"The tenth match of the first round."
Kabuto Yakushi spoke up. "Ino Yamanaka versus Sakura Haruno."
"Finally, it's my turn!"
The moment Ino heard her name, she instinctively looked at Sakura.
Their eyes met, and it felt like sparks were flying in the air.
"I'm definitely winning today!"
Sakura clenched her fists as she spoke.
"That's not happening!"
Ino stood up and answered back.
Kitazawa watched the two of them walk into the arena.
"Kitazawa-sensei,"
Hinata Hyuga asked softly, "who has the better chance of winning?"
Naturally, she was hoping Ino would win.
After all, they had gotten along very well lately.
"Ino has the better odds,"
Kitazawa replied.
In the original story, Sakura Haruno inherited Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal, monstrous strength, and medical ninjutsu.
Now, on top of that, she had also learned Tobirama Senju's Water Release, making her even stronger—basically an upgraded version of Tsunade.
Of course, that was referring to the Tsunade from the original story, not the current Tsunade.
Sakura had indeed become much stronger, but Ino had grown even more.
Not only had she learned genjutsu and Super Beast Imitating Drawing, she had also become the Two-Tails' jinchūriki.
"The match begins."
After saying that, Kabuto Yakushi retreated to the side.
Sakura immediately formed hand seals.
The diamond mark on her forehead suddenly spread.
A massive amount of chakra surged out.
She knew exactly how strong Ino was, so right from the start she released her Yin Seal and used Ninja Art: Creation Rebirth — Strength of a Hundred Technique.
Tailed Beast Chakra Mode!
Seeing that, Ino also went all out.
Her entire body became wrapped in crimson chakra.
At the same time, two tails appeared behind her, and a pair of cat ears formed on top of her head.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!
Standing in place, Sakura unleashed a gigantic roaring water dragon.
Its momentum was so overwhelming that even the air trembled.
After releasing the Yin Seal, Sakura's Water Release was now infinitely close to Tobirama Senju's level.
But to Ino, it still wasn't enough.
She immediately used Super Beast Imitating Drawing.
An ink-black dragon flew out and slammed into the water dragon.
Water splashed everywhere, and both dragons disappeared.
Sakura's expression didn't change as she continued using Water Release.
Ino wasn't in any hurry either, relying only on Super Beast Imitating Drawing.
With the enhancement of the Two-Tails' chakra, every Water Release technique Sakura used was blocked without exception.
Sakura glanced left and right.
By now, the battlefield was covered in flowing water.
Water Release: Water Severing Wave!
Sakura gathered a huge amount of chakra and compressed it.
Then she opened her mouth and fired out a stream of water.
The jet was like a blade, effortlessly slicing apart the animals created by Super Beast Imitating Drawing.
Ino sensed the danger immediately.
This Water Release: Water Severing Wave could be considered the most lethal of Tobirama Senju's Water Release techniques.
But she had already seen it many times before.
In an instant, she used the Konoha Body Flicker Technique and dodged the water beam.
Water Release: Instant Water!
Sakura instantly vanished into the water.
The moment Ino regained her footing, she realized Sakura had disappeared.
Her heart jolted, and then she heard wind rushing from behind her.
Monstrous Strength!
Sakura threw a punch at her.
The sheer power behind it caused the air itself to howl.
Ino immediately moved her two tails in front of herself as a shield.
An utterly terrifying force erupted, and both tails were destroyed on the spot.
But they had bought Ino enough time.
Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!
Ino instantly cast the genjutsu.
Sakura immediately felt her vision stripped away.
Her first reaction was not to dispel the genjutsu, but to use Water Release: Water Formation Wall.
This wasn't her first time dealing with the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique.
If she chose to break the genjutsu first, it would be too easy for Ino to seize the opening and defeat her.
A wall of water rose in front of Sakura.
The next second, a tiger created by Super Beast Imitating Drawing slammed into it.
The water wall trembled violently.
Sakura instinctively let out a quiet breath of relief.
She stepped back and began dispelling the genjutsu.
But at that moment, Ino tilted her head back and spat out a Tailed Beast Bomb.
The moment Sakura's vision returned and she saw it, her body froze.
She had forgotten something.
This was the Divine Tree Game.
When Ino sparred with her in the past, she never used a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Its power was just too great.
But inside the Divine Tree Game, she could use it without restraint.
Sakura let out a helpless sigh.
If she hadn't been caught by the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, she would still have tried to dodge.
But dispelling the genjutsu had cost her too much time.
There was no way she could get away now.
As the Tailed Beast Bomb exploded, she was utterly defeated.
"The winner: Ino Yamanaka."
Kabuto Yakushi announced the result.
