Suguru watched the next battle with a keen interest.
[Tanji Kazuhiro vs Makino Shigure]
Two Suna shinobi. One was a user of the Puppet Jutsu and the other carried a large fan — presumably a proficient user of Wind Release. They were two long-range fighters.
Unfortunately, Suguru would be disappointed. The arena was enshrouded by a dust cloud the instant the battle started.
The Wind Release of the fan user obscured everyone's vision. Cutting winds flooded the arena sands and became a swirling sandstorm.
Suguru was tempted to activate his Kaisugan to watch. However, he successfully restrained himself.
The battle ended after a few minutes of clashing.
With only the sounds to base on, Suguru guessed that Shigure would have won. However, he was quickly proven wrong.
It seemed like poison was the winning variable.
The puppet user, Tanji Kazuhiro won. Although cuts filled his body, such superficial wounds wouldn't affect his combat capabilities given his fighting style.
The battles continued.
***
[Hattori Daisuke vs Nakahara Asami]
This was a battle between two elemental Ninjutsu users. One was proficient in Earth Release, and the other was skilled in two — namely Wind Release and Fire Release.
Defense and offense.
The winner was quickly decided upon. With Wind Release and Fire Release requiring more chakra to become effective against Earth Release, Nakahara Asami chose to surrender instead of struggling against an inclined plane.
Instead of fighting to the end, she chose a strategic retreat, earning a few praises from the observing jounins.
***
[Tsukamoto Kaori vs Kimura Yoshi]
In the next fight, it was another Wind Release user, Tsukamoto Kaori, up against an Earth Release user, Kimura Yoshi. This battle played out similarly to Daisuke vs Asami. However, Kaori was able to weave a victory into reality.
Her superior speed was an effective strategy against the Ninjutsu-reliant Yoshi.
Their battle marked the end of the first round.
Soon, the list for the second round was released.
***
[2nd Round]
[Tanji Kazuhiro vs Hattori Daisuke]
[Makino Shigure vs Kimura Yoshi]
[Hyuga Ryoko vs Tsukamoto Kaori]
[Hiryu Suguru vs Nakahara Asami]
Upon seeing the new matchups, Suguru nodded. He wasn't able to see much of Asami's fighting style, but he was already sure that he would win.
[Tanji Kazuhiro vs Hattori Daisuke] — Kazuhiro cinched a win yet again. His puppet was able to weave in a poisoned needle through Daisuke's Earth Release. Despite the latter's desperate defense, he still succumbed to the puppet user's poison.
[Makino Shigure vs Kimura Yoshi] — Another Wind vs Earth Release battle, which Yoshi inevitably won upon Shigure's surrender. Similar to Asami who made a strategic retreat, Shigure did the same just a few minutes after testing the waters.
[Hyuga Ryoko vs Tsukamoto Kaori] — This was an interesting, high-speed fight. With Kaori specializing in Wind Release and rapid jutsu usage and Ryoko's discerning Byakugan, there were many tricks and turns throughout the fight. Eventually, however, Kaori was worn down by Ryoko's gentle fist striking her tenketsu when she got impatient and approached for close combat.
Finally, there was [Hiryu Suguru vs Nakahara Asami].
***
Standing on the sandy arena, Suguru gazed calmly at the teenage kunoichi before him. Nakahara Asami was a few years older than Isao and Yumiko — which meant that she was much older than Suguru.
The stark differences in their heights were amusing to the spectators.
However, the uncanny gaze that left Suguru's eyes made many people uneasy. Whenever Suguru glanced briefly at the stands, many civilians would feel a shiver down their spine.
Even the various jounins felt a sense of discomfort in front of his gaze.
"Begin!"
The Suna-nin referee dearly wanted to leave as he hurried the fight along.
Suguru approached Asami with the same speed he displayed in front of Ryoko. With his rapid approach, Asami held her breath. Then, she blew out a wind blade that headed straight for Suguru's neck.
Despite being unable to see the wind blade, Suguru anticipated this attack as his speed suddenly rocketed. Instead of wasting time to dodge, he decided to throw off Asami's timing.
Another wind blade shot towards him, but he had already slowed down.
Then, he sped up again.
This time, Suguru was within striking range. With a swift movement, his fist rose from down low. It was an uppercut aimed to knock someone out in one hit.
Asami barely dodged the strike. Her head shot backward... however, Suguru's fist did not cross her vision.
