A/N: Our first goal has been reached, so there will be a Double Release next Monday. Our target is to reach 900 powerstones by Sunday for a Triple Release next week Monday. This story's continuation depends on your support—so don't forget to give the story powerstones! New Goal: 900 Powerstones! Apologies Guys, I forgot to upload Chapter 33 and accidentally skipped it. Its there now. Go back to view it!!!
The majority of the seats in the stands had been filled, and the spectators waited eagerly for the match to start.
Dodai scanned the crowd for a moment, then shifted his gaze to the Raikage. The Raikage gave him a nod, and Dodai nodded back. With that signal, he turned back to the participants and cleared his throat, preparing to begin his speech.
"As you all know, this is the final exam. Those who pass will become Chunin, and the winner of this tournament will earn the right to personally receive their Cloud gear from the Raikage. In addition, to encourage more competition, the Raikage has allowed the winner to make one reasonable request of their choice. If you look into the stands, you'll notice many officials, including the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning himself. While you are competing against each other, you are also representing our village. Perform well, and the Daimyo will have confidence in our village's abilities and the future of our land, giving him peace of mind. With that, I conclude my speech and officially commence this tournament!" Dodai exclaimed, retrieving a piece of paper from his pocket.
'Everything else sounds like the same kind of speech the Leaf gives, but one thing caught my attention—the winner can make a personal request from the Raikage? This could be big. I wonder what I could ask for...'
Folding up the paper and stuffing it back into his pocket, Dodai announced, "The tournament will begin with the first match: Miki vs. Karui!"
Miki and Goro exchanged glances at the same time. Goro could clearly read her emotions; he had felt the same way before his boxing matches in his past life. The only words that came to mind were those his coach had always given him before a fight.
"You've got this," Goro said confidently.
Miki seemed to appreciate his words, as her demeanor grew more determined. "Yeah, thanks," she replied, raising a fist.
A Cloud shinobi flickered into view and pointed toward a small gate behind Dodai, opposite the main gate the participants had originally entered through. "Right this way," the ninja said, turning and walking toward the gate.
Dodai nodded at the participants, confirming that was where they were meant to go.
All the participants headed toward the gate, including Goro, though Atsui trailed behind, making gestures that symbolized Miki should crush Karui.
Irritated, Karui snapped, "Get inside the gate." Atsui was about to argue, but a single glance from Dodai made him quickly fix his demeanor and rush to catch up with Goro.
Putting his arm around Goro, Atsui declared, "She's going to win this, no sweat." Goro nodded in agreement.
'I have to play the role of a good friend, but I doubt she'll win. Karui is extremely skilled.'
The Raikage smirked as he watched Karui. "That's the child who caught Bee's attention, huh? I want to see if my younger brother's judgment is still as sharp as ever," the Raikage mused.
The group of participants who were yet to start passed through the small gate and climbed the steps into a lounge area. The lounge had sofas facing a large row of windows. Above the windows were the stands, and below was the small gate.
"These windows are pretty cool, aren't they?" Atsui asked Goro, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Chuckling in embarrassment, Goro replied, "Yeah, they're pretty cool."
Like the other students, Atsui and Goro took a seat and prepared to watch the upcoming battle.
Dodai stood between Karui and Miki, explaining the rules of the bout. "There is to be no killing. The fight will end when one of you is unable to continue. Is that understood?" Dodai asked.
Karui and Miki both nodded, and Dodai took a step back.
"3, 2, 1, begin!" Dodai yelled.
Karui pulled out the sword strapped to her back, and Miki mirrored her by pulling a kunai from the pouch on her leg.
Wasting no time, Karui rushed toward Miki, intent on finishing the fight quickly and demonstrating the difference in their abilities.
Miki wasn't naive. She immediately understood Karui's intentions and weaved some hand signs, summoning a ball of lightning that shot straight toward Karui.
Sensing the incoming lightning, Karui easily evaded by sidestepping and continued her advance. "That's too slow to ever touch me!" Karui mocked, raising her sword to strike Miki.
Miki jumped back, avoiding Karui's first strike, and shouted, "Lightning Style: Lightning Ball Jutsu!"
This time, Miki summoned not one but three lightning balls, each hurtling toward Karui.
Surprised by the number of lightning balls, Karui paused her assault and retreated, dodging the first ball.
Slightly out of breath from using even more chakra, Miki smirked. "Who's running now?" she taunted, picking up the kunai she had dropped earlier to weave her hand signs.
Karui gritted her teeth as she dodged the second lightning ball.
Meanwhile, Yugito Nii and Miki's mother had just arrived, taking their seats in the stands.
"She needs to capitalize on the openings she's creating…" Yugito thought, clenching her knees in anxiety.
'She's doing better than I expected. Maybe I underestimated her—she has a chance to win.'
"Looks like there are many talented individuals this year," the Raikage mused.
Relief washed over Karui as the last lightning ball closed in. "This one should be easy to dodge," she thought.
As the final ball of lightning neared, Karui leaned back, evading it.
'Checkmate…'
Miki rushed in behind her attack and delivered a heavy punch to Karui's face, sending her crashing to the ground.
Jumping up and down in celebration, Atsui roared, "She did it!"
Goro, on the other hand, didn't join in. He had noticed something Atsui hadn't: Karui, instead of trying to avoid the punch completely, had moved into it, reducing the amount of power it could've had.
Miki turned to Dodai, waiting for him to call the match, while glancing at Karui to make sure she was down for good.
What puzzled Miki was that Dodai didn't call the match, even though Karui hadn't moved for several seconds. Frustrated, Miki approached Dodai and demanded, "Why haven't you called the match yet?!"
Dodai pointed at Karui, who had risen to her feet once more. "That's why."
'Just as I thought… She minimized the damage. That's an incredibly smart move—something only high-level professionals would do intentionally in boxing. I never expected her to have the battle IQ to pull that off. It's impressive. I'm sure the Raikage is impressed too.'
Seeing Karui back on her feet, Miki took a combat stance again and rushed in to finish the fight.
'No! Her kenjutsu is extremely advanced—it's not smart to engage her like this—'
Karui's movements were fluid. Using the blunt end of her sword, she parried Miki's attack, knocking her down to the ground. Miki tried to push herself up, but Karui raised her sword and brought the blunt side down on Miki's head, knocking her unconscious.
Dodai raised his hand, calling the match, and four medical ninja swarmed the battleground, lifting Miki onto a stretcher.
"Let go of me! I'm going down there to see if my baby is okay!" Miki's mother cried, making a fuss.
Yugito held onto her, preventing her from running onto the arena floor. "Mom, the Raikage is right there. We have to maintain proper etiquette," Yugito urged.
"I wish I could jump down there too, but there isn't much I could do for her. I'd only embarrass her. The medical ninja are already carrying her out, so she's in good hands. We can meet them at the hospital," Yugito reasoned.
Once Miki was carried out of the arena, Yugito released her grip and prepared to accompany her mother to the hospital. But her mother stopped and looked her in the eyes.
"Namaki has no one to watch and cheer for him. You will stay behind to do that," her mother commanded.
As Yugito was about to protest, her mother cut her off. "I heard from Miki what you did to that boy last week. As an apology to him, you will stay here and watch him fight."
Defeated, Yugito sighed and returned to her seat.
Reminder: Our target is to reach 900 powerstones by Sunday for a Triple Release next week Monday. This story's continuation depends on your support—so don't forget to give the story powerstones! New Goal: 900 Powerstones!