"Begin."
Kakashi vanished.
He reappeared directly in front of Ken, tantō already descending in a lethal arc.
Ken barely reacted in time.
The blade screamed toward his neck, but instinct took over. He raised his kunai and tilted it at the last moment, letting the tantō slide past instead of meeting it head-on.
Metal shrieked.
Ken flickered backward, Body Flicker tearing him from the blade's path.
Kakashi didn't hesitate.
He stabbed his tantō into the ground and formed seals with one hand.
Water surged beside him.
A second Kakashi rose from it.
"Water Clone."
Both rushed forward at once.
Ken had regained his footing, but he had no intention of contesting two Kakashi in pure swordsmanship.
He leapt backward, hands already forming seals.
"Mud Ball!"
Compressed bullets of earth fired in rapid succession.
The real Kakashi halted his advance, deflecting one with his tantō and dodging another. The clone mirrored his movements perfectly.
Then Kakashi threw a smoke bomb.
When it cleared—
One Kakashi was gone.
Underground.
Ken's alarm flared.
He jumped instantly, hurling kunai downward at the disturbed soil while throwing several more toward the Kakashi charging him from the front.
The moment Ken left the ground, earth exploded.
Kakashi burst upward where he had stood moments earlier. Seeing Ken already out of reach, he abandoned pursuit and formed seals instead.
The kunai were little more than an inconvenience.
The remaining Kakashi never slowed, weaving between the projectiles and deflecting the rest with his blade.
Something felt wrong.
Ken landed and braced himself as the approaching Kakashi closed the distance.
He prepared for impact—
But the moment the blade reached him, the body burst apart.
Water drenched him completely.
Ken's eyes widened.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Stream!"
The voice rang out sharply.
Electricity surged through the soaked ground and into Ken's body.
His muscles spasmed violently.
Lightning Stream was only a D-rank technique—but water multiplied its effect exponentially.
Pain exploded through his limbs.
Ken gritted his teeth.
Instead of retreating, he charged.
He hurled several kunai wrapped in explosive tags straight at Kakashi.
There was no time to dodge.
Kakashi leapt backward, barely clearing the blast as explosions tore up the earth between them.
Ken ran straight through the lingering current.
The pain was blinding.
But it wasn't enough to knock him out.
When Kakashi saw him emerge, his breath hitched.
Ken's clothes were scorched. Smoke rose from his skin. Small burns covered his arms and legs.
But what unsettled him—
were Ken's eyes.
Red.
Focused.
And paired with a wide, feral grin.
Ken split apart.
Seven clones burst outward and vanished one by one.
Kakashi's instincts screamed.
Cuts appeared across his vest and arms as kunai slashed from blind angles.
He drew his tantō fully and spun, blade flashing as he defended himself.
Steel rang repeatedly.
Kunai and tantō collided in rapid succession, sparks flying as Kakashi barely kept pace.
Ken's movements were unpredictable, appearing and disappearing in fractured rhythms.
Yet Kakashi's blade skill was superior.
Every decisive strike Ken attempted was redirected.
Every opening closed just in time.
The exchange dragged on.
Ken's breathing grew heavier.
Outwardly, his injuries were minor.
Internally, it was different.
The lightning had locked his muscles. Each movement required brutal effort. His chakra flow wavered with every step.
Finally—
Ken snapped.
He vanished.
When he reappeared, there was no kunai in his hand.
A thin, violently rotating chakra disc screamed in his palm.
The air distorted around it.
Kakashi's eyes widened.
He retreated instantly.
Too late.
Ken lunged forward, eyes blazing, grin wide and unhinged.
A yellow blur cut between them.
Minato seized Ken's wrist and hurled him sideways.
The chakra disc carved through the tree behind him.
The trunk was sliced cleanly at an angle before the disc detonated.
The explosion slammed Ken into the ground, and darkness swallowed him whole.
Silence fell.
Minato stood between the two boys, eyes grave.
Ken's technique differed fundamentally from the Rasengan.
Instead of a sphere, the chakra was flattened into a thin rotating disc, granting extreme cutting power.
But its shape placed the chakra dangerously close to the palm.
Any contact during a cut could disrupt the rotation—
causing instant detonation.
A weapon that could kill the enemy…
or its user.
The match was over.