Chapter 247: The Final Round, Undercurrents Surging
Before coming, Karin had asked Akiyama Makoto if it would be problematic for her to appear here with her current identity.
Makoto had seriously told her that after today, she could freely enter and leave Konoha, and no one would question her identity again.
On the surface, this was because he had removed her glasses, healed her scars, changed her clothes and hairstyle, and renamed her Akiyama Karin, making her a member of the Akiyama family.
Karin was moved to tears by this answer.
But in reality, Makoto knew that after today, no one would dare to come to the Akiyama house and question this matter.
Yūgao looked at the sickly Gekkō Hayate in the center of the arena, her eyes completely devoid of expression, as if she were looking at a stranger.
It was clear that in her mind, she and Hayate no longer had any friendship to speak of.
In just one month, the change in Yūgao could not be described as small.
But this was also an inevitable result of her withdrawing from the Anbu and returning to daily life.
In the past, the Ninja Academy, the Third Hokage, and her Anbu teammates had shaped Yūgao. In this past month, it was the daily life in Makoto's house that had shaped her.
For example, this morning, he had seen her humming a song while frying eggs for everyone. The Yūgao who used to work in the Anbu probably could never have imagined she would become like this in the future.
While he was looking around the venue, someone was also secretly watching him.
A cold sneer curled Kankurō's lips. Chakra threads danced at his fingertips, wishing he could open Crow right now and teach Makoto a profound lesson.
Temari, following Kankurō's gaze, discovered Makoto. Her heart skipped a beat for no reason, remembering the scene of him healing her.
Then she looked at Kankurō unkindly. "Don't waste your energy on useless things."
"But sister—"
"Enough. Do you want to make Father angry?"
Cold sweat broke out on Kankurō's forehead. He seemed to imagine Rasa's rage, and he was too scared to say another word.
Temari stole one last glance at Makoto, thinking to herself, This is all I can do.
With the sounding of horns, the gates to the arena opened.
Ninja carried palanquins containing various feudal lords and nobles, while the sides of the gate were lined with ninja welcoming them.
The relationship between ninja and nobles was revealed without a doubt at this moment.
Perhaps the Hokage and Kage-level powerhouses could threaten the Daimyō, but for the vast majority of ninja, being loyal to the Land of Fire, to the Daimyō and the nobles, was something they were accustomed to doing.
Seeing this, Makoto couldn't help but feel a little speechless.
On one hand, ninja had the power to destroy heaven and earth. On the other, they were constrained by the Daimyō and nobles.
On one hand, technology had developed to the point of electric lights, televisions, and telephones, and in another ten years, all sorts of high-tech cloning would appear. But corresponding to this was still a feudal hierarchy.
This world was indeed confusing enough.
In the past, he had thought about getting a noble title to make it easier to marry more girls.
But now, he felt it was better to go to the Land of Waves and be a feudal lord, where he could sit on equal footing with the Daimyō of various countries in the future.
Of course, this was also his current thought. The current Makoto was only at the Kage level.
What would he think when he had stronger power? He couldn't give an absolute answer right now.
The experiences of the past year had taught him that as his strength changed, his state of mind would also change rapidly.
His weak self couldn't imagine the state of mind of his strong self.
So he wouldn't think too much about such questions now. What he had to do was constantly become stronger.
At worst, he could just experience life again after becoming the strongest. That would still be more satisfying and comfortable than being weak and worrying about the sky falling every day.
After a complex welcoming ceremony, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally sat on the main podium, and the genin who were about to compete also came to the center of the arena.
At this moment, Rasa swaggered over and sat down next to Hiruzen.
Hiruzen revealed a sincere smile. "You must be tired from the journey, Fourth Kazekage."
"Not at all," Rasa said calmly. "I'm still young. This distance is nothing to me."
"But you, Third Hokage, haven't you decided on a successor yet? Wouldn't it be better to retire early and enjoy your family?"
Hiruzen laughed heartily. "I can still hold on for another five years."
"Well, it seems everyone is here. We can begin—"
Hiruzen then gave an opening speech, and the first match of the tournament officially began. "Now, cough cough... allow me to briefly explain the rules."
Kabuto, disguised as Gekkō Hayate, imitated him to perfection. "In short, the rules of this match are the same as the second preliminary round of the Chūnin Exams."
"The match will continue until one side surrenders or dies."
With their previous experience, plus the fact that they were fighting acquaintances, the ninja present were relatively calm.
Seeing no objections, Kabuto looked at "himself" and said, "First match, Yakushi Kabuto vs. Uchiha Sasuke."
Makoto watched this scene, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Endurance was one thing, but for Kabuto to endure until now, his spy skills were unquestionable.
He was even curious how Kabuto had managed to blend into the Anbu team for a month without being discovered.
Or perhaps someone had discovered him, but he had secretly eliminated them?
Presumably, a professional spy like Kabuto would have his methods.
Sasuke and the fake Kabuto came to the center of the arena. With their entrance, enthusiastic cheers erupted.
Many people had heard the surname Uchiha, knew of the Uchiha's past strength, and knew that Sasuke was a genius.
Everyone wanted to see this contest between geniuses. Unfortunately, they were destined to be disappointed.
As soon as the real Kabuto gave the order, just as Sasuke was about to throw a kunai to test him, the fake Kabuto raised his hand directly.
"I'm sorry. I surrender."
The entire arena fell dead silent, followed by an uproar.
