In the blink of an eye, the night passed, and the arena was set once more.
Today, Uchiha Yato, still radiant as ever, resumed his roles as referee and commentator.
Without preamble, he announced, "Due to yesterday's discussions, there will be no card-drawing segment today."
"Instead, today's match will feature our White Fang of the Leaf against Chiyo."
Though this arrangement had been agreed upon earlier, hearing it spoken aloud still sent shockwaves through the crowd.
To many civilians, the White Fang of the Leaf was a hero who had protected the village, and in their eyes, he was viewed through an overwhelmingly positive lens.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression today lacked the warmth of yesterday's smiles.
As the Hokage, he could afford personal biases, but there were times when even he had no choice.
That so-called secret order from Shimura Danzo? It had actually been issued by Sarutobi Hiruzen himself.
The reason? Simply put, even Hiruzen had begun to feel threatened by Hatake Sakumo's growing reputation.
Danzo, aware of the Sand Village's stance, had a simple plan for today: sit back and watch the tigers fight.
As Hatake Sakumo and Chiyo entered the arena, the tension reached its peak.
Countless spectators and members of the exchange delegation roared in excitement, though a handful of high-ranking Sand ninja couldn't shake their unease.
Earlier, Chiyo had already given what felt like final instructions to her people, as if preparing for the worst.
Despite Pakura, herself a kunoichi, privately pleading with her multiple times, Chiyo's resolve remained unshaken.
This battle had drawn the attention of numerous power players—a clash where victory and life itself hung in the balance.
Neither combatant wasted words. At this moment, speech was meaningless.
Chiyo struck first, immediately summoning her pride and joy: the Chikamatsu Puppet Brigade.
Without any flashy maneuvers, she sent four puppets charging straight at Hatake Sakumo.
Sakumo, in turn, showed Chiyo the respect she deserved. Gripping his tanto, he dashed toward the three puppets hurtling toward him.
Chakra enveloped the blade, sharpening its edge to a lethal degree.
Sakumo could further channel his chakra through the blade, releasing razor-sharp Blade energy.
In close combat, he could wrap this white Blade energy around his weapon, extending its reach while enhancing its cutting power.
For ranged attacks, he simply released the Blade energy from the blade, striking foes from a distance.
Faced with the four puppets harassing him, Sakumo relied on his agility and the extended reach of his tanto to handle them with ease.
But Chiyo was far from one-dimensional. Swiftly, she rearranged three of her puppets into a new formation.
Then, she uttered the name of her technique—"Three Treasures Suction Crush."
Instantly, a massive whirlwind erupted from the three puppets, relentlessly disrupting Sakumo's movements.
True to his reputation as a Kage-level shinobi, Sakumo reacted instantly. Breaking free, he countered with a barrage of Blade energy from a distance.
She increased the distance further to avoid being drawn into the tornadoes by the three puppets.
There were now ten puppets on the battlefield—four for close combat to harass Hatake Sakumo, and three for long-range attacks using tornadoes to pull him in.
Two more puppets stood guard beside Chiyo to protect her from any underhanded tactics Hatake Sakumo might employ.
After confirming the number of puppets, Hatake Sakumo suddenly realized one was missing.
Chiyo gave him no time to think. The last hidden puppet had been lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
In the brief moment Hatake Sakumo hesitated, Chiyo seized the opportunity and hurled two poisoned shuriken at him.
Hatake Sakumo narrowly avoided the deadly attack by sacrificing a substitution.
Without holding back, he infused his blade with Lightning Release Chakra once more.
This time, the Blade Energy turned blue, crackling with lightning as it struck.
Unlike before, when the Blade Energy merely left wounds, this attack completely shattered a puppet's arm upon contact.
This forced Chiyo to take Hatake Sakumo even more seriously. She began rotating the four close-combat puppets to disrupt his attacks as much as possible.
Meanwhile, the three long-range puppets steadily closed the distance.
