"Shisui, you're really not cutting it!"
"They're both dragons—how come your Fire Dragon can't beat his Water Dragon?"
"Honestly, your body's just too weak. That guy looks like a walking corpse. If it were me, I'd open Three Gates and beat him to death!"
Obito slapped Shisui on the shoulder.
Shisui, already frustrated from failing to defeat the opponent, grew even more irritated from Obito's pat.
He tried to knock Obito's hand away, but Obito didn't give him the chance. He tightened his arm around Shisui and continued lecturing.
Seeing the two like this, Gekko Chizan shook his head helplessly.
But inside, he actually thought this was pretty good.
Obito was an Uchiha—sooner or later he'd get involved in clan affairs. All these years he had followed him and Kakashi around.
As an orphan, he had drifted away from the clan. Getting him closer to other Uchiha wasn't a bad thing.
Though Shisui was also a bit of a rebel.
"Next up, Chizan-kun, it's your match with Kazuma."
"May the sparring be peaceful."
The final match had real weight, enough to make even the Daimyo stand and say a few words.
Gekko Chizan walked onto the arena with a smile, and Kazuma did the same.
The two faced each other.
"Begin!"
This last match was the one the Daimyo most wanted to see.
He knew Kazuma's strength, and he had always been curious about Gekko Chizan.
How strong was the young man who had taken down Hanzo on the battlefield?
Did he have kage-level skill like the Yellow Flash of the Leaf?
As the Daimyo's voice fell—
Kazuma moved. A four-bladed iron claw instantly formed on his left hand.
It was similar to the chakra blades Sarutobi Asuma would use in the future.
He could gather chakra along the blade and then attack the enemy. With Kazuma's wind nature, the iron claw's chakra gain also had piercing power.
"So it starts like this, huh."
"Alright then."
"Shadow Clone."
Gekko Chizan watched Kazuma rush him, used a Replacement Technique to take Kazuma's first strike.
The wooden stump substitute was shredded by Kazuma's iron claw, and then ten Gekko Chizan appeared behind him, launching attacks. Clearly, they were clones.
Using Replacement together with Shadow Clones, Gekko Chizan moved fluidly.
Surrounded by clones, Kazuma didn't panic. One hand hit the ground and he spun into a Thomas-style whirlwind kick, using strong kicks to keep all the clones away.
But when he looked back at Gekko Chizan, the latter had vanished.
Kazuma frowned.
Where did he go???
The clones continued attacking. These weren't Water Clones weakened in combat—these were the Shadow Clones created by the Second Hokage.
They didn't endure much damage, but the damage they caused was absolutely real.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."
Taking hits wasn't Kazuma's style. His Wind Release blasted forward.
The roaring storm sent three clones flying, smashing them into the others behind.
White smoke burst out as seven clones vanished at once.
People beneath the stage showed their surprise.
Even the two little Uchiha brats were stunned.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough was a C-rank jutsu, yet on stage Kazuma unleashed terrifying force.
Normally this jutsu creates strong wind from the mouth to restrain the opponent, its scale depending on the user.
But Kazuma didn't expand it with chakra—instead he compressed the storm, increasing its destructive power within a limited area.
That was how he blew away so many of Gekko Chizan's clones.
The remaining three clones didn't hesitate. They charged Kazuma again.
Kazuma was indeed strong enough to serve as captain of the Daimyo's ninja forces. His taijutsu and ninjutsu both carried real force.
Three clones relying only on taijutsu couldn't do much. They were quickly destroyed by his iron claw.
With the last clone gone, Kazuma frowned even deeper—Gekko Chizan still hadn't appeared.
The huge arena held only him now.
"Hm? Where is Chizan-kun?"
"Yukimura, Masaki—did you see him?"
Not only the Daimyo—no one could find Gekko Chizan anywhere.
"Heh heh heh heh, what do you think 'Ghost of the Leaf' means?"
"If you can't find him, can't see him, can't touch him—then he's a ghost."
"My teacher's concealment skills are unrivaled. Forget that guy on stage—even if a stronger ninja were here, unless my teacher chooses to reveal himself, they'd never find him."
Ever since Obito followed Gekko Chizan, both his strength and life had improved drastically.
Now he was completely his teacher's little fanboy. Watching everyone search wildly for Gekko Chizan—
He couldn't resist teasing them.
Hearing his words, people remembered Gekko Chizan's nickname: Ghost.
Right—if he could be found, what kind of ghost would he be? The empty arena explained everything.
"Th-this… how do we continue the match like this?"
"Chizan-kun, this won't do."
The Daimyo was speechless—this kid wasn't playing by the rules at all.
He hid himself completely—how could the match continue?
Helpless, the Daimyo spoke up.
"Your concealment is very impressive. We understand."
"Come out and continue the match."
But no matter what the Daimyo said, Gekko Chizan did not appear.
Kazuma searched everywhere and still found nothing. Even the Daimyo couldn't force him out.
With no other choice, Kazuma used another technique.
"Wind Release!"
After completing the hand seals, Kazuma leapt high and unleashed countless gales and wind blades across the entire arena.
"Boom!"
Wind blades and violent gusts tore across the ground, filling the air with dust.
Yet—another unexpected scene.
Even though the entire arena had been swept by the Wind Release—Gekko Chizan was nowhere.
Even Kazuma widened his eyes.
As the caster he knew: his technique had covered the entire field.
How could there be a blind spot?
"Pfft… hahahaha!"
"Sorry, I really couldn't hold it in."
"Is your intel all fake?"
"What kind of ghost walks on the ground? Ghosts fly!"
Obito doubled over laughing as he complained. And he wasn't making it up—these were things his teacher had taught him beforehand.
Otherwise, even with ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare say it.