Chapter 725: To be in the top eight, you can only defeat Fengying (ask for monthly tickets)

Three days after the preliminary rounds, the Martial Arts Tournament officially began.

To differentiate it from the Youth Martial Arts Tournament, the Shinobi Sect did not continue to use the original venue.

Instead, they built a larger open-air venue, with both the spectator stands and the combat arena for the contestants being twice the size of those at the Youth Martial Arts Tournament.

The competition system, however, remained unchanged; it was still the original method of drawing numbers to determine the fighting order.

“May Sage Muzuki bless me, may Six Paths Sage bless me, please give me a good draw!”

Obito clasped his hands together, his eyes fixed on the large screen hanging on the wall, hoping he could draw an absolutely perfect lot.

In the Martial Arts Tournament, unless one’s strength was enough to sweep everyone aside, luck was also very important.

For example, in the previous Youth Martial Arts Tournament, if he hadn’t drawn a good lot, Obito would have found it very difficult to place second, because at that time, he most likely couldn’t have beaten Might Guy.

Of course, besides luck, one also needed a certain level of strength; even if one was lucky enough to encounter the weakest Kage, they were still a Kage, not someone an ordinary Ninja could defeat.

On the dark screen, the names and numbers of the contestants began to flash wildly. Finally, after half a minute, the large screen was filled with densely packed contestant names.

“No. 1 Might Guy…” Obito quickly scanned the large screen, trying to find his name.

Ultimately, Obito found his name at position fifty-seven.

“So far back.”

Obito grumbled, then continued to scan the large screen, checking which Ninja were his potential opponents.

Once the numbers for the Martial Arts Tournament system were out, it became very clear which Ninja one might encounter next.

For example, if Might Guy was No. 1, then before the quarterfinals, Might Guy only needed to pay attention to the strong individuals from No. 1 to No. 8.

“Useless Six Paths Sage, and how is Rin’s luck even worse than mine?”

Seeing Rin Nohara as No. 63 and Rasa as No. 64 on the screen, Obito’s eyes widened.

Rin Nohara’s luck was only slightly better than Asuma’s, who encountered a Hokage in the preliminaries; her first-round opponent in the knockout stage was the Kazekage.

Moreover, if both Obito and Rasa were not eliminated early, then Obito and Rasa would meet in the round of sixteen, and the winner could advance to the quarterfinals.

Obito was numb; he had to defeat a Kage just to make it to the quarterfinals. What kind of competition was this?

He would never laugh again.

Obito continued to look at the large screen and realized that if he really advanced to the quarterfinals, he would have to face his old opponent, Nagato.

“His luck isn’t good either.”

Obito mentally calculated and found that Nagato’s luck was even worse than his; he at least encountered a young Fourth Kage, while Nagato’s opponent in the round of sixteen was the Third Mizukage.

Neither of their opponents in the first two rounds were famous powerhouses; they were both guaranteed to advance, almost certainly meeting in the round of sixteen.

Then Obito looked for Kakashi’s name and found that Kakashi’s number was also relatively far back, at forty-one.

Around Kakashi’s number were two relatively famous Ninja: one was Pakura, the Sunagakure hero, who might be Kakashi’s second-round opponent, and the other was Killer Bee from the AB Combo, who might be Kakashi’s opponent in the round of sixteen.

Obito stopped looking after that and quickly ran to Rin Nohara to comfort her:

“Rin, don’t be discouraged. Everyone has bad luck sometimes. Look at Asuma; his strength isn’t worse than yours, and he didn’t even make it into the knockout stage.”

“It’s fine. Usually, I don’t even get the chance to fight a Kage. Maybe it’s good luck,” Rin Nohara said with a gentle smile.

She truly didn’t care much about the numbers.

Initially, Rin Nohara might have had the idea of achieving a good result.

After learning that the Five Kage and many other strong individuals were participating, Rin Nohara calmed her mind.

She didn’t have the strength of Obito or Kakashi; she was just a medical Ninja with limited combat ability. If her ranking was low, then so be it.

“That actually makes a lot of sense, huh,” Obito said, scratching his head with a chuckle.

Seeing that Rin Nohara’s mood wasn’t affected, he felt relieved.

“Even if it’s the Kazekage, I’ll definitely make him look bad!” Obito thought to himself.

If Rasa eliminated Rin Nohara, even if he couldn’t beat Rasa, he wouldn’t let Rasa advance easily.

“Retsuishi and Yagura Karatachi, huh…” Shisui looked at the large screen and fell into thought.

He was No. 17; if he advanced all the way, he might encounter Retsuishi in the second round and Yagura Karatachi in the round of sixteen.

Shisui was not unfamiliar with these two Ninja. Retsuishi was the captain of the Iwa Explosion Corps, known in the Ninja World for his Explosion Release.

And Shisui was even more familiar with Yagura Karatachi; he had seen Yagura Karatachi fight with his own eyes several times. He was indeed a very powerful Ninja.

“There are too many strong participants; it’s not easy for anyone to advance,” Shisui lamented internally.

Not only would he encounter strong opponents, but Might Guy’s side was also tough; Might Guy would face the Raikage Candidate in the round of sixteen.

“My dear friend, it’s truly a pity. This time, we can only meet if we both reach the finals,” Might Guy said to Kakashi with a look of regret as he walked beside him.

He was No. 1, and Kakashi was No. 41.

This meant one was in the upper half and the other in the lower half; to meet, they would each have to fight their way through their respective halves.

