Everyone else thought it was arrogance, but Zaku felt he had been humiliated.
"You bastard!"
With a furious shout, Zaku raised his uninjured hand.
"Do not underestimate me, Decapitating Air Wave."
A large amount of chakra gathered in the air hole in his palm.
He was about to unleash a powerful attack toward Yagyu.
This attack was clearly meant to prove himself.
But in front of an absolute gap in strength, Anger was the most useless emotion.
The moment the invisible attack reached Yagyu, under everyone's gaze, Yagyu simply raised one hand calmly.
Boom.
After the attack landed, dust filled the area, completely obscuring the scene.
Everyone watched closely.
A gust of wind blew past.
Yagyu stood there completely unharmed.
Even the ground within three meters of him remained untouched.
"What?"
Seeing this, Zaku's face was filled with disbelief.
"How is that possible, you blocked my attack with one hand and took no damage, that is impossible."
Yagyu smiled faintly.
Looking at the slightly panicked Zaku, he spoke.
"There is nothing impossible, just because you cannot do something does not mean others cannot, the world is vast, what you have seen is only a drop in the ocean."
As his words fell, an invisible pressure descended upon Zaku.
His body trembled.
Facing Yagyu's calm expression, Zaku involuntarily took a step back.
That single step made his face turn ugly.
"You are bluffing."
Angered that he had stepped back due to Yagyu's presence, Zaku shouted.
"I am not afraid of you."
Boom.
Another Decapitating Air Wave was fired.
This time, Yagyu did not even raise his hand.
He completely nullified the attack.
After blocking it, Yagyu spoke again.
"I told you already, what you see is just a drop in the ocean, and I am the ocean."
Boom.
A terrifying killing intent spread across the entire arena.
It pressed down on everyone present.
Zaku, who was directly facing Yagyu, was the most affected.
Just like when Sasuke and Sakura faced Orochimaru, his mind went blank.
Thud.
He collapsed onto the ground, completely stunned.
Even Hayate felt a chill from Yagyu's killing intent.
But as the referee, once he confirmed Zaku had lost all ability to resist, he immediately announced.
"The match is over, the winner is Yagyu Sōsuke."
A breath of air passed.
As Hayate finished speaking, Yagyu's killing intent instantly disappeared.
The terrifying presence vanished.
He once again looked like an ordinary young man.
Looking at Zaku, who had just regained his senses, Yagyu turned to leave.
"Wait."
Zaku's weak voice stopped him.
"Why, why did you not kill me, you clearly had the strength to do so."
Everyone's gaze turned toward Yagyu.
They were all curious about his answer.
Yagyu paused.
"I am not some bloodthirsty maniac."
"For weaklings, I have no interest, you are not even qualified to die by my hand."
Everyone's expressions became strange.
No one expected such an answer.
That line left a deep impression.
Who could resist the urge to show off like that?
"Yagyu, that was so cool."
After Yagyu returned to the second floor, Ino immediately came to his side with a lovestruck expression.
"I was completely captivated."
Yagyu smiled and tapped her nose lightly.
"You have quite the sweet mouth, focus on adjusting your condition, we still do not know who your opponent will be, stay careful."
Ino nodded obediently.
Seeing this side of Yagyu, many observers had strange expressions.
The bright and gentle boy now looked completely different from the arrogant one just moments ago.
It was like two different people.
In the eyes of other villages' ninjas, Ino became Yagyu's weakness.
A man with emotional ties had a weakness.
But even so, no one dared underestimate him.
Ino could be his weakness, but also the line that would drive him into madness.
"Yagyu Sōsuke."
On the other side, Baki, the Jonin instructor of Gaara's team, showed a serious expression.
"Another astonishing genius, Konoha truly has exceptional fortune."
If not for internal conflict, Konoha would have already dominated the ninja world.
The Five Great Nations might have long since submitted to it.
There was even a saying that the Fourth Great Ninja War was essentially Konoha fighting the entire world.
That statement was not entirely wrong.
The preliminaries continued.
After Yagyu's match, the following matches proceeded normally.
Kankuro defeated Misumi.
Sakura and Ino both lost.
Overall, aside from Sasuke advancing directly, the results did not differ much from Yagyu's expectations.
In the end, ten participants advanced.
Yagyu, Sasuke, Shino, Kankuro, Temari, Shikamaru, Naruto, Neji, Gaara, and Dosu.
After determining the finalists, the draw for the third stage began.
The Third Hokage explained why the final stage would be held one month later.
Yagyu drew first.
Then everyone else drew their numbers.
"Participants will fight according to their numbers, one versus two, three versus four, and so on."
Hayate explained.
"You have one month to prepare, improve your strength and gather intelligence, this concludes today's preliminaries."
"Good luck to all of you."
Yagyu did not pay much attention to anything else.
Looking at the number in his hand, he searched for his opponent.
Finally, his gaze landed on a girl with a large fan and a pineapple-style ponytail.
Temari.
In the third stage, Yagyu's opponent was Temari.
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