The moment of the grand finale has finally arrived.
The setting sun was slowly sinking behind the massive rocky mountains on the outskirts of the Hidden Sand Village, dyeing more than half the sky in a searing, somber orange-red.
The afterglow plated a thick golden edge onto the massive circular arena and stretched the shadows of the two people inside very long.
The stands were bustling with people, the waves of sound almost overturning the scorching air that had been baked all day.
Expectation, speculation, and cheers of encouragement intertwined into a clamorous ocean.
Inside the arena, two figures stood quietly opposite each other.
Somewhat surprisingly, the ninja acting as the referee for the grand finals did not appear in the arena immediately like the previous referees.
---
"I've watched your previous matches..." Karura spoke first, her voice soft. Her gaze fell on Shinichi, carrying a complex emotion that was almost apologetic: "Your duel with your companion... was truly amazing. That ability of burning one's all for one's beliefs is admirable."
Her expression didn't look like a ninja about to engage in a life-and-death struggle with an opponent, but more like a gentle and quiet older sister next door.
"In the previous matches, your consumption must have been very high, right? Such a duel might not be fair."
"It's just..." She lowered her eyes slightly: "I have a reason why I must win. My apologies."
Her words were sincere, revealing her inner conflict. For the village and for the Kazekage's orders, she had to win.
"Senpai, you're overstating it." Shinichi shook his head slightly, his expression calm and focused: "Standing here, we are opponents. Please don't have any concerns. Senpai... please give it your all."
"Let's stop the conversation for now."
Just then, a cold and crisp female voice rang out in the arena without warning, interrupting the slightly special atmosphere between the two.
The moment the voice sounded, a tall figure had already appeared between the two like a ghost.
It was a young Sunagakure kunoichi. She had a well-proportioned and tall figure, and her skin was a fair complexion rarely seen among desert peoples. Her blackish-green hair was neatly tied up, except for two tufts in front of her forehead that were dyed a striking orange, adding a touch of brightness and wildness to her cold temperament.
Her appearance was extremely abrupt. Except for the very few powerhouses in the stands with keen perception or extraordinary eyesight, almost no one saw how she entered the arena, as if she had been standing there all along. This eerily fast speed instantly suppressed the noisy discussions inside and outside the arena.
'Pakura?'
Shinichi's gaze narrowed slightly, his heart filled with surprise.
The newcomer's appearance matched the information he knew, but he completely failed to see how the other party cut into the arena. His field of vision could only barely capture a blurry afterimage that almost blended into the air, fast beyond the scope of a conventional body flicker technique.
'Could it be that the Pakura of this world, besides Scorch Release, has also mastered Swift Release?'
A thought flashed through his mind.
"So fast!"
Jiraiya in the stands was also one of the few who could see that fleeting trajectory. He subconsciously compared her in his mind to his beloved disciple Minato Namikaze, who was also famous for his body flicker technique and speed.
"Lord Kazekage," the Third Hokage chuckled and took a puff of his pipe, his gaze falling on the tall figure with orange and blackish-green hair in the arena: "This should be that genius ninja who has been rising to fame in your village in recent years—Scorch Release Pakura, right? Seeing her today, she truly lives up to her reputation. This speed alone is truly astonishing."
The Third Kazekage's face remained calm, but the slight upward curve of his mouth still revealed a trace of unconscious pride: "Lord Hokage overpraises her. Pakura does indeed have some talent in speed and ninjutsu, but she still needs more training."
---
Inside the arena, Pakura seemed deaf to the conversation in the stands.
Her gaze swept flatly over Shinichi and Karura without any extra emotion, as if she were just performing an ordinary task, announcing in a clear and crisp business-like tone:
"I am the referee for this grand final, Pakura."
"Grand finale, now—begins!"
---
As soon as Pakura's cold voice fell, Shinichi's figure suddenly blurred. Holding his long blade, he turned into a black trajectory that tore through the air, launching a quick-draw iai in the most direct and fierce linear path, aiming straight for Karura.
