Hayate continued to explain the single-elimination tournament. Winners move on to the finals; losers go home with nothing.
As he spoke, a large, rectangular screen—high above the arena floor—turned on.
"This screen will display the names of the two combatants in each match, chosen entirely at random," Hayate said, raising his hand to silence the murmurs that began to rise. "There will be no time for scouting or strategizing beforehand. This is a test of your adaptability and your ability to react on the fly."
Team 7—Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura—stood together, a mix of determination and apprehension on their faces. Team 8—Hinata, Kiba, and Shino—were seemingly lost in quiet contemplation. The players' teams had too many mixed expressions to gauge their thoughts.
Karin's team hadn't made it, despite William claiming to have helped her. Last Arthur recalled, her team was disqualified because they failed to reach the center in time.
Then there was Team 10, consisting of only Chōji. Arthur figured that this loner would never have made it to the preliminaries by himself. He had to have been given help from the players.
Arthur could only imagine how the conversation of Shikamaru and Ino dying by a random ninja went: tears, a sense of hopelessness—all followed by shock and regret.
Arthur's gaze drifted to the final team, Team Baki. Gaara stood impassive. Temari, the eldest sibling, exuded cool confidence. And Kankurō wore a bored expression. No member of this team should be underestimated.
The only two teams missing were Team Dosu and Team Kabuto, exactly as Arthur expected. And because they weren't here, neither was Orochimaru (who had disguised himself as Team Dosu's Jōnin leader to watch Sasuke fight).
Hayate soon cleared his throat, silencing the stadium once more.
The names on the giant screen flickered rapidly, randomly cycling through various participants. All eyes were glued on it as anticipation turned to nervous excitement.
Then the first two names popped up: 'Sasuke Uchiha versus William Uzumaki'.
Surprise tore through the crowd. Arthur, however interesting the fight might turn out to be, wasn't concerned with the outcome. Last he had heard, Sasuke was far stronger than his story counterpart.
That meant William was going to have a hard time.
From the corner of his eye, Arthur saw Margaret nudge a nervous-looking William. She teased, "Well, Willie-boy, it looks like you're Sharingan bait."
William puffed out his chest in a mock display of bravado. "Kidding? I've been training. And hey! Don't call me that!"
Alex stepped in, placing a hand on William's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Will. Just do your best like we talked about."
Jada chimed in with a bright smile. "Exactly. Show everyone what you're made of."
William, despite his confident words, stuttered, "Yeah, thanks, guys. It's just… Sasuke? Really? Out of everyone, I get the second mc?"
Suddenly, another hand clapped William on the back. It was Naruto. With his usual goofy grin, he said, "Hey, cuz! Don't sweat it. Sure, Sasuke might be my teammate, but I'm gonna be cheering you on too! Give him a run for his money, alright?"
William, touched by Naruto's unexpected support, managed to keep his shaky smile.
"Thanks, Naruto. I appreciate that."
"No problem! Oh, and…"
"What's up?"
"What's an mc?"
The sound of the referee calling the competitors to the arena cut through the conversation. So the Genin all shuffled toward the second-floor rails to meet with their respective Jōnin.
Arthur barely said a word to his Jōnin. It was clear she understood the severity of the exams and believed that those who failed were simply incapable of being ninjas. As such, she didn't bother giving him any advice, words of encouragement, or a sense of relief for being the only one on his team to advance.
Not that he cared to listen anyway.
Naruto, his competitive spirit already ignited, screamed, "Alright, cuz! Let's see what ya've got!"
All sense of nervousness cleared from William as he straightened his glasses and squared his shoulders. Arthur could tell how strange his posture was. It was almost as if William had never been in a real fight before.
Both participants stood opposite one another. Sasuke, cool and composed as ever, held his signature cocky smirk. William, on the other hand, stood as if he was faking his determination.
"I'm gonna give it my all!" William said to boost his confidence.
"Hmph…" Sasuke smirked. "You might be Naruto's cousin, but that's not gonna help you win this fight."
The crowd held its breath as Hayate raised a hand and said, "Begin!"
Sasuke Uchiha wasted no time activating his Sharingan and launching himself toward William. With one hand sign, William unleashed the Multi-Shadow Clone technique. Four perfect copies of himself materialized around the real one, surrounding the Uchiha in a circle.
The crowd gasped in surprise. This level of chakra control was impressive for a Genin. But their gasps turned into awe as Sasuke effortlessly wove through the clones.
'You call that a strategy?' Arthur judged.
William and his clones lunged with their fists and kicks, aiming at every possible angle. Yet Sasuke remained untouched. With a precise movement, he soon launched into a taijutsu assault.
One clone went down after another, felled by a well-placed strike or a joint lock. William watched in disbelief as his clones crumbled before him. Finally, only the real William remained.
Surprising the crowd, Sasuke said, "I'll admit, you helped my team and me make it this far. But now it's all business."
William relaxed his posture; he knew that he had to start trying. So he channeled his chakra and took a deep breath.
"Wind style: air bullets!"
A barrage of compressed air shot out of his mouth. Sasuke's Sharingan swirled rapidly, analyzing the trajectory of each air blast. With a series of dodges and body contortions, he avoided every single one as the jutsu whizzed past him.