However, the participants this time were too exaggerated; even someone as confident as Might Guy wasn’t absolutely sure he could go all the way.

“The more difficulties we encounter, the more we must press forward! This is youth! Let’s work hard together to reach the finals!”

Might Guy enthusiastically gave Kakashi a thumbs-up, extending an invitation to meet in the ultimate match.

Not being sure was one thing; whether or not to strive for it was another. Might Guy was never afraid of challenges, nor was he afraid of failure.

Kakashi looked at Might Guy with a black line on his face. Challenging difficulties was a good quality, but this difficulty was simply too great.

If Kakashi could fight his way into the quarterfinals, his opponent would be Hiruzen Sarutobi. Facing the Professor of Ninjutsu, who mastered thousands of Ninjutsu and secret techniques, would he win?

He would definitely lose!

If the opponent was a Fourth Kage like Rasa, Kakashi believed there was still hope.

But against Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kakashi truly didn’t know how he could win.

Soon, the competition officially began, and the broadcast started announcing the contestants’ names.

“First match, No. 1 Might Guy against No. 2 Jonin Hikari! Contestants, please enter the arena quickly.”

The referee’s voice echoed into the contestant lounge.

Might Guy gave his companions a thumbs-up and walked straight into the passage leading to the combat arena without looking back.

Jonin Hikari briefly greeted the Iwagakure Ninja and also prepared to leave.

“Just do your best. That Guy isn’t someone you can deal with,” Kitsuchi reminded him.

He had briefly fought Might Guy in the final battle of the Third Shinobi World War.

Although it wasn’t long, Might Guy left a deep impression on Kitsuchi; he was a very strong Taijutsu Ninja.

Jonin Hikari:…

He knew Kitsuchi’s intention was good, but he was, after all, a well-known Jonin in Iwagakure. Was it a bit hurtful to say such things before the match even began?

Fortunately, Jonin Hikari understood Kitsuchi’s personality and knew that Kitsuchi was just straightforward, not mocking his lack of strength.

Jonin Hikari nodded slightly in response and then no longer lingered, walking into the passage.

In a unique viewing stand above the spectator seats, Rasa saw Jonin Hikari emerge and said with a smile to Ōnoki:

“Did this Jonin Hikari have his arms undergo our Sunagakure’s puppet modification? I have some impression of him; he’s an excellent Jonin.”

Currently, Sunagakure’s puppet prosthetic technology still couldn’t compare to the Shinobi Sect’s, but the puppet prosthetics that Ninja could use had been developed.

Besides disabled Ninja, some Ninja would also undergo a certain degree of modification to pursue strength.

“Hmm, Jonin Hikari is indeed quite good, but his opponent is a super genius,” Ōnoki replied, glancing at Hiruzen Sarutobi and Muzuki nearby.

Although they were also contestants, due to their special status, they still had special viewing seats.

They only needed to pass through a special passage before the battle began to easily reach the combat arena.

“I’ve seen another possibility for Taijutsu in Guy,” Hiruzen Sarutobi praised with a chuckle.

Before Might Guy, Hiruzen Sarutobi had never imagined that a pure Taijutsu Ninja could grow to such a degree.

Teacher Chen had the title of Konoha’s strongest Taijutsu user, but Teacher Chen didn’t only use Taijutsu; Teacher Chen used Ninjutsu, and quite a lot of it, and even Genjutsu. Teacher Chen was just best at Taijutsu.

Might Guy was different; aside from his Summoning Jutsu, he had almost nothing else to speak of.

There was no Taijutsu Ninja in the entire Ninja World purer than Might Guy.

Muzuki didn’t speak, feeling strange sitting and chatting with his Shadow Clone.

“Eight Gates, Gate of Limit, Open!”

After understanding Jonin Hikari’s strength, Might Guy instantly opened the Fifth Gate, a powerful surge of Chakra erupting within him, and his aura rapidly climbed.

At the same time, Might Guy focused his breathing to the extreme, using Rock Breathing to enhance his physical abilities.

“Leaf Strong Whirlwind!”

Might Guy dodged the blades on Jonin Hikari’s arms with extreme speed, concentrating a large amount of Chakra in his leg, and delivered a heavy kick.

Boom!

Jonin Hikari, who was kicked, was sent flying like a cannonball, slamming heavily into the thick wall at the edge of the arena, and he passed out.

“Might Guy wins!”

The referee, seeing that Jonin Hikari was unable to get up, immediately declared Might Guy’s victory.

Although his Jonin was defeated, Ōnoki’s expression did not change because of it.

Jonin Hikari’s defeat was within his expectations. Although Jonin Hikari was good, Might Guy was already a Ninja World powerhouse on Kitsuchi’s level, and a special pure Taijutsu Ninja; a crushing defeat was too normal.

“Contestant No. 3…”

The referee continued to read down the match list.

The first round did not have too many intense clashes; famous strong individuals had not yet met each other.

Most of the Five Kage’s opponents in the first round still forfeited; many people didn’t want to lose face in front of so many spectators.

Rin Nohara, however, did not concede or forfeit, but she had little resistance against Rasa’s Magnet Release and was quickly defeated.

Besides Rin Nohara, Yamato also suffered a first-round exit.

Yamato didn’t encounter any famous Ninja World powerhouses; his first-round opponent was Yahiko.

Yahiko couldn’t be compared to Nagato, but he had also trained with Muzuki for a considerable amount of time, and being much older than Yamato, his overall strength was greater.

After the first round of battles concluded, there was a five-day break before the second round of battles began.

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