"And the terrain is wide open."
"There are a few petrified rock formations nearby...perfect vantage points. Anyone standing on them will be able to see every detail of the fight."
He paused slightly, then added,
"Perfect for spectators. What do you think?"
Aoki's eyes narrowed.
For a moment, he couldn't quite read Ethan.
Choosing a battlefield like that...
One designed for maximum visibility...
Wasn't that just asking to be humiliated if he lost?
The thought flickered through his mind.
But outwardly, Aoki didn't hesitate.
He laughed loudly, his tone easy and confident.
"Sounds good to me."
"Shall we head out?"
He stepped aside and gestured forward with an open palm.
"After you."
The crowd stirred.
They hadn't expected that.
Aoki's display of composure...and restraint...shifted their perception of him.
Maybe…
Just maybe...
He had always been this capable.
Perhaps he had simply been overshadowed before.
Brilliant, but unnoticed.
And now that the sun had fallen...
That flame finally had room to burn.
Aoki felt the change in their gazes.
And inwardly...
He smiled.
This had been deliberate.
Something he'd thought through carefully the night before.
Project confidence.
Control the tone.
Own the moment.
And judging by the reactions...
It was working.
"Trying too hard."
Not far away, inside a nearby building...
.
.
Masami watched with folded arms, clearly unimpressed.
Beside her, Tsuyu...still wearing her hawk mask...nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. Feels forced."
"Like he's copying something he doesn't quite understand."
Around them, members of the Guard Platoon stood silently.
Masked.
Still.
They exchanged brief glances...
But said nothing.
"Let's move," Masami said.
"They've started."
Her tone sharpened slightly.
"If Aoki tries anything suspicious..."
"Intervene immediately."
The distance...forty kilometers...
Was nothing for shinobi.
Even the slowest among them were at least chunin.
Within minutes...
They arrived.
Ethan stood at the center of a shallow depression in the desert.
Aoki stood opposite him.
Roughly one hundred meters apart.
Surrounding them...
Sand and stone rose in layered ridges.
Natural viewing platforms.
And they were filled.
Shinobi lined every elevated point.
Some familiar.
Some not.
But all are watching.
All waiting.
They knew.
The Third Kazekage had been missing for over a day.
And whoever won this...
Might very well become the Fourth.
From above...
More figures could be seen racing toward the area.
Dozens.
Then hundreds.
Drawn in by the same realization.
Aoki folded his arms, soaking in the attention.
The tension.
The weight of expectation.
He smiled.
Then looked at Ethan.
"Ready to begin?"
Ethan stood calmly, the wind brushing against his cloak.
It shifted slightly, giving him a composed, almost effortless presence.
"Let's wait a little longer," he said.
"Not everyone's here yet."
Aoki chuckled, tilting his head upward toward the growing crowd.
"You're confident."
"But if you lose badly in front of all these people…"
"…you might not even have a shot at becoming Kazekage twenty years from now."
Ethan raised an eyebrow slightly.
Then smiled.
"You seem pretty confident yourself."
"Confident enough to believe you'll win...and hold that position for decades?"
Aoki's expression hardened instantly.
"Watch your mouth."
The words struck deeper than expected.
His brows twitched.
His jaw tightened.
Something unsettled him.
A flicker...
Of doubt.
Of fear.
He had been avoiding that thought.
Suppressing it.
Convincing himself that becoming Kazekage was worth it.
But now...
Standing here...
Facing a real contender...
He realized something.
He was afraid.
Afraid of what came after.
War.
Responsibility.
Death.
Not just dying in battle...
Like the First or Second Kazekage.
But something worse.
Like the Third.
Gone.
Without a trace.
As if he had never existed.
Ethan watched him silently.
Then shook his head slightly.
This man...
Didn't have the resolve.
Even Rasa...
For all his flaws...
Had been willing to sacrifice everything for the village.
Hard choices.
Terrible ones.
But choices made with purpose.
Aoki?
Ethan saw none of that in him.
Just ambition.
Without the weight to carry it.
"You're chasing power," Ethan said evenly.
"But you're not ready for what comes with it."
"You don't have what it takes to be Kazekage."
"What did you just say?!"
Aoki snapped.
The tension inside him exploded.
"You think you can question me?!"
He slammed his hand against his chest.
"I was on the battlefield before you were even born!"
"End of the First War...I was five years old, collecting the bodies of our fallen!
"Second War...I led missions behind enemy lines!"
"I held the rear and personally took down ten chunin and two Jonin!"
He swept his arm toward the crowd.
"I was promoted by the Second Kazekage himself...at seventeen!"
"And you?"
"You weren't even born yet!"
He leaned forward slightly.
"Tell me...does that sound like someone unqualified?"
Silence fell over the dunes.
The younger shinobi stared in awe.
The older ones...
Those who remembered...
Looked shaken.
Some even looked… inspired.
Then...
They turned to Ethan.
Waiting.
Expecting...
But what they saw...
Was calm.
Unmoved.
Ethan sighed faintly.
"Is that how you remember it?"
His voice was steady.
"Because the records tell a different story."
He glanced toward the crowd.
"At the end of the First War, manpower was stretched thin."
"The Second Kazekage issued an order."
"All boys over five were sent to the battlefield to collect the dead."
"That wasn't a personal choice."
"That was policy."
A pause.
"Maybe you've misremembered."
"But the archives still have copies of those orders."
The reaction was immediate.
Confusion.
Shock.
Doubt.
Aoki froze.
He hadn't expected that.
Decades had passed.
Most witnesses were gone.
He thought...
No one would challenge it.
Certainly not like this.
But Ethan wasn't done.
"I'll give you credit for your record in the Second War."
"You did lead missions."
"You did fight."
"But you weren't the only one."
He stepped forward slightly.
"And if another war starts now?"
"I'll do the same."
"Better."
That was the breaking point.
Aoki roared.
"Enough!"
"You think you can provoke me and win?!"
His hand shot backward.
A scroll snapped free...
Hovering in the air.
"Then come and try!"
With a sharp clap...
Smoke exploded outward.
In less than a second...
Aoki...
And the scroll...
Were gone.
Ethan watched the smoke quietly.
His fingers twitched...
Then stilled.
He waited.
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