"Number one, Nagato versus number three, Aburame Shibi!"
The referee's shout announced the beginning of the second round as Nagato and Aburame Shibi both quickly walked to the arena to prepare for combat.
Kakashi paused his conversation with his teammates, revealing a serious demeanor as he looked towards the battlefield.
Although it's somewhat outrageous, their biggest obstacle to taking first place is not ninjas from other Great Ninja Villages, but Nagato and Sunagani.
"Let the battle begin!"
The referee shouted, and at the moment, Aburame Shibi immediately injected a large amount of Chakra into the giant gourd on his back, which was filled with Secret Insects.
A swarm of insects burst open the cork like a tidal wave, transforming into five dark clouds pressing towards Nagato.
Facing such a powerful ninja like Nagato, Aburame Shibi dared not hold back in the slightest, going all out from the start.
"Fire Release: Headache!"
Nagato, with a calm expression, made hand seals and spat out a fist-sized compressed fireball towards the ground.
Whoosh!
The fireball touched the ground and instantly, the compressed flames exploded, a sea of raging fire surged forth, transforming into a fiery barrier between Nagato and Aburame Shibi.
"Wind Release: Pressure!"
Then Nagato made hand seals again and spat out a wind ball.
A fierce and powerful storm appeared on the battlefield, with the wind fanning the flames. Even though Aburame Shibi intentionally controlled the insects to fly high, they were still engulfed by the fiery windstorm. Aburame Shibi had to swiftly retreat to dodge the incoming flames.
"Secret Technique: Insect Clone!"
After considering for a while, Aburame Shibi created two clones made of Parasitic Worms, and together with the clones, ran towards Nagato from the edge.
He must approach Nagato. Otherwise, it's a gamble on whose Chakra or insects would be depleted first.
"Fire Release: Headache!"
Seeing this, Nagato spat out another fireball to create a sea of fire, aiming to prevent Aburame Shibi from getting closer.
"Secret Technique: Insect Deception Jutsu!"
This time Aburame Shibi did not choose to retreat. He first controlled the Parasitic Worms to throw the two insect clones towards Nagato, then covered his body with Chakra, releasing as many Parasitic Worms as possible to envelop himself.
Layer upon layer of black insect tides enveloped Aburame Shibi, forming a large black sphere rolling in the sea of fire.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Crackle! Crackle!
Boom!
The insect shell emitted slight cracking noises under the high temperature of the flames, intertwined with the whistling of the fire and the rolling sound of the insect sphere, forming a unique symphony that could inspire courage within one's heart.
The ninjas in the resting room stared in surprise at the battlefield; even other Konoha Ninjas didn't expect their silent companion to have such audacity, aggressively choosing this tactic.
Nagato was also somewhat taken aback. If these insects hadn't resisted, even if he didn't intend to kill, Aburame Shibi might have been burned to death by the sea of fire.
"Lighting Release: Pseudo-Darkness!"
Nagato temporarily ignored the black ball rolling in the sea of fire, continuing to make hand seals and spat out a sharp Thunder Spear at the incoming insect clones.
Due to the inability to gain leverage mid-air, both insect clones failed to dodge Nagato's Lighting Release and were all sliced in half.
But the sliced insect clones didn't disappear. The Parasitic Worm corpses, hit by the Lighting Release, fell to the ground, while the surviving Parasitic Worms formed a pitch-black cloud and continued charging towards Nagato.
Nagato was somewhat surprised; this was his first battle against a ninja from the Aburame Clan, and he didn't expect the Secret Technique Clone to have this effect.
At this moment, the pitch-black sphere, carrying a burnt smell, also rolled out of the sea of fire, reaching a distance close to Nagato.
Immediately after, the pitch-black sphere disintegrated rapidly, and surviving Parasitic Worms surged towards Nagato, revealing Aburame Shibi within, his face flushed and drenched in sweat.
Aburame Shibi gasped for breath but dared not pause, controlling the Parasitic Worms to attack while continuously squeezing his Chakra to accelerate the hatching of insects within his body.
"Heavenly Attraction!"
Nagato hesitated not in the slightest, instantly activating his Rinnegan ability, his right hand bursting with terrifying attraction, pulling Aburame Shibi towards him.
Aburame Shibi had no time to react to what happened. When he realized he was in front of Nagato, he wanted to draw a Kunai for a counterattack, but it was already too late.
Bam!
Nagato burst Chakra and smashed Aburame Shibi to the ground, the terrifying impact raising yellow dust from the ground.
Aburame Shibi, already in poor condition, was directly knocked out by this heavy blow, and the uncontrolled Parasitic Worms scattered.
"What just happened?" Some ninjas in the resting room were caught off guard by this sudden dramatic reversal.
Just moments ago, Aburame Shibi braved the sea of fire charging at Nagato, and suddenly he was knocked down by Nagato.
"How does this Nagato cultivate, mastering wind, fire, earth is impressive enough, but his Lighting Release is equally strong." Some were bewildered by Nagato's Nature Transformation and Ninjutsu cultivation.
From the elimination round until now, Nagato had used four Chakra Attribute Ninjutsu, each a powerful advanced Ninjutsu.
"What was that technique just now, some kind of No-seal Jutsu?" Kakashi furrowed his brow slightly.
Compared to Nagato's first Lighting Release, Kakashi was more concerned with that sudden change at the last moment.
Clearly, Aburame Shibi wouldn't actively approach Nagato to get beaten; it must have been passive, but Kakashi couldn't figure out what kind of power it was.
He racked his brains but couldn't think of any Ninjutsu that could cause a similar effect.
"The mystery may unfold in the quarterfinals. Let's see if Sunagani can draw out that Ninjutsu again." Kakashi gave up thinking.
"Nagato wins!"
The referee announced Nagato's victory after seeing Aburame Shibi had lost the ability to fight, and upon Nagato's exit, called out the names of the next pair of contestants.