Fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
Kitazawa was soon standing in front of the drawing box again. He reached in and pulled out two small slips of paper.
"Second round, first match: Kurama Yakumo's team versus Hyuga Hinata's team."
He glanced at them and announced the pairing.
"Sasuke—see you in match two!"
Uzumaki Naruto gave a thumbs-up as he spoke.
There were only four teams in total. Once the first match was announced, everyone automatically knew the second match-up as well.
"The one who's going to lose is you."
Uchiha Sasuke said it flatly.
Because of the team battle rules, Naruto would be carrying two restriction conditions. Without question, this was the best chance to beat him.
Just thinking about how Naruto usually beat him senseless during training filled Sasuke with endless fighting spirit. Today, he had to beat Naruto down—or he'd never get rid of the resentment burning in his chest.
"Sasuke-kun is right!"
Haruno Sakura immediately chimed in. "Naruto, just wait— we're going to beat you!"
Sasuke instinctively looked at her.
Sakura froze for a second, then hurriedly covered her mouth.
Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.
Five minutes later, Kurama Yakumo's team and Hyuga Hinata's team submitted their chosen three restriction conditions.
Two of Hinata's restrictions were changed.
"Banned: Burst Arrow" was changed to "Banned: Spiral Arrow."
Burst Arrow was essentially a Yin Release secret technique. For Kurama Yakumo, it wasn't particularly troublesome. On the contrary, Spiral Arrow—much more powerful—posed a far greater threat.
"Banned: Gentle Fist—Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms" was changed to "Banned: Phantom Arc Arrow."
Sixty-Four Palms was strong, but it was close-range taijutsu. Kurama Yakumo's team— all three of them—specialized in long-range ninjutsu, and they wouldn't be easily pressured into melee.
Phantom Arc Arrow, meanwhile, was an ultra-long-range technique. Banning it benefited them far more.
As for Yakumo's own restrictions, the two conditions on her didn't really change: they were still Terror Dreamscape and Demonic Illusion: Five Senses.
There was no helping it—those two bloodline-limit genjutsu were simply the most terrifying.
Left side of the Forest of Death.
"Shikamaru—what kind of strategy should we use?"
Hyuga Hinata looked at Nara Shikamaru and asked.
"Yakumo's team has a fatal weakness."
Shikamaru said with a smile. "They don't have any sensory methods."
"So you mean we should whittle them down from range?"
Hinata hesitated. "I've lost Spiral Arrow and Phantom Arc Arrow. It'll be hard for me to deal meaningful damage."
Kurama Yakumo had Genjutsu: True Illusion—she could prep paintings in advance and fire off techniques instantly.
The only saving grace was that True Illusion still had an effective area; it couldn't compare to the range of Hinata's Moonchaser Bow.
"They have two choices," Shikamaru said calmly. "One: stay where they are, counterattack, and deal with your arrows."
"Two: if they want to hit us, they'll have to find a way to close the distance."
"But without sensory abilities, getting close to us is basically impossible."
Hinata murmured, thinking it through.
"So they can only counterattack from where they stand?"
Hotaru asked instinctively.
"They won't," Shikamaru shook his head. "With Spiral Arrow and Phantom Arc Arrow banned, Hinata isn't as much of a threat to them."
"And if both sides just deadlock like this, when time runs out the judges will decide the winner based on overall performance."
"Right."
Hinata nodded. "Their team won't just sit and wait to die."
"In that case, our plan is simple."
Shikamaru smiled. "Since they can't sense, we bait them into searching for us—and we set traps along the route."
Hinata and Hotaru both felt that made perfect sense, so they agreed.
The three of them began plotting a path and laying traps.
Fifteen minutes later, the match officially began.
Relying on her Byakugan, Hinata continuously launched long-range attacks—Burst Arrows and Multiple Arrows—at Kurama Yakumo's team.
Yakumo's team managed to defend smoothly against the barrage.
Yakumo's team assumed Hinata's team would do what Hyuga Neji's team had done earlier and try to close in—but they didn't.
In the end, left with no choice, they tried to search for Hinata's team while tanking Hinata's arrows.
Shikamaru deliberately left small traces to guide them into trap after trap.
Thanks to Yakumo's Genjutsu: True Illusion, they didn't take much damage inside the traps, but the entire time they were being led around by the nose.
