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But to avoid any embarrassing upset, Tōji needed to observe every contestant carefully.

"Three! Two! One! Begin!" Shinku shouted and used Body Flicker to leap back.

Gan Kotetsu pulled a strangely shaped blade from behind his back—the handle resembled a kunai's, and the curved blade reminded Tōji of a willow leaf, though it was slightly wider…

Shinobi weapons came in all shapes and sizes, and since Tōji wasn't familiar with most of them, he could only watch for the spectacle.

The guy called Yanagiroi, on the other hand, had an unusual appearance…

Wearing glasses was already rare among shinobi—and on top of that, he had on a pale green construction helmet?

Tōji had no idea what was going through such a "master's" mind, so he just focused on the match…

After Shinku announced the start, both Kotetsu and Yanagiroi drew their weapons, but neither made the first move.

Yanagiroi used Body Flicker to leap into the trees along the edge of the arena…

The arena wasn't just an open field—it had trees scattered around, a small pond, a sandy patch, and some bushes.

Though it might affect the spectators' view, this diverse terrain was more realistic for battlefield conditions.

Kotetsu also used Body Flicker to slip into the bushes…

『Now this feels like ninja. What proper shinobi fights head-on like a warrior—unless it's a full-scale battle on open plains.』 Tōji found this opening quite satisfying.

By mid-March, Konoha was already as warm as summer in his memory. A cool breeze rustled the dense leaves of the trees and the sparse reeds by the pond.

The bushes and grass showed unnatural movement!

"They're closing in on each other!" Natchi seemed excited, even though the civilian spectators couldn't see anything.

Clang! From the grass, the two contestants' weapons clashed once before both leaped out onto the open ground.

The moment Kotetsu's feet touched the grass, he pushed off hard to gain momentum…

Whoosh~ whoosh~ Kotetsu's strange curved blade spun through the air toward Yanagiroi.

Yanagiroi had just jumped out of the grass but had a few seconds to adjust—he could have ducked or bent over to dodge the attack.

But he didn't. Instead, he hopped a short distance to the outer open ground to evade!

Kotetsu's lips curled upward. "Got you!"

Poof! The strange curved blade made a soft sound and transformed into a small ball-shaped object in a puff of white smoke…

"What?!" Yanagiroi knew something was wrong—what kind of projectile was this?!

"Ah!" Yanagiroi cried out!

It wasn't because he'd been injured—it was a flash bomb! Yanagiroi had been blinded in that instant.

The civilian spectators were still bewildered, only seeing a blinding flash of light. The next thing they knew, Gan Kotetsu had his strange curved blade pressed against Yanagiroi's left shoulder…

Yanagiroi couldn't open his eyes at that moment, but he knew he'd lost. He said decisively, with a hint of disappointment, "You win."

Shinku used Body Flicker to appear beside Kotetsu, glanced at both contestants, and announced loudly, "Winner—Gan Kotetsu!"

Then he waved toward the side, signaling the medical team to enter, and called toward the contestants' waiting room, "Kamizuki Izumo and Akamon Manabu—please enter and prepare!"

"First match over in just a few minutes." This was Tōji's first time watching this kind of shinobi match. 『It's completely different from the brawler-style fights in the anime!』

At the Academy, it was mostly students trading taijutsu blows. On the battlefield, you had to consider terrain, numbers, and squad tactics… But this arena was just one-on-one shinobi combat between fairly evenly matched opponents.

Natchi, sounding like he hadn't had enough, said, "Gan Kotetsu's pretty strong!"