"He's... he's flying!"
"That boy can actually fly!"
"Do ninjas really have techniques for flying? How... how impressive!"
"Those two guys don't seem easy to deal with; it looks like this match will be even more intense than the last!"
"…"
As they watched Izayoi soar through the air, free from any wind barriers and defying gravity with an unknown ability, the audience fell silent for a few seconds before erupting into a frenzy.
Gasps, discussions, and excited shouts filled the air.
Unlike ordinary people, the ninjas were visibly shaken.
"A flying ninja? Has that kid learned the Earth Release: Light-Heavy Rock Technique from Iwagakure?"
"Is it a ninja technique, a secret technique, or perhaps a Kekkei Genkai?"
"So it's him, the top rookie of this generation, a genius who has mastered five nature transformations! If I remember correctly, he seems to have developed the Fourth Hokage's Rasengan on his own and combined it with two nature transformations to create the Storm Release secret art."
"Could it be that this flying technique is also his own creation? What an astonishing talent for ninjutsu!"
"…"
Various exclamations echoed within the ninja community.
Even elite Jonin like Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy were taken aback.
"Wow... amazing, Oniichan can actually fly," Hanabi said, dumbfounded.
Hearing this, Hinata Hiashi, who was equally astonished, turned to the contestant area, his temples throbbing.
When he saw the other candidates with their jaws dropped, only to find his eldest daughter smiling serenely, he closed his Byakugan, feeling a tumult of emotions within.
It seemed that Izayoi and Hinata had long since realized they were being watched.
Otherwise, the disparity in information wouldn't be so vast.
Five nature transformations, along with the Rasengan and Storm Release secret art, and now this flying technique...
Neither the guards nor he had any knowledge of this.
These two little ones were truly adept at hiding their abilities! "Konoha truly is a cradle of geniuses; I never expected even a rare flying ninja to emerge."
In the VIP section, Orochimaru was equally astonished.
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent, quietly taking a puff of his cigarette, his eyes filled with delight.
Truly... too exceptional! Hashirama, Tobirama, your decision was right! The Senju have integrated into Konoha, filling the village's future with hope.
An Uchiha orphan, a Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki, a ninja genius with an unknown bloodline... Konoha will rise again in this generation.
The center of attention, Izayoi, slowly descended to the right side of Shiranui Genma.
Genma gazed deeply at Izayoi before raising his arm and announcing, "Round two, Izayoi vs. Gaara... officially begins!"
After waving his arm, Genma immediately performed the Body Flicker Technique, distancing himself from Izayoi and Gaara.
Even ordinary spectators could tell that this match would be extremely fierce, let alone someone like him, who had once served as the Fourth Hokage's bodyguard.
Both Izayoi and the dark-eyed boy with the gourd exuded an extraordinary aura and chakra.
As the match commenced, Gaara stood with his arms crossed, expressionless, staring at Izayoi without a hint of surprise at his ability to fly.
It wasn't that Gaara had an exceptionally strong mental fortitude; rather, he was encased in Sand Armor, and the expression on his face was merely a mask.
Beneath the Sand Armor, his true expression was one of bloodthirsty savagery.
As if sensing their master's intent, the large gourd behind him automatically opened its cork, and a torrent of sand surged forth, defying gravity, swirling around Gaara, waiting for orders.
In the next moment, Gaara opened his arms and made the first move.
However, it wasn't the sand surrounding him that flew out; instead, two waves of sand erupted from the ground on either side of Izayoi, rising like hands, attempting to envelop him.
"Sand Binding Coffin!"
With Gaara's voice echoing, the two waves of sand merged, twisting into a spiral.
Since becoming a weapon of slaughter, countless lives had been lost to Gaara's technique and the combination technique of Sand Burial.
Yet this time, no blood stained the sand.
Gaara looked up, only to see a figure in a white robe floating in the sky—Izayoi, who had vanished in an instant.
Gazing down at Gaara, Izayoi murmured in a voice only he could hear, "In my current state, I can't play your little ninja games."
With that, Izayoi raised both hands, gathering a massive blue-white energy sphere. The white within the sphere quickly transformed into a deeper shade of blue.
Without even calling out the name of the technique, Izayoi hurled the enormous energy sphere downward.
