"Magnet Release: Gold Dust!"
"Dance of the Paper!"
In a one-on-one fight, there was little need to worry about conserving chakra. The moment the proctor gave the signal, Rasa and Qianyu almost simultaneously unveiled their strongest forms.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A tide of gold dust, vast as an ocean, erupted from the ground and surged toward Qianyu with a roar. Qianyu leaped into the air, pristine white paper wings snapping open behind him, soaring upward to evade the golden wave.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Cube!"
Rasa rose into the air as well, standing upon a platform of sand. With a pointed finger, a massive cube formed of condensed gold dust shot forward, slamming toward Qianyu.
"Tch. Without the 'Wood Spears' part, even a granny could dodge this lame second move," Qianyu muttered to himself. His wings dipped, and he instantly changed direction, effortlessly evading the oncoming golden projectile.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Spears!"
"Dance of the Paper: Paper Spears!"
Rasa commanded the swirling gold dust like an extension of his own limbs, launching wave after wave of attacks. Qianyu, meanwhile, soared and wheeled through the air like a hunting hawk. He nimbly dodged the golden onslaught while counterattacking with sharpened sheets of paper.
The spectacular, effects-laden duel between the two sent waves of astonishment through the arena.
"Oh my god! They're flying!"
"What kind of release is that? I've never seen anything like it!"
"Are they even human? This goes way beyond normal shinobi!"
"Mommy! I want to hire them!"
In the stands, Nawaki shot to his feet, pointing excitedly at Qianyu. "Holy crap, sis! Qianyu can fly!"
That guy Qianyu was so not cool! Keeping something this awesome from his best bro? Once this exam was over, Nawaki was totally going to make Qianyu carry him up for a couple of laps around the sky.
"Shut it! Stop making a scene!" A single raised fist from Tsunade was all it took. Nawaki plopped back down obediently.
The dominance of a strong-blooded sibling was a real thing. Especially in the shinobi world.
"Fugaku-nii… is that really Qianyu?"
In another section of the stands, reserved for the Uchiha clan, a graceful young girl asked with disbelief.
In Uchiha Mikoto's memory, Qianyu was that kind of forgettable, utterly unremarkable, average guy. That's why she'd never paid him any attention before.
But this confident young man on the field, calmly facing a powerful opponent… Mikoto struggled to connect him with the Qianyu from her memories.
"Yes. As I said, he is a rather outstanding individual."
Fugaku nodded with apparent calm, but inwardly, his mind was reeling. He hadn't expected Qianyu to be this strong, on top of his medical prowess. It only strengthened his resolve to pull Qianyu into the Uchiha fold.
No, I absolutely must arrange for Mikoto to marry Qianyu. If those stubborn old men in the clan dare to disagree… I'll… I'll get down on my knees and beg them!
In the highest tier of the stands.
The Kage, who hadn't paid much attention before, were now sitting bolt upright, their eyes glued to the two figures clashing in the air.
"That boy… he's actually trading blows evenly with Rasa?" The Kazekage turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi in shock, only to find the Hokage placidly puffing on his pipe, the picture of serene confidence.
"Hokage, that kid's not bad. He suits my taste," the Raikage boomed, stroking his thick beard, eyes gleaming. "How about sending him to our village for a couple of days? I'll whip him into real shape."
Hiruzen couldn't be bothered to entertain the Raikage. If he really sent Qianyu to Kumogakure, getting him back would be a miracle. They'd probably keep Qianyu there, working him day and night on… breeding projects.
He couldn't let Qianyu find out about such an idea. What if the naive boy got tempted?
"Hmph!" Ōnoki snorted coldly, deciding that once he got back to Iwagakure, he'd raise Qianyu's bounty straight to ten million ryō.
The Mizukage remained silent as ever, seemingly above engaging with the other Kage. But Kirigakure had always been aloof, so the others paid it no mind.
…
Back in the arena, the fight between Qianyu and Rasa grew fiercer. Gold dust and paper scraps rained down constantly. Some spectators even tried to rush down to scoop up the gold, only to be stopped by the shinobi maintaining order.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Boundary!"
Sharp spikes of gold dust shot down from above. Qianyu flickered, diving lower to avoid them. At that moment, Rasa suddenly landed on the ground ahead of him.
"Magnet Release: Golden Tsunami!"
Rasa raised his arms high. This was the moment he'd been subtly maneuvering Qianyu downward for!
BOOM!
A violent tsunami of gold dust erupted from the ground once more. This time, it met a cascading golden waterfall pouring from the sky above. Qianyu was caught right in the middle, like a tiny fly about to be crushed between two colossal golden palms.