The crowd, initially impressed by William's technique, roared in approval of Sasuke's incredible agility.
'A stupid move against the Sharingan,' Arthur thought.
William, however, wasn't discouraged. What he did next surprised everyone: a blue sphere materialized in his hand.
Sasuke, for the first time in the fight, looked genuinely surprised. His Sharingan spun faster as William charged forward with his jutsu.
"Rasengan!"
Just as the attack was about to land, Sasuke bent back and unleashed a kick that connected with William's chin.
Bang! "Dancing leaf shadow!"
The impact sent William flying toward the ceiling; his cry of surprise was cut short as his body arced through the air. At the peak of his height, Sasuke then launched himself upward.
Meeting directly behind William, the Uchiha grabbed him by the ankles, wrapped his legs around his waist, and drove William headfirst toward the ground. "Falcon drop!"
Bang!
William's head had slammed directly into the platform below.
The spectators held their breath.
After a quick check to see if William was truly out for the count, Hayate stepped forward and declared, "The winner… is Sasuke Uchiha!"
A cheer erupted from the crowd, albeit a hesitant one. While they were impressed with Sasuke's victory, they couldn't help but feel sympathy for the fallen William.
Naruto, who had been cheering his cousin on throughout the fight, rushed to the platform alongside medical personnel. Thankfully, William stirred shortly after, groaning and clutching his head. He was dazed but conscious.
"Ow," he said. "I didn't think it would hurt that bad."
"You okay, cuz?" Naruto asked with concern.
"I think so... Just feels like a boulder hit my head, is all."
Arthur considered their conversation. A blow like that to anyone would have surely killed them. Something about William's character suggested that his pain threshold might not be the same.
That, or William's body was simply more durable than Arthur's thanks to the former being an Uzumaki.
Then there was the fact that William had dared to use the Rasengan against Sasuke. The entire arena was just as surprised because the Rasengan, a powerful jutsu pioneered by the fourth Hokage himself, was rarely seen inside or outside the Leaf Village.
How did a random Genin know such a technique?
As medics tended to William, Sasuke returned to his teammates. Kakashi congratulated him, stating that their training together had paid off quite nicely.
Arthur was keen on their conversation. From what he recalled, Sasuke hadn't trained with Kakashi until after the preliminaries.
This tournament, it seemed, held more secrets than he initially anticipated.
Meanwhile, on the second-floor balcony, a heated conversation erupted between the players once William joined them.
"Did Sasuke just own you?!" Jasper exclaimed. "Dang, Male-Karin."
"He's right, Will," added Alice. "Not the Male-Karin comment, but you shouldn't have tried using the Rasengan."
You actually tried the Rasengan against the Sharingan? How stupid can you be?"
William frowned as Alex tried to defend him. "I mean, he was fighting Sasuke…"
"It wasn't all bad," chimed Jada. "I mean, I would have tried the same if I knew it."
Arthur ignored their conversation. The only thing he got from it was that Jada didn't know the Rasengan.
His mind was ready to see who the next opponents were likely to be. And to do that, he based things on the matches from the original story.
Sasuke defeated Yoroi Akadō. Shino overpowered Zaku with his bugs. Kankurō, wielding his puppet, dominated Misumi Tsurugi. Sakura and Ino ended up in a draw. Temari defeated Tenten with her giant fan, which was able to utilize wind techniques.
Shikamaru outsmarted Kin with his Shadow Possession. Naruto, using his clones and a rather unorthodox fart attack, emerged victorious against Kiba. In a family grudge match, Neji overpowered Hinata. Rock Lee put up a valiant effort against Gaara but ultimately fell in the end. Finally, Chōji was outclassed by Dosu.
Since forty percent of those characters were missing, that meant the players would more or less be fighting much of the main cast.
'I suppose it's even possible that I might face one of them,' Arthur considered.
Immediately after that thought, the next match-up flashed on the screen: Alice Yamanaka versus Tenten.
Lee leaped onto the railing as his eyes gleamed with unbridled enthusiasm. "Tenten! This is your chance to show the power of youth!"
Neji simply offered a nod. But even he couldn't suppress his interest in the potential outcome.
Guy unleashed a barrage of encouragement with a booming voice that drowned out the murmurs of the crowd. "Tenten! Remember your training!" Then he screamed for everyone to hear: "Youth!"
Tenten, although confident in her fight, felt embarrassed.
On the players' balconies, a different kind of support played out. They were not just rooting for Alice; they were reminding her of Tenten's techniques. Because of that, Arthur believed that Alice would likely emerge as the victor.
"Go Alice!" Margaret cheered. "Show that whore what you're made of!"
Team Guy was shocked at that response. They didn't take Margaret's trash talk too kindly.
Alex offered a more measured response. "Have fun, Alice. Remember, stay focused, and don't underestimate her."
What baffled everyone even more was when Jasper pecked her on the lips to show his encouragement. Some of the kunoichi raised an eyebrow upon seeing how openly he admitted to dating her.
"Don't mess up that pretty face of yours," he smirked.
Alice smiled, offering a wave of gratitude. "Thanks, Jasper. I won't let any of you down."
She then marched toward the platform with a determined look.