And Hinata's team, using the Byakugan, repeatedly widened the distance in advance—again and again.
Two hours later, the chase finally came to an end.
"Who do you think performed better?"
Kitazawa looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others.
"Hinata's team."
Hiruzen answered without hesitation.
"I agree."
Kurenai and the others nodded along.
No one was eliminated in that match, but in terms of performance, Hinata's team clearly held the advantage.
From start to finish, Yakumo's team had been moving inside Hinata's team's calculations.
"Winners: Hyuga Hinata's team."
Kitazawa announced the result.
"Shikamaru is seriously smart…"
Tenten couldn't help sighing.
"He is a Nara."
Akimichi Choji said while chewing on potato chips.
He, Tenten, and Naruto were on the same team.
"That trick would work on us too."
Sakura said with a grim expression.
She, Sasuke, and Chino were one team.
Sasuke frowned slightly.
Their team was similar to Yakumo's team—they didn't have strong sensory tools either. His Sharingan could see far, but it still wasn't comparable to Hinata's Byakugan.
But he had one advantage: speed.
If they were fast enough, even a Byakugan user couldn't keep pulling away forever.
After all, setting traps took time.
Yakumo's team, though—their speed was only average at best.
"Let's beat Naruto's team first."
Sasuke shook his head.
"Right."
Sakura looked toward Naruto, Choji, and Tenten.
If they couldn't beat them, they wouldn't even get the chance to meet Hinata's team in the third round.
"Second round, second match: Uchiha Sasuke's team versus Uzumaki Naruto's team."
Kitazawa paused, then said, "You have five minutes to choose your restriction conditions."
"No need to discuss."
Sasuke said immediately. "Two for Naruto. One for Tenten."
"Naruto: ban Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu and ban Tailed-beast Power."
Sakura added. "Tenten: ban the Shiromari."
Chino didn't speak—she just nodded to show agreement.
Naruto was a walking stat monster. He had to be nerfed.
But even without Multiple Shadow Clones and without using tailed-beast power, he was still hard to deal with—because he still had techniques like the Leaf Dragon God and the devastating Yang Release: Rasengan.
And banning tailed-beast power didn't mean Kurama couldn't still help him break genjutsu.
In other words: Naruto still wasn't afraid of illusions.
And even without tapping tailed-beast power, his own chakra reserves were still the most outrageous on the field.
"Honestly, two restrictions still feel like too little for Naruto."
Sakura grumbled. "He really feels like an alien."
In the ninja world, the concept of "aliens" did exist—after all, the academy taught astronomy and geography, and covered things like the universe.
"Time's up."
Kitazawa reminded them.
"Ban Sasuke's Hatake-style Techniques and Sharingan-type genjutsu. Ban Sakura's Water Release: Heavenly Weeping."
Naruto announced the restrictions his team had decided.
Hatake blade techniques didn't need explaining—fast, precise, vicious, and extremely threatening.
As for Sharingan-type genjutsu: Naruto himself wasn't afraid of it, but Choji and Tenten were.
If Sasuke controlled one of them, it could turn into teammates fighting each other.
It was worth noting: even though Sharingan-type genjutsu was banned, Sasuke could still use the Sharingan itself and ordinary genjutsu.
It was just that Sasuke didn't really know standard genjutsu—most of what he had mastered required the Sharingan to cast.
Still, for him, that restriction wasn't too bad. He didn't rely on genjutsu much anyway, as long as the Sharingan itself wasn't banned.
Sakura and Chino didn't have much worth banning, so Naruto's team went with the nastiest option: Water Release: Heavenly Weeping.
That water technique required no hand seals, consumed little chakra, and was extremely stealthy—easy to get hit by without noticing.
"Both teams enter the field. The battle begins in fifteen minutes."
Kitazawa nodded.
Naruto and Sasuke's teams entered the Forest of Death.
Left side of the Forest of Death.
"Sasuke-kun."
Sakura asked impatiently, "Do we have a plan?"
"Wait."
Sasuke answered, concise as ever.
"Wait?"
Sakura blinked. "We're not going to attack first?"
"Tenten specializes in ninja tools. If we go on the offensive, we're just walking into her sights like moving targets."
Sasuke said evenly. "With Naruto's personality, he won't stay put. He'll come looking for us."
"So that's it!"
Sakura immediately praised him. "As expected of Sasuke-kun!"