For a moment, Qianyu had nowhere to go—neither sky nor earth offered escape. His small figure was utterly swallowed by the two massive golden hands.
"Rasa! RASA!"
"Pathetic Konoha! Can't handle it, hahaha!"
Rasa's supporters erupted in cheers. The Konoha side fell into a tense silence. Nawaki, Tsunade, and the others clenched their fists, their hearts in their throats.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Just as the two colossal hands were about to slam shut completely, countless sheets of paper streamed out from the cracks between the gold dust. They fluttered into the air like hundreds, thousands of white butterflies—a breathtakingly beautiful, yet surreal sight.
"This is…!"
Rasa's pupils constricted sharply. He immediately tried to command the gold dust to snare the swirling papers. But how could his heavy, cumbersome gold possibly catch up with something as light as paper?
The white sheets gathered mid-air, coalescing once more into Qianyu's form, gradually regaining their color.
"A good attempt. I almost fell for it."
Qianyu smiled at Rasa. Thanks to Jiraiya's special training, his combat instincts had sharpened considerably. Of course Qianyu had known Rasa was deliberately leading him downward earlier. He'd just chosen to be accidentally careless.
Qianyu needed an opening—a chance to land a decisive blow on Rasa. But first, he needed to drain as much of Rasa's chakra as possible.
Trading a feigned slip-up for one of his opponent's big moves? Not a bad deal.
This guy… he can apply that strange release to such an extent!
A chill ran down Rasa's spine, but his voice dripped with contempt. "Hmph. So you dodged it. So what? Your flimsy paper can't even scratch my defenses."
"Gold Dust Spears!"
"Paper Shuriken!"
They clashed again, paper and gold colliding in mid-air. Yet both seemed somewhat distracted, their minds racing to find a solution.
Paper is weak to water. But such an obvious weakness… he must have countermeasures. To stop him from shifting form so freely, the only way is…
Having once considered Qianyu a hypothetical enemy, Rasa pondered briefly and quickly arrived at a countermeasure.
"Gold Dust… Open!"
Rasa spread his arms wide. The swirling cloud of gold dust around him parted like a clamshell revealing a pearl, subtly creating a narrow path leading straight toward Rasa himself.
"I've left you an opening. Do you dare take it?"
Rasa sneered at Qianyu. He was using himself as bait, inviting Qianyu into the trap!
"Oh?"
Qianyu's brow furrowed slightly at the sight, but quickly smoothed out.
"You sure about that…?!"
The moment the last word left his lips, Qianyu blurred into motion, shooting straight down the path through the gold dust toward Rasa.
If Rasa was going to offer himself up like that… what kind of man would Qianyu be if he didn't take the invitation?
"Hmph!"
Rasa clasped his hands together. The gold dust flanking both sides of the path surged upward like tidal waves, instantly forming an airtight, domed prison that completely sealed both him and Qianyu inside.
Ignoring the golden walls closing in from all sides, Qianyu charged headlong toward Rasa. He knew Rasa was fishing. But wasn't this also his opportunity?
"Haaaack—PTUI!"
But just as Qianyu was mere steps away, Rasa's cheeks puffed out. He spat a torrent of chakra-infused oil—all of it—directly at Qianyu.
"(`⊙д⊙)!NANI?!"
Qianyu, now covered in the viscous liquid, was genuinely caught off guard. He really hadn't expected Rasa to think of using chakra oil to restrict him!
Oil-resistant paper required special coatings—technology beyond the current scope of the shinobi world. Saturated with the chakra oil, Qianyu instantly lost his ability to disassemble into paper.
The moment he spat the oil, Rasa had already diverted a thread of gold dust to form a shield in front of himself.
"I told you I'd send you off in the finest coffin. In the end, you still die by my Gold Dust Funeral!"
Just before the gold dust completely separated them, Rasa shot Qianyu a cold, triumphant smile.
Even if Rasa only had time to summon a single thread of gold dust as a shield… that one thread was more than enough. That weird paper release of Qianyu's would never break through it!
Those last few steps had become an insurmountable chasm.
WHOOSH!
Qianyu's figure was completely sealed inside the golden coffin. Unable to break the gold, unable to shift his form, he was doomed to be obliterated in the imminent explosion of compressed gold dust.
At least, that's what Rasa believed.
But then, Qianyu's voice, light and unconcerned, drifted out from within the coffin. Rasa's smile vanished.
"Lava Release — Scorching Stream Rock!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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