Instead...
"Ugh—!"
It bore into her stomach, forcing all the air out of her lungs in a very familiar manner.
'I can't believe you'd expose your solar plexus like that,' Suguru cackled as he retreated half a step.
Asami's retaliation missed him and Suguru replied with another punch to Asami's gut.
"Kheuk—!"
Gasping for air, Asami staggered back. However, Suguru was not yet done.
"Have another,"
—Thud.
"Khiek—!"
"And another," Suguru's grin had grown wide.
—Thud.
"Ack—!"
His fists aimed only at a single location: Asami's solar plexus, blasting air out of her lungs every time she tried to take in a breath.
Suguru literally barred her from breathing through a barrage of punches.
The audience began to feel pity and sighed in relief when Asami inevitably collapsed, barely conscious.
"...Winner, Hiryu Suguru!" The Suna-nin's announcement came swiftly.
***
The rounds continued.
[3rd Round]
[Hyuga Ryoko vs Kimura Yoshi] — Ryoko's win was done through superior speed and Taijutsu.
[Makino Shigure vs Nakahara Asami] — Asami's win. The Wind Release of both became a massive headache the moment Asami blew fire into Shigure's sandstorm.
[Hiryu Suguru vs Hattori Daisuke] — Suguru's win was similar to Ryoko and Yoshi's battle.
[Tanji Kazuhiro vs Tsukamoto Kaori] — Kaori's win this time. Kazuhiro could not move his puppets fast enough to combat Kaori's speed.
***
[4th Round]
[Nakahara Asami vs Tsukamoto Kaori] — Kaori wins this through a rapid blitz that she mimicked from Suguru.
[Makino Shigure vs Hattori Daisuke] — This led to a draw from the strategic retreat of both parties to conserve chakra.
[Hyuga Ryoko vs Tanji Kazuhiro] — Kazuhiro won this one due to poisoning Ryoko from afar.
[Kimura Yoshi vs Hiryu Suguru] — Another easy win for Suguru due to his speed.
***
[5th Round]
[Hiryu Suguru vs Tanji Kazuhiro] — A more volatile win, but a win nonetheless for Suguru. Although he had to reveal his skill with the Body Flicker, it was better than getting poisoned. He won the moment he used it.
[Hattori Daisuke vs Hyuga Ryoko] — A surprising draw. Daisuke made a breakthrough with his Stone Skin jutsu, completely blocking off Ryoko's blows. However, he was not good enough to best Ryoko in battle. Thus, they agreed to a draw.
[Tsukamoto Kaori vs Makino Shigure] — Double Wind Release fight. Speed versus Area of Effect. It turns out that no matter how fast you were your fate would be sealed if the opponent's attack spanned the entire area. Shigure won this fight.
[Kimura Yoshi vs Nakahara Asami] — Asami's loss due to Yoshi's superior defenses. She took this opportunity to make another strategic retreat which people now thought of as cowardice.
***
[6th Round]
[Hattori Daisuke vs Tsukamoto Kaori] — Daisuke's win. Kaori's speed was nothing against Daisuke's Stone Skin. Her attacks were ineffective.
[Makino Shigure vs Hiryu Suguru] — Suguru's win. Obstructing vision was meaningless before the Kaisugan. Furthermore, his Great Fireball Jutsu was terrifying within a sandstorm.
[Hyuga Ryoko vs Nakahara Asami] — Ryoko's win. Asami was destroyed in Taijutsu combat.
[Tanji Kazuhiro vs Kimura Yoshi] — Yoshi's win. Learning from Daisuke's mistake, Yoshi made sure that his defenses were foolproof.
***
Finally, the [7th Round].
[Nakahara Asami vs Tanji Kazuhiro] — Asami's shocking win with a self-created Wind-Fire Release combo.
[Makino Shigure vs Hyuga Ryoko] — Shigure's win despite the Byakugan's ability. Ryoko couldn't approach the eye of the storm.
[Hiryu Suguru vs Tsukamoto Kaori] — This rapid battle awed the audience. Suguru's occasional flickers and Kaori's rapid Wind Release had been a thrilling sight. Yet, Suguru won it the moment his attacks struck once.
[Kimura Yoshi vs Hattori Daisuke] Two Earth Release users who decided upon a draw.
Thus came the end of the round-robin battles.
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