After a long time, the flames on the field gradually died down. Only then did the people gradually see the situation in the arena, and they all gasped in shock.
The vegetation surrounding the arena was completely charred and carbonized, the walls were covered with cracks from the shockwaves, the ground was pitted and uneven from the flames, and the high temperatures had baked the soil until it cracked into chunks.
Only Neji stood alone in the center of the field, while Naruto's figure was nowhere to be seen.
"He couldn't have been burned to ash, could he?" The audience immediately burst into a flurry of discussion.
"Yeah, with such massive flames, there's no way he could have dodged."
"There, in the air!" someone sharp-eyed pointed toward the sky.
Instantly, everyone looked up to see Aoki Yoru holding an unconscious Naruto. Naruto's clothes were in tatters, and parts of his exposed skin were severely burned.
Aoki Yoru slowly descended and directly announced, "The winner, Hyuga Neji."
"Whoa—!"
The entire stadium erupted in an uproar, with constant cheers. People clapped desperately, cheering for both of them. After all, both sides had provided a brilliant battle; this fight alone made the trip to Konoha worth it.
Contrary to the ordinary people, the Ninjas present all looked at Aoki Yoru in the center of the field with serious expressions.
Neji's technique was certainly terrifying—even they would suffer greatly if they weren't careful—but what horrified them was that it was so easily blocked by Aoki Yoru with a casual move.
One must know that offense and defense are on completely different levels of difficulty. Furthermore, to block such a large-scale Ninjutsu in such a short time was something everyone present admitted they couldn't do.
Hyuga Hiashi closed his eyes in pain and muttered to himself, "Hizashi... as expected, back then I should have let you..."
As the head of the Hyuga Clan, he understood the difficulty of this technique better than anyone. Rotation involves releasing Chakra from all the Chakra points in the body. Even an average Jonin can only release it from their hands, feet, or a part of their body; doing it from the entire body is incredibly difficult.
Neji had not only achieved this but had also added fire-attribute Chakra nature transformation, resulting in powerful might. Hiashi admitted he could not do the same.
This talent and brilliance not only surpassed him but likely also surpassed the previous heads of the Main House, second only to the legendary Hyuga Ichizoku.
On the high platform, Orochimaru was currently trembling all over, staring intently at Aoki Yoru's figure, unconsciously licking his lips under his mask.
'Truly wonderful, such remarkable talent. I really want to take this body for my own!'
Before long, the arena was completely repaired by the logistics personnel. For Ninjas, it only took a few Ninjutsu to fix; it didn't need to be exquisite, just functional.
Aoki Yoru stepped forward, looked toward the high platform, and said, "Will the contestants for the second match please come down."
In the spectator stands, Nara Shikamaru sighed. If possible, he really didn't want to compete with that Sunagakure girl; it was too much trouble. However, if he didn't go, the tigress at home would certainly lose her temper.
After a battle of wits and courage, Shikamaru finally caught Temari with his shadow, but at the last moment, he raised his hand and forfeited. He claimed his Chakra was insufficient, leaving everyone present dumbfounded.
However, those who knew the trade did not underestimate him; his wisdom perfectly suited the candidate for a Chunin captain.
Aoki Yoru glanced at the lazy Shikamaru. This guy lost the match but won the beauty; he was truly a lucky fellow.
In the third match, Kankuro forfeited directly to avoid revealing his trump cards. Shino Aburame won by default, though he wasn't particularly happy about it.
"The fourth match..." Before Aoki Yoru could finish, Gaara appeared in the center of the field riding a breeze, staring straight at him.
At this moment, although his body was covered in sand and his expression couldn't be seen, his trembling body and the killing intent in his bloodshot eyes could not be hidden.
Aoki Yoru didn't care about him. He was still too green. Besides, in a while, Naruto would perform the strongest Genjutsu in the Ninja World on him—Talk No Jutsu.
By then, he would undergo a 180-degree turn and repent for his past mistakes, which was simply ridiculous.
