In the arena, the two figures flashed back and forth as kunai and short blade collided again and again, sending countless sparks flying.
Then came another heavy clash, and sparks burst out with a sharp sound!
He only felt a monstrous force transmit through the short blade.
His expression sank slightly as the impact forced him backward, and only after several leaps to disperse the force did he steady himself.
"Hadō #31, Shakkahō!"
After forcing him back with one strike, Seiryū did not stop moving.
With his left hand forming a one-handed seal, he launched an orange-red fireball straight at him!
Boom!
Shakkahō exploded at the point of impact, flames soaring skyward as the blast swept out and the sound wave spread.
But it missed.
He had caught it and used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge.
At the same time, he reached into his ninja pouch with both hands, drawing out kunai and shuriken.
With a forceful flick, they shot straight toward Seiryū!
Clang clang!
The rushing kunai and shuriken collided in midair.
Their original trajectories changed, the angles becoming even trickier, but their target remained the same, sealing off Seiryū's space to evade.
Seiryū's eyes moved back and forth, capturing the paths of the incoming kunai and shuriken.
With a reverse grip on the kunai in his right hand, he easily blocked them and knocked them away!
Seeing all of his attacks blocked, he was not surprised at all, and instead let out a cold laugh.
From that brief exchange just now, he had already judged that Seiryū was not weak.
There was no way he would fail to block even such minor tricks.
The reason he threw out the shuriken and kunai was only to buy time to unleash a ninjutsu with greater power and wider range!
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!!"
Chakra surged within his body as he formed hand seals.
He took a deep breath, his chest swelling at that moment, then expelled a vast curtain of fire from his mouth!
Whoosh whoosh!
The curtain of flames blocked the view as it surged mightily forward.
As if giving Seiryū no room or time to evade, the flames swept over everything ahead, impossible to dodge, impossible to avoid!
"Getting serious now?"
Seiryū narrowed his eyes slightly, but a smile curved at the corner of his mouth, battle intent and restlessness appearing in his eyes.
After forming a one-handed seal, he stacked both palms together and shouted in a low voice, "Hadō #58, Tenran!"
Buzz buzz buzz.
A tornado storm burst from his palms, turning into a violent gale that ravaged everything.
In an instant it blasted forward, meeting the incoming curtain of fire. Before the sweeping and raging tempest, the fire curtain shook violently under the impact.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The surging curtain of flames seemed to be swallowed and absorbed by the tornado storm, becoming a part of it.
Then the spiraling flaming tornado swept back toward him instead.
Its force was overwhelming, and its area of effect was extremely broad.
It covered a huge section of the arena.
"How could this..."
Seeing his Fire Release get turned against him and become an attack sweeping back at him, the three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes suddenly shrank.
Shock and horror appeared on his face!
Something like this was actually possible!?
But there was no time for him to think. He had to respond immediately.
If he was hit by the incoming flaming tornado, he might lose!
"Earth Release: Earth-Core Shift!"
If he could not block it, then he would just dodge it!
He instantly came up with a response, formed seals, and pressed a hand to the ground.
The earth rumbled and shook.
A small section of the ground beneath his feet sank down, instantly dropping several meters.
Using that clever method, he avoided the sweeping flaming tornado.
The people and buildings behind him were the ones who suffered!
The arena for the final round was neither very big nor very small.
But since it was just a venue for selecting Chunin, no one had considered that shinobi surpassing Chunin level would be fighting here.
The preparations had not been sufficient.
So.
The people in that section of the stands, watching the flaming tornado sweep toward them.
All had expressions filled with terror.
"Ahhh!"
"Damn it, run!"
"W-We can't, it's too fast!"
"What do we do? Save me!!"
Many of the people in the stands were civilians who had only come to watch the match.
When had they ever faced something like this?
Not to mention ninjutsu with this kind of power, they had never even faced ordinary basic ninjutsu.
They were already in complete panic.
They could only watch helplessly as the flaming tornado bore down on them.
Just as it was about to slam into the stands, a valiant figure flashed into view.
"You really know how to make trouble for me!"
Tsunade narrowed her eyes and stomped her right leg heavily on the ground.
Boom.
A stone slab flipped up from the ground and rose in front of the incoming flaming tornado.
Although the slab shattered and collapsed, it still blocked this "combined ninjutsu"!
Tsunade shouted toward the platform where Hiruzen sat, "Old man, their strength has already surpassed ordinary Chunin. Get the barrier team here and have them put up a barrier, so there won't be unnecessary casualties!"
Just that kind of ninjutsu alone had already exceeded Chunin standards.
This arena was too small to support a battle between shinobi of that level.
Besides, there were many ordinary people in the stands, and they could be caught in the aftermath and killed or injured.
Hiruzen, seated in the stands, heard Tsunade's words and nodded.
He too was inwardly shocked.
He had not expected these two little ones to be able to release ninjutsu with such power.
Tsunade was right.
These two really had surpassed the standard of ordinary Chunin.
If no measures were taken, then the aftermath of their ninjutsu alone would be enough to affect the civilians in the stands.
He called an ANBU over with a wave and gave an order, "Send the barrier-specialist ANBU over there immediately and make sure the people in the arena are protected."
"Yes!"
The ANBU answered, then vanished in a flash.
"Not bad, not bad. Konoha's new generation has produced many impressive youngsters."
The Daimyō, seated in the highest position, was thoroughly entertained. He smiled at Hiruzen and said, "That red-haired little one should be Tsunade's disciple, right?"
Hiruzen smiled and nodded. "Yes, Daimyō-sama. Seiryū is Tsunade's disciple, and also the strongest genius among the new generation."
"Konoha is developing better and better. Very good!"
"It's all because these youngsters have worked hard themselves."
The two chatted back and forth casually, and the atmosphere was fairly harmonious.
But the representatives of the other shinobi villages in the stands.
All had rather solemn expressions now.
Both of the ones below were Konoha shinobi, and at such a young age they already possessed this kind of strength.
Sure enough.
The foundation of Konoha, the strongest shinobi village in the world, was still too strong!!
If even the new generation was this strong.
Then the older generation, who had been famous for years, could not possibly have remained stagnant.
Konoha had many famous powerhouses renowned across the shinobi world, Konoha's White Fang, the Sannin, and more.
After these years of recuperation and growth, Konoha's strength truly could not be underestimated.
If anyone wanted to act against Konoha, they would have to make far more careful plans and preparations.
(To be continued.)