After days of buildup, the tournament had finally reached its peak in excitement.
That was only natural, given how incredibly high the level of participants was.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say, 'Jonin are a dime a dozen, and Kage-level fighters are practically everywhere!'
With the Seven Ninja, the Sannin, and the Five Kage all joining the competition, this tournament promised to be more intense than ever before!
The only real pity was that the Leader hadn't entered the competition.
But of course, everyone understood that if he had, the outcome would have been a foregone conclusion.
Besides, having the Leader as referee and keeping the arena safe meant no one had to worry about getting caught in the crossfire!
...
Finally, the day of the competition arrived.
Inside the Grand Arena, the crowd roared with excitement!
"Neji, Sasuke, over here!" Naruto shouted energetically, waving his arm through the sea of people.
Neji looked puzzled, glancing to the side. "There are only two of us. Shouldn't he be the one coming toward us?"
Sasuke nodded calmly. "Forget about him. Let's find a seat first!"
"This Grand Arena, big enough to hold two hundred thousand people, is already packed…" Neji murmured. "I remember Konoha used to only have a few dozen thousand!"
Just then, everyone's vision suddenly blurred.
It was like watching a folding chair snap open—space around them suddenly stretched out hundreds of times!
Before anyone could panic or scream, Seiki's voice echoed in their minds.
"Everyone, please remain calm. I've slightly expanded and reinforced the Grand Arena's space. All participating ninja can now fight to your heart's content without worrying about damaging the battlefield with your attacks!"
At these words, the crowd quickly calmed down.
"No wonder Leader-sama is the Leader! His foresight is truly remarkable!"
"Right, whether we spectators or the competitors no longer have to worry at all!"
Although they didn't understand exactly how the Leader had done it, it no longer mattered.
In the crowd, Xianglin softly gasped, "How impressive! Even Aizen-sama considers him a formidable rival. This spatial folding technique is something even you, Brother Sen'nin, couldn't achieve, right?"
Toneri gave a slight nod. "Violently breaking space isn't difficult, but this kind of refined spatial folding technique is beyond my capability. However…"
Xianglin gave him a curious look. "What do you mean, 'however'?"
"What surprises me most is how much ordinary people trust him. This level of trust and admiration is something we only reserved for Aizen-sama!"
Meanwhile, Momoshiki's eyes widened in astonishment. "For a mere mortal to reach such a level, it's quite rare indeed!"
What seemed impressive to Toneri was nothing special to him.
In the Otsutsuki main household, countless individuals could achieve this!
As for Seiki claiming that no matter how fiercely they fought, the space wouldn't collapse—he snorted inwardly in contempt.
Momoshiki sneered, "A frog in a well can't imagine the vast ocean. When I someday reveal even a bit of my true strength, he'll realize how foolish that claim was!"
Kinshiki nodded wholeheartedly. "With just a single glance from you, these foolish creatures would tremble in fear!"
As the two evaluated Seiki, Seiki himself was secretly scoffing, "Are these two Otsutsuki idiots or something?"
It was understandable that Toneri lacked experience, but how could these two also be so shallow-minded?
He wasn't actually folding space, but rather overlapping the Dream World with the Real World — the former being a realm of imagination, the latter, the world of tangible reality — using one to influence the other.
Describing it using terms from those Western fantasy novels he'd read in a past life, the space they were now in was his domain, his divine kingdom.
From the moment they entered this space, their life and death no longer belonged to themselves!
Seiki sighed inwardly, "With this level of intelligence, no wonder they get killed by weakened versions of Naruto and Sasuke in a future Parallel World!"
...
After the space expanded, the Grand Arena transformed from a single ring into eight distinct zones.
"I'm 163!" Neji murmured, looking up at the glowing screen in the sky.
"72," Sasuke stated calmly.
"Hahaha, I'm number one!" Naruto threw his hands on his hips and laughed loudly, "Looks like I'm destined to claim the title 'Number One Under Heaven!'"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "Your laugh gives me a really unpleasant feeling!"
"Heh, so only sensei gives you private lessons?" Naruto grinned smugly, "I also had sensei implant some memories from my Parallel World counterpart!"
Sasuke frowned, "What does that have to do with your laugh?"
Naruto gave an awkward chuckle, "The version of me from that world was imitating your laugh. I tried it out — it was pretty fun!"
Neji mumbled quietly beside them, "More experiences, more growth. Should I also go find sensei?"
At that moment, a voice came over the loudspeaker, "Competitor Naruto Uzumaki, please come to the arena immediately. Failure to appear will be considered a forfeit!"
"Be right there!" Naruto raced toward Zone 1 like his pants were on fire, reminding them as he ran, "Don't forget to come watch my match!"
"We know!" Neji said, looking up at the glowing screen, "Wait, who's his opponent again? Huh, Uncle Hiashi?"
Sasuke also became interested, "Hinata's father?"
Neji grinned mischievously, "I wonder if Naruto has the guts to use that move?"
Sasuke's eyes twitched violently, "You mean the Sexy Technique or the One Thousand Years of Death?"
On the stage, Naruto also stared blankly, "Elder Hiashi?"
Hiashi looked displeased, "You actually made me wait this long. How disrespectful!"
Naruto gave an awkward chuckle, "Well, this just proves how strong and capable you still are despite your age!"
Just then, a soft and sweet voice came from the edge of the ring.
"Daddy, fight hard..."
Hiashi's expression softened slightly, feeling a bit comforted, when he heard his little troublemaker shout again, "And Naruto, you should fight hard too!"
"He used seven more letters than me!" Hiashi's face darkened, immediately storming toward Naruto, "Brat, prepare to die!"
Naruto didn't dare to fight back, continually stepping backward.
Hiashi naturally had no intention of holding back, especially after hearing his little mischief shrieking loudly over there, he struck with full force — trying to kill!
At that moment, the loudspeaker emitted a mechanical reminder.
"Competitor Naruto Uzumaki, please note: You may dodge normally, but deliberately avoiding combat will result in disqualification!"
Hearing the announcement, Naruto's expression turned serious, "Elder Hiashi, I won't hold back from now on!"
Hiashi, with a darkened face, responded coldly, "What relationship do we have that you would hold back? Do you think that's necessary?"
Naruto cautiously asked, "So I really can fight back?"
Hiashi snorted coldly, "Go all out! Don't make me look down on you!"
"In that case, I'll have to be rude!" Naruto suddenly burst forth with an overwhelming aura. Drawing from the experience of the Parallel World, Naruto even entered Sage Mode in an instant.
[Sage Art: Super-Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!]
Seeing the giant Rasengan the size of a hill crashing toward him, Hiashi instinctively used Rotation.
However, the attack shattered his defense instantly.
Hiashi was blasted backward like a cannonball, slamming into an invisible energy wall in the shape of the Chinese character "Great".
Seeing this, Naruto struggled to swallow, "Did I accidentally go too far?"
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