Hatake Sakumo shouted, "Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
In an instant, a sturdy earthen wall—adorned with dog heads, much like Kakashi's—rose from the ground.
And it wasn't just one wall—it completely partitioned the entire battlefield.
To say the least, this battle was thrilling to watch, especially for genin and newly promoted chunin, who found it utterly spectacular.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed inwardly. If Hatake Sakumo hadn't posed such a threat to his position as Hokage, he wouldn't have resorted to such measures.
Then, an unexpected turn of events unfolded on the battlefield.
Hatake Sakumo's Blade Energy had already shattered four of the Chikamatsu Puppet Brigade, which had been fiercely attacking moments earlier.
This made Chiyo realize why her son's Puppet Technique had been crushed by the White Fang.
Now, Chiyo could only rely on numerical superiority to gain an advantage.
The previously hidden assassination puppet was now in plain sight, using various poisoned hidden weapons to disrupt the fight.
It was a precarious balance, but she managed to stabilize the stalemate.
The one advantage Chiyo had was that she could now spare more fingers to precisely control the remaining six puppets.
This slowed Hatake Sakumo's attacks, as even a graze from the poisoned ninja tools could be fatal.
All ninja were high-offense, low-defense fighters—even the most powerful Jonin wouldn't survive a pierced heart.
Amid the deadlock, Hatake Sakumo made the first move.
The lightning coursing along his blade surged outward, brighter than ever before.
Instead of dodging, Chiyo deployed a defensive puppet to block the attack, sacrificing it in the process.
Hatake Sakumo didn't stop there. Switching to throwing weapons infused with Lightning Release Chakra, he aimed to destroy every remaining puppet on the field.
But such overwhelming offense came at a cost—his agility waned, and his focus became dangerously narrow.Chiyo's assassination puppet came perilously close to succeeding in several subsequent attacks.
Just when Hatake Sakumo made a mistake, Chiyo immediately seized the opportunity and was about to strike him down to win the match—
Only to hear Uchiha Yato declare, "Hatake Sakumo wins."
At the same time, the spear of Chiyo's assassination puppet was caught by a massive gray skeletal hand, unable to advance even an inch further.
This scene instantly drew gasps from the entire audience. Who was the owner—or rather, the master—of this enormous gray skeleton?
Uchiha Kei was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Uchiha Yato to expose his Mangekyo Sharingan over such a trivial match.
The Hidden Leaf's F4, however, were stunned. The two advisors exclaimed in shock, "Is that... Susanoo?"
"Isn't that an ability only usable with the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo didn't need to think hard to know who the only person in the Uchiha Clan capable of this was.
"Uchiha Yato!"
Chiyo, too, was no fool. Having served under the First Kazekage, how could she lack insight?
She immediately questioned, "What is the meaning of this? Does the Hidden Leaf intend to frame an old woman like me here?"
Uchiha Yato replied calmly, "Elder Chiyo, please calm down. Look beside the two puppets closest to you."
Following his reminder, Chiyo turned her gaze to the two puppets nearby—
Her pupils contracted sharply.
Because she saw that both puppets were now surrounded by Kunai imbued with Lightning Release.
The critical detail was that two of those Kunai needed only the slightest nudge to pierce her.
As a Kage-level shinobi herself, Chiyo understood exactly what this meant.
Hatake Sakumo had held back.
And the reason for his restraint wasn't hard to guess—he likely intended to use his own death to ease the hatred in Chiyo's heart.
This left Chiyo momentarily at a loss for words.
Forcing Hatake Sakumo's death was impossible. Even if the Hidden Leaf's higher-ups turned a blind eye, Uchiha Yato would never allow it.
Without further discussion, Uchiha Yato declared Hatake Sakumo the winner.
Under the combined mental and physical strain, Hatake Sakumo collapsed and was sent to the Leaf Hospital to recover.
And so, the Hidden Leaf's sparring exchange came to a successful conclusion.
The villagers of the Hidden Leaf cheered in celebration of their village's victory, though not everyone was pleased by the outcome.
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