Each arena was quite spacious, measuring a full ten kilometers on each side. Under normal circumstances, even consecutive Tailed Beast Ball attacks wouldn't cause significant disruptions.
Precisely because of this consideration, Kisame had become careless.
Fortunately, Samehada lying beside him stood up and leaned the skull on its hilt onto Kisame's body.
Samehada flowed chakra into Kisame, rapidly healing his wounds.
Soon, Kisame stood up again.
After determining the match outcome, A appeared on the arena like a flash, lifting B onto his shoulder. He glared at Kisame. "Daring to show up at this tournament again—you've got guts, I'll give you that!"
Kisame chuckled nonchalantly. "This is the World's Strongest Ninja Tournament, not the Alliance's strongest, right? There's no rule saying we can't participate, is there? Or are you guys really that narrow-minded?"
A snorted coldly. "No need to provoke me. The world has long moved past the point where it can carry relics like you from the old era."
Kisame slung his large sword over his shoulder and began walking away. "Relics from the old era? Not anymore. We are the Void that sees the truth of the world after the dawn!"
"The Void?" A's expression turned solemn. "So you're one of the two mysterious organizations mentioned by the Leader back then. Finally, you're coming out into the open, huh?"
At this moment, Tarui approached. "Raikage-sama, two more people wearing the same mask have appeared!"
"What?" A widened his eyes. "Where are they?"
"Arena No.2 and Arena No.8!" Tarui replied. "The one at Arena No.2 is likely the Mist rogue ninja Raiga Kurosuki. But his Lightning Sword was confiscated years ago, so we can't be certain yet... As for Arena No.8, judging by the figure, it seems to be a young girl, but there's no matching information on file for her!"
A first turned his gaze to Arena No.2. Opposing the masked figure there was Mist's Chojuro, the current wielder of the Fangs of Lightning.
"Umm... Senior, could you please stop staring at me like that?" Chojuro said shyly, clearly uncomfortable with the masked figure's fiery gaze.
"Kid, do you even know who the previous owner of this blade was?" Ruiga asked menacingly.
"I know," Chojuro answered, scratching his head bashfully. "His name was Raiga Kurosuki. I heard he was a useless coward, just like me!"
Raiga nearly died of rage. Trembling, he stammered, "W-What did you say? Do you even realize he was the only survivor from the previous generation of the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist?"
"I know," Chojuro nodded. "I heard he survived because he was a coward who knew how to run. That's why people in the village called him Kurosuki the Runner!"
"Aaaaargh!" A baboon-like roar erupted from Raiga Kurosuki. "You're making me so mad! Just wait until I kill you!"
He raised both hands above his head and summoned thunderbolts from the sky. Then, just like hurling a spear, he flung the lightning bolt directly at Chojuro.
[Lightning Release: Raiga's Fang!]
This ninjutsu, once only usable with the aid of his ninja blade, was now effortlessly executed with the help of the mask.
Chojuro crossed his blades in a protective X in front of his chest. Although the Lightning Sword could absorb Lightning Release techniques, the chakra within the lightning was too intense. Even the stray energy sent him flying!
"So powerful!" Landing heavily, Chojuro lifted his numb hands with great effort and stared in shock at his opponent. "If you, Senior Ruiga, wielded the Lightning Sword, you could definitely restore its honor that was disgraced by the previous senior!"
Ruiga's eyes flared with fury. [Lightning Release: Thunder Dragon Projectile]
In the next moment, a dragon formed from lightning emerged from the clouds, roaring as it dove toward Chojuro!
Seeing this, A had no interest in watching any further. His expression turned serious. "Even a member of the Seven Ninja without a Ninja Blade has been enhanced to this level. That mask... and the person who created the mask—it's terrifying just thinking about it!"
"It's not just the mask," Darui's voice was low. "Xianglin at Arena Stage Eight seems to not have used the mask's power at all. She's matching Tsunade-sama head-to-head solely with her own strength!"
Upon hearing this, A shifted his gaze toward Arena Stage Eight.
On the arena stage, both sides were fighting in a brutal and savage way.
With a stomp of her foot and a raise of her hand, Tsunade made the earth and air tremble and wail. She even grabbed an entire layer of earth and hurled it at her opponent. Facing her, the masked man's eight thick chains swung wildly, lashing out and shattering the flying rocks and earth.
The arena constantly echoed with thunderous explosions!
Compared to their violent fighting methods, what shocked people even more was their stamina.
No matter how severe their injuries, both regenerated their injuries instantly before clashing again!
Watching from the sidelines, Toneri otsutsuki wasn't surprised by this development. While Xianglin's talent was indeed exceptional—perhaps the best besides himself—the gap in combat experience still made her slightly inferior to Tsunade.
However, for a Medical Ninja, unless the skill gap was overwhelmingly one-sided, most battles usually turned into endurance contests!
"It seems like this won't end in a short time," A shook his head slightly, unable to help but curse, "Besides recruiting remnants of the Akatsuki organization, where exactly did that Xu organization find these people from on earth?"
Darui replied gravely, "She and Toneri otsutsuki are still young, yet their strength is extremely formidable. This reveals how vibrant and energetic that organization is!"
"Just like Leader said, all sorts of strange beings have indeed come out!" A coldly remarked. "I'd like to see what other fish this tournament can reel in besides the otsutsuki and Xu organization!"
...
Although people were surprised by the Akatsuki organization reviving, most just expressed shock before losing interest, due to their trust in the Alliance and the Leader.
At the edge of Arena Stage Five, Hiashi spoke earnestly to Neji, "Neji, you're the last hope for our clan. No matter what, you absolutely cannot be eliminated in the first round!"
If the entire Hyuga clan were eliminated in the first round, how could he face the Uchiha clan as an equal prestigious clan?
Neji was full of confidence, "I'm aiming for the championship. How could I possibly get eliminated in the first round?"
Hiashi was pleased and nodded, "Good boy! The honor of the Hyuga clan rests on your shoulders!"
Stage 5, Match 163: Neji Hyuga versus Momo otsutsuki!
"Momo otsutsuki?" Neji's gaze sharpened slightly. Ever since Otsutsuki Urashiki caused chaos during the Jonin Exam three years ago by proclaiming the might of the Otsutsuki clan, many had taken up names like "Otsutsuki So-and-so" just to draw attention.
Yet encountering such a name at the World's Strongest Ninja Tournament was still remarkable, especially so soon after witnessing that battle with Toneri otsutsuki!
On the other side, Momoshiki gave a light raise of his eyebrows. "Finally my turn? Heh, letting them crawl beneath me... What came next again?"
"This kind of force is difficult to control!" Kinshiki reminded him.
Momoshiki nodded in satisfaction. "That's a good line. Once I kill that bastard, it's all mine!"
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