Yes, Gekko Chizan had already calculated before they even left the house that something would definitely happen tonight.
So when Obito won the first match and came back, Gekko Chizan told him.
Find the right opportunity to mock him, and use the most sarcastic tone he could manage.
That was why that crazy round of mocking had just happened.
But his words also stunned everyone.
Yeah—since when do ghosts not fly?
For a moment, everyone looked up at the sky, but even when they raised their heads, they still couldn't see any trace of Gekko Chizan.
Just as everyone was becoming utterly speechless, Obito's voice rang out again.
"Sensei, stop teasing them. If this keeps going, your opponent is going to die of exhaustion."
"Tsk tsk, a jutsu with that big of a range must burn through a lot of chakra."
Hearing Uchiha Obito's words, Kazuma's face instantly darkened.
He glared viciously at the damned kid—bad idea. The moment he looked over, Obito only got more excited.
"Oh? You still have the energy to look at me?"
"You can't even figure out where my sensei is.."
"If my sensei doesn't come out on purpose, you'll stand here and wait until you die, and you still won't find a trace of him."
Kazuma finally snapped, roaring:
"You little bastard! If you shut your mouth, no one will think you're mute!"
"Your sensei—hmph—just a coward, playing hide-and-seek in the middle of an arena."
"Hmph."
The daimyo covered his face the moment he heard Kazuma talk.
Even Yukimura and Masaki could only shake their heads helplessly.
They knew Kazuma's temper well—someone completely incapable of proper social interaction, and every sentence out of his mouth sounded ugly.
It had been hard to accept at first.
But even as Kazuma yelled insults, they didn't stop him. After all, Gekko Chizan had vanished.
If cursing a bit could make him come out, that'd be fine too.
"Tch, a useless screaming."
"Aside from shouting, what else can you even do?"
"Hm? If you've got the skill, go find my sensei first. If not, break the barrier and come down here to chase me."
"Can you?"
Uchiha Obito completely ignored Kazuma's anger. Please—he'd seen way worse arguments.
The aunt next door yelling at the old man was harsher than anything Kazuma could spit out.
Just when Kazuma was about to continue cursing, something new happened inside the arena.
Crack!
The crisp sound of crystal snapping instantly drew everyone's attention.
Crystal began forming around the arena, gathering toward the center and rising higher and higher.
"What is that?"
"My god!"
"A giant??"
Yes—right in everyone's sight, a crystal giant condensed into shape.
Under the glow of the flames, the transparent crystal giant looked incredibly imposing.
"Stop shouting already. You want to fight, right?"
"I'll indulge you."
Gekko Chizan's voice rose calmly, and his figure appeared as well—standing atop the crystal giant's shoulder.
A playful smile covered his face.
He had heard every bit of Obito's earlier mocking. He never expected this kid's mouth to be so smooth. Tsk tsk, look how worked up Kazuma was.
Fuming.
"Hmph!"
"A kekkei genkai? Don't think you can beat me with that."
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wave!"
Kazuma's heart was full of rage. Even facing a giant crystal construct, he didn't back down at all.
His hands flew through hand seals. In the next instant, the platform beneath his feet shattered, massive stones burst from the ground, and began flowing like a river.
The stones surged straight toward the crystal giant.
"Earth Release: Rock Cannon!"
And he wasn't done. Kazuma formed more hand seals, then spat dozens of stones toward the giant's shoulder, where Gekko Chizan stood.
The stones grew larger mid-air, clearly holding powerful force.
"Wind Release, Earth Release—tsk tsk."
"Outside, you'd count as a pretty decent ninja. Too bad your opponent is me."
The crystal giant lifted an arm in defense, while Gekko Chizan began his own sequence of moves.
For once, he actually performed hand seals—over a dozen in a row—before completing them.
He thrust his right hand forward.
Countless crystals gathered once more.
Soon, a massive eight-trigram formation appeared in mid-air.
"What is that? Obito, do you know?"
"Don't ask me, I've never seen this jutsu either."
This was the first time Uchiha Shisui had seen Gekko Chizan fight, and he was utterly shocked. He tried asking, only to find Obito wearing the same expression.
Clearly even Obito didn't know this technique.
If the two of them had never seen it, the daimyo and the others certainly hadn't either. The entire audience was full of disbelief.
They had no idea what Gekko Chizan planned to do.
Only Kazuma felt something different—because the moment the formation appeared, he instantly sensed he'd been locked on.
Yes—locked on. He felt completely exposed before Gekko Chizan.
"Heh, you noticed?"
"Anywhere crystal touches is within my attack range. You can't escape this strike."
"This move is something new I invented. Don't worry—we're colleagues after all, I won't kill you outright."
"Take this."
Gekko Chizan's hands formed the seal, a fierce arrogance flashing across his face.
The next moment, the eight-trigram disc flashed.
Several white beams of light shot out from it.
Boom!
These beams were the same Crystal Release he had used earlier.
But with the eight-trigram disk, they activated even easier—faster, stronger.
Boom!
None of the beams shot toward Kazuma.
But Kazuma's expression turned uglier by the second—because he knew this was on purpose.
Under Gekko Chizan's attack, every Earth Release technique he had just unleashed was completely shattered.
Under the rays, not a single stone escaped destruction.
In just a few breaths, the massive boulders turned to dust.
Such overwhelming force—yet controlled with perfect precision so that not one beam touched him.
In that moment, Kazuma understood the difference between them. No—this wasn't a difference.
This was an unbridgeable chasm.
"Aiya, looks like my control is pretty good."
"So? Kazuma, want to keep fighting?"
Gekko Chizan's teasing voice rang out again, snapping everyone out of their shock.