The proctor raised his hand and said, "The winner of this round is Akira."
Immediately, a team of medical ninjas rushed into the arena with a stretcher. They carefully placed an unconscious, heavily bleeding Ryuma onto it. Blood was dripping from his wounds, staining the rocky floor of the stadium.
Kazuki and Yuki watched them carry him away, both of their expressions turning grim.
Up in the VIP chambers, the atmosphere was completely different. The Lightning Daimyo was laughing loudly, covering his mouth with a fan.
"Hahaha! Did you see that?" The Lightning Daimyo said. "It seems Kumogakure is going to win this time around. That boy is a beast!"
The Earth Daimyo frowned deeply, clearly annoyed, while Onoki remained silent, gripping his chair tightly as he watched the arena.
The Fire Daimyo's face was grim, he was relieved when he saw that Iwa was defeated but now Kumo was the one dominating.
A short break was announced before the final round.
Kazuki sat in the waiting area, resting his body and sorting out his thoughts.
Yuki walked up to him. Her usual smile was completely gone, replaced by a look of deep concern.
"Good luck out there, Kazuki," she said softly. "Please return safely but also, make sure to win this, for Ryuma."
Kazuki nodded with a smile and said, "of course I'll win, these eyes are not just for show"
As Yuki walked back to join Akari, Kazuki sighed internally.
He thought, 'I said I'm going to win, but honestly, I don't know how myself. His speed and raw power completely overpowered Ryuma's kenjutsu, and Ryuma is faster than me. But I still have some tricks up my sleeve, let's see how this plays out.'
When the break ended, Kazuki stood up and walked toward the entrance tunnel.
Leaning against the wall near the entrance was Rayden, Akira's teammate who had fought Ryuma earlier.
Rayden smirked mockingly and said, "Hey Uchiha, do you want a handicap? Our Akira is going to tear you apart. You should just give up now, he's a complete monster."
Kazuki ignored him completely, not even giving him a side glance as he walked past him and stepped into the blinding light of the stadium.
Akira was already standing in the center of the arena. He had put on a fresh, plain mask to hide his face again.
People in the audience were cheering loudly, excited for the final match of the chunin exams.
The proctor looked at both of them to confirm they were ready, then raised his hand.
"Final Match. Begin!"
The moment the proctor's hand dropped, Akira immediately started making rapid hand signs.
Kazuki closed his eyes for a split second. When he opened them, his pupils were crimson red, with two tomoe spinning wildly in each eye. His Sharingan instantly tracked Akira's muscle movements and chakra flow.
Kazuki saw those hand signs with his sharingan and used the same jutsu.
'Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!'
'Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!'
High-pressure bullets of water shot from both of their mouths, clashing violently in the center of the arena and turning into a heavy mist.
Akira clicked his tongue in annoyance and immediately wove another sequence of hand signs.
'Lightning Release: False Darkness!'
Kazuki had recognized hand signs, so he also made some.
'Earth Release: Hiding like a mole technique.'
Kazuki went underground, which made Akira's lightning jutsu useless.
Kazuki came out of the ground.
Akira glared at Kazuki through his mask.
"You Leaf shinobi, you are just a bunch of cowards who only know how to run," Akira said.
Suddenly, Akira's whole body got covered in intense, crackling lightning. The Lightning Armor.
Kazuki's eyes widened.
Before Kazuki could even fully process the massive spike in chakra, Akira vanished.
Kazuki's Sharingan barely registered a blur before Akira appeared right in front of him. Akira delivered a devastating kick to his chest.
Kazuki was sent flying backward like a bullet, slamming brutally into the stadium wall.
A large cloud of dust kicked up from the impact. The crowd went completely silent.
Up in the stands, Yuki gripped the railing tightly.
Kazuki slowly pushed himself out of the crater in the wall, wiping a trail of blood from his mouth.
Kazuki had used iron skin jutsu just before the kick connected to him, so he didn't recieve that much damage.
Akira crouched low, preparing to launch himself again with his maximum speed.
Kazuki quickly wove a sequence of hand signs.
'Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field'
Kazuki expelled a large amount of thick, sticky liquid from his mouth, creating a wide boundary all around his position on the ground.
Akira scoffed and charged forward at Kazuki.
But as soon as his feet touched the syrup-covered ground, the immense friction and stickiness severely hindered his movements. He wasn't completely captured because of his raw strength, but his speed dropped significantly.
