Soon, the first round of matches concluded entirely. During the break, spectators eagerly discussed the ninjas who had performed exceptionally well.
At the center of the stands, Torifu chuckled and said, "Fugaku, your Uchiha clan is truly thriving!"
Hearing this, Senju Tsunade's expression dimmed. The Senju had once been equally abundant in jonin ranks. Unfortunately, after many events, the Senju had abandoned their surname and completely faded into obscurity.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe and nodded as well, wearing a smile of satisfaction on his face. However, upon closer observation, one could notice a fleeting shadow of gloom in his eyes.
With Orochimaru's defection, the Nine-Tails' Invasion, and Danzo's betrayal, the Hokage Faction (the ruling ninja leadership loyal to the Hokage) had suffered severe losses, both in elite fighters and chūnin-level ninjas.
At this critical moment, Fugaku displayed his already-awakened Mangekyou, and Shisui awakened his Mangekyou too.
Two Mangekyou, over twenty Three Tomoe Sharingan, dozens of jonin...
The Uchiha had become a power the declining Hokage Faction could no longer control!
Faced with such unprecedented strength from the Uchiha, all he could think of now was division and subjugation.
Glancing at Shisui chatting happily with Joushou below the platform, Hiruzen sighed inwardly again.
Shisui had once seemed like a wise choice—a worthy successor following in his mentor's footsteps. However, Shisui had first declined to run for Elder status, and recently leaked mission information without authorization—making him questionable in terms of trustworthiness.
Even so, he couldn't accuse or question Shisui; instead, he would have to look the other way and keep pretending to trust him.
At this point, the Hokage Faction needed a powerful enforcer, while simultaneously maintaining a beacon of reliability for discontented Uchihas seeking allegiance elsewhere.
Hearing Torifu's praise, Fugaku and Kintai reacted differently.
Kintai beamed proudly, whereas Fugaku accepted it cheerfully yet stated, "They are members of the Uchiha clan, but more importantly, they are ninjas of Konoha!"
Fugaku knew full well that The Uchiha hadn't truly grown any stronger than they were before—the only real change was the Hokage Faction's dwindling power and influence.
Months ago during The Uchiha's public protest against unfair treatment, he had no choice but to swallow the bitter fruit offered by the Hokage Faction.
While the five figures on the high platform each harbored different thoughts, the matches continued uninterrupted on the arena below.
After a brief rest period, the referee spoke up again.
"The second round will officially begin. Those whose names appear on the screen should step onto the battlefield immediately!"
Upon hearing this, everyone involuntarily exchanged glances, their expressions turning increasingly solemn.
After the first round of eliminations, among the remaining eight contestants, six possessed jonin-level combat power, while the other two were special-jonin level with their own trump cards. None dared to claim victory easily against such formidable opponents.
This second round would decide the four finalists who would become instructors within the Flying Tigers.
Dawn was approaching—who among them would dare back down now?
Names flickered rapidly on the large screen before finally settling down on two.
"Junping Uchiha vs. Hidemi Uchiha!"
As soon as the list appeared, murmurs quickly spread among the watching clan members below.
"Eh! Why did Junping-sama end up facing Hidemi-sama? Shouldn't these two have advanced together?"
"Yeah! I want to learn about both Junping-sama's [Ninja Tool Throwing] techniques and Hidemi-sama's [Sword Technique]!"
"That's too bad! But if that's the case, go for it, Junping-sama!"
"If only one can become an instructor, I support Hidemi-sama!"
"..."
Although both were independent ninjas who had left the Police Force, Junping and Hidemi simply performed low-level missions to make a living, spending their remaining time cultivating their own Ninja Way. What's more, they both acted like wise elder mentors—always eager to guide the younger generation—and were deeply loved by the Clan members.
Seeing the result of the lottery draw, Aozora slightly hesitated before quickly regaining his composure.
He vaguely sensed some subtle interference in this second-round lottery draw, but he understood—the minor manipulations made to preserve overall fairness were harmless enough.
Junping and Hidemi were representatives of the hard-training clan ninjas, and their selection was expected by everyone.
Eliminating both would definitely upset the more laid-back ninja within the Clan. Plus, there were only four instructor positions in the Flying Tigers; naturally, they couldn't possibly accept both.
