"Who else?"
By noon, no one had stepped forward for a long time.
The entire Uzuki clan fell into silence.
"Why is he so strong?"
"Did this kid really just graduate from the Ninja Academy?"
"I heard he graduated as the top student! If he continues to practice for a few more years, who knows how powerful he will become!"
"The Gekko Clan has produced such a strong genius. His future seems limitless!"
The Uzuki clan and the Gekko clan have always been on the same level, but with the appearance of Kazuki, they may be outpaced significantly in the future.
Fortunately, Yūgao Uzuki is set to marry him, and the Uzuki clan may take a step forward and secure more resources.
If Gekko Kazuki could become Hokage in the future… The Uzuki clan patriarch couldn't even imagine how glorious that would be!
After a while, a figure walked onto the ring.
"Yūgao?"
Kazuki's expression softened. When he noticed the lunchbox in her hand, he suddenly realized.
So, she brought me lunch!
"Are you hungry?" Yūgao asked with a smile.
"A bit."
"Want to eat?"
"I do." Kazuki nodded.
"Then beat me."
"??"
Before Kazuki could react, Yūgao suddenly drew her sword and attacked him.
"Secret Sword: Moon Shadow!"
Yūgao showed no mercy at all, and every strike was intended to be a finishing blow!
Fortunately, Kazuki reacted quickly and dodged with ease.
"What are you doing, Yūgao?"
"If you want to marry me, don't you need to defeat all the younger generations of the Uzuki clan? I'm one of them. Am I not qualified to fight you?"
"Of course not, but it was four years ago…"
"It's not like I haven't made any progress in the past four years. Don't underestimate me."
The two communicated and fought simultaneously.
However, Kazuki kept dodging and never attacked, while Yūgao kept swinging her sword with fierce intent!
"Hidden Killing Technique!"
"This feels like parricide!" Kazuki smiled bitterly.
But now, he had no choice but to fight.
He knew that Yūgao stepped into the ring not because she didn't want to marry him, but because she wanted to silence some voices within the Uzuki clan.
As the strongest among the younger generation of the Uzuki clan, she had to fight!
In this battle, if she didn't participate, it wouldn't be considered the full strength of the younger generation of the Uzuki clan!
Moreover, the younger generation of the Uzuki clan had already been convinced by Kazuki. If no one from the Uzuki clan stepped onto the stage, the competition would end early.
Yūgao also wanted to restore some pride for the younger generation of the Uzuki clan.
They could lose, but they couldn't be cowards!
"Stop running and draw your sword! Fight me!" Yūgao urged after a missed strike.
"Um…"
"Just go easy on me, but don't make it obvious—it'll look fake."
Yūgao whispered as she got close to Kazuki.
Kazuki understood.
Acting! Easy enough.
The next moment, Kazuki also started using sword techniques.
"Secret Sword: Moon Shadow!"
"Konoha Swordsmanship: Dance of the Three Suns and Moons!"
"Uchiha-style Swordsmanship: Dance!"
…
The two fought for three hundred rounds before they could decide the winner!
Yūgao was defeated, much to her dismay!
"I'm defeated, let's eat."
Yūgao conceded and turned to leave.
But Kazuki took her hand and said, "Shall we eat together?"
Noticing the gazes of other clan members, Yūgao's face turned red. "No, I've already eaten."
Shaking off Kazuki's hand, Yūgao quickly left the ring.
The audience in the stands had just witnessed a tender moment!
"Have you eaten? I haven't, but I'm full now!"
"Me too."
In truth, they had already guessed that Kazuki went easy on her.
But the strength of Kazuki and Yūgao still impressed them.
Aside from the tender moment,
Their biggest takeaway was the realization of the depth of swordsmanship.
It turns out those secret techniques of the Konoha style can be used in this way!
It turns out swordsmanship can be so powerful!
Watching the duel between two top sword masters was a privilege for all the Uzuki clan members.
Even the Uzuki patriarch and several clan elders, who had been practicing swordsmanship for decades, were no exception.
"This Yūgao is really beyond her peers. As she gets older, the younger generation will no longer be a match for her!"
"That Gekko Kazuki is even more impressive. He has mastered all the mysteries of Konoha at such a young age. And just now… was that Uchiha style? He even integrated Fire Release into his swordsmanship. This kid is terrifying!"
"Haha, Gekko Kazuki's talent is frighteningly high. He might just reach the Kage level!"
"Could he really achieve Kage level just through swordsmanship? I've never heard of such a thing."
"Just because you've never heard of it doesn't mean it's impossible. I think Gekko Kazuki has the potential to reach the Kage level!"
"If Gekko Kazuki can achieve Kage level, maybe we will have a chance to compete for the position of Hokage, hehehe."
"The Hokage position isn't that easy to obtain. Remember what happened with Hatake Sakumo…"
"Be careful what you say!"
The story of Hatake Sakumo wasn't exactly a secret.
The heads of all the clans had heard the rumors surrounding his death.
Because he failed a mission to save his comrades, he was blamed by the villagers and died in despair.
A man so strong,
Yet he blamed himself to the point of committing suicide because of a failed mission?
They found it hard to believe that someone so powerful could have such a weak mentality.
Moreover, the so-called comrades that Hatake Sakumo saved were members of the Hyuga clan. These people were ungrateful and even turned against him. If there was no one instigating this, they wouldn't believe it at all.
Considering the relationship between the Hyuga clan and the Third Hokage, this whole matter seems suspicious.
But no one dared to investigate the truth.
At the Uzuki clan training ground,
Kazuki sat alone on the ring, silently eating.
Everyone in the audience watched him, but no one dared to challenge him.
Many watched the sun slowly move towards the west, growing anxious but knowing they couldn't defeat Kazuki and unable to take any action.
Several hours passed like this,
The sun finally began to set.
The afterglow of the setting sun illuminated the ring, and Kazuki sat silently, doing nothing, even dozing off a little.
"It's almost time; it's time to end this."
Uzuki patriarch looked at Yūgao and said with a smile.
In truth, everything could have ended when Yūgao was defeated.
But since it was declared that the competition wouldn't end until the sun went down, the Uzuki patriarch didn't want to declare it over early.
Afraid of causing rumors that Kazuki won without a fight.
They had learned from experience that rumors could be dangerous, and the Uzuki patriarch didn't want this engagement challenge to become a tool for anyone to challenge Kazuki and Yūgao.
So, they waited until the end of the day to resolve the matter perfectly!
This way, the engagement between the two would be a joyful affair, without any criticism from the younger generation.
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+50 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg
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