Ino immediately ran over to Kitazawa.
She was like a golden-haired kitten, tail practically sticking up in the air, her whole face clearly saying, Praise me.
"Well done."
Kitazawa blinked and said, "I'll give you your reward after it's over."
Ino instantly understood what he meant.
She wasn't shy about it at all and smiled as she nodded.
"The first round is now over. After a ten-minute break, the second round will begin."
After saying that, Kabuto Yakushi announced the list of ninjas advancing to the second round.
Since this was taking place inside the Divine Tree Game, even the ninjas who had overexerted themselves in the previous round could recover quickly.
A ten-minute break was more than enough.
Only ten ninjas advanced to the second round, and every single one of them was from Konoha.
For the Fourth Raikage, Ōnoki, and the others watching, this was terrible news.
Unwilling as they were to accept it, they had now completely come to terms with reality.
Even if Kitazawa were gone, Konoha would still possess strength unmatched in the entire ninja world.
For at least the next two hundred years, they would have no power to resist.
But after two hundred years, two generations of ninjas from the four great villages would already have passed, and the new generation would have long since become part of Konoha.
Even if someone told them to revive the glory of the Four Great Ninja Villages, they would not agree to it.
The Fourth Raikage, Ōnoki, and the others understood the outcome clearly, but there was nothing they could do.
Among those ten ninjas, six were jinchūriki.
Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Kimimaro Kaguya, Haku, Ino Yamanaka, and Karin.
Of the other three jinchūriki, Kakashi Hatake and Kabuto Yakushi had not participated.
Fū had participated, but she had been matched against Sasuke Uchiha.
The remaining four ninjas were Hinata Hyuga, Neji Hyuga, Yakumo Kurama, and Rock Lee.
Though they were not jinchūriki, they possessed kekkei genkai or taijutsu no less formidable than a tailed beast.
Hinata and Neji had the Tenseigan.
Yakumo Kurama had Yin Release Chakra Mode and a genjutsu bloodline limit.
Rock Lee had the Eight Gates.
It had to be said, tailed beasts really did provide an enormous boost to their jinchūriki.
But this Youth Martial Arts Tournament of the Ninja World was completely different—most jinchūriki were far from invincible.
And the third round's results proved exactly that.
By the third round, only five ninjas remained.
The first match was won by Sasuke Uchiha.
His opponent was Kimimaro Kaguya.
Even though Kimimaro was already a jinchūriki, and his Shikotsumyaku made him extremely powerful, the gap between him and Sasuke was still simply too great.
Sasuke didn't even need to use the Eight-Tails' chakra.
With only the Rinnegan and Susanoo, he defeated Kimimaro with ease.
The second match was won by Naruto Uzumaki.
His opponent was Rock Lee.
Even after opening the Seventh Gate, Rock Lee still couldn't catch up to Naruto, who was already on a level comparable to the Six Paths.
Though Naruto didn't use ninjutsu, fighting only with Nine-Tails Mode, Sage Mode, and taijutsu,
Rock Lee still had a blast, and even in defeat he felt no frustration.
The third match was won by Neji Hyuga.
His opponent was Haku.
The Tenseigan was on the same level as the Rinnegan, so dealing with a jinchūriki was practically effortless.
As for Haku's Ice Release, it was even harder for it to be effective.
The fourth match was won by Yakumo Kurama.
Her genjutsu bloodline limit was comparable to the Mangekyō Sharingan, so she easily took control of Karin, despite her being a jinchūriki.
Karin's sealing techniques were powerful, but in a one-on-one fight, they had no room to shine.
The fifth match was won by Hinata Hyuga.
Her opponent was Ino Yamanaka.
Just like Haku, Ino had no real answer against the Tenseigan.
Neither the Two-Tails inside her nor her genjutsu was of any use.
"The first match of the fourth round."
Kabuto Yakushi spoke. "Naruto Uzumaki versus Neji Hyuga."
Neji calmly rose to his feet.
At this stage, it was possible to run into anyone.
Meeting Naruto Uzumaki was the worst possible scenario, but he was already grown up now and didn't care too much about rankings.
Naruto cared even less about rankings.
All he wanted was a fun fight.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
With Naruto's shout, more than three thousand shadow clones appeared.
Neji immediately activated the Tenseigan.
He drew the Life Feather Bow, and with a single pull and release, three thousand arrows flew out.
A rapid series of popping sounds rang out.
A huge number of shadow clones vanished into smoke.
"Leaf Dragon God!"
Naruto and his remaining shadow clones immediately began spinning.
More than a hundred green dragons, like tornadoes, charged toward Neji.
Tenseigan Chakra Mode!
A green chakra cloak instantly covered Neji's body.
Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!
He then raised his right hand.
Seven Truth-Seeking Balls spun together into a silver ring of light.
From within the ring, a storm erupted.
Everything in its path was crushed to pieces.
In the blink of an eye, the vast wave of over a hundred green dragons was reduced to just one.
"Sage Mode!"
Naruto decisively canceled the Konoha Dragon God.
Orange pigmentation appeared around his eyes.
"Nine-Tails Mode!"
Naruto roared as he charged into the storm. "Sage Art: Massive Rasengan!"
A gigantic Rasengan rapidly formed in front of him.
Boom!
The Rasengan exploded within the storm.
Waves of chakra surged outward like a chaotic sea.
Neji's expression changed slightly, and he immediately flew into the air to avoid the terrifying aftershock.
Lowering his head, he looked down at Naruto.
Rosary Shuriken!
The seven Truth-Seeking Balls condensed into a single shuriken and shot toward him.
"Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!"
Naruto raised both arms.
An even bigger Rasengan than before appeared.
When the Rosary Shuriken struck, the entire battlefield was utterly destroyed.
"Sage Art: Wind Release: Massive Rasenshuriken!"
Amid the chaotic currents of chakra, Naruto hurled it with all his strength.
A gigantic shuriken-shaped Rasengan flew toward Neji.
Neji instantly felt an indescribable sense of danger.
Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!
In a rush, he condensed nine Truth-Seeking Balls.
The nine Truth-Seeking Balls immediately transformed into a giant golden sword.
The sword came crashing down.
A world-shaking explosion followed.
Neji was blown away on the spot.
Sasuke Uchiha could not help but sigh inwardly. Sage Mode really was terrifying.
Unfortunately, he simply did not have the talent to learn it.
"I concede."
After stabilizing himself, Neji spoke first.
Though he could still keep fighting, there was no point anymore.
Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion was already his strongest ninjutsu at the moment.
"The winner: Naruto Uzumaki."
Kabuto Yakushi announced.
"Other than Lord Hokage, I doubt anyone can beat Naruto with certainty,"
Hiashi Hyuga said, glancing at Neji.
"That's true,"
Shikaku Nara paused, then added, "but in terms of strength, Sasuke isn't much weaker than Naruto."
"It would be perfectly normal for either of them to win or lose against the other,"
Fugaku Uchiha said casually.
Though he looked like he didn't care about the result, in truth… he had always felt a deep sense of regret.
If Sasuke Uchiha's strength could decisively surpass Naruto Uzumaki's, then the position of the next emperor would inevitably belong to him.
After Kitazawa became emperor, he had made the imperial succession system perfectly clear.
Succession would be determined not by bloodline, but by ability.
The reason ability determined who would become emperor was because Kitazawa himself had already become an immortal being.
If whoever took the throne did a poor job, he could step in and replace them.
If one of his descendants had the ability, he could help them become emperor.
If they lacked the ability, then they had no right to bring disaster upon the ninja world. They could simply wait for a more capable descendant to appear.
"The second match of the fourth round: Sasuke Uchiha versus Yakumo Kurama."
Kabuto Yakushi paused, then said, "Hinata Hyuga gets a bye and automatically advances to the next round."
The battle between Sasuke Uchiha and Yakumo Kurama was nowhere near as intense as Naruto Uzumaki versus Neji Hyuga.
What they fought was a contest of genjutsu.
In the end, Sasuke Uchiha emerged victorious.
For him, it felt a little like a gentleman taking revenge ten years later.
After all, before gaining the Rinnegan, he had often lost to Yakumo Kurama's genjutsu.
"The ninjas advancing to the fifth round are Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Hinata Hyuga,"
Kabuto Yakushi announced.
No one found this result surprising.
Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki were always going to make the top three.
Hinata Hyuga and Neji Hyuga were about equal in strength, so which one of them reached the top three largely came down to luck.
This time, Hinata had the better luck.
"The fifth round will be held tomorrow,"
Kabuto Yakushi said after glancing at Kitazawa. "Still at nine in the morning."
That order had come from Kitazawa.
The main reason was that it was already getting late.
Neither the audience nor the participating ninjas had even eaten lunch.
And since this was the final round, Sasuke Uchiha and the other two definitely needed plenty of time to rest.
After Kabuto Yakushi finished speaking, everyone exited the Divine Tree Game one after another.
"See you tomorrow, Kitazawa-sensei."
Kiba Inuzuka, Karin, and the others greeted Kitazawa before leaving.
A moment later, Kitazawa disappeared from where he stood.
Seeing that, Ino Yamanaka hurried after him.
She was extremely curious about what kind of reward Kitazawa was going to give her.