At that moment, a pair of wings composed of white paper suddenly appeared behind Konan.
With a "whoosh," Konan soared into the sky, carried by the wings.
This scene elicited involuntary gasps of admiration from the surrounding spectators.
Flying into the sky had always been humanity's dream, though in the Shinobi World, quite a few could achieve it.
The advantages of aerial combat went without saying.
Hovering in mid-air, Konan resembled a pure angel, looking down at Asuma's grim expression below.
Just as Asuma was contemplating how to counterattack, Konan's expression suddenly hardened.
Many sharp sheets of white paper scattered from her wings, whistling toward Asuma below like missiles.
Seeing this, Asuma immediately formed hand seals and slammed his palms onto the ground, casting Earth Flow Wall.
However, the sturdy earthen wall was breached by the white paper after only a brief resistance.
Just as Asuma was about to be engulfed by the paper, the Jonin serving as referee suddenly appeared behind him, grabbed his collar, and swiftly pulled him to another location.
After a series of continuous explosions, smoke instantly enveloped the entire arena.
At that moment, the referee used a small Wind Release to disperse all the smoke covering the arena.
Where Asuma had been standing was now a crater over ten meters in diameter.
Looking at the crater, Asuma wore an expression of lingering fear.
Indeed, the Great Demon King was still the Great Demon King.
If the referee had been even a second slower, he might have been utterly annihilated.
The referee, still clutching Asuma's collar, let out a heavy sigh of relief as if having narrowly escaped death.
If Asuma had truly died here, Konan might not have faced consequences, but as the referee, his ninja career would likely have ended.
After swallowing hard several times, the referee loudly announced:
"The winner of this match is Konan!"
Hearing this, Konan flapped her wings and flew to the spectator stands beside Yuhi Kurenai and Nohara Rin.
"Konan, you're simply amazing, truly worthy of being my teammate," Yuhi Kurenai said, seemingly forgetting past conflicts, speaking with shared pride.
Nohara Rin also chimed in agreement:
"Yeah, Konan, you're really incredible."
...
"Ren, your insight is truly sharp, bringing such a talented ninja to the Leaf. With Konan's abilities, she's more than qualified to be promoted to Jonin," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a bright smile to Hayato Ren.
Although Asuma's swift defeat was embarrassing for him as a father, Konan's potential greatly pleased Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Especially the Bloodline Limit "Paper Style"—its ceiling was evidently very high.
In the future, the Leaf might gain another clan specializing in Paper Style.
The only drawback was that Konan was female, not male.
If Konan were male, Sarutobi Hiruzen might have already sent female ninjas to arrange a marriage alliance to continue this powerful bloodline.
"Of course, my student is exceptionally outstanding. But more than ability, I place greater emphasis on ideological and moral development. I firmly believe that a ninja's mindset is more important than their strength," Hayato Ren responded righteously.
To this, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with an awkward smile.
Because Hayato Ren's words were clearly targeting him.
Although Sarutobi Hiruzen's three disciples were remarkably skilled, earning the title "Three Ninja" in the Shinobi World, their personal morals were virtually nonexistent.
The trio's reputation for "Perversion, Gambling, and Addiction" was well-deserved.
The next few matches were all amateurish scuffles, boring Hayato Ren to the point of nearly falling asleep.
However, the two currently on the field caught Hayato Ren's attention.
Kakashi vs. Uchiha Obito.
An internal clash within Team Minato, and a grudge match between the two.
"Kakashi, today I'll defeat you, you arrogant bastard, right in front of everyone," Uchiha Obito declared, pointing at Kakashi with a smug expression.
In response, Kakashi simply retorted briefly:
"Idiot."
....
"White Fang's son and a member of the Uchiha clan? This fight should be interesting," Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but remark.
Hayato Ren glanced at him and responded indifferently:
"You're mistaken. I predict this match will end within five moves."
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen widened his eyes slightly.
"Is Kakashi also a prodigy ninja surpassing his age?"
Uchiha Obito formed hand seals, though his speed was considerably slower than an average ninja's.
In the time it took him to perform the technique, Kakashi could have drawn his sword and killed him three times over.
Yet Kakashi made no move, merely watching Uchiha Obito's actions with dead-fish eyes.
Finally, Uchiha Obito completed the seals and shouted:
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
His abdomen swelled, and he exhaled a large breath toward Kakashi.
A fireball the size of a basketball instantly shot toward Kakashi.
Uchiha Obito's face lit up with surprise.
He had actually succeeded on the first try.
Although the Great Fireball Technique was only a C-rank Fire Release, Uchiha Obito couldn't always execute it successfully.
Just as Uchiha Obito watched the small fireball with high hopes, expecting it to defeat Kakashi,
Kakashi drew the short sword made of Chakra metal gifted to him by White Fang.
In a flash of silver-white light, the basketball-sized fireball was instantly split in two.
The smile on Uchiha Obito's face froze.
Immediately after, Kakashi flashed forward and placed the short sword against Uchiha Obito's neck.
"Is this your trump card? It's as laughable as you are."
Under normal circumstances, Uchiha Obito would have flown into a rage at Kakashi.
But feeling the cold steel against his neck, he didn't dare say a word.
After the referee declared the match's winner, Kakashi sheathed his short sword.
He looked at Uchiha Obito and said:
"You still have a long way to go."
Hearing this, Uchiha Obito instantly erupted in fury, shouting and lunging to fight Kakashi desperately.
Fortunately, Namikaze Minato stopped him with a wry smile.