Chapter 45 (Patreon)

BOOM!

With all sixty-four of his tenketsu sealed, Naruto was struck by the powerful blast of compressed air and sent flying more than ten meters.

Even after hitting the ground, he continued rolling several times before finally coming to a stop.

His orange-clad body trembled against the arena floor, and he struggled to force himself back onto his feet.

Whoosh!

Seeing that Naruto was still conscious, Hinata gave him no chance to recover.

She immediately reached into her ninja pouch, pulled out a kunai, and threw it.

The kunai curved through the air before striking the ground directly beside Naruto’s head.

Only then did Hinata turn toward Genma.

“Proctor, does this mean I’ve won?”

Genma Shiranui glanced at the kunai and gave a slight nod.

“The winner of the fifth match is Hinata—”

“Wait!”

Naruto’s strained voice suddenly interrupted him.

“I... I haven’t lost yet!”

Genma looked over and saw Naruto forcing himself upright on trembling legs.

Even so, he continued his announcement without hesitation.

“Hinata Hyūga wins.”

“What?!”

Naruto, who had only just managed to stand, immediately protested with surprising energy.

“Come on! I can still fight! Why are you saying I lost?”

Genma’s mouth twitched.

“Kid, do you think this is some kind of turn-based battle?”

Naruto blinked.

“Your opponent isn’t obligated to stand around and wait for you to get back up.”

Genma pointed toward the kunai near Naruto’s feet.

“Look at that. Hinata had no intention of killing you, but you couldn’t react to her kunai at all. If that had been aimed at your head instead of the ground, the match would already be over.”

“That alone is enough for me to declare your defeat.”

“Huh?!”

Naruto grabbed his head and stared down at the kunai, unable to accept what had happened.

“How can that count? I still had a trump card I hadn’t used!”

Hinata glanced at the frustrated Naruto and silently shook her head before turning toward the passage.

Once you find an opening, never give your opponent time to recover.

Mihawk’s teachings echoed in her mind.

Hinata’s approach to battle had become far more decisive.

Even Mihawk had not expected her to act so quickly.

More than surprise, however, he felt pleased.

Had Hinata hesitated and allowed Naruto to recover, she would most likely have lost the match.

Naruto, once he drew upon the Nine-Tails’ chakra, was not someone Hinata could defeat with her current strength.

However, she had taken advantage of Naruto’s lack of combat experience, sealed his chakra network before he could use his hidden power, and then forced the proctor to make a reasonable decision.

Hinata had truly grown.

After sending the dejected Naruto out of the arena, Genma looked toward the Hokage’s viewing platform.

Four matches had now been completed.

The only one remaining was the second scheduled match, which had been postponed because Sasuke Uchiha had failed to appear.

By the official rules, Sasuke should already have been disqualified.

However, a large portion of the audience had come specifically to see the last Uchiha fight. Hiruzen had also personally agreed to move the match to the end of the round.

Genma could not make the final decision on his own.

In the end, after a suggestion from Orochimaru—still disguised as the Fourth Kazekage—it was decided that Sasuke would be given an additional ten minutes.

The minutes slowly passed.

Just as the final moments of the extension were about to expire—

Whoosh!

A whirlwind swept through the arena, scattering fallen leaves across the ground.

Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha appeared in the middle of the stadium in a dramatic entrance, almost exactly as they had planned.

Mihawk looked down at Sasuke before shifting his gaze toward Gaara, who had already turned and begun making his way into the arena.

His red eyes narrowed slightly.

Observation Haki silently spread throughout the stadium.

One... five... seven...

Mihawk counted the hostile presences hidden among the audience.

They can disguise themselves as spectators, but they can’t completely suppress their emotions.

Many of the enemy shinobi had blended into the crowd, but the changes in their emotions could not escape Mihawk’s Observation Haki.

Fear, tension, excitement, and killing intent.

By following those emotional fluctuations, he could determine which members of the audience were actually enemies in disguise.

However, Mihawk had no intention of warning anyone.

First, explaining how he had discovered them would be troublesome.

Second, an opportunity like this was extremely rare.

Mihawk possessed a system that displayed his growth through numerical data, and defeating enemies was the fastest way for him to become stronger.

He had been born during an era of peace.

A small-scale war such as the Konoha Crush was not something that happened often.

Only on a battlefield could he fight and kill enemies without needing to hold back.

There was no reason for Mihawk to give up such an opportunity.

He placed an arm around Hinata’s waist and drew her closer as the two of them looked down at the arena.

The battle officially began.

Among the ten finalists, setting aside Naruto, whose strength could change drastically depending on whether the Nine-Tails’ chakra appeared, the four strongest candidates were Mihawk, Neji Hyūga, Gaara, and Sasuke Uchiha.

Mihawk and Neji’s battle had given the audience an overwhelming visual spectacle.

The fight between Sasuke and Gaara was not quite as destructive, but it still earned thunderous cheers from the stands.

The audience had waited a long time for Sasuke to arrive, and his performance did not disappoint them.

Sasuke moved at incredible speed, using the high-speed taijutsu style he had copied from Rock Lee and mastered through Kakashi’s training.

To the spectators, the long delay had been worth it.

Just as in the original course of events, Gaara lacked experience fighting opponents who could match or surpass the speed of his automatic sand defense.

He was unable to evade Sasuke’s high-speed attacks.

Even the layer of Sand Armor covering his body was soon damaged.

Gaara retreated and surrounded himself with a dense sphere of sand.

Sasuke immediately ran up the arena wall, preparing to use the technique Kakashi had taught him.

However, as he reached a higher point, his pupils suddenly contracted.

From there, he could clearly see the enormous section of wall that had been severed.

He could also see the vast trench that divided the entire arena in two.

The stadium had been prepared for the finalists, which meant the destruction could only have been caused during one of the earlier matches.

The cut was far too smooth and straight to have come from an ordinary ninjutsu.

It looked as though the earth and wall had been sliced apart by a sword.

A sword...

Sasuke’s expression changed.

Was that Mihawk’s attack?

Damn it! How did he do something like this?!

Lightning gathered around Sasuke’s right hand.

Blue-white arcs reflected in his eyes as he glanced toward Mihawk in the waiting area.

The confidence he had gained through his training with Kakashi disappeared, replaced once again by frustration and disbelief.

“The gap between us...”

Sasuke clenched his teeth.

“It can’t be this huge!”

With a sharp cry, he charged down the wall.

The momentum of his descent strengthened the Chidori in his hand, sending lightning scattering in every direction.

A piercing sound filled the arena, like the cries of a thousand birds ringing out at once.

Sasuke thrust his hand forward like a spear.

The Chidori pierced through the protective wall of sand Gaara had formed around himself.

At that exact moment, white feathers began drifting down from the sky.

The Konoha Crush, the joint invasion planned by Sunagakure and Otogakure, had officially begun.