Kakashi's expression became somewhat serious after a quick mental calculation.
If both he and Might Guy advanced to the third round, they would meet in the top eight.
"There's too little chakra. With a bit more, I could pull off more strategies." Kakashi subconsciously simulated a battle with Might Guy in his mind and then shook his head.
The Thoughtless Slash took too much out of him, consuming slightly more chakra than Kakashi could handle, but without consuming chakra, it was hard to create opportunities to attack.
The Might Guy who combined Eight Gates with Breath of Rock not only possessed absolute power but was also incredibly fast.
In contrast to Kakashi, Obito felt a spark in his eyes.
Might Guy was number eleven, while he was number thirty, which meant Obito would only face Might Guy in the finals.
Kakashi might gamble on the Thoughtless Slash, but Obito currently had no way of dealing with Might Guy. Under normal circumstances, his chances of beating Might Guy were zero.
"I'm number nineteen." Shisui came over and reported his number.
"The elimination rounds are about to start. Contestants, please pay attention to the broadcast in the lounge and the match order on the screen," the Ninja Sect staff reminded them.
As soon as the Ninja Sect staff finished speaking, the large screen in the lounge lit up, displaying the order of the sixteen battles in the first round from top to bottom.
"Number one is actually Nagato." Maki noticed the first battle on the screen and glanced at the number two in his hand, his expression slightly changing.
A Hidden Sand Ninja was placed in the same group as Nagato during the preliminaries, so Maki knew Nagato was a tough opponent.
Nagato glanced casually at the screen before looking away.
He didn't care who the opponent was because he intended to keep winning until the competition ended.
"Specializes in large-scale ninjutsu, mainly using Wind Release and Fire Release..." Maki began to ponder strategies based on Nagato's information.
"I could keep dodging, waiting for the opponent to show a flaw, and then look for an opportunity to attack up close."
Maki was a ninja specializing in Wind Release, but he didn't pursue attack range; he focused on the destructive power of Wind Release, aiming to kill the enemy in one strike.
Once he found an opportunity to attack, no matter what disadvantage he was in before, Maki was confident he could turn the tables.
Kakashi didn't look for his opponent right away but instead started from the beginning, looking down the list.
"Sunagani is number eight, so that's a good draw for us." Kakashi saw Sunagani's name in the fourth match of the first round.
If both Nagato and Sunagani advanced, they would meet in the top eight at the latest, and by then, neither Nagato nor Sunagani could afford to continue hiding their strength.
"First match, Number One Nagato versus Number Two Maki! Contestants, please enter the arena quickly," the referee's voice called into the lounge.
Nagato nodded to Yahiko Konan and then left the lounge, heading for the central battle arena.
"Maki, do your best!" Yura encouraged.
The Hidden Sand didn't send many people, and only the two of them made it to the elimination rounds. If Maki lost, he would be the only one left, and the pressure would be different.
"I'll do my best," Maki replied in a deep voice and stepped out of the lounge.
As soon as he entered the battle arena, Maki could clearly feel numerous gazes fall upon him.
"Perhaps Lord Kazekage should pay more attention," Maki thought to himself.
He felt that if he was going to participate, he should take it seriously. Otherwise, he shouldn't be involved at all; this neither-here-nor-there situation would make people think that the Hidden Sand's strength was lacking because only two ninjas entered the elimination rounds, and they could be eliminated at any time.
Hanzo, on the high platform, squinted his eyes slightly upon seeing Nagato, recalling some unpleasant memories.
If Nagato had been a bit weaker that day, and if Kakuzu hadn't been there, maybe his ambush plan wouldn't have been utterly defeated.
Hanzo sighed lightly; indeed, it wouldn't have been a total defeat, but he would still have failed because even if he was reborn and tried again, he couldn't guarantee he would kill Sosuke.
Going against someone like Sosuke was asking for trouble. If Hanzo were truly reborn, he would most likely kick Shimura Danzo out the door and then give Sosuke a title to help him gain fame.
That way, they wouldn't become enemies, and Hanzo could vaguely elevate Sosuke by half a level, after all, he conferred the title.
