Chiba and Kakashi retreated after each exchange, creating distance between them. Neither launched an immediate follow-up attack.
Panting slightly, Chiba felt his chakra reserves nearing depletion. The activation of the Gate of Life and his extraordinary exertion had left his physical stamina almost exhausted.
Kakashi, too, was breathing heavily. His relentless assault had clearly taken its toll, leaving him in a condition comparable to Chiba's.
Chiba's mind raced with strategies, but he dismissed them one by one. After all, he faced Konoha's genius, the future Copy Ninja, the Sixth Hokage, and the son of the White Fang—Kakashi Hatake.
'Could I deceive him with a Genjutsu?' Chiba pondered. 'I have enough chakra, but would it work on him?'
He quickly discarded the idea. Based on their recent battle and his knowledge of Kakashi, a hasty Genjutsu would surely be seen through.
'No, it won't work. Genjutsu won't deceive him,' Chiba concluded.
Kakashi, too, harbored cautious thoughts.
Minato Namikaze observed his disciple. Kakashi's demeanor and posture revealed physical and chakra exhaustion nearly identical to Chiba's. Minato smiled, realizing this was the first time he'd seen Kakashi pushed to his limits in battle. 'This Chiba might be a worthy rival for Kakashi,' he thought.
Homura was utterly astonished. The intense battle that had just unfolded was at the level of elite Chunin; no, perhaps even ANBU level. Both combatants had masterfully executed the use of clones, Shadow Clones, and substitution techniques. The tactical acumen displayed by both fighters was something Homura admitted he couldn't replicate at their age.
"It's a tie with Kakashi! That's incredible..." Obito Uchiha murmured in awe.
Even Rin Nohara showed concern. 'Kakashi, don't lose...' she thought.
Hirohiko and Yukina watched the field with bated breath, while Kushina Uzumaki's expression turned serious.
A tense atmosphere enveloped both spectators and combatants alike.
Then, they prepared for the final blow!
Chiba and Kakashi's eyes locked as each grasped a kunai and charged at the other.
"Ding!"
The two kunai clashed, sparks flying, as both figures dashed past each other.
Suddenly, Kakashi turned and threw a shuriken. It flew straight for Chiba's back, but at the last moment, Chiba spun and swatted away the projectile.
"Da!" Both landed, Chiba maintaining a low stance, and charged towards Kakashi like an arrow released from a bow.
Kakashi appeared calm, pulling out a smoke bomb from his ninja bag. With a "bang," it detonated, quickly obscuring Chiba's view.
'Smoke bomb? Where will he come from? Above, or... directly ahead?' Chiba thought.
Chiba's pupils narrowed, but his charge didn't falter. Suddenly, Kakashi emerged from the smoke, confronting Chiba head-on.
'It's straight ahead. No, this must be a trap!' Chiba quickly deduced.
"Clang!"
There was no collision, only a spark. Chiba realized the trap and didn't commit to a strike. After countering Kakashi's feint, he prepared to pull back.
"Snap!"
Suddenly, Kakashi grabbed Chiba's kunai hand, lifted him, and threw him.
Chiba was sent flying, but from the corner of his eye, he spotted a kunai. A simple sideways dodge would avoid it, that was Chiba's first instinct.
'No!'
Chiba threw his own kunai, and with a "ding," the two kunai collided and fell. At the same time, the sound of wind passed Chiba's ears as another Kakashi, emerging from the smoke, missed with a kick. If Chiba had dodged sideways, the hit would have been undeniable!
'If hit by that, I would definitely have been smashed to the ground. At that moment, Kakashi on the ground could instantly subdue me.' Chiba thought.
'As expected of Kakashi, the one that emerged from the smoke was a clone. The moment I threw the kunai, Kakashi used the Replacement Technique, and his real body attacked. Impressive.'
Chiba flipped in the air, diving into the smoke.
"Boom!"
Kakashi on the ground exploded into a cloud of white mist, while Chiba, in mid-air, frowned as he looked at the white smoke from the smoke bomb but felt relieved.
'Sure enough, Kakashi had chosen to enter the smoke and use his own smoke bomb for a surprise attack.' he realized too late that his attack had been seen through.
"But!"
'What you've thought of, I've anticipated as well! Everything was a setup. The smoke bomb was the trap.'
Kakashi's eyes narrowed, and as he landed, he completed his seal, pressing his hands firmly to the ground.
'Damn!' Chiba thought.
Chiba, who had leaped into the smoke-covered area, found nothing but empty air beneath his feet, causing his body to tilt and fall.
"This is the pit I made. So it was like this... Using smoke bombs to obscure my vision of the pit's exact location made me misjudge and lose my balance! It achieved the same effect as that kick."
'This time, I've truly outsmarted myself.'
Chiba hit the ground, stirring up dust. As the white smoke slowly dissipated, visibility gradually improved.
'He will attack any moment now.'
Chiba tried to stand but winced from a sharp pain in his right foot.
'My foot!'
A drop of cold sweat ran down Chiba's forehead and across his cheek. He struggled to his feet, standing on one leg, scanning his surroundings as the smoke cleared completely.
'Where will he attack from? The current situation looks grim.'
'No one around... could it be from above?'
Chiba looked up but saw only the clear sky and no sign of Kakashi.
"Impossible! Did he copy my strategy?"
Chiba gave a wry smile and looked down. At that moment, a hand burst through the soil and grabbed his foot. Suddenly, the scenery around him seemed to grow taller.
"*Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!*"
'So this was the plan. The feint before was to drive me into the smoke. Though he couldn't see me, I couldn't see him either. In this way, the Headhunter Jutsu could still succeed. Moreover, by using the pit I had created, he made me lose my balance, affecting my mobility, and ensuring the success of the Headhunter Jutsu!'
"Well played, Kakashi."
Chiba glanced down slightly to find a shuriken pressed against his chin, with Kakashi's heavy breathing behind him.
"This time, you lose," Kakashi said between breaths.
Initially low on chakra, and after using clones, transformation, and the Headhunter Jutsu, Kakashi was now physically and chakra exhausted. Chiba could almost feel the tremble in his hands.
"We won!" Obito and Rin sighed in relief.
"We lost..." Hirohiko and Yukina frowned, exchanged looks, sighed, and couldn't hide their disappointment.
Kushina Uzumaki closed her eyes, sighed, and shook her head. "So it ends in defeat..."
Homura patted Minato Namikaze on the shoulder, smiling, "I didn't expect Kakashi to win with Chiba's first strategy. This Kakashi... is truly admirable!"
However, Minato Namikaze looked solemn, his gaze fixed on the field.
"No, It's not over yet. Chiba's expression... he's holding a winning card! He has a countermeasure, Kakashi needs to be careful!" Minato replied.
At that moment, Kakashi, realizing something, widened his eyes and exclaimed, "It can't be?"
Before he could finish, only Chiba's head emerged from the mud with a "boom," turning into white mist, which then dissipated, leaving behind a half-buried log.
"Substitution Jutsu!"
Kakashi turned abruptly but froze.
A kunai was mere centimeters from his neck.
Chiba, balancing on one foot, smiled at him. "You were careless. You used a substitution here, with such a piece of wood in the center of the pit, right behind you."
"When I couldn't see you, did you perform the substitution seal? Did you see through my intentions from the start?"
Kakashi, shock evident in his eyes, exhaled deeply and released the kunai from his hand.
"Dang!" The kunai fell to the ground without suspense.
"I lost," Kakashi admitted.