"Use the time to set up the terrain."
Sasuke said casually. "At least it'll help defend against Tenten's tools."
"Okay!"
Sakura quickly got moving.
Right side of the Forest of Death.
"What do you think?"
Naruto stopped and asked.
"I'll summon Netnet first."
Tenten bit her thumb and used Summoning Jutsu.
In a puff of smoke, a ninja dog appeared.
"It can help us find Sasuke."
Tenten patted Netnet's head and smiled.
"That's awesome!"
Naruto paused, then said excitedly, "Then we'll go find them directly!"
"Won't we run into traps if we go straight in?"
Choji thought for a moment.
"My ninja tools can destroy every trap!"
Tenten grinned proudly.
"Tenten, you're amazing!"
Naruto gave a thumbs-up. "Next time I form my Youth Team, I'm picking you again!"
"Next team battle, I'm joining Neji's team!"
Tenten refused immediately.
Naruto scratched his head and didn't push it.
"Battle Start!"
Fifteen minutes later, Kitazawa's voice echoed across the arena.
"Netnet."
Tenten pulled out a kunai and held it in front of the dog's nose.
"Whose kunai is that?"
Choji asked curiously.
"Sasuke's," Tenten replied. "I picked it up earlier."
"Did you pick up a lot of people's kunai?"
Choji's eyes lit up and he asked again.
"I picked up a few."
Tenten blinked. "Better safe than sorry."
"Very Shikamaru."
Choji copied Naruto's thumbs-up gesture.
"Netnet, take us to the owner of this kunai."
Tenten stood and ordered.
"Woof!"
Netnet barked twice, then sprinted off.
Naruto and the others hurried after it.
Soon, they reached the base of a small mountain.
"They're on the mountain."
Tenten's eyes sharpened.
"I think I can see them."
Naruto stood on tiptoe and peered toward the slope, faintly making out three heads.
Sasuke's team was hiding behind a massive boulder.
"I'll probe the area for traps first."
Tenten dismissed the summon, then took out a scroll with both hands.
She unfurled it, and a steady stream of kunai shot out—starting from right in front of them, spreading down toward the mountain's base.
Boom!
Near the bottom, the kunai triggered an explosive tag trap.
"Looks like our traps will be completely useless."
Sakura rubbed her forehead, feeling regret.
"No problem."
Sasuke didn't care. "Get ready to fight. Once they climb up, we'll have the high ground—an advantage."
"Watch out for Tenten's Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."
Sakura suddenly remembered and warned him.
"With her chakra, she can probably only use it once."
Sasuke nodded. "As long as we stay alert, it shouldn't be a big issue."
The explosions died down.
Every trap on the path up to mid-slope had been triggered and destroyed by Tenten's kunai.
"Beautiful work!"
Naruto shouted, thrilled.
"Nothing major."
Tenten chuckled. "Next is the real hard fight—then we'll need you."
"Leave it to me!"
Naruto flashed his teeth. "On the name of youth, we'll definitely beat them!"
"I'll smash that boulder first."
Tenten studied it from afar.
"I'll handle that."
Choji thought for a moment. "This mountain was piled up temporarily by Teacher Kitazawa. It's not very stable."
"You mean… you can push down the mountain?"
Tenten froze.
"Pushing it down is hard, but I can shift that boulder."
Choji answered.
"Perfect!"
Tenten said. "I'll cover you with ninja tools!"
Expansion Jutsu!
Choji formed seals and his body rapidly swelled larger.
"What's he trying to do?"
Sakura asked instinctively.
"He's trying to shove the mountain."
Sasuke saw through it at a glance and immediately activated his three-tomoe Sharingan.
Human Bullet Tank!
Choji pulled his limbs in and turned into a gigantic ball, slamming forward.
Boom!
The whole mountain shook.
The boulder in front of Sasuke's team trembled with the impact.
Manipulated Shuriken Technique!
Sasuke immediately flicked six kunai forward.
Tenten had been watching him the whole time. The moment he moved, she snapped open another scroll.
A flood of kunai and shuriken poured out, blocking Sasuke's six kunai, then continuing forward—still carrying momentum as they rained toward Sasuke's team.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
Sakura reacted instantly and formed seals.
A wall of water rose in front of them.
The ninja tools slammed down. The boulder cracked. The water wall wobbled on the verge of collapse.
