"Match Five: Shinichi Higashino vs. Might Duy!"
Following the proctor's loud announcement, the two stepped into the center of the arena, facing each other.
"Shinichi!" Might Duy took a deep breath, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes were more serious than they had ever been. "Let us have a grand, earth-shattering duel of youth!"
Before his words even finished echoing...
Duy threw his arms down, his entire body trembling violently!
BOOM!!!
A berserk torrent of chakra erupted from him like a hurricane, instantly blasting the loose sand and gravel on the ground away in all directions!
His skin rapidly flushed an unnatural, deep red. A visible shockwave of pale green energy boiled around him, causing his hair to stand slightly on end from the sheer density of the surging chakra.
Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain—Four Gates, Open!
Opening four gates right out of the starting blocks—this was his absolute highest form of respect for the boy standing before him. It was also his way of fully executing his vow of "Youth."
A wave of irrepressible gasps and exclamations washed over the stands. Even the ordinary civilians who understood absolutely nothing about ninjutsu could feel the sudden, terrifyingly oppressive spike in energy.
Up in the VIP box, the Third Kazekage's eyes narrowed. "Oh? Using an explosive secret technique of this caliber right from the start... It seems your village's young genius is putting quite a bit of pressure on his comrade."
The Third Hokage looked at the imposing figure of Might Duy in the arena, a flash of genuine surprise crossing his own eyes.
He was aware of the existence of the Eight Inner Gates, but he had absolutely no idea that this "Eternal Genin"—a man who was entirely inconspicuous and frequently mocked within the village—had actually mastered and weaponized the technique to such an incredible degree.
He had genuinely overlooked this level of hidden talent and unyielding perseverance.
Down in the arena, facing this terrifying aura head-on, Shinichi's eyes turned completely tranquil.
He slightly lowered his center of gravity. He made absolutely no move to form hand seals or draw his sword, instead adopting the purest, most fundamental taijutsu stance.
"Here I come, Shinichi! Youth—Explosion!"
Might Duy's figure instantly blurred out of existence.
Fast!
He was more than a magnitude faster than when he fought Sunamaru!
Almost simultaneously with the sound of his voice, a fist enveloped in a roaring shockwave of pale green energy arrived squarely in front of Shinichi's face.
Shinichi didn't dodge or evade. His right arm snapped up like an iron whip, meeting the punch head-on!
BANG!
A heavy, muffled explosion detonated in the air. The solid rock ground beneath their feet simultaneously spider-webbed, and a visible ring of compressed air blasted outward.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
With his initial strike blocked, Duy used the recoil to spin his body, his left leg sweeping toward Shinichi's midsection like a heavy battleaxe.
Shinichi slid half a step back. His left knee shot upward with blinding speed, precisely intercepting the side of Duy's calf to deflect the kinetic force. Simultaneously, his right hand formed a knife-hand, chopping like lightning toward Duy's ribs, which were left slightly exposed by the spinning kick.
Duy reacted with terrifying speed. He seamlessly used his sweeping leg as a pivot, launching his other leg through the air in a brutal thrust kick aimed directly at Shinichi's wrist.
SMACK!
Hand met foot. Both fighters used the opposing force to disengage, only to instantaneously violently crash back together!
"Leaf Gale!"
Duy launched another ferocious assault. The howling wind and the turbulent chakra currents generated by his movements whipped around him like a miniature localized storm.
Shinichi's footwork was exceptionally agile, his figure weaving gracefully through the blindingly dense barrage of attacks. Sometimes he parried with the edge of his palm; other times he blocked heavily with his elbows. Every single point of contact rang out with the solid, bone-rattling thud of physical impact.
His movements didn't look nearly as violently berserk as Duy's Four-Gate state, but they were infinitely more precise and efficient. He consistently neutralized lethal strikes by a hair's breadth and instantly countered with lethal precision.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The muffled, rapid-fire staccato of fists and feet colliding echoed continuously like a torrential downpour. It was a pure taijutsu duel, yet it generated the heart-stopping intensity and sheer scale of a high-end ninjutsu battle.
