The third day of the Land of Fire Youth Ninja Competition had already been a storm of spectacle—raw taijutsu, blazing ninjutsu, and even bloodline techniques that set the crowd buzzing. Yet, when the proctor raised his arm for the third match, the audience hushed with a ripple of anticipation.
"Third match of the day—Raizen Hatake versus Miyako Utatane!"
Two names carried weight in their own right.
The Hatake clan, famed for its kenjutsu across generations.
The Utatane clan, whispered for their talent in genjutsu and advisory arts.
The air thickened with tension.
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Opening Movements
Raizen Hatake strode into the arena, calm and deliberate. His silver hair gleamed under the lanterns, light blue eyes cold with focus. The black half-mask concealing his face only deepened the mystery of his aura. His armor—sleek, silver and black—reflected both elegance and danger.
He stood with his hand already resting on the hilt of his sword, posture relaxed yet coiled like a predator.
Across from him, Miyako Utatane walked with quiet grace. Her long black hair swayed in rhythm, her gray eyes soft, almost unfocused. She looked less like a fighter and more like a poet's vision of serenity. But those who knew genjutsu understood—such stillness was the sign of a dangerous mind.
The referee looked between them.
"Begin!"
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Raizen moved first. A blur of silver and black shot across the arena, sword gleaming in his grip. The blade hummed faintly, an unnatural vibration—his bloodline's mark.
The crowd gasped at his speed.
But the slash met only petals.
Miyako's form dissolved, scattering into drifting blossoms.
"Genjutsu," Raizen muttered. His eyes narrowed.
Within an instant, five Miyakos surrounded him, each poised with chakra blades. The crowd stirred, whispers rolling through. "Already? She cast it so quickly!"
Raizen exhaled softly, closing his eyes for just a heartbeat. Then, in a single sweeping arc, his sword unleashed a wave of force, shattering three illusions outright. The air trembled with the impact.
The false Miyakos wavered, but the real one remained hidden.
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The Web of Deception
From above, Miyako appeared, hands a blur of seals.
"Chakra Binding Threads!"
Thin strands of chakra lashed downward, precise and silent, snaring at Raizen's arms and legs. One coiled tightly around his sword arm.
The Utatane heir smirked faintly. "You rely too heavily on your blade, Hatake."
But Raizen's gaze sharpened behind the mask.
"Wrong."
His arm slackened, then snapped violently forward. The kinetic energy stored in his joints exploded outward, shredding the chakra thread with brute force. In the same motion, his sword blurred again, each swing quicker than the last.
Miyako's composure wavered for the first time.
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Depths of Illusion
She leapt back, weaving another string of seals. The arena around Raizen melted into shifting shadows. The floor cracked and vanished, pulling him into a void of drowning darkness.
The crowd's breath caught. "She caught him!"
Raizen's steps faltered; his sword slowed. His body seemed dragged by invisible tides, as though submerged in a black ocean.
Keiji Uchiha, watching from the stands, clenched his fists. "That's not a simple genjutsu. She's targeting his senses of balance and breath simultaneously."
Beside him, Gengar's red eyes flickered with amusement. "Tricky girl. But this silver-haired one—he's got tricks too."
Inside the void illusion, Raizen's lips pressed into a thin line. "So that's how you play."
His blade thrummed with building force. With a decisive step, Raizen unleashed a burst of Kinetic Release. Energy surged outward, rippling through the arena, destabilizing the very chakra flow sustaining Miyako's illusion.
The darkness shattered like a mirror struck by stone.
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The Decisive Blow
Miyako's eyes widened as her genjutsu collapsed. For a moment, she stood exposed.
Raizen's movements became sharper, deadlier. Each step added momentum, each heartbeat stored force. His sword glowed faintly with compressed energy.
Miyako tried to weave another illusion, but her fingers trembled, chakra scattered from the earlier disruption.
Raizen closed the distance.
In a final sweeping arc, he released everything he had gathered. A diagonal slash cracked the air, the invisible force hammering Miyako's body. She slammed into the arena wall, coughing blood, her knees buckling beneath her.
The proctor stepped forward, raising his hand.
"Winner: Raizen Hatake!"
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Aftermath
The arena erupted. Some cheered the precision of the Hatake heir. Others mourned Miyako's elimination, admiring the serene girl's near-flawless illusions.
Raizen offered no grand celebration. He sheathed his sword in a single clean motion, standing straight with detached calm. The mask concealed his expression, but his eyes betrayed a calculating, watchful gleam.
Miyako was helped off the field, her soft gaze lingering on Raizen as though memorizing his form.
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Keiji's Reflections
From the stands, Keiji's expression darkened with thought.
"That bloodline technique… Kinetic Release. It's unlike anything I've seen. He's weaponizing motion itself, storing and releasing it at will. No wonder the Hatake clan is feared."
His mind flickered to memories of the Naruto he once knew—the Hatake clan of legend, famed for their mastery of kenjutsu. Yet here, in this altered timeline, the Hatake were more than swordsmen. They carried a unique bloodline.
His gaze drifted to Raizen's half-mask.
"That mask… I've seen it before. Kakashi wore one too. Maybe… it isn't just personal preference. Maybe it's tradition. A Hatake identity."
Gengar floated lazily beside him, grinning. "Hooo… you look like you're connecting dots that no one else even sees. Careful, Keiji, you'll start talking like an old man."
Keiji smirked faintly. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just realizing how deep this world runs compared to the one I knew."
The cheering crowd slowly settled as the match concluded, but Keiji's mind buzzed with unease. If clans like the Hatake possessed hidden bloodlines in this era, what other shifts existed in this parallel history?
Would these unseen powers reshape the entire outcome of the competition—and the wars to follow?
Before he could chase the thought further, the referee's voice cut across the arena, announcing the next match.
But Keiji's eyes never left the masked boy leaving the stage.
"Raizen Hatake… you're more than just a swordsman. And something tells me… this won't be the last time our paths cross."
The wind shifted through the capital's great arena, carrying with it a whisper of change.
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End of the Chapter
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