Chapter 522: Intelligence, Kakashi
The lounge fell silent.
Aside from Kakashi and Obito, who already understood just how terrifying Guy could be, only Nagato and Sasori remained composed thanks to their own exceptional strength. Everyone else was still stunned by the sheer force of that punch.
"Such power and speed. He's gotten much stronger." Kisame's pupils tightened, shock flashing through his eyes.
What puzzled him even more was Guy's condition.
"And how did he block that explosion just now?"
Guy had won, yet only his clothes looked slightly damaged. There were no obvious injuries on his body at all. It did not look like someone who had taken an Explosion Release blast head on.
"He's even more of a monster than last time. Good thing I won't run into him before the finals." Mei quietly exhaled, feeling lucky.
She had drawn number twenty five, which was relatively late. That meant she either would not meet Guy at all, or she would only meet him in the finals.
To be honest, if she could even reach the finals, she would have already exceeded her goal. Mei's target was the final four. As long as she got a prize, whether third or fourth, the trip would not be wasted.
"He does have brute strength." Mangetsu admitted Guy's taijutsu was frightening.
Then he curled his lips into a confident smile.
"But with me here, you won't make it past the quarterfinals."
The Hozuki Clan's secret Hydrification Technique specialized in countering physical attacks. No matter how strong the taijutsu, it should not work against someone who could liquefy their body. Mangetsu was number sixteen. If he and Guy both advanced, they would meet in the quarterfinals.
Thinking of that, Mangetsu's gaze shifted to Kakashi.
Kakashi was number fifteen, his opponent in this round.
Noticing the look, Kakashi calmly met Mangetsu's eyes.
Mugetsu's battle record had already proven that Lightning Release sword techniques were an effective way to deal with Hydrification. Against someone he naturally countered, Kakashi would squeeze every advantage out of his kit.
"Number thirteen, Rin Nohara versus number fourteen, Haiyan!"
After Guy returned to the lounge, the referee's voice quickly echoed again.
"Rin, you can do it!" Obito immediately cheered. "You have to believe in yourself. You're actually really strong!"
Rin's opponent was not one of the dangerous shinobi they had been tracking. He was just an ordinary Iwagakure participant who survived the preliminaries. Obito felt Rin could handle it.
"Mmm. Thank you, Obito." Rin smiled gently as she stood and headed for the arena.
In truth, Rin was not as lacking in confidence as Obito assumed. The four preliminary matches had already shown her the general level of this tournament. She might not be top tier, but she was firmly upper middle.
"No matter what happens in a fight, stay calm," Kakashi reminded her. "If you keep your head, you'll be fine."
"Thank you, Kakashi." Rin waved at her teammates, then stepped onto the field and settled into her stance.
"Begin!"
The moment the referee called it, Haiyan used Body Flicker to pull back and threw several shuriken.
He was not fooled by Rin's delicate appearance. He had intelligence on her. He knew her taijutsu strength did not match her build at all.
Clang, clang!
Rin drew kunai from her pouch and knocked the shuriken out of the air with crisp, clean movements. Her fundamentals were solid, even beyond her medical specialty.
"Earth Release: Rock Pillar!"
Haiyan formed hand seals quickly. The ground beneath Rin shuddered.
Sensing the danger, Rin immediately focused her breathing, boosting her physical strength, and sprang upward with explosive force.
In the next instant, jagged rock pillars surged out of the earth.
"Earth Release: Rock Iron Cannon Technique!"
Haiyan seized the timing. While Rin was airborne and had limited room to dodge, he spat out a small stone.
It expanded in flight, swelling into a cannonball sized boulder.
"Chakra Enhanced Strength!"
Rin drove her chakra into her fist and punched.
Boom!
The stone cannonball shattered in midair. Blood streaked across Rin's knuckles, and her fist bore fresh cuts from the impact.
Rin landed atop one of the rock pillars, calmly formed hand seals, and cast medical ninjutsu on herself. In the blink of an eye, her injured hand returned to normal.
Haiyan frowned. This was going to be troublesome.
His opponent was not only a taijutsu powerhouse, she also had medical ninjutsu and could heal herself midfight.
Before Haiyan could fully assemble a new plan, Rin moved.
She gathered chakra into her feet and kicked. The rock pillar Haiyan created snapped free and shot toward him like a projectile. At the same time, Rin ran forward while rapidly forming hand seals.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
A thick stream of water, nearly a meter wide, roared from her mouth, advancing together with the flying rock pillar.
Wild Water Wave was basic, but in the hands of someone with a solid foundation, it still carried real pressure.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
Haiyan did not panic. He chose defense, raising a thick earthen wall from the ground.