Even though Shinichi hadn't activated any explosive secret techniques, the rock-solid foundation forged by years of grueling training, combined with the immense, stacked attribute bonuses from his various traits, allowed him to clash head-on with a Four-Gate Might Duy without yielding a single inch.
"So fast... my eyes can't even track them!"
"Is this really just a taijutsu match?! It looks like two shinobi blasting each other with high-level ninjutsu!"
Gasps and shouts erupted from the stands. Many spectators wide-eyed, desperately straining to track the two high-speed figures constantly crisscrossing and detonating shockwaves across the arena.
Over a dozen blistering exchanges of high-speed offense and defense flashed by in the span of a few breaths. Both fighters' understanding and application of taijutsu had reached a realm that many Genin and Chunin couldn't even dream of touching. Their techniques were flawlessly clean, and their execution of force was surgically precise and ruthless.
Following a particularly brutal exchange of punches, the massive recoil forced both fighters to pause for a fraction of a second.
In that microscopic window, Shinichi's eyes sharpened. He acutely captured the minuscule moment of physical stiffness as Duy's previous exertion ended and his next surge of power had yet to generate.
Shinichi's body smoothly dropped low, narrowly evading the heavy wind pressure of Duy's immediate follow-up punch intended to suppress him. Coiled like a fully compressed spring, Shinichi's right leg snapped upward like a whip of lightning!
It was an incredibly sharp, perfectly minimalist, yet astonishingly fast low side-kick that planted itself solidly into Duy's solar plexus.
THUD!
Accompanied by a heavy thud, Duy was sent flying backward as if he had been struck by a massive siege hammer. His feet plowed two deep, ten-meter-long trenches into the solid rock floor before he barely managed to stabilize himself, the blood and breath in his chest churning violently.
Shinichi didn't press the attack. He stood his ground, his breathing still perfectly steady, his eyes bright. He called out loudly, "Senior Duy, your strength... surely doesn't end here, right?"
Duy slowly straightened up and wiped the corner of his mouth. He looked at the boy standing opposite him—whose eyes were burning brightly and who clearly hadn't exerted his full strength yet—and remained silent for a moment.
The overwhelming desire to be acknowledged, to be expected of, and the desperate yearning to let his youth bloom to its absolute fullest finally completely crushed all his remaining reservations.
A brilliantly radiant, yet incomparably serious smile bloomed across his face.
"You're right... Shinichi."
"Then let my youth run completely wild, just this once!"
"Fifth Gate: Gate of Limit—Open!!"
An even more ferocious, roaring pillar of green energy erupted into the sky. Every single strand of his hair stood on end, and the solid ground beneath his feet began to crack and splinter like a spiderweb.
However, it wasn't over.
Under the utterly shocked gazes of everyone present, the chakra surrounding Might Duy began to violently spike once again. The surging green shockwave deepened in color, faintly emitting a sharp, piercing aura of azure light!
"Sixth Gate: Gate of View—Open!!!"
RUMBLE—!!!
A terrifying shockwave, several times more powerful than before, violently detonated outward. Shattered debris was swept into the air, and the entire massive arena seemed to tremble faintly.
At this moment, Might Duy looked like a literal god of war bathed in roaring green flames. The sheer oppressive weight radiating from his body made it difficult for many spectators in the stands to even breathe.
"The Sixth Gate..." Master Zenn adjusted his sunglasses, muttering softly to himself, his tone incredibly solemn.
Up in the VIP box, the Third Kazekage's pupils constricted, turning dead serious. The hand the Third Hokage used to hold his pipe also paused mid-air, his expression equally grave.
Down in the arena, Shinichi felt the suffocating, majestic wave of raw power and hurricane-force winds crashing against him. His clothes plastered tightly against his body, violently snapping in the gale.
Yet, amidst the roaring, berserk energy rushing toward him, his eyes shone with astonishing brilliance.
Good! Excellent! Perfect!!!
This is exactly how it should be!
Let these ignorant Sand bumpkins properly witness the peak of the world!
"Senior, it seems this technique places a massive burden on your body," Shinichi widened his stance, his voice piercing clearly through the howling wind pressure. "In that case, let's end this quickly! I will also show you my absolute full strength—let the next strike decide the victor!"
"Alright! Shinichi, let the next strike! Decide the victor!"
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