On the field, Higashino Shinichi and Isshin stood twenty meters apart, facing each other in silence.
After a brief stillness, the arena was instantly flooded by a tidal wave of cheers, the roar nearly lifting the dome off the stadium.
"Shinichi! You can do it!"
"Show that despicable outsider the true strength of Konoha's genius!"
"We believe in you, Shinichi-kun!"
"Go! Shinichi, for Konoha!"
The cheering was more fervent than ever before. Many of the villagers recognized this young genius—always wearing a gentle smile, diligent and outstanding.
Even those who didn't know him were, in this moment, stirred by the sight of the boy standing before a mountain-like opponent without retreat—
—and by the calm, steady presence about him that was hard to put into words, yet instinctively likable, compelling them to shout along.
"Shinichi, even if you lose, it's okay! Safety first! You're still our pride!"
That remark immediately drew angry glares from those nearby—how could someone say something so defeatist at a time like this?
But the speaker seemed completely unaware, continuing to mutter to himself: "It's just the truth. Shinichi's such a good kid—well-behaved, hardworking, and capable. Win or lose, he's still a good kid, still Konoha's pride. Just don't get hurt!"
The surrounding people paused. Thinking about it carefully, the words did make sense.
It was just that, at a moment when the entire village was united and striving together, it sounded somewhat out of place—one could even say it dampened morale.
...
On the field, however, the two fighters seemed completely oblivious to the uproar.
"Konoha chūnin, Higashino Shinichi."
"Land of Iron, Ashina-style—Isshin."
They exchanged names—brief, to the extreme.
The referee took a deep breath and swung his arm down sharply.
"Begin!"
Boom!
Almost at the exact instant the word "begin" left his mouth, the towering samurai across from him had already turned into a blurred afterimage!
As always—brutal, violent, without the slightest flourish. Pure power and speed compressed the air, producing a scalp-tingling shriek!
The katana in his hand became a streak of blinding cold light that tore through the air, carrying a force capable of splitting mountains and cleaving stone, crashing down toward Shinichi's head!
Simple. Direct. Yet violence itself was brought to its absolute extreme—as though the next moment would see the slender boy and the ground beneath him split clean in two.
And yet—
What made every spectator's pupils contract and their breath stop was this:
Facing the overwhelming assault of this humanoid beast, Shinichi—tall among his peers, yet utterly slight compared to the iron tower of a man before him—did not dodge, nor did he form hand seals to release ninjutsu!
He pushed off with his foot—advancing instead of retreating!
His body shot forward like an arrow released from the bow!
His right hand instantly pressed against the hilt at his waist. With a clear clang, a standard-issue katana flashed free from its sheath, gripped firmly in both hands—
—and, from below, he swung upward without the slightest hesitation, meeting that terrifying descending blade head-on!
He chose to clash head-on?!
Clang!!!
At the point where the two figures met, a deafening metallic roar erupted—louder than any weapon collision before, like a great bell being struck!
A visible ring of air exploded outward from the center, sweeping dust and debris in all directions!
Crack—crack—crack!
The solid arena floor beneath their feet shattered instantly, like brittle biscuits, spreading into a dense web of fractures that continued to extend outward!
As the shockwave and dust settled slightly—
It could be seen that Shinichi, gripping his blade with both hands, had firmly blocked that strike—one capable of cleaving through boulders and steel alike!
His feet were sunk deep into the broken stone slabs, yet his stance was as steady as a rock. Only the black hair before his forehead was blown back by the force of the wind, revealing a pair of eyes as calm as a deep, still lake.
He blocked it?!
He blocked it head-on?!
The monstrous samurai who had defeated two jōnin in succession—his devastating strike had been stopped head-on by a mere chūnin?!
"Oh?"
The wild expression on Isshin's face paused for the first time, a hint of surprise appearing.
He looked at those calm eyes on the other end of the blade and spoke, his voice not loud, yet carrying clearly: "Not bad. Your strength's more solid than it looks."
Before his words had even fully settled, his gaze sharpened. The blade that had been locked in place suddenly withdrew, dragging a trail of sparks—
—and then transformed into an even more violent, denser storm of slashes, pouring down toward Shinichi like a torrential rain!
Slash, chop, sweep, lift—
Every strike was simple and direct, yet brought the combination of power, speed, and angle to perfection. The blade winds tore through the air, producing ghostly, wailing shrieks!
At almost the same instant, Shinichi moved as well.
Both hands gripping his sword, chakra surged through his body, flooding his limbs and the blade.
