Compared to last time, plenty of genin still thought it—Uchiha Sogetsu sounded way too cocky.
Jōnin aren't random nobodies. Anyone who reaches that rank is an elite of their village. Who doesn't have a few trump cards? Calling out two of them at once and treating them like weeds? Even for an Uchiha, wasn't that a bit much?
Reality, however, slapped faces—especially Iwa's—red and swollen.
Their "elite" jonin had just been steamrolled from bell to bell. What could they even say? Comfort themselves with He was just careless?
Feeling every stare like a hot coal, Dong Shibito wished he'd kept his mouth shut. Up on the gallery, Pakura saved him from hanging there alone—one clean flip down to the floor. She swept her ponytail back, all crisp confidence, eyes bright with battle heat.
"You said it yourself," she called. "Don't whine when you lose."
Dong Shibito drifted to the side to set a pincer angle with her.
"Sogetsu-sama… you're sure you don't want help?" Kosuke asked, frowning.
Sogetsu didn't answer. He opened his hands to welcome them, fingers ticking them forward, a warm smile on his face. "Come on, then. Show me what Iwa and Suna really have."
Silence fell—tight as wire. Dozens of genin leaned in, eyes wide. Three jonin about to clash.
The lull broke like a dam.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
Dong Shibito used every bit of home-field advantage. Stone shattered under his heel; the surrounding strata reared and layered into a granite dragon, a hill of rock ten meters tall that threw shadow over half the arena. As it rolled, the entire tower rattled. That weight fell like a mountainside, ready to crush.
Sogetsu sprang back. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The blazing sphere smashed into the rock tide—
Whump— Scattering sparks and cinders—
And the earthen dragon collapsed too, boulders crashing down in a choking pall of dust.
Shuriken hissed through the haze.
Sogetsu leaned and slipped them without effort—exactly what Pakura had calculated for. She skimmed low through the dust like a sprinting leopard; orange-red chakra glazed her calf.
"Scorch Release: Scorching Leg!"
Her whip-kick howled across—
Sogetsu had already read it. His palm snapped up and caught her ankle. Breath rumbled from his chest; under the loose black coat, layered dragon-scales rippled across his skin. His grip locked like an iron vise. Bone crunched.
Rank VI Hypnotist or not, those scales didn't make him Tsunade—but smashing a single jonin? More than enough. As for Pakura's famous Scorch Release… troublesome, at best.
Pakura gasped, shock flashing through her eyes. My Scorching Leg boils blood and sears flesh on contact—why… nothing?
No time for answers.
"Here's a tip." Sogetsu's scarlet eyes glinted; a chill shimmered behind the warmth. "Rushing into my arms is your biggest mistake—and your loss condition."
Muscles surged. He cross-swung both arms.
Pakura—light as a dress on a clothesline—whipped around him in a blur, flicker-images rippling out as wind blasted the dust away. For spectators, it looked like he wore her like a gaudy sash.
"Put her down!"
Garyuro finally couldn't help roaring from the gallery.
"Playtime's over." Sogetsu let go.
Boom—
Pakura hit the wall shoulder-first and buried half her body in stone. Her limbs sagged. No further movement.
"You—!"
Garyuro's fingers crushed the railing.
"Apologies," Sogetsu said pleasantly. "Might've used a touch too much force. As compensation, take her to Konoha Hospital. Drop my name for twenty percent off."
Garyuro nearly saw red. Your discount? And only 20%?!
Dong Shibito had been waiting. Opportunity flashed—the cleanest opening he'd get. He slid under with earth-style burrowing; in the pop-up, his right arm was sheathed in rock.
"Earth Release: Super Added-Weight Rock Technique!"
Eighty percent of his chakra, amped by added weight—if the brat's skull was iron, this would still wring two liters of blood out of him.
He lunged from Sogetsu's blind side—
—And met a pair of spinning, blood-bright tomoe.
Three tomoe turned, lazy as the hands of a clock.
Dong Shibito froze mid-swing, posture absurd, fist hanging before Sogetsu's nose.
"What's he doing?!" Iwa genin shouted, panic rising. "Hit him!"
"C-can't… move." Dong Shibito's pupils jittered. Blood drained from his face.
He'd finally remembered the only thing that mattered.
"I'm curious," Sogetsu murmured, Sharingan whirling. "Where did you find the courage to try a sneak attack in front of these eyes?"
Sharingan…
Despair settled in Dong Shibito's gut like lead.
He'd let the kid's obscene taijutsu distract him from the simple truth: the boy was Uchiha. Those eyes aren't for show. Ninjutsu and genjutsu are where he plays king.
"Friendly reminder: clench your teeth." Sogetsu curled a smile, drew back his fist. "You've got some grit. After you check in at Konoha Hospital—use my name for twenty-five percent off."
Crack—
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