In the stands, after the initial gasps of wonder, a wave of helpless and shocked discussion gradually rose up:
"Isn't that just too hard!?"
"It's just like the previous matches, it can't be broken at all! All attacks are intercepted, so how is he supposed to fight?"
"As expected of an existence known as the absolute defense."
"What a pity. That Konoha kid is so fast and his tactics are great, but he just can't break the defense. He has no chance to get close at all."
"The difference in strength is still obvious. That kunoichi hasn't even moved more than a few steps; she's completely crushing him with chakra and secret techniques."
"It seems there's no suspense about the champion anymore..."
---
On the high platform, the Third Kazekage watched the scene. What appeared to be a stalemate was actually Karura firmly in control, and his expression became increasingly composed.
He turned his head slightly and said to the Third Hokage beside him, "Lord Hokage, your village's young ninja's tactical execution and adaptability are indeed good, and his will is commendable. However, in the face of an absolute gap in power, technique is ultimately... somewhat powerless."
The Third Hokage continued to smoke with a smile, his expression unchanged, only replying calmly, "Lord Kazekage is quite right. However, the outcome is undecided. The resilience of young people sometimes exceeds your and my estimations. Let's just keep watching."
---
On the field, after avoiding another wave of sand attacking from the side, Shinichi's figure suddenly retreated rapidly, instantly pulling more than fifty meters away from Karura.
Immediately, his right foot stepped heavily on the ground to stabilize himself. Taking a deep breath, the chakra throughout his body began to vibrate and boil violently with a unique and frenzied rhythm!
The surrounding air trembled accordingly, and small rocks and dust were picked up by an invisible force field, beginning to rotate slowly around him.
This was precisely the precursor to activating the Konoha Dragon God!
For the first time, a hint of solemnity appeared between Karura's gentle brows. She had watched Shinichi's previous matches, recognized this starting stance, and clearly remembered the devastating power of this move.
She thought that after the fierce battle with his companion in the last round, Shinichi would have consumed too much energy to use this move again. She didn't expect... but this was undoubtedly the most threatening move to her, and she absolutely could not let him complete it smoothly!
She no longer held back, quickly bringing her hands together and outputting chakra with all her might.
"Sand Drizzle!"
The large amount of sand floating in the air around her, standing by at any time, was instantly mobilized. Instead of forming a giant hand or a wall, it was highly condensed and compressed into countless sand bullets harder than iron, pouring down toward Shinichi's head and vital upper body areas like a rainstorm!
The speed was extremely fast and the coverage very wide, with a clear purpose—to interrupt his charging and condensing!
However, the invisible air currents generated by the high concentration and rotation of chakra around Shinichi had already begun to take shape.
As soon as these incoming sand bullets entered the range of the air currents, they were as if they had hit an incredibly tough elastic wall. Their trajectories deflected and lagged one after another, and they were eventually caught and thrown off by the rotating airflow, unable to penetrate this increasingly strong energy field!
Karura's eyes tightened, knowing that long-range interference was now ineffective. She no longer hesitated, slamming her palms forward onto the ground!
"Quicksand Waterfall Flow!"
Massive chakra injected into the ground like ripples, instantly sweeping across the entire final arena!
In the unbelievable sight of the crowd, the solid rock ground began to turn into sand visibly to the naked eye, centered on Karura!
The hard rock layer softened and disintegrated into quicksand. In just two or three breaths, the entire wide arena had turned into a desert domain that was constantly flowing and sinking!
Her intention was clear: use this desert domain completely dominated by herself to bind Shinichi's feet from below, interrupting his next sprint and takeoff, or even directly swallowing and burying him!
Unfortunately, just an instant before the quicksand spread to him, Shinichi finished charging!
This further exposed Karura's lack of combat experience and precise control over combat opportunities, as she had failed to interrupt Shinichi's charging twice in a row.
If she truly possessed the combat experience of a Jonin level, it would have been very difficult for Shinichi to successfully release the Konoha Dragon God.