He stepped forward fiercely, his sword flashing—
—and, with brute force against brute force, speed against speed, he met that deadly storm of blades without yielding an inch!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!!!
The rapid, near-simultaneous collisions of metal rang out like the most intense war drums, pounding wildly!
Every clash sent sparks flying; every impact unleashed a visible shockwave!
The two figures at the center of the vast arena became two blurs of light—constantly colliding, separating, and colliding again at high speed.
Blade light crisscrossed like streaks of silk. Wherever it passed, the already fractured ground was repeatedly torn apart like prey beneath the claws of a giant beast. Stones scattered, dust filled the air, and the entire arena rapidly descended into ruin—trenches crisscrossing, not a single inch of ground left intact!
"My god! Shinichi—he can actually fight that monster head-on?!"
"I always knew he was strong since he was little, and that he never stopped training with weights, but this is just… way too much!"
"Did you all forget? Back when he first enrolled, he used to carry a mountain of stones on his back to school every single day! I saw it with my own eyes countless times!"
"I know! My house is near the academy—back then I'd see him almost every morning… I just thought later he stopped, figured he gave up or switched to something else…"
"Now it looks like he didn't give up at all! It's just that normal weights stopped being useful!"
Gasps, discussions, and admiration surged through the audience. Many felt as if they were seeing the boy anew—the one who was now fiercely clashing with that monstrous samurai.
The deeply rooted image of a "diligent genius" overlapped with the brutal, almost artistic combat unfolding before them, creating a powerful impact.
On the high platform, the shock on Advisor Utatane Koharu's face had yet to fully fade.
She couldn't help but turn her head again, looking at the Third Hokage beside her, who was calmly puffing on his pipe, and asked in a low voice: "Hiruzen… are you sure this child Shinichi really doesn't have Senju blood in him?"
In the early days of Konoha's founding, the Senju clan had gradually shed their surname in response to the First Hokage's ideal of "integrating the clan into the village."
Though they no longer existed as a named clan, there were still many descendants of the Senju within the village. Most of them worked in the Education Department and the Ninja Academy, engaged in teaching roles. (Official setting: Itachi Shinden)
The strength and physique Shinichi was displaying at this moment—far surpassing those of his peers, and even many adult jōnin—inevitably led people to make connections.
Hiruzen slowly exhaled a stream of smoke, his gaze still fixed on the two figures locked in fierce combat below. He shook his head and explained: "We've already thoroughly verified his background. That child Shinichi truly has no blood relation to the Senju clan."
"In that case, you can only say the kid is genuinely gifted—just like you were when you were young, Hiruzen," Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses and said with a smile.
Hearing that, a trace of reminiscence flickered through the Third Hokage's eyes. He smiled faintly, but said nothing.
...
The battle in the arena had already entered a white-hot stage. To everyone watching, this was a pure clash of strength—a dragon-and-tiger struggle.
But only Shinichi himself knew—
He was throwing the match.
Left hand fighting right hand.
And he was even thinking about how to make it look better, how to make the spectacle bigger—so the audience would be more shocked, leave a deeper impression.
"Haha! That's more like it! Again!"
Isshin let out a wild laugh. Being unable to break through for so long seemed to excite him even more. He suddenly changed tactics—his blade jolted Shinichi's guard aside with a single strike—
—and at some unknown moment, his left hand had already clenched into a fist, carrying an unstoppable, overwhelming force as it smashed straight toward the opening in Shinichi's chest and abdomen like a battering ram!
Shinichi seemed to have anticipated it. He didn't retract the blade that had been knocked aside—instead, he followed the motion, slamming the pommel hard toward the incoming fist. At the same time, his footwork shifted, his body sliding sideways like a fish, attempting to deflect the force and counterattack.
However, Isshin's combat experience was extraordinarily rich.
Midway through, the trajectory of his punch twisted in a bizarre turn—fist turning into claw, five fingers hooking like iron talons, aiming to seize Shinichi's wrist that held the sword!
At the same time, his right leg swept silently toward Shinichi's lower body like a steel whip!
Shinichi's eyes sharpened. He adapted just as quickly—his wrist flicked, the blade flipped, and the edge met the incoming iron claw, forcing it to withdraw. Simultaneously, his left leg bent, his knee smashing head-on into that sweeping kick!
Bang!
Another dull explosion rang out. Both figures swayed at the same time. The already shattered ground beneath their feet could no longer bear the strain—it burst open again into a spiderweb of cracks, stones shooting out like rain!
Before the dust had even settled, the two figures snapped forward once more like bowstrings released to their limit, charging straight at each other!