Sasuke drew the Sword of the Thunder God and leapt up. In midair, he slashed.
Lightning spread, swallowing the remaining tools.
Taking the chance, Sakura and Chino immediately retreated to the sides.
"I'll take Naruto."
Sasuke said in a low voice. "Sakura, you take Choji. Chino, you take Tenten."
Sakura and Chino both nodded, their faces tense.
"Be careful!"
Sasuke accelerated and charged straight for Naruto, forming hand seals as he ran.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!
A scorching aura spread as a massive fireball formed.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
Naruto clapped his hands together.
A fierce gust erupted, blowing the fireball straight back at Sasuke.
Sasuke tugged his mouth into a thin line.
Naruto's chakra was still absurd—he could waste it like nothing.
Sasuke flashed aside, dodging his own fireball.
Leaf-Style: Willow!
The instant Sasuke met Naruto's gaze, the Sword of the Thunder God blurred into afterimages.
Naruto's mind flickered—then Kurama broke the genjutsu.
But Sasuke's blade was already in front of him.
Clang!
The greatsword Samehada blocked the Sword of the Thunder God.
Naruto gripped the hilt and heaved.
Sasuke's expression shifted.
The raw strength felt like wrestling a bull.
But in the next second, Sasuke poured Lightning Release chakra into his sword.
Lightning surged along the blade and rushed toward Samehada.
"Enhanced: Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
Naruto immediately let go of Samehada.
He snapped his right leg up—blue chakra coating it like a club—then smashed it toward Sasuke.
Enhanced: Leaf Strong Whirlwind!
Sasuke instantly copied it with the three-tomoe Sharingan.
Bang!
Their right legs collided.
Naruto's strength still won out.
Sasuke slid back two steps, then swung the Sword of the Thunder God hard.
A crescent of lightning flew out like a hooked moon.
At the critical moment, Samehada sprang up and blocked the lightning.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Shuriken!"
Naruto immediately threw two shuriken.
Sasuke threw two shuriken backhanded—
—but his snapped apart effortlessly against the wind-augmented shuriken.
Even so, delaying them for an instant was enough.
Sasuke twisted his wrist and batted both shuriken away with his sword.
"Leaf-Style Swordsmanship!"
Naruto grabbed Samehada and smashed it down.
Sasuke hurriedly retreated.
Samehada hit the ground, leaving a crater.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!
Catching Naruto during the moment inertia tugged at his body, Sasuke spat out another massive fireball.
Naruto broke into a sweat.
In a split-second decision, he hoisted Samehada and hurled it.
Samehada hit the fireball, sparks and flame bursting everywhere.
"Leaf Gale!"
Naruto twisted his body and kicked hard midair.
He pierced through the firelight, then fired a second and third kick.
Rasengan!
The moment Naruto threw the first kick, Sasuke thrust out his hand.
At that angle, Naruto looked like he was kicking into Sasuke's Rasengan on purpose.
A dangerous pressure filled the air.
If his foot hit the Rasengan, the one who'd suffer would definitely be him.
Realizing that, Naruto forced his leg higher, narrowly avoiding it.
Sasuke stepped in and raised his hand, driving the Rasengan toward Naruto's waist.
"Leaf Dragon God!"
Naruto improvised in a flash, unleashing all his chakra as his body began to spin.
"What?!"
Sasuke's pupils shrank.
He never expected Naruto to pull off the Leaf Dragon God in that situation.
But that was the advantage of taijutsu: usually no hand seals needed—if your body could take it, you could execute it.
The Rasengan slammed into the not-yet-fully-formed green dragon.
Both Sasuke and Naruto shuddered from the impact.
The dragon's outer layer—Wind Release chakra—sliced in like blades.
Body Flicker Technique!
Sasuke barely escaped the dragon's attack.
He sniffed the air—there was a faint scent of blood.
Sasuke's spirits lifted.
His Rasengan had injured Naruto.
How severe it was, he couldn't tell.
He didn't have time to think—he immediately bolted away.
Because the green dragon was already charging after him.
Lightning Release: Chidori Current!
Sasuke formed seals while running.
Brilliant lightning spread out from him in every direction. The moment it touched the green dragon, the two forces crashed violently.
The dragon's speed stalled.
Sasuke swept his eyes left and right, then sprang off the nearest tree and shot upward.
