As soon as the referee's voice fell, declaring the match in Seimei's favor, the pitch-black darkness that masked Uchiha Arata's vision slowly receded like retracting dark tendrils.
Arata could finally see everything with his eyes, making him sigh in relief.
Never. Never in his life did he want to experience something this terrible ever again.
That overwhelming darkness, the loss of vision, and the feeling of complete helplessness—for a Uchiha who depended on their Sharingan to fight, it was a terrifying experience.
Bringer of Darkness. It was just one A-rank Genjutsu.
However, it countered the Sharingan of most Uchiha Shinobi perfectly. As long as the user could successfully cast it, even an experienced Uchiha Jonin would immediately lose at least 70% of their overall combat power.
It could even affect Mangekyo Sharingan.
For ninjas with no significant sensory capabilities, getting trapped in Genjutsu: Bringer of Darkness was practically a death sentence.
After all, regular Genjutsu dispel techniques, such as disrupting the internal chakra flow or inflicting pain, were useless against it.
It was a true masterpiece.
An exceptional Genjutsu developed by his very own father, Senju Tobirama.
Facing such a formidable technique, Uchiha Arata had no choice but to surrender. Today's fight was bound to become an unforgettable memory of his life.
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After the match against Uchiha Arata, Seimei had to go backstage because of the new competition rule.
He had already done his job and won three consecutive matches.
Now, it was his teammates' chance to shine.
And shine they did.
Uzumaki Keiko once again went up against the Akimichi clan's kid of Team 4-S.
And she beat him to a pulp during the individual matches, too.
Seimei already expected this. After all, to survive against versatile and powerful Adamantine Sealing Chains, you had to be fast enough to dodge the chakra chains and subdue the user before the chains could touch or restrict your movement.
Once these golden chakra chains could get hold of someone, they could hardly muster any resistance against them.
These chains could immobilize extremely powerful and rampaging tailed beasts, including the Nine-tails.
You want to battle head-on against the Adamantine Sealing Chains with your fragile, low-defense body and pitiful reserves of chakra that are equal to a cupful of water compared to those tailed beasts' ocean-size chakra reserves?
You must have a death wish.
Of course, there were other ways to deal with it.
Unfortunately, the kid from the Akimichi clan didn't know any method to counter these chakra chains.
Nor was he fast or agile enough to dodge the chains effectively and launch a counterattack.
After all, the Akimichi clan had always favored brute strength and direct combat to flatten their enemies.
Their collection of Body Expansion Jutsu and Yang Release secret techniques was also created to crush their opponents with absolute momentum.
However, in front of the Uzumaki clan's Sealing Techniques and secret Ninjutsu like Adamantine Sealing Chains, the Akimichi clan's main combat techniques and their Jutsu were utterly useless.
Even if they produced a prodigy who could take the Full Body Expansion Jutsu to the extreme and turn into a giant possessing crushing strength, could that prodigy match a tailed beast?
The answer was as obvious as the sun in the sky.
They couldn't.
As a result, Uzumaki Keiko easily triumphed over the guy from the Akimichi clan.
The beatdown she gave him was absolutely brutal.
By the end of the match, the Akimichi boy's entire body, including his face, was swollen beyond belief.
Let's not talk about the black and blue marks all over his body, multiple bumps on his head, and black panda eyes.
The girl was ruthless!
The last match was between Ishimori Haneda and the captain of Team 4-S, Kamishiro Renji.
For Haneda, it was an incredibly tough fight.
Renji was, by no means, a weak Shinobi.
With his Thrust Release Kekkei Genkai, strong physique, and mastery of Fire and Wind Release, he was a tough nut to crack.
He was just shy of being an Elite Chunin in terms of overall combat prowess.
So, even though Haneda eventually won the match, he also suffered from multiple injuries, such as lacerations, burns, blunt trauma, and severe chakra depletion.
Thankfully, Konoha's expert medical ninjas were quite capable, so he should completely recover by the end of the day.
As a result, Team 1-S advanced to the final round, having won both the group and individual stages against Team 4-S.
As for the Individual stage matches between Team 2-S and Team 3-S…
Team 2-S won it without any suspense, and they, too, advanced to the final round.
But even Seimei admitted that the final match between Senju Naoki and Uchiha Hina was quite a spectacle.
In the end, with his vast chakra reserves, troublesome Mud Release, and the power of Chakra Enhanced Strength, Naoki secured the final victory.
And after observing this match, many young ninjas and the crowd finally understood the horrors of the Mud Release Kekkei Genkai.
A Kekkei Genkai that could almost nullify Wind Release, make Earth Release techniques brittle, and assimilate Water Release.
Once the remaining mud stuck to the body and limbs of Uchiha Hina, she felt her entire body becoming heavy.
Running, moving hands, and even forming hand seals became difficult.
Naoki's Mud Puppet Technique was especially chilling.
These immortal, cockroach-like mud puppets created by this technique would continue to regenerate and attack their enemies as long as Senju Naoki supplied them with enough chakra.
Their body could transition from malleable, flowing mud to solid, hardened mud with sharp edges seamlessly.
A little slip-up and these mud puppets would seize the opportunity to kill you.
Unless you can completely obliterate them with Lightning Release or Fire Release Ninjutsu, they will keep attacking you.
For ninjas specializing in Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, and other close combat techniques, these mud constructs were nothing short of a nightmare.
The most effective way to handle these mud puppets and other Mud Release Ninjutsu was to confront the casters directly and eliminate them.
But are you sure you want to do this?
After all, Mud Release traditionally appears with the Senju clan ninjas.
And more often than not, Senju ninja who wielded unique Kekkei Genkai also mastered their clan's Secret Taijutsu Technique—Chakra Enhanced Strength.
So, unless someone had Sharingan or lightning-fast reflexes and agility, confronting them in close combat was nothing but an attempted suicide.
All these Senju clan Shinobi needed to do was to land one clean hit on their opponents' bodies while using Chakra Enhanced Strength to turn them into a pile of mangled meat and broken bones.
So, in the end, Uchiha Hina was defeated.
Hyuga Itsuki didn't even have to step in.
The final round will be held in the same venue, the day after tomorrow.
So, as soon as all the matches ended, Seimei bade farewell to his teammates before sprinting toward his home in the Senju Compound.
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That night at Seimei's home…
As Seimei, Hashirama, Mito, and everyone else finally finished their dinner, Tobirama finally declared, "I have decided."
Tobirama glanced at his brother, Senju Hashirama.
"Brother, I need your help!"
"After this public interclass competition ends, I will officially announce my decision to become the 2nd Hokage during the award ceremony."
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