Isshin laughed loudly, his long blade carrying even greater ferocity than before as a heavy diagonal slash tore through the air!
This time, however, Shinichi did not choose to meet it head-on.
His footwork flowed like a butterfly weaving through flowers. At the last possible instant, he sidestepped and slid aside. His blade followed the descending trajectory of Isshin's strike, making a subtle contact—sticking, guiding, and deflecting—redirecting that violent force by a fraction.
It was a high-level technique of force redirection in swordsmanship!
Seizing the instant when Isshin's blade was diverted and his body stalled for a heartbeat, Shinichi twisted his waist and spun—
His right leg lashed out like a steel whip, carving a perfect arc through the air, accompanied by a sharp whistling wind as it smashed toward Isshin's chest!
Leaf Hurricane!
Bang!
A solid impact rang out. For the first time in a direct taijutsu clash, Isshin's mountain-like body was struck and staggered backward. His feet plowed two deep trenches into the ground as he was forced back more than ten meters before stabilizing himself!
"He hit him!"
"Shinichi has the upper hand!"
"Nice one, Shinichi!"
Thunderous cheers erupted from the stands. Many people leapt to their feet in excitement, as if they were witnessing the dawn of victory.
Shinichi's eyes were sharp—how could he miss such a chance to press the advantage?
Chakra burst beneath his feet, his figure sticking close like a shadow as he pursued relentlessly. His blade shot forward in a thrust toward the opening exposed by Isshin's retreat!
However—
Just as the tip of the blade was about to reach its target—
"Haha!!!"
A furious roar, like the bellow of an ancient beast, burst from Isshin's chest. His right foot slammed down like a giant elephant stomping the earth!
Boom!!!
The entire arena seemed to tremble!
Centered on his right foot, the incomparably solid ground caved in and exploded as if struck by an invisible hammer, forming a massive crater several meters wide!
At the same time, a visible surge of violent chakra—like raging ocean waves—erupted from his body, blasting outward like a tangible hurricane!
The pursuing Shinichi felt an irresistible, overwhelming force crash straight into him—as if he had slammed into an invisible wall of steel!
The blade he raised to block let out a strained hum. His entire body was blasted away like a kite with its string cut, tumbling through the air several times before barely regaining his balance—only to slide backward several more meters before finally stopping.
"What?!"
"That chakra?!"
Gasps once again filled the arena.
"My blood's boiling!"
Isshin's unrestrained, battle-hungry roar echoed through the still-churning chakra storm.
With a flick of his right hand—
In the next instant, a ferocious, exaggerated halberd, its blade gleaming with a cold, ominous light, appeared in his grip out of nowhere!
"I'm coming, Konoha ninja!"
The moment his words fell—
Boom!
The ground beneath his feet—already cracked—was violently forced upward by an invisible force from below before completely exploding!
An even deeper, wider crater burst open, rubble and dust erupting skyward!
And that towering figure—
—had already launched into the air with the explosive force of his step!
Midair, he raised the halberd high above his head. Every corded muscle in his body, along with his boiling chakra, surged into his right arm.
The blade tore through the sky, emitting a shrill, scalp-numbing screech—as though even the air itself was being split apart and forced aside, visible white shockwaves peeling away on both sides!
Like grasping a bolt of raging lightning descending from the heavens—
—or like wielding a legendary axe capable of splitting mountains—
Isshin condensed his power, speed, battle intent, and chakra into this single descending strike—
—and brought it down toward the area where Shinichi stood—
With no flourish whatsoever—
Purely, utterly—
Destructive!
Before the blade even arrived, the sheer pressure from its terrifying mass and downward momentum had already descended like a meteor, crushing the ground around Shinichi downward, shattering it inch by inch!
At the critical moment—
Shinichi gripped his sword with both hands, raising it horizontally above his head. Chakra surged into his arms and the blade as he met that descending blow head-on with the flat of the sword!
CLANG!!!
An unprecedented roar resounded across the entire arena!
It was as if two iron mountains had collided. At the point of impact, blinding sparks erupted alongside a visible ring-shaped shockwave!
Crack!
A faint yet heart-wrenching sound of breaking came from Shinichi's blade.
The next instant—
His entire body was blasted backward as if struck head-on by a speeding locomotive, his feet lifting off the ground!
His body carved a deep trench dozens of meters long across the arena floor. The shattered stones shot outward like cannonballs, slamming against the distant barrier with loud bangs!
Finally, his back crashed heavily into the solid stone wall at the edge of the arena with a dull thud, barely stopping his momentum.
'That's about enough… time to start the next performance…'
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