However, although Karura did not like to fight, her reactions were not slow at all; after all, her raw strength was right there.
She didn't even form hand seals; with just a slight movement of her slender fingers, the sand grains scattered on the ground instantly responded, condensing into dozens of sand shuriken with sharp edges. With a shrill whistling sound, they covered the first half of Shinichi's sprint path like a precise large net!
Shinichi's sprinting momentum didn't stop for a moment, but his body made incredible subtle sways and deflections during the forward charge. Like a fish weaving through dense reefs, he dangerously let most of the sand shuriken graze past the edges of his clothes.
The few that truly couldn't be avoided were precisely parried by his swinging katana. The blade collided with the sand, splashing up puffs of yellow dust and smoke.
The distance between the two closed again during this sprint and evasion!
'What fast speed, what flexible movement!'
'I can't be careless!'
Karura's gaze narrowed slightly, and her palm had already lightly waved toward Shinichi's position.
More sand on the ground, like soldiers obeying a king's command, surged and rolled up. In the blink of an eye, it condensed into a giant sand palm large enough to cover half the arena. With five fingers spread wide, it carried a heavy momentum that blocked out the light and crushed everything, clawing down fiercely toward Shinichi!
Shadows instantly enveloped him, and the forceful wind pressed down until it was hard to breathe.
Shinichi's eyes were sharp as knives, and the chakra beneath his feet erupted. His speed actually increased by another notch beyond his limit!
But he didn't retreat; instead, he charged forward diagonally with even greater speed and a more cunning angle!
Almost at the final moment when the giant sand palm's fingers snapped shut with a dull impact sound, he swept out with extreme peril from the narrow gap between the fingers that was almost non-existent!
At the same time, during his high-speed movement, his hands had already completed the seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A giant fireball with a diameter far exceeding the norm was spat out from his mouth, like a falling miniature sun. Carrying a terrifying high temperature that distorted the air, it tore through the dust and blasted straight toward Karura's body, who stood in place and seemed to have no time to dodge!
However, Karura's expression remained calm, or rather, she didn't need to dodge at all.
Just as the scorching fireball reached about three meters in front of her, the sand grains on the ground rose rapidly as if they had life and perception.
Boom!
A sand wall that looked thin but was extremely sturdy instantly rose from the ground, like a massive shield, standing firmly in front of the fireball.
The fireball slammed hard into the center of the sand wall, exploding into a sky full of scattered fire and black smoke, scorching the surface of the sand wall into a charred black mess and making a terrifying 'sizzling' sound, but it ultimately failed to pierce through.
The shield remained unmoved, and Karura behind it didn't even have the hem of her clothes disturbed by the heatwave.
The first round of the exchange was completed in a flash, so fast that many spectators hadn't even reacted yet.
---
Karura waved her palm lightly again, and another wave of sand surged up from the side, like a yellow waterfall, pouncing toward the newly landed Shinichi with a momentum that could submerge everything.
Shinichi took a deep breath. Relying on his superb speed and precise control of his body, he weaved and dodged flexibly through the gaps of the sand wave's pounce and the continuous attacks of sand spikes and sand spears. Like a raft persistently traveling through a storm, he dangerously avoided the encirclement time and again and stubbornly closed the final distance between the two step by step.
The next several rounds almost became a repetition and intensification of the same pattern:
Shinichi continuously broke through the gaps of the sand sea attacks, closing the distance to the limit, then unleashed fierce sword strikes, explosive physical attacks, or ninjutsu bombardments from tricky angles.
Meanwhile, Karura always stood firmly in the center, controlling the infinite sea of sand with her mind. The shield of sand could always appear in the most needed position with the most appropriate shape and thickness at the most critical moment.
Blocking, absorbing, and neutralizing all of Shinichi's attacks—whether they were physical blade and fist strikes or chakra-based fire attacks.
Offense and defense in one, unhurried and composed.
That flowing sand seemed to be an extension of her will, constituting a seemingly impregnable absolute defense.