At this time, the other contestant, Uchiha Sasuke, had not yet arrived, and the audience looked at the arena in confusion.
"Where is he? What's going on?"
As time passed, just as the audience was about to lose their patience...
"Whoosh—"
The figures of Kakashi and Sasuke appeared on the field.
The crowd immediately cheered. The duel between the survivor of the Uchiha Clan and the son of the Kazekage was something they had long anticipated, and of course, it was a script carefully arranged by the Third Hokage.
In the stands, Asuma Sarutobi watched the two confronting each other and turned to Kakashi. "Hey, Kakashi, how is Sasuke's current strength? Can he reach the level Aoki Yoru had back then?"
Guy, Kurenai, and the others also looked over curiously upon hearing this. Sasuke was the top student, and the top students of the Uchiha Clan had never been weak; the most recent one was Uchiha Itachi, who wiped out the clan at the age of 13.
Kakashi gave an awkward laugh at the question. "Yoru's strength would be top-tier in any era. Sasuke's strength is still a bit far from his; what he lacks is actual combat experience."
The others showed expressions of realization. Of course, they didn't think Sasuke's strength would exceed the Aoki Yoru of the same period, but the Uchiha bloodline simply made it easy for people to imagine possibilities.
In the arena, Sasuke and Gaara began their great battle. Sasuke used Rock Lee's speed and moves to deal with Gaara; for someone with Absolute Defense, this was the only weakness.
It had to be said that the Sharingan was indeed uniquely gifted, easily learning moves that Rock Lee had spent years of tempered training to master.
At the end of the match, Sasuke used Kakashi's signature technique, Chidori, heavily wounding Gaara.
At this critical moment, Sunagakure and Orochimaru's subordinates activated a Genjutsu, forcing everyone to fall asleep.
The Konoha Crush Plan had begun.
Looking at the Sunagakure Jonin who had replaced Baki, Aoki Yoru said to Sasuke, who was stunned in place, "Sasuke, you see it too. Sunagakure is no longer an ally but an enemy. I'll leave the three Sand siblings to you."
"I don't know what's happened, but as long as I kill them, it'll be fine, right?" With that, Sasuke chased after the direction Gaara had fled.
The Sunagakure Jonin wanted to intercept him but was blocked by Aoki Yoru. "Now it's just us. I have urgent business, so I'll try to make your death as quick as possible."
"Hmph! Arrogant brat! You're just a Jonin pushed forward by Konoha; you really think you have the strength of a Jonin?" In his eyes, Aoki Yoru was merely a mascot promoted by Konoha Village to create a hero.
Fighting the Eight-Tails at 13? Even Minato Namikaze didn't have that kind of strength.
Aoki Yoru slowly drew yerun. He had to take this opportunity to settle scores with Danzo, so he couldn't be entangled with this person for too long.
"Whoosh—"
Aoki Yoru disappeared from his spot. The Sunagakure Jonin immediately pulled out his Ninja sword to block to his right.
"Clang—"
Blade clashed violently against blade. The Sunagakure Jonin felt a massive force surge through, nearly sending his sword flying.
Immediately after, his pupils shrank, and a look of horror appeared on his face. A notch had actually appeared on his Ninja sword.
"How is this possible? This was forged by the Village's best blacksmith using Hundred-Refined Steel!"
Aoki Yoru gave him no chance, continuously increasing his sword speed and using the Body Flicker Technique to appear all around him.
The Sunagakure Jonin could only parry desperately, unable to find even a gap to weave signs and perform Ninjutsu. After all, not everyone could use hand-seal-less Ninjutsu.
"Crack—"
The Sunagakure Jonin's sword was snapped. yerun sliced across his waist. Aoki Yoru sheathed yerun and turned to leave without even looking back.
The Sunagakure Jonin was still wondering why he left when suddenly a sharp pain shot from his waist. His consciousness instantly fell into darkness, and his body split in two at the waist, falling to the ground.