Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

Though he had already learned from Seiki that the opponent could fly, Asuma still secretly clung to a bit of hope.

Perhaps the enemy could only hover a few meters off the ground? Or maybe they could only go straight up and down?

But now it was clear—Natsuhoshi's flight had no limits, and her aerial maneuvering skills were remarkably flexible.

With the enemy holding an overwhelming aerial advantage, Asuma's upcoming match would undoubtedly be extremely difficult.

Facing foreign shinobi, Ibiki rarely showed concern as he asked, "Asuma, got a plan?"

Asuma casually flipped his hair back. "Not a clue!"

Ibiki twitched his lips helplessly. "Then why do you look so confident?"

Asuma glanced sideways at him. "I'm the guy who can get wiped out twelve times in one minute! This pressure is nothing! If she really wants it, let her take me out like Satori did—instantly!"

Ibiki immediately gave up, muttering under his breath, "So it's all about pretending you don't feel stress, huh?"

The following matches weren't particularly interesting and quickly passed, bringing them to the third round.

The very first match sent waves of excitement through the audience.

Because this time, it was a battle between Baki of the Sand—the most deeply hiding—and Konoha's Seiki, the most gifted.

"Baki actually concealed his true strength in his first two matches. He's finally going to reveal his real power this time, right?"

"Yeah, seems like he saved everything specifically for this moment!"

"This must be an extremely high-level fight—don't blink!"

Compared to the excited crowd, the Sand Village delegation sat in solemn silence.

"Brother Baki, rest in peace!"

"Be strong!"

"Don't worry—it's not shameful to lose!"

Baki's face darkened. If it weren't for those idiots making such a big deal about him, outsiders wouldn't have hyped him up like this in the first place.

Chuura, a Jonin, at least offered some comfort, saying, "When you go up there, make Sand Clones immediately. Keep your eyes shut tight the whole time. Try to resist his Genjutsu effects as much as possible and hold out a little longer. With Cloud and Mist as your competition, you won't look too bad even if you lose."

Baki bitterly smiled. Back in Sunagakure, he had been considered a genius—even with several extra years of training compared to these guys—but now he realized just how many geniuses truly existed in this world. Now, his mentor's advice amounted to nothing more than hoping he could survive a little longer.

"Well...at least there's Iwagakure to fall behind." Thinking this, Baki felt slightly relieved.

The two entered the arena.

Seeing Seiki's composed and calm expression, Baki's breathing grew tense. Only standing here did he truly understand the immense pressure Mei Terumi and others had previously faced.

As soon as the referee announced the start of the match, Baki instinctively shut his eyes and created Sand Clones. From all directions, his clones launched shuriken at Seiki.

While skillfully dodging, Seiki's hands never stopped forming hand seals.

[Genjutsu: Sacred Chant!]

In just one second, Baki froze mid-attack with a sudden enlightened expression on his face, then dropped like a stone—out cold before he hit the ground.

Not even putting up the slightest symbolic resistance like Mei Terumi had done!

At this sight, none of the Kage present on the stage looked surprised.

After Mei Terumi had fallen to a single Genjutsu, they'd already known exactly how this would play out.

Despite everything, their hearts still trembled. "What a monster! It seems only Yugito Nii from the Cloud Village can defeat him!"

The spectators surrounding the arena, however, instantly erupted.

"This is all? This is all? Who said this would be an intense battle?"

"I really shouldn't have blinked. The moment I did, I missed how Baki of Sunagakure lost!"

Yet some so-called 'neutral bystanders' began spreading rumors orchestrated by a certain Kage.

"Can't you see? Obviously Baki intentionally fell for the genjutsu to preserve Seiki Shimaseki's strength!"

"Sand ninja, let's be fair—Baki definitely held back!"

"A prominent figure long associated with the Sand has appeared uninvited; Baki must still be hiding his power!"

Hearing these explanations, everyone suddenly understood.

"Now that makes sense—he must have let himself fall for the genjutsu even with his eyes shut!"

"Whoa! Looks like the Sand and the Leaf are actually working together!"

Amidst these astonished and suspicious murmurs, the referee slowly announced:

"Round three, match one winner: Seiki Shimaseki from Konoha. Match two: Asuma Sarutobi of Konoha versus Natsuhoshi from Hoshigakure!"

Asuma eagerly leapt down and fixed his opponent with a challenging stare. "Don't think you've won just because you can fly!"

Natsuhoshi shook her head slightly. "Your strength is great. Even with my flight technique, I only have a slight chance of victory."

The fight began.

Asuma dashed forward swiftly with his chakra blade, attempting to knock her down before she could take flight.

However, Natsuhoshi saw through his plan. She blocked momentarily using mirroring techniques while she herself seized the opportunity to fly into the sky.

"What a pain!" Asuma inhaled the cigarette between his lips all at once, then exhaled a thick puff of smoke.

[Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!]

Immediately, the heavy smoke engulfed the battlefield entirely. Unable to locate Asuma, Natsuhoshi could only keep moving in the air to avoid being a sitting duck.

Suddenly, the smoke burst into flames. Amid the swirling ashes, a gust blew up fiercely, creating a blazing whirlwind swallowing toward Natsuhoshi.

While quickly flying away, Natsuhoshi manipulated a long chakra dragon to collide with the fire tornado.

Boom!

The exploding flames scattered everywhere. Then, a chakra blade spun through the fire straight toward Natsuhoshi.

"Incredible—he can remotely control ninja tools like this!" Natsuhoshi exclaimed inwardly. Using her mirroring techniques, she shaped her chakra into a glowing wall blocking the incoming chakra blade.

"It's not over yet!" After a loud roar, another whirlwind surged upward from the battlefield below.

This time was different though—Asuma propelled himself upward along with the whirlwind.

"Preparing for the final move?" Natsuhoshi struggled to send forth another chakra dragon toward Asuma.

Maintaining the light wings for flight, forming the glowing barrier, and now controlling a third stream of chakra—it was already pushing her limit.

However, when the roaring Asuma was bitten by the chakra dragon, he surprisingly "poofed" into smoke and vanished.

"This—is Shadow Clone Technique? Then where's his real body..." Alarmed, Natsuhoshi immediately turned her gaze downward toward the arena below.

At that moment, a faint whistling sound came from behind her.

"...That Chakra Blade again!" Natsuhoshi realized the problem at last, still lacking experience.

Asuma resumed his true form, crashing through the wall of light and swinging the Chakra Blade at Natsuhoshi.

Slicing sound!

With no leverage in midair, Asuma's strike only managed to slice a part of Natsuhoshi's sleeve before losing force.

Even so, Natsuhoshi broke out in a cold sweat. "Man, that was intense! No wonder you're Konoha's genius ninja!"

Just as Natsuhoshi braced herself for Asuma's next attack, he suddenly shrugged and gave up.

Natsuhoshi exclaimed in shock, "Wait, shouldn't I be at a disadvantage right now?"

"I've tried every move I can think of while in the air — there's no point in going on." Asuma said outwardly, while thinking inwardly, "I'm not stupid enough to actually beat you — then I'd have to fight Seiki next!"

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