The Leaf Dragon God's weakness was its center—the storm eye.
Yin Release: Rasengan!
Sasuke extended his hand in midair.
Then he dropped straight down, diving into the storm eye.
But at that moment, Naruto decisively ended the Leaf Dragon God.
"Yang Release: Rasengan!"
Naruto raised his hand.
Two Rasengan of different colors collided.
Sasuke jumped back to avoid the chaotic chakra backlash.
When he landed, he saw a tear in Naruto's abdomen—damage from Sasuke's earlier Rasengan.
But what shocked Sasuke was that the wound had already completely healed.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto formed seals and created two clones.
He couldn't use Multiple Shadow Clones—but he could still use regular Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Sasuke's expression changed.
Without a word, he formed seals too and created two shadow clones.
Six bodies crashed into a melee.
Naruto had overwhelming strength and chakra reserves, but Sasuke had three-tomoe Sharingan—his dynamic vision was sharper.
For a time, it became a stalemate.
Meanwhile, the four-way fight between Choji, Tenten, Sakura, and Chino was just as intense.
Sakura's opponent was Choji.
Choji was huge and could only take hits passively, but he was tough and thick-skinned. In the short term, he wouldn't be brought down by Sakura's Water Release.
On the other side was Chino versus Tenten.
Chino had the Ketsuryugan, capable of hypnosis.
Tenten knew that intel and refused to let her get close, maintaining long-range pressure with ninja tools the entire time.
Chino also had Water Release, but her range couldn't match Tenten's tools.
So the fight turned into a constant chase: Chino trying to close distance, Tenten trying to keep it long.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto dodged Sasuke's Sword of the Thunder God, then seized the opening—forming a "ball" and slamming it toward Sasuke's waist from the side.
Rasengan!
Sasuke met it head-on.
Boom!
The two Rasengan exploded.
Sasuke immediately felt a burning pain in his right hand.
Naruto felt the same.
Neither of them cared.
Leaf-Style: Willow!
Sasuke's Sword of the Thunder God whipped at extreme speed.
Samehada rose to block in front of Naruto.
Naruto flung it forward and shouted, "Leaf Dragon God!"
His two clones shouted too: "Leaf Dragon God!"
In an instant, three green dragons erupted into existence.
Sasuke's breathing caught.
What a monster.
They'd been fighting this long, and Naruto and his clones still had enough chakra to use Leaf Dragon God?
Sasuke felt the situation turning nasty.
He and his two clones dodged and searched for an opening, leaping into the air.
Gritting his teeth, Sasuke chose one green dragon at random and dove into its center.
Lightning Release: Chidori Senbon!
From midair, he flicked his hand hard.
Lightning burst into countless senbon needles, blanketing Naruto.
Poof!
Naruto vanished into smoke.
Sasuke frowned.
A second later, memories surged back into him—
Both of his shadow clones had already been taken out.
Sasuke landed on the ground. On his left and right, a green dragon was already lunging toward him from each side.
Lightning Release: Double Chidori!
Sasuke's face sank. It was too late to take to the air again.
The dragons were fast, and their pull tried to drag everything nearby into the tornado.
Lightning Release: Double Chidori!
With no other choice, Sasuke went for a last-ditch gamble.
Not just because the situation was urgent—also because his chakra was running low.
He locked onto the slightly larger green dragon and charged.
A piercing birdlike screech rang out.
Sasuke maintained a Chidori in each hand.
The two Chidori struck front and back, piercing the green dragon through.
"Enhanced: Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
Naruto kicked in.
They both flew backward.
But at that moment, the other green dragon was already right in front of Sasuke.
He hadn't even fully stabilized—
—and he was dragged into that second dragon's pull.
At the critical moment, Kitazawa appeared and rescued him.
And once Sasuke fell, his other two teammates—Sakura and Chino—didn't last much longer either.
After all, Naruto joined the fight against them.
"Winners: Uzumaki Naruto's team."
Kitazawa announced.
Sasuke clenched his fist without thinking.
He was still too weak.
Naruto had been restricted from using Multiple Shadow Clones and tailed-beast power—
—and even then, Sasuke still lost.
In the fierce unwillingness boiling inside him, the three tomoe in Sasuke's eyes trembled—almost looking like they might fuse together.
But in the end, they settled back down.
Still the same three-tomoe Sharingan.
~~~
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