---
On the field, Shinichi gave a powerful stomp, and the ground that hadn't completely turned to sand exploded!
With the help of this massive counter-force, he soared into the air, his body beginning to rotate at high speed!
Whoosh-boom-boom-boom!
Vast, solid blue chakra erupted, sweeping upwards!
The air currents surrounding his body instantly expanded and solidified, sand was completely expelled, and a majestic, ferocious blue dragon head outline suddenly appeared at the front of the rotating hurricane, letting out a silent roar!
The Konoha Leaf Dragon God descends again!
Below, Karura's Quicksand Waterfall Flow was already complete, and the entire desert boiled under her will.
Facing the blue giant dragon rushing down from mid-air with the momentum of destruction, she raised her hands, her eyes calm and determined.
"Sand Waterfall Great Burial!"
Rumble rumble rumble!!
The entire desert, all the sand converted and controlled by her chakra, was mobilized at this moment!
As if the sleeping yellow ocean was completely enraged, towering sand waves rolled upwards. Their scale far exceeded any previous attack, as if they were going to bury the entire sky. With a terrifying momentum that could bury everything, they met the diving blue dragon god head-on!
The blue hurricane of destruction and the yellow sea of burial!
In the next instant, without any trickery, they crashed together solidly!
Rumble rumble rumble!!!!
An indescribable, terrifying loud noise exploded, like a thunderclap on level ground!
Dazzling white light and surging energy turbulence erupted at the center of the collision. The violent shockwave, mixed with shredded sand, leftover chakra flames, and rock dust shaken into powder, instantly formed a huge, rolling, and rising grey-yellow dust cloud, expanding suddenly like a small mushroom cloud and completely swallowing most of the center of the arena!
Vision was completely obscured, and even the barrier walls were vibrating and humming violently.
---
In this moment of blocked sight and confused perception.
Whoosh!
A cold flash of light tore through the dust screen, shooting out from the center of the chaos! It was a sharp katana, extremely fast, its tip pointing directly at Karura's position.
Karura's brows furrowed slightly; though surprised, she was not panicked.
The sandy ground in front of her had already surged up automatically, and the familiar shield of sand quickly solidified, preparing to intercept this seemingly desperate throwing attack.
The long sword arrived in an instant, just as it was about to hit the surface of the newly formed sand shield hard.
Bang!
A soft sound, not the sound of clashing metal, but the sound of smoke exploding!
The flying katana suddenly turned into a cloud of white smoke. Within the smoke, a black figure appeared like a ghost; it was Higashino Shinichi!
And in his right palm, which he was pushing forward at this moment, a head-sized, crazily rotating azure chakra ball emitting heart-palpating destructive fluctuations had already condensed into form!
'Odama Rasengan!'
'Not good!'
Karura's light brown eyes suddenly contracted, and a strong sense of crisis originating from instinct screamed a warning!
She could feel that the terrifying penetration and destructive power contained within this technique could very likely... truly pierce through her shield of sand!
She wanted to retreat, wanted to mobilize more sand for multi-layered defense, but the drawback of being in a clerical position for years and lacking life-and-death combat experience was once again exposed. Her physical reaction was a beat slower than her mind realizing the danger!
It was this fatal moment!
Shinichi gave a low shout, holding the head-sized ball of violent energy and slamming it hard against the shield of sand that was close at hand!
Boom!!!
The deafening explosion sounded again, but it was completely different from the previous collision. The moment the Odama Rasengan touched the shield of sand, the highly concentrated and violently rotating chakra displayed terrifying penetration characteristics. The surface of the solid sand shield made an overburdened "crackling" sound of breaking, and after holding on for less than half a second, it was forcefully drilled through and blasted open!
Although the volume of the Rasengan significantly shrank by a circle during the penetration process and its light dimmed slightly, its remaining energy was still incredibly violent. Like a cannonball leaving the barrel, it landed solidly on Karura's arms, which she had hurriedly crossed in front of her chest to protect herself!