Mukai moved forward quickly and attacked Kisame with the huge fire lions covering his hands. The flaming chakra lions roared with power as he closed the distance in the arena.
As he swung the palm in a gentle fist, the first one was blocked by Kisame using Samehada. The sword ate away at the chakra from the lion head, causing some of the flames to weaken for a moment.
However, Mukai did not stop there. He swung his other hand but not at Kisame directly. Instead he struck the ground with great force. It caused a small explosion that sent rocks and dust flying into the air.
The blast knocked Kisame off his feet and lifted him upward. Mukai followed up with incredible speed. He appeared right in front of the flying Kisame before the taller boy could recover his balance.
Then Mukai smacked him multiple times with his lion fists. The attacks landed on several points of Kisame's body with powerful precision.
One hit struck Kisame's left shoulder, sending burning chakra into the area. Another blow landed on his right side near the ribs. A third attack targeted his thigh, and a fourth one hit his arm. Each strike carried the strong force of the gentle fist along with the searing heat of the fire nature chakra.
With each attack, a searing mark appeared on Kisame's skin wherever the attack happened. The burns were deep and painful, leaving red and blackened spots on his body.
The crowd in the stands gasped and cheered at the intensity of the exchange. Smoke rose slightly from the points of impact as the fire chakra did its work.
Kisame tried to swing Samehada in defense, but Mukai's speed and the surprise of the ground explosion had put him at a disadvantage.
Mukai did not hold back at all. He attacked with full power because he knew this was his chance to show what he could really do.
Kisame instantly realised what was happening while the strikes themselves were damaging with burns and the massive strength behind them. The real attack was happening inside his body.
'These attacks are burning my tenketsu completely and searing them.' Kisame thought with alarm. He could feel the chakra points in his body being damaged by the fire.
The gentle fist was already good at closing off tenketsu, but adding fire made the damage much worse and possibly permanent.
Kisame grimaced in pain as he tried to find a way to counter. After several more hits, he finally had enough.
He raised one hand weakly and said, "I give up." His voice was clear enough for everyone to hear. Kisame knew continuing the fight would risk ending his life as a shinobi.
Orochimaru appeared in between them and held Mukai's hand by the arm, halting his attack.
He turned to Kisame and said, "Escort him out of the arena." An iryo nin, a medical ninja, appeared quickly and helped escort Kisame out of the fighting area.
Kisame sighed but knew that giving up was the best move. 'Healing from blocked tenketsu points would have been easy but healing burned tenketsu would be next to impossible. Let's hope the damage is not too much and can be healed or I can say my left arm and my right leg goodbye and my shinobi life goodbye.' Kisame thought about the serious consequences as he was led away for treatment.
In the arena as Shunsui watched this, he could not help but look at the crowd cheering and clapping as they saw Kisame was being burned and bleeding.
The spectators seemed thrilled by the violence.
Shunsui observed their excited faces and loud applause. 'These people even if they are from Konoha don't really care about our lives do they? They only care about getting a show...a show that is bloody. Sometimes I don't know who are more sadistic shinobi or these civilians enjoying children fight against each other in a bloodshed.'
His face turned dark as a little anger burned in him which he quickly squashed. Shunsui did not like how the crowd treated the young fighters like entertainment for their own pleasure. He pushed the negative feelings down and focused on the match again.
'Let's hope when I show them my true performance they are not here to witness like this time, bloodthirsty people. Or the performance would turn bloody for even them.' Shunsui thought.
He turned to look at Mukai who still had his fists burning with fire lions. The flames around Mukai's hands slowly calmed down but the power was still visible. The music tone ended as the musical chairs game ended.
Now only Shunsui and Mukai remained facing each other. Mukai looked Shunsui in the eye who did the same.
"It was you that made me go all out in these exams." Mukai said this with sincerity in his voice.
"You told me that I needed to show my all if I wanted to live freely. I did it." Mukai felt grateful for the encouragement that helped him break through his limits during the tournament.
"Even if I end up getting caged...know this...I enjoyed going all out in front of everyone without bothering to hide. It was fun and for that I thank you." Mukai had a smile on his face as he said it.
He accepted the possible consequences from the Hyuga clan but valued the freedom he felt in this fight.
Shunsui said, "You sure did. You surprised me and let's not say about the Hyugas. I am sure they have got their pants on fire right about now." Shunsui replied with a light tone to ease the moment.
"Oh those cranky guys faces would be so fun to see right now and you don't need to thank me just let's conclude this fight with a bang and let's have drinks afterwards..." Shunsui said with a smile.
"Are not we too young to have them?" Mukai asked with a slightly surprised look.
Shunsui smiled. "You and I both know that we don't care about those rules."
-------Author Notes--------
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