Chapter 86: The Top Four are Decided
Thump!
Kyosuke, who was sent flying by the clay giant, instantly turned into a wooden log.
And he himself, taking this opportunity, rushed toward Akatsuchi.
Unfortunately, the clay giant, enhanced by the Light-Weight Rock Technique, was simply too fast.
With just a single powerful leap, it had caught up to Kyosuke from behind and was swinging its fist at him with all its might.
With no other choice, Kyosuke could only raise his sword to defend, but he was then sent flying by the immense force.
This scene had already happened many times in the past few moments.
Damn it! It's strong, fast, and it can even eat chakra! How am I supposed to fight this thing? Kyosuke cursed in his heart as he dodged its attacks.
Just as Kyosuke was racking his brain for a countermeasure, Akatsuchi's figure unexpectedly appeared behind him, throwing a punch at him.
"Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique."
In an instant, Kyosuke was in a dangerous situation.
In this moment of crisis, Kyosuke suddenly threw his Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi high into the air, then stretched out his hands and aimed them at the clay giant and Akatsuchi respectively.
"Striking Shadow Snakes."
A surge of poisonous snakes shot out, entangling them and squeezing them tightly.
Kyosuke also took this opportunity to jump up and catch his weapon, then turned and charged straight at Akatsuchi.
"Uchiha-Style Sword Technique: Sword Dance of Flames."
Boom!
Just as Akatsuchi was about to be defeated, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking the fatal blow.
This figure was, of course, the clay giant.
Kyosuke looked at its mouth, at a snake tail that was exposed and still struggling desperately, and the corner of his mouth twitched. This thing can not only eat chakra, but it can also eat my poisonous snakes? Aren't you afraid of bursting?
After landing, Kyosuke charged at Akatsuchi again.
At the same time, his free left hand quickly formed a series of hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
A Level 5 Great Fireball was thus smashed onto Akatsuchi's body.
Boom!
Another huge explosion sounded.
In the thick smoke, Kyosuke, using the powerful dynamic vision of his Sharingan, successfully saw Akatsuchi's battered figure fleeing.
Then, another ninjutsu was aimed at him and quickly released.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique."
The reason Kyosuke was using ninjutsu so frequently was to not give Akatsuchi another chance to summon his clay giant.
After all, that thing was too troublesome. If he didn't use a particularly powerful, instantaneous-burst-type ninjutsu, it would be very difficult to defeat it in one go.
That was why Kyosuke was so relentlessly pressing him, forcing him to be on the run and unable to focus on anything else.
A Level 4 Phoenix Sage Fire, although not as directly destructive as the Great Fireball, was an excellent choice for restricting the enemy's movements and interrupting their hand seals.
Seeing the basin-sized fireballs coming at him, Akatsuchi could only helplessly dodge again.
Although his textbook-like evasive maneuvers were impressive, they could not escape Kyosuke's powerful observation.
Just as Akatsuchi had once again clumsily dodged Kyosuke's Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, the ground beneath his feet suddenly shattered, and a python several meters thick shot out from it, instantly coiling around him again.
"You damn stinking snake!" Akatsuchi roared, using all his strength to struggle free.
However, although his strength was great, it was probably not enough to break free from a python's coils just like that.
Seeing that he had finally forced Akatsuchi into a trap he had laid, how could Kyosuke possibly let him go so easily?
Instantly, a Great Fireball, over three meters in diameter, was once again shot at Akatsuchi.
"Aaaah!!!" Seeing the danger approaching, Akatsuchi roared, then, using all the chakra in his body, he unleashed a ninjutsu he had not yet fully mastered.
"Earth Release: Added-Weight Rock Technique."
The giant python coiled around him suddenly began to turn into a rock from its tail, and finally fell to the ground, powerless.
And Akatsuchi, who had freed himself, although he had no time to dodge Kyosuke's finishing move, was still able to ensure his own survival.
After a while, when the smoke from the explosion had cleared, Akatsuchi's body, which had been covered by an earth wall, struggled to climb out.
It turned out that at the last moment, he had successfully released an Earth-Style Wall.
Although it couldn't completely block Kyosuke's Great Fireball, at least he hadn't died directly under his ninjutsu.
Phew. Looking at his battered appearance, Kyosuke slightly calmed his over-consumed chakra, then slowly walked forward and placed the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi on his neck.
"Your ninjutsu... is really powerful," Akatsuchi said, his head bowed, after a long while.
"That clay giant of yours isn't bad either. Very troublesome," Kyosuke said with a smile, returning the compliment.
Of course, this wasn't entirely flattery.
"...Why did you use the Body Flicker Technique at the beginning, and then not again?" Akatsuchi's eyes flashed slightly, and then he asked the question he most wanted to know.
"...Surrender. Don't waste any more time," Kyosuke said after a moment of silence.
As for Akatsuchi's question, of course, he wasn't foolish enough to tell him the reason.
Kyosuke would bet his life that if he had told him the reason just now, in a few minutes, all the contestants would know this information.
Akatsuchi would definitely do something like that.
Seeing that Kyosuke wouldn't answer, Akatsuchi had no choice but to declare his surrender.
The final match of the quarterfinals had come to a close under this spectacular clash of ninjutsu.
The four who had advanced were:
From Konoha, Uchiha Kyosuke.
From the Cloud Village, Yugito Nī.
From the Mist Village, Mei Terumī and Kisame Hoshigaki.
As for the Stone and the Sand, like the other small ninja villages, their entire teams had been eliminated.
For this, the Daimyō of the two countries were so angry they almost left in a huff. The Land of Fire's Daimyō had to persuade them to stay.
However, he had no good intentions in keeping them there.
It was all so that they could witness Konoha's final victory.
Otherwise, if they left, wouldn't this elaborate Chunin Exam have been for nothing?
"Hiruzen, is that child really alright?" the Land of Fire's Daimyō asked, for the umpteenth time, looking at the Third Hokage beside him.
"Haha, don't worry, Daimyō. Kyosuke will be fine," the Third said. Although he appeared optimistic on the surface, he was still a bit worried in his heart.
After all, the remaining three were no weaklings.
It would not be easy for Kyosuke to win.
But you always have a surprise up your sleeve, don't you? the Third thought, smiling to himself as he looked at the back of Kyosuke, who was talking with Minato.
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