"You mean to say, I'm not Sakura's match?", Hearing this, Ino's willow brows instantly slanted upward, her expression puffed up in anger as she looked at Aoba.
'How come with Tenten and Temari, he kept neutral, but with me he leans toward Sakura?'
Aoba took hold of Ino's soft little hand, pulled her to his side, and spoke softly.
"I'm just telling you not to care so much about winning or losing. We're all one family, no matter who wins or loses, it's the same, and it can't affect your relationship."
"Hmph! Of course you don't need to say that. Sakura and I are the best of friends, friends for a lifetime!", Ino gave a light hum, shook off Aoba's hand, walked to Sakura's side, and hooked her arm.
"Sakura, later I won't hold back."
Sakura showed a confident smile, "Ino, this time I won't lose either."
Looking at the two sisters' serious expressions, Aoba suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
He had given Sakura quite a lot of help, but seemed to have given Ino nothing.
As a result, Sakura's current strength could be said to be ahead of Ino's in all aspects.
The main thing Ino had was her clan's secret technique, but without a special talent, he didn't know how to help her.
On the side, Yakumo and Karin had originally wanted to join in the fun too, but thinking about it, their opponents seemed to be from other villages.
Aoba would certainly lean toward them.
So they simply gave up.
Just at this moment, two hoarse, straining voices erupted from the field.
"Sasuke!"
"Naruto!"
The two stood panting, separated by a certain distance.
But for the two of them, this distance was pitifully short.
Both were in somewhat poor condition at the moment.
Sasuke suffered from the disadvantage of having less chakra than Naruto, he felt like his body was about to be hollowed out by the other.
Naruto in Fourth Gate form was fast, but still couldn't avoid the insight of the Three Tomoe Sharingan.
Sasuke relied on ruthless sword techniques to suppress Naruto, forcing him to not dare face him head-on, and only keep dodging.
But likewise, he was constantly consuming chakra, and now his chakra was already running low.
Naruto's condition was also not great, the Fourth Gate was too much of a burden for him now.
His muscles had already suffered varying degrees of damage, and his whole body looked like a red person.
He couldn't last long in this state.
"Naruto, this child's play ends here!", Sasuke threw away the sword in his hand and began forming seals with both hands.
The next moment, the sharp chirping of birds rang out in the arena, lightning flickered, countless bolts weaving together, gathering in his palm.
This was his last Chidori.
If this move couldn't settle Naruto, his chakra would be exhausted, and he'd have no other means left.
"Sasuke, my youth has no regrets!"
It seemed as if powerful music resounded around them, Naruto looked up to the sky and shouted.
"Gate of Closing, open!"
This was his second time opening the Fifth Gate.
Near-limitless chakra gushed forth, forming waves of air around his body.
Dust and rubble around were blown and swirled outward.
The burden on his body rose further.
Now, Naruto only felt intense pain from his body, but his mood was incomparably exhilarated.
"Sasuke!"
"Naruto!"
In just an instant, their bodies appeared in the center of the arena.
Sasuke's Three Tomoe Sharingan let him find Naruto's weakness at the last moment.
Naruto, on the other hand, directly kicked upward with all his might.
———
"These two… they've lost themselves in the fight," Aoba frowned.
If this exchange landed, both would surely be seriously injured.
Forget the later matches, they'd probably be lying in bed for a while.
But at this moment, two figures appeared in the arena simultaneously.
Kakashi, with his Sharingan open, sidestepped and grabbed Sasuke's hand, neutralizing the Chidori in it.
And Might Guy, also with the Eight Gates open, used extremely pure dispersal force to remove the power from Naruto's leg without harming him.
After that exchange, Sasuke and Naruto both fainted on the spot.
"Kakashi, how about we call this match a draw?", Might Guy looked at Sasuke in Kakashi's arms, then at Naruto in his own, his face showing a satisfied smile.
Naruto's performance was already more than enough to satisfy him.
Kakashi also nodded.
If they hadn't stepped in, Sasuke and Naruto's situation would have been mutual destruction, both losing the ability to fight.
He then looked toward Shiranui Genma, who was already numb.
"Sorry to trouble you."
"No trouble, no trouble."
Shiranui Genma swallowed and then loudly announced the result.
"This match, DRAW!"
'Was this really a genin match?'
He thought of Aoba's match last time.
This year's genin were each stranger than the last.
Fortunately Kakashi and Guy had acted just now.
If he had gone to stop them, he'd probably have been turned into a sandwich.
After a moment's silence, the whole arena erupted in cheers and applause.
No one was dissatisfied that the final clash had been stopped, because the earlier fight had already been exciting enough.
It made almost everyone feel their ticket was worth it.
Kakashi and Guy also carried the two down for medical treatment.
At this time, Shiranui Genma, now having adjusted his mindset, announced the next match's contestants.
"Hyuga Neji versus Chojuro!"
Neji and Chojuro walked onto the field.
Neji appeared completely calm, while Chojuro seemed a little restrained.
With such personalities, even though they were from different villages, there was no trash-talking scene.
They just nodded to each other, and after forming the seal of confrontation, the match began.
With Shiranui Genma's announcement of the start, Chojuro was the first to move.
"Water Style: Hidden Mist Technique!"
This was the standard procedure for Mist ninja when fighting other shinobi.
Chojuro spewed a large amount of thick mist from his mouth, instantly covering the entire field.
Though his opponent was a Hyuga clan ninja, thick mist would still have some effect.
Neji also immediately activated his Byakugan.
The other's chakra stood out in the darkness like a torch.
After releasing the mist, Chojuro took out the double sword Hiramekarei from his back.
Neji, unhurried, took a Gentle Fist stance.
Because of the sudden dense mist in the arena, everyone in the spectator seats, ninja or civilian, erupted in commotion.
Then they began murmuring.
All mist, what was there to watch?
Honestly, this did affect the viewing experience.
"Hinata, why don't you open your Byakugan and tell us what's happening inside?", Yakumo suggested.
Hinata did not refuse, and directly opened her Byakugan.
In the mist, the Hiramekarei in Chojuro's hand glowed blue.
A chakra sphere appeared on the blade surface, and he swung the Hiramekarei horizontally toward Neji.
BOOM!
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