout the venue, hidden Sound and Sand ninja—planted there in preparation for the coming invasion—fixed their gazes on Ryuzen with undisguised murderous intent. Such a prodigy could not be allowed to live. Not if their plans were to succeed.
On the arena floor, Neji Hyūga sat crumpled on the ground, his earlier arrogance completely shattered. His pale eyes stared at the devastation before him—the chasm carved into the earth, the shattered wall, the village visible through the breach.
His face had gone white.
Ryuzen sheathed his sword with a quiet click. He gestured toward the trench several meters wide and deep that now divided the arena.
"This chasm is the gap between you and me."
Neji couldn't speak. His voice had abandoned him entirely.
"I used to be like you." Ryuzen's voice carried an unusual weight now—not mocking, not contemptuous, simply matter-of-fact. "I thought my fate was to be ordinary forever. After all, I'm different from you geniuses with bloodline limits. I'm civilian-born. No clan, no inherited techniques, no special advantages."
Neji's eyes flickered slightly at that.
"But I thought about the Fourth Hokage. The legendary ninja who saved the village. They say he was civilian-born too. So why could he break his fate? Why could he become the Golden Flash of the ninja world, the Fourth Hokage? Why couldn't I?"
Ryuzen paused, letting the words settle.
"Now it seems... fate isn't much, after all."
He didn't continue. He had said what he could—words he had assembled specifically for this moment, drawing on his knowledge of Neji's character and the beliefs that bound him. Whether the Hyūga prodigy understood or not was up to him now.
Ryuzen turned and walked toward the waiting room. As he passed, his voice carried faintly to Neji's ears:
"From now on, treat Hinata better."
Neji's expression shifted dramatically—shock, confusion, something almost like understanding flickering beneath the devastation of his defeat.
Shiranui Genma watched Ryuzen's retreating back with complex eyes. This kid...
Neji slowly pushed himself to his feet. His head remained lowered, his face shadowed and unreadable. He walked toward the opposite exit without looking back.
"Proctor. I concede."
Shiranui Genma watched him go, pity flickering in his expression. Then he raised his voice:
"First round victory: Yagyu Ryuzen!"
"So... so amazing!"
"Is that even human?! What kind of ninjutsu produced that dark red light?"
"What ninjutsu? That was sword skills!"
"Sword skills... is that guy like the legendary White Fang of Konoha? A super-powerful sword-wielding ninja?!"
As Shiranui Genma's announcement finished, the silent atmosphere exploded into chaos. Spectators who had recovered from their shock erupted with awe and excitement. After witnessing that slash, no one dared treat Ryuzen as merely another genin. Even the least knowledgeable among them understood they had just witnessed true power.
Under the gaze of thousands, Ryuzen walked through the passage and entered the waiting room.
The moment his figure appeared, every other candidate turned to stare.
Temari and Kankuro's faces showed undisguised fear. They exchanged glances that communicated clearly: That guy is the same kind of monster as Gaara.
Gaara himself stared with those empty eyes, but beneath the surface, something churned. So strong. When I kill him, I'll prove I exist.
Sasuke—who had finally arrived at some point during the match—leaned against a wall with his arms crossed. His expression revealed nothing, but his fingers had dug small crescents into his palms.
Naruto bounced on his heels with barely contained excitement. "Did you see that?! Did you see that?! That was amazing!"
Shikamaru had abandoned all pretense of laziness. His eyes tracked Ryuzen with sharp calculation. Troublesome. Really troublesome. That's not normal at all.
Ryuzen walked directly to Hinata and stood beside her. She reached out and took his hand without thinking, her touch warm and grounding.
Shino adjusted his sunglasses and asked calmly: "Ryuzen. Was that your full power?"
Ryuzen blinked, then raised the corner of his mouth slightly. "Yeah. That was my full power."
Hssss—
Shino actually sucked in a breath. Behind his glasses, his eyes had widened slightly. That casual answer, so obviously perfunctory, told him everything he needed to know.
Monster. That wasn't even his full strength.
The slash just now hadn't been Ryuzen's full power. He had held back significantly on the Armament Haki infusion, not wanting to overtax himself before the tournament ended. In truth, that strike had used perhaps seventy percent of his maximum output.
Seventy percent.
And it had carved through an arena and shattered a wall like they were made of paper.
Ryuzen squeezed Hinata's hand gently and waited for the next match to begin.
Outside, Sasuke was preparing to face Gaara.
And the invasion was coming.
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