Makoto even had the urge to lead the chant of "Rigged match!", but unfortunately, he wasn't that kind of person.
"Yakushi Kabuto, are you serious?"
The real Kabuto questioned the fake Kabuto with a solemn face. The fake Kabuto coughed twice and said, "I'm sorry. It was already a fluke that I passed the previous exams. I am absolutely no match for the genius of the Uchiha clan."
"It's better to let me stop here."
"No!"
Sasuke roared. "You don't want to win, but I do! If I don't fight you, how can I show my strength?"
Sasuke didn't just want to win; he wanted to show his strength, so he could learn more ninjutsu from Kakashi and Makoto, and even... gain the favor of that sinister guy and become stronger by his side.
"Show me your strength and fight me!"
Seeing Sasuke start to emit lightning and try to rush forward, Kabuto quickly stopped him and forcefully announced the result.
"Uchiha Sasuke wins. Yakushi Kabuto loses."
He then looked back at Hiruzen Sarutobi, indicating that he was following the Hokage's arrangement.
The expression on Hiruzen's face was also a bit awkward. Letting Sasuke fight was intended to show that the Uchiha genius was being well-cultivated in Konoha.
But now that Kabuto had surrendered directly, it turned into Konoha ordaining Sasuke's advancement. It felt a bit like giving special treatment to the Uchiha orphan, as if the people in the Hokage's Office had a guilty conscience.
But what else could he do now? He could only nod.
"My apologies, Fourth Kazekage. I've made a fool of myself. I didn't expect that at this stage, there would still be someone like Yakushi Kabuto with zero fighting spirit mixed in."
Rasa chuckled. "There are always lucky ones. If one can realize early on that they occupy too much benefit by luck, surrendering early might not be a bad thing."
Rasa's words had a hidden meaning, which was almost unconcealed.
He looked at Orochimaru hiding in the audience, at Gaara completely hidden in the shadows and radiating killing intent, and adding his own strength, which he believed to be the strongest among the current Five Kage... taking Konoha in one fell swoop would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?
Hiruzen laughed apologetically, noncommittal.
He looked at the subsequent matches, hoping that they would display exciting ninjutsu and win back some reputation for Konoha.
Fortunately, the next people did not disappoint him.
Second match: Hyūga Hinata vs. Inuzuka Kiba.
Kiba and Akamaru used Fang Over Fang to fly all over the arena, smashing rocks and sand wherever they passed like excavators.
Hinata, on the other hand, appeared to be taking a leisurely stroll. Just by bursting her chakra from time to time, she could easily deflect the attacks of Fang Over Fang.
Seeing this, Makoto knew that she had probably learned Rotation.
She had completed her talent with him, raised her foundation, and regained her confidence by defeating Neji. Plus, after her relationship with Neji had eased, she had probably learned from him. Now, using Rotation should be no pressure for her.
Sure enough, Kiba, with his chakra bottoming out, put all his eggs in one basket. He used the Inuzuka Clan's Man-Beast Combination Transformation: Two-Headed Wolf, and finally unleashed the Fang Wolf Fang.
The intense rotation generated wind blades that mercilessly cut everything around them. This move, which had originally defeated Sakon and Ukon, was now unleashed on Hinata.
Facing the charging Kiba, Hinata was unhurried. With her toes touching the ground and her body spinning, the Hyūga clan's ultimate technique, Rotation, was impressively displayed.
The collision between the Two-Headed Wolf and the Rotation ended with the Two-Headed Wolf being sent flying.
Facing the Two-Headed Wolf in the air, Hinata flipped her wrist and threw a kunai.
This move was very novel to the Hyūga clan members, because they rarely used moves outside of the Gentle Fist.
But her subsequent performance shocked everyone.
Attached to the kunai were chakra threads. The tough chakra threads successfully bound the neck of the Two-Headed Wolf. As Hinata flicked her fingers and applied the Gentle Fist through the threads, the Two-Headed Wolf, which still had combat power, immediately went limp and disintegrated.
Kiba and Akamaru also fainted, because they had essentially been hit in the back of the neck by Hinata at the same time.
Even Kabuto couldn't help but take a second look at her. Powerful Rotation combined with unique chakra thread Gentle Fist... probably only a Jōnin could easily take her down.
"Hyūga Hinata, winner!"
Kabuto announced the result, and the whole arena erupted.
With Makoto's help, Hinata was no longer the little bean sprout she used to be. Her taller figure, coupled with her long hair, gave her quite the Yamato Nadeshiko aesthetic.
And her battle just now had displayed her sharpness. At this moment, even the Hyūga clan members themselves couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Was this still the useless eldest miss they knew?
Hanabi jumped up and cheered loudly for her sister. Hiashi, while applauding, met Makoto's eyes across the field and nodded to him.
Although he was expressionless, Makoto could see his satisfaction.
Satisfied not only with Hinata's growth, but also with the choice he had made back then. It seemed that if he let Hinata sleep at the Akiyama house in the future, Hiashi wouldn't have any objections.
The medical team carried the unconscious Kiba and Akamaru away. After bowing to the audience, Hinata scampered to Makoto's side and sat down prettily, receiving a hug from him.
This scene left Hanabi dumbfounded, and then her face turned red with anger.
Makoto ignored the annoyed Hanabi and began to pay attention to the next match, because this one was Tenten vs. Aburame Shino.
Although he felt Tenten's chance of winning was almost 100%, her opponent was Shino, the man who had never tasted defeat.
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