Kazuki smirked. He thought, 'Now!'
He unsheathed his Senju-crested sword and channeled fire chakra into it.
Akira lunged through the sticky syrup and threw a heavy punch toward Kazuki's face.
Kazuki met the attack head-on, swinging his blazing sword to counter the punch.
The fire on Kazuki's chakra flow was so incredibly hot that as it clashed with Akira's fist, the Lightning Armor actually started melting and dispersing. The intense heat disrupted the flow of the electrical chakra around Akira's arm.
Akira quickly jumped back, glancing at the slight burn marks on his forearm.
"I hate you, Leaf shinobi. I'll end you now."
Lightning flared even brighter around Akira. He charged forward, ignoring the syrup this time as he prepared a devastating strike.
'Lightning Release: Lariat!'
Kazuki didn't block. He had already prepared his hand signs. He slammed his hand onto the ground.
'Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!'
The ground beneath Akira's feet instantly turned into a deep, muddy bog. Carried by the sheer momentum of his lariat, Akira sank chest-deep into the mud, getting completely stuck.
Kazuki didn't waste a single second. He rapidly went through a long string of 24 hand signs.
'Water Release: Aqua Bull!'
A massive, roaring bull made of highly pressurized water erupted from the ground and charged straight into the trapped Akira.
The impact was tremendous. Akira was sent flying out of the swamp, tumbling violently across the arena floor.
Because of his Lightning Armor, Akira didn't receive any fatal physical damage from the impact. But as he slowly stood back up, the remains of his shattered mask fell from his face.
His shark-like teeth and the gills under his eyes were fully exposed again to the audience.
The whispers in the crowd started again, but Akira ignored them.
"You are very annoying," Akira growled, his eyes filled with killing intent.
Akira pointed both hands forward and made a hand sign.
'Lightning Release: Lightning Senbon'
Several sharp senbons of lightning came out of Akira's mouth with rapid speed.
Kazuki used his chakra flow to send arcs of flame from his sword.
He had learned to control their size and chakra output perfectly using the Sharingan. The fire arcs collided with the lightning senbons, neutralizing them mid-air.
Akira gritted his shark-like teeth. He stood up straight and crossed his arms.
'Lightning Release: Overdrive!'
Kazuki used his sharingan to look into the jutsu and he was completely shocked.
He thought, 'He's using lightning chakra to directly stimulate his nervous system, fastening the signals from his brain to his muscles. How does this guy has this good chakra control?'
Akira dashed toward Kazuki again.
He brought his hand down in a brutal, falling chop. Kazuki's Sharingan tracked it just in time, allowing him to barely sidestep.
Akira's chop missed Kazuki and slammed directly into the solid stone floor. The impact shook the entire stadium, creating a localized earthquake and leaving a slight crack in the ground.
Without pausing, Akira unleashed a relentless barrage of punches.
Kazuki desperately raised his sword to block. Every time Akira's fists slammed against the fire-enhanced blade, the intense heat burned Akira's knuckles.
His knuckles were burning but Akira didn't care. He entirely ignored the pain, his hatred driving him forward as he continuously overpowered Kazuki's defenses with sheer strength.
Kazuki was getting pushed back with every strike. He thought, 'He's too strong. I can't hold much longer'
With one final, earth-shattering punch, Akira struck the flat of Kazuki's blade.
The sheer kinetic force of the blow traveled up Kazuki's arms, making his hands go completely numb. The sword slipped out of his grip and clattered uselessly across the arena floor.
Kazuki was completely wide open.
He immediately gritted his teeth and focused his chakra.
'Earth Release: Iron Skin Jutsu!'
Kazuki braced himself, expecting a punch to his chest.
But the punch never came.
Instead, Akira lunged forward and grabbed Kazuki tightly by the throat. With a terrifying display of raw strength, Akira lifted Kazuki completely off the ground with one hand.
Kazuki choked, his hands instinctively grabbing Akira's wrist to pry the fingers off as his feet kicked the empty air.
Akira stared directly into Kazuki's crimson eyes, his own eyes burning with a cold, unrelenting fury.
"I'll finally get my revenge by killing one of you Leaf shinobi," Akira whispered darkly, his grip tightening around Kazuki's neck. "You took my everything from me."
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