Under these circumstances, having a match between the two to decide who stays was the best choice.
Once on the Arena, the pair exchanged bitter smiles before their gazes sharpened, revealing the three tomoe within their eyes.
Junping twirled a kunai between his fingers and grinned, "Hidemi, I'm determined to claim the position of instructor this time!"
Hidemi drew his long sword and replied, "Same here!"
Junping sighed, "Seems like there's no room for negotiation then!"
Hidemi nodded.
At that moment, the referee announced, "The first match of the second round begins now!"
As soon as those words fell, Hidemi dashed forward with his long blade while Junping leapt backward, hurling kunai midair, simultaneously forming rapid hand seals.
[Kunai Shadow Clone Jutsu!]
The flying kunai split into two, then into four, instantly transforming into a dense rain of steel aimed at Hidemi.
Even though he was disguised and using kunai instead of shuriken, Hiruzen immediately recognized his own signature technique being used.
His face darkened as he nearly shouted at the Uchiha ninja for stealing his technique, but the next moment he recalled how the Great Fireball Technique had been widely adopted by the village's ninjas, suddenly making him lose confidence.
On the battlefield, faced with this barrage of steel, Hidemi remained calm.
With one hand forming seals and the other lifting his blade diagonally upward, he instantly summoned a swirling windstorm before him.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!" — "Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Most of the Shuriken collided with the Wind Blades, disintegrating into smoke, almost immediately obscuring the vision of both fighters.
Junping unfurled a scroll and instantly summoned a massive Fuma Shuriken.
In the next instant, the huge Fuma Shuriken tore through the air toward the smoke.
Cutting through the mist, the massive Fuma Shuriken generated a gust powerful enough to blow the smoke away, yet behind it stood nobody at all.
Junping immediately Body-Flickered away from his original spot, and sure enough, moments later Hidemi emerged from underground where Junping once stood.
Spotting Junping trying to create distance again, Hidemi raised his blade to pursue—but noticed scattered, unnoticeable Makibishi lying on the ground.
Without the Sharingan's incredible insight, anyone else caught in a fast-paced chase would've forgotten about the hidden traps below.
Thanks to the delay, Junping quickly created more distance, while Hidemi slowly advanced, sword in hand.
The sudden attack having failed, both men could only search again for a good opportunity.
The audience also took this chance to breathe deeply—the sudden fierce battle earlier had left them holding their breath for so long that it felt like they'd stopped breathing altogether.
Shisui asked with great interest, "Aozora, who do you think will win between the two of them?"
Aozora considered for a moment before replying with a bitter smile, "It's pretty hard to guess! If I must choose, I'll go with Junping."
"Why?" Shisui continued.
Aozora explained slowly, "Although the battlefield has been deliberately widened to accommodate ninja tool throwers, it's still too narrow. Therefore, Junping doesn't have an advantage. Plus, due to match rules, Junping's usage of ninja tools is restricted—powerful explosive tags are forbidden..."
"These are all disadvantages for Junping," Shisui exclaimed.
Aozora nodded and then said, "Exactly, these all disadvantage Junping. But Hidemi's weakness is even greater. He wants to integrate ninjutsu with sword technique, but he hasn't succeeded yet. Having sword technique in one hand and ninjutsu in the other isn't really a flaw against weaker opponents, but it leaves openings against equal-level opponents.
Besides, ninja skilled in ninja tools all have one advantage—excellent eyesight! And furthermore, Junping even possesses the Three Tomoe Sharingan!"
Shisui smiled knowingly and gave a slight nod.
In just a few short exchanges, Aozora could discern so much—his sharp eyes saw straight through even the smallest clues.
As the two brothers chatted casually, the fighters on stage clashed fiercely once again.
Most of the time, Junping maintained the optimal attacking distance, manipulating his ninja tools to assault Hidemi.
Though Hidemi managed to close the distance at times, Junping kept overwhelming him with a constant barrage of bizarre ninja tool attacks, leaving little room for an opening.
After dodging another ninja tool attack, Hidemi decided to use his ultimate move.
However, as he began forming hand seals, he suddenly found his body unable to move at all.
This hesitation lasted only an instant, but the shuriken coming right after had already slashed a shallow blood mark across his face.
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