"Air Sand Defense Wall!" Watching the descending energy sphere, infused with Water Release nature transformation, Gaara wasted no time. He crouched and slammed his hands into the ground, expending a massive amount of chakra to turn the earth into sand, then levitated, forming a gigantic shield to block the energy sphere.
Boom—
With a thunderous sound, the energy sphere failed to break through the sand shield, instead sinking a third of the way in before exploding into a massive water vortex.
The water vortex drilled into the sand shield like a drill, spewing forth torrents of water that weighed the sand down even further.
Izayoi didn't expect this move to take Gaara out in one shot.
Almost the instant he threw the energy sphere, Izayoi raised his hand again, gathering another energy sphere.
This one was smaller than the last, only the size of a basketball.
Then, two billiard ball-sized energy spheres appeared within the larger one, their colors swiftly shifting from blue-white to one blue and one white.
Those who had watched the preliminaries at the central tower, including candidates and Jonin, were no strangers to this move; it was the S-rank Storm Release secret art that had recently spread through the Konoha Jonin circles.
Just as they thought Izayoi was about to unleash the Storm Release secret art named Judgment, another energy sphere appeared within the Super Hurricane Consecutive Spheres.
This energy sphere started off blue-white, but within two seconds, it transformed into an orange-red hue.
Even those unfamiliar with nature transformation and shape transformation could see that this energy sphere contained the power of flames.
As the three-colored orbs of white lightning, blue ocean, and red flame spun rapidly within the energy sphere, some audience members immediately began signaling in code.
Yakushi Kabuto, disguised as a member of the Anbu, hid at the back, ready to form seals and cast a technique at any moment.
The three-colored orbs rotated clockwise within the energy sphere, resembling the tomoe of a Sharingan.
After several rotations, one of the blue orbs suddenly switched from clockwise to counterclockwise, colliding with the oncoming white orb, followed closely by the red orb.
The collision of the three orbs shattered like glass, releasing the three liquids contained within, which mixed together, gradually forming a brand-new color.
It was a vibrant azure, glowing with fiery light.
"Secret Art... Light Blast Cannon!"
Izayoi called out the name of the technique and hurled it downward.
At that moment, the water vortex had just shrunk and disappeared, revealing a massive dent in the floating sand shield.
Like a device with a tracking system, the azure energy sphere plummeted toward the dent.
As it fell, its speed increased.
The basketball-sized sphere expanded like a water-filled balloon, transforming from a sphere into a cylindrical azure beam.
While the Judgment was a diffusive electric attack, like a waterfall, this azure beam, both externally and internally, glowed with orange-red flames. Anyone skilled in the Sensing Technique could sense the destructive power contained within.
"What a joke, this could kill someone!"
Shiranui Genma, who was outside the range of the sand shield, immediately performed the Body Flicker Technique, darting toward the high wall.
Gaara, too, felt the breath of death, as if his mother were whispering in his ear.
Without a moment's hesitation, Gaara formed seals and murmured, "False Sleep Technique!"
With his eyes closed, his consciousness plunged into a deep slumber.
Then both the gourd and his body transformed into sand, and the earth and the sand shield above him all morphed into waves of sand, engulfing Gaara.
Boom——
The azure beam struck the waves of sand.
A deafening explosion resonated through the skies, instantly echoing throughout the center of Konoha.
The massive plaza shook violently.
The spectators closest to the explosion covered their ears, their faces contorted in pain, feeling as if their hearing had been stripped away.
Meanwhile, those standing outside the plaza were so startled by the sudden explosion and tremor that they collapsed to the ground.
The residents of Konoha paused their activities, turning to look in the direction of the plaza.
They saw a gigantic mushroom cloud rising into the sky.
Before they could begin discussing it, a flurry of afterimages burst forth from various directions, launching attacks on the patrolling ninjas.
"Summoning Technique!"
A voice rang out from somewhere, conjuring an astonishing area of white mist, and a massive three-headed serpent materialized, wreaking havoc as it advanced from the village entrance.
In the plaza, the audience had yet to regain their hearing when they vaguely saw white feathers drifting down, the overwhelming drowsiness causing them to fall asleep instantly.
The Leaf Destruction Plan had officially begun! (End of Chapter)