Rumble!
The rock pillar slammed into the wall, shaking it violently, but it still failed to break through.
Then something Haiyan did not expect happened.
The rushing water stream shifted shape under Rin's control, twisting into a water dragon that curved around the wall and crashed into him from the side.
Mei's eyes widened.
That was her technique.
When did this Konoha kunoichi learn it?
Whoosh!
Rin instantly seized the opening. Using Water Instant Body, she closed the distance and ended the fight with a single Chakra Enhanced Strength blow.
"Rin Nohara wins!"
When Rin returned to the lounge, she barely had time to share her victory before the referee called the next match.
"Number fifteen, Kakashi Hatake versus number sixteen, Hozuki Mangetsu!"
Hozuki Mangetsu immediately stood, puffed out his chest, and strode toward the arena as if he had already won.
Mei's mouth twitched.
What was wrong with this guy? Winning in your head before the fight starts is a classic taboo.
"Kakashi, good luck." Rin finally let out the breath she had been holding and smiled.
Kakashi nodded and walked out as well.
"My dear friend, I look forward to facing you in the quarterfinals!" Guy shouted after him, full of heat and sincerity.
It sounded arrogant, declaring the quarterfinals when the first round was not even finished, yet nobody in the lounge found it strange.
Guy had the right to say it.
So far, seven matches had been fought. Guy finished the fastest. Even Nagato was slower, and Nagato's opponent had not been weak.
Kakashi's steps paused for a heartbeat, then he continued forward.
Obito could not help laughing twice. He had guessed Kakashi's mood and was enjoying it far too much.
"Kakashi, just wait. Your punishment is coming," Obito thought, nearly giddy.
Because the Youth Martial Arts Tournament overlapped with their scheduled internal competition, the internal competition had been canceled. Instead, the two disciples with the worst performance in this tournament would receive punishment.
Since Rin had never participated in the internal competition before, she had set her own goal this time.
Her goal was simple. Advance past the first round of the elimination stage.
Now that she had done it, she would not have to suffer punishment.
Obito felt relieved she had not set something too high, like reaching the quarterfinals. If she had, she might have been forced into punishment.
Mei kept her eyes on the arena.
Even if Mangetsu was a little strange in the head, his talent was real.
Standing at the center of the field, Kakashi lifted his gaze toward Sosuke, the organizer seated high above.
"Sosuke… what exactly are you trying to do?" Kakashi wondered.
Is it because you have a student like Nagato, so you're confident no one else can take your ninjutsu?
But if the second prize, the custom ninjutsu, is not developed well enough, wouldn't that damage the Ninja Master's reputation?
The moment Kakashi linked Nagato to Sosuke, his mind jumped to the future Akatsuki, the one that would terrorize the shinobi world. His head throbbed.
There were too many questions, and he knew too little.
Kakashi forced those thoughts down and focused on the battle in front of him.
His current strength was not enough to interfere with someone at the Ninja Master level. Right now, the only thing that mattered was winning.
"Begin!" the referee shouted.
Whoosh!
Mangetsu drew his blade in a flash, chakra surging as he slashed at Kakashi.
Clang!
Kakashi calmly drew his White Fang short blade and blocked. Steel rang out, sharp and clean.
"Water Release: Great Water Arm Technique!"
Mangetsu gathered the water in his body into his sword arm. In an instant, the arm swelled with bulging muscle as its power spiked explosively.
Kakashi felt the pressure and immediately focused his breathing to reinforce his own strength, then pulled away and retreated.
"Water Release: Water Gun Technique!"
Mangetsu raised his left hand like a pistol. A single droplet launched from his fingertip like a bullet, shooting toward Kakashi's chest.
But Kakashi had already entered Transparent World the moment he created distance. Mangetsu's movement was clear in his perception.
Kakashi twisted his body slightly, letting the water bullet whistle past.
"Hm. He dodged that?" Mangetsu's eyes widened in surprise.
Whoosh, whoosh!
While moving, Kakashi threw several shuriken.
Mangetsu saw they were ordinary, with no nature transformation and no explosive tags, and did not dodge. He stood still, trying to lure Kakashi into committing further.
But Kakashi knew Hydrification. He would not fall for it.
The shuriken passed cleanly through Mangetsu's body and struck the ground behind him.
"Tch. Boring."
Mangetsu clicked his tongue and attacked again.
Kakashi's gaze sharpened.
"I've got enough information," he thought. "Now it's my turn."
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 10–50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Soul Land, NBA, and more — all in one place.]