In the audience, the members of Root quietly picked up their notebooks, preparing to record information about Nagato.
Kitsuchi shook his head upon seeing this. Having witnessed the ambush, he knew Nagato's strength was uncanny; Nagato had far surpassed ordinary ninjas.
Knowing that Nagato was among the contestants, Kitsuchi understood that the first-place reward would not be taken by any other forces.
The contestants in the lounge, knowing that the match was about to start, all focused intently on the battle arena.
Information played an important role in ninja battles; for participating ninjas, watching the matches was actually a part of the competition as well.
Whoever could gather more information from the battle details would gain a greater advantage in the upcoming matches.
"Let the battle begin!" the referee shouted as soon as both participants were ready.
Whish! Whish! Whish!!
Maki didn't rashly advance or retreat; he chose to take out a shuriken and shoot it toward Nagato.
"Wind Release: Pressure!"
Nagato decided to use the same strategy as in the preliminaries, making use of his vast chakra amount to employ large-scale ninjutsu for suppression.
A large amount of wind attribute chakra was compressed into a small ball shape and expelled from Nagato's mouth.
Whoosh! Whoosh!!
The moment the wind ball was expelled, a mighty gale ensued; the release of the high-density wind ball resulted in a terrifyingly destructive tornado, tearing up the ground beneath it, with dirt and debris flying all around in a cloud of dust and smoke.
"So strong," Maki thought to himself, his heart racing.
Hearing about intelligence was ultimately not as direct as seeing it with one's own eyes. At this moment, he understood why that Hidden Sand ninja seemed vaguely fearful; this Wind Release was genuinely menacing.
Maki activated his chakra and rapidly retreated. In this situation, he could only avoid the brunt and look for opportunities. Anyway, his original battle plan was the same.
Fortunately, the battle arena was wide enough, and thanks to his decisive actions, Maki managed to withdraw successfully from Nagato's attack range.
"Earth Release: Mountain Earth Jutsu!"
Having missed the first hit, Nagato's expression remained unchanged as he continued to weave hand seals. Mokgetsu had taught him many high-level ninjutsu of the five great natures; this was barely anything.
Rumble!!
Maki felt the ground shake violently as if in an earthquake, with the earth on both sides suddenly splitting and rising, rushing at him with great speed.
Maki paid no heed to anything else, unleashing a speed beyond his limit to escape, narrowly avoiding getting crushed like a pancake.
"Mountain Earth Jutsu isn't very useful in this situation," Kitsuchi commented.
Mountain Earth Jutsu was Kitsuchi's signature ninjutsu, and unless it was against a large opponent or with a teammate pinning them down, its hit rate was worrisome.
Of course, its power was immense, and as long as it hit, Kitsuchi believed there were very few in the Ninja World who could withstand it.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bomb!"
As Maki escaped the squeeze of the Mountain Earth Jutsu, a ferocious sea of flames enveloped him, thoroughly trapping him in a dire situation.
"Nagato wins!" the referee declared Nagato's victory.
Maki wiped the sweat from his face, feeling not an ounce of dissatisfaction; he accepted his defeat wholeheartedly in this battle.
The difference in their strength was too vast. From the moment the battle started, Nagato had been chasing him down. Finding a flaw in Nagato was unrealistic; dealing with Nagato's ninjutsu had already consumed all his energy.
PS: Damn, truly became 2.5 Xiaogu. My back inexplicably aches today along with a creative block, no matter what, I can't seem to write.
Really shouldn't have set a flag, it's all the fault of Old Wu (not really).
Here's a progress report on the extra content; the framework and outline are all in place, just need to fill out the specifics.
I'll try to have part of the Naruto side story written by mid-May (there will still be daily updates in the main storyline, with the side story as additional content).
May's Naruto side story content will focus on the Pain arc, roughly featuring Breath of Yang Naruto VS Pain or something like that.
I'm currently contemplating whether to combine the side story content into one chapter, as having a bunch of side stories in the main directory doesn't look too good.