Whoosh.
With a piercing whistle, Ryuzetsu was the first to reach the battlefield.
Ignoring the surrounding devastation, she quickly found Chino in a pit and asked, "Chino, are you okay?"
Chino, dazed, replied, "I think I'm fine!"
In that final strike, she'd abandoned defense, landing a punch on Yakumo's chest while taking a hit to her shoulder. Though half her body was numb, she didn't feel anything too serious.
"You scared me to death!"
Ryuzetsu let out a sigh of relief.
On the other side.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Tsunade, Kakashi, and the others soon arrived, finding Yakumo in a tree hollow where Chino's strike had sent her.
Seeing Tsunade, Yakumo tried to rise and bow. "Lady… Lady Tsunade…"
"Don't move!" Tsunade hurried into the hollow, checking Yakumo's condition. Her expression darkened. "Two broken ribs and multiple lacerations. Stay still!"
"Just two broken ribs?"
Yakumo smiled faintly.
It was better than she'd expected. Every breath tugged at her chest wounds, causing sharp pain. She'd feared internal organ damage, but it was only muscle and bone.
Tsunade said no more, focusing on treating Yakumo.
Shizune fretted nearby. "How did she get hurt this badly?"
Kakashi, Sasuke, and the others surveyed the battlefield, their expressions growing grim.
The scene was more extreme than they'd imagined, like a typhoon had torn through.
Given Yakumo's injuries and the battlefield's remnants, cautious Kakashi summoned the accompanying Anbu, ordering them to secure the area and keep other villages' shinobi away.
Ino swallowed hard. "This is insane. Isn't it a bit too much?"
Shikamaru, face dark, said, "Don't be foolish. She was probably targeting Yakumo all along!"
Sasuke approached a wooden stump, touching its cut. The edge was smooth, as if sliced by a divine weapon. The stump was two meters wide—he couldn't fathom what blade or tool could cut it so cleanly.
Shion, curious, asked, "Uh, who won?"
Her question drew everyone's eyes to the pit in the distance.
In the pit.
As Ryuzetsu treated Chino, she asked, "Feeling better?"
"Yeah, I can keep fighting!"
Chino stood, ready to climb out.
Ryuzetsu pressed her shoulder, pulling a new pair of contact lenses from her pouch to cover Chino's blood-red Ketsuryugan.
Chino nodded and leaped out of the pit.
Seeing Chino emerge, looking eager to continue, the Hidden Leaf group was stunned.
"What?!"
"She's not hurt?"
"Did Yakumo lose?"
The Grass shinobi could still fight, while Yakumo was barely mobile. The winner was clear!
Even Kakashi was shaken. He hadn't expected Yakumo to lose!
Chino approached, glancing at the tree hollow. "Is she okay?"
The Hidden Leaf students tensed, as if facing a great enemy.
Looking at Chino's youthful face, they felt only deep wariness, their earlier disdain for Grass shinobi gone.
Kakashi sighed. "You won this challenge."
Hearing Kakashi declare Chino's victory, Tsunade's face grew darker in the hollow.
Yakumo, apologetic, said, "I'm sorry, I let you down."
Tsunade shook her head. "I saw the battlefield. This isn't your fault. I've been too arrogant, underestimating other villages' geniuses."
Yakumo quietly sighed in relief.
She felt a twinge of guilt. Both she and Chino had Ketsuryugan. If Tsunade pressed the issue, Yakumo wasn't sure how she'd explain her own.
Outside.
Kankuro, blocked by Anbu, demanded, "Why can't we go in? Is Hidden Leaf hiding something?"
Hidden Sound's Kidomaru echoed, "Yeah, we just want to see the result!"
Hidden Rock's Kurotsuchi and Hidden Mist's Ringo Ameyuri stayed silent, but their displeasure was clear.
As the crowd clamored to enter, Chino and Ryuzetsu emerged, with Kakashi beside them.
Seeing Chino relatively unharmed, the other shinobi guessed the outcome.
Ringo Ameyuri blocked Chino's path, asking coldly, "Who won?"
Chino tilted her head. "Me, of course!"
"Hiss."
"No way!"
"Who is this tiny Grass shinobi to beat Yakumo Kurama?"
Despite their suspicions, the other villages' shinobi couldn't hide their shock at the confirmation!
"Interesting!"
Ringo Ameyuri gave Chino a deep look before turning to leave.
The crowd dispersed amid gasps and murmurs.
Watching them go, Kakashi sighed again.
Yakumo's defeat pushed the situation to a breaking point. If they couldn't win back their honor soon, the village's prestige would take a devastating hit.
Knowledgeable shinobi might understand Yakumo lost to an exceptional opponent, but daimyo and merchants who commissioned missions wouldn't. They judged a village's strength by its track record.
If news of Hidden Leaf's consecutive defeats spread, the impact on their mission commissions would be incalculable.
…
In the Hokage's Office.
After learning Yakumo had stepped in, the Third hadn't followed the situation closely.
Unlike the out-of-form Sasuke, Yakumo, with her Wood Release in peak condition, couldn't possibly lose to a Grass shinobi.
Whoosh.
An Anbu rushed in, reporting, "Lord Hokage, the results from the Forest of Death are in. Yakumo Kurama has been defeated!"
"What?!"
The Third shot to his feet.
Koharu Utatane and Mito Menma exchanged stunned glances.
Though they'd planned to use this to pressure the Third and boost their influence, this outcome was hard to accept!
After a moment, the Third said coldly, "Bring me that Grass shinobi's file!"