From the moment the giant screen displayed Sasuke Uchiha vs. Hoshino, the stadium erupted and didn't quiet down.
A prodigy of the Senju line against a prodigy of the Uchiha. Add in Sasuke's already loaded reputation, and anyone who knew the backstory knew this wasn't just another match, it was the match.
In Akio's arms, Tsukika clamped her hands over her ears, then cautiously loosened them every few seconds to make sure she hadn't gone deaf, only to cover them again with a relieved sigh.
Akio smiled. No words needed pinch the cheeks.
Down in the arena, Sasuke and Hoshino faced each other.
Sasuke clearly hadn't paid much attention to this classmate before, despite her standing out in her own way. His eyes drifted downward, puzzled by the way she stood… balanced high on her toes.
Hoshino gave a polite nod, her body subtly rising and falling with that strange stance.
"Your foot"
"Begin!"
Genma Shiranui's voice cut him off.
Sasuke frowned slightly, eyes flicking back to her posture. He noticed her heel slowly lowering toward the ground and only then relaxed, shifting into a probing taijutsu stance.
The instant her heel touched
She vanished.
A gust of wind struck from behind.
Sasuke reacted on instinct, raising his arm to guard his ribs, just in time to block a vicious roundhouse. But Hoshino used the recoil, spinning fluidly, her body twisting midair as her other leg whipped downward from above.
Sasuke activated his three-tomoe Sharingan, tracking her movement but only barely managed to tilt his head aside.
Her foot slammed into his shoulder.
The force staggered him and before he could recover, she chained the momentum into another strike.
This one landed clean across his face.
Sasuke went flying.
Two seconds.
That's all it took.
The entire stadium fell dead silent.
"Sasuke!" Sakura Haruno cried out.
Naruto Uzumaki stared, slack-jawed.
"…You've gotta be kidding me. What was that?!"
Sasuke wasn't finished not even close.
He'd angled his head at the last second and let his body fly to bleed off the impact. But that didn't change the fact that he'd just been completely outplayed.
He pushed himself back to his feet, eyes locked, Sharingan spinning.
"…What's going on with her footwork?"
Up in the stands
"Whoa! Sasuke got launched! Naruto's gotta be freaking out!" Tsukika giggled.
Akio smirked and pinched her cheek again.
"Wrong read. Naruto's into Sakura, remember? If anything, he should be thrilled."
"Really? Then why does he look worried?" she asked, blinking innocently.
Akio paused.
"…Team loyalty. Gotta keep up appearances."
"Ohhh."
He nodded.
"Exactly. Just like how you're pretending to be clueless right now, when you're actually laughing at me inside."
"…Huh?"
"Nice try, you little troublemaker. Prepare yourself, tickle attack!"
"Hahaha nooo! I give up! I give up!"
After thoroughly "dealing with" the kid, Akio turned his attention back to the match.
Sasuke was starting to adapt to Hoshino's unique "toe-balance" fighting style, but there was still a gap. She'd trained her body in ways that gave her a clear edge in close combat.
Especially her legs long, precise, relentless.
Her kicks came in waves, leaving Sasuke no room to breathe.
He had no choice but to disengage.
Hand signs flashed.
Fire Style.
Hoshino hesitated for a split second, then answered with her own Fire Style.
The air in the stadium turned scorching almost instantly.
Akio raised a brow and glanced toward Haku.
Without needing to be told, Haku quietly began cooling the area for everyone nearby.
"Hoshino's chakra reserves are lower than Sasuke's," Akio muttered.
"She can only trade fire techniques a couple more times before she runs dry…"
"Then it's time for my Chidori."
"…Huh? Grandpa… is it snowing?" Tsukika murmured.
Akio blinked.
"Snow? In the middle of summer? That'd be"
He stopped.
"…Feathers?"
His head snapped toward the source.
There an ANBU figure.
Kabuto Yakushi.
"It's genjutsu!" someone shouted.
"Something's wrong!"
One by one, spectators began collapsing into sleep.
Panic spread instantly.
Akio frowned slightly.
So Kabuto really is working for Orochimaru… but why attack now? Right in front of me? What exactly am I supposed to do here…
"God, are we fighting?" someone asked tensely.
"Grandpa… I'm sleepy…" Tsukika mumbled before going limp in his arms.
Akio hesitated for a brief moment.
Then glanced around at the chaos.
Then at Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, who were both staring at him expectantly.
"…Ah, damn. Looks like I got caught in it too."
Thud.
He dropped back dramatically, still holding Tsukika.
Kushina: "…"
Minato: "…"
Down below, the fight had already stopped.
Sasuke and Hoshino both sensed something was off and broke apart.
Then
A figure appeared between them.
The "Fourth Kazekage," holding Hiruzen Sarutobi hostage at kunai-point.
"…What's going on?" Sasuke muttered.
A familiar hand landed on his shoulder.
"…Brother?"
"Come with me. Now," Itachi Uchiha said quietly.
Across the field, Hoshino vanished as well, spirited away in an instant.
Akio cracked one eye open just enough to catch the scene.
So Hiruzen still got taken, huh…
He immediately shut it again when Kushina's gaze flicked his way.
In the next instant
Four figures landed at the corners of the arena.
"Barrier Technique!"
Before they could finish
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kushina and Minato moved simultaneously, knocking two of them away, while the other two were blasted back by reinforcements.
Then Hiruzen suddenly shouted:
"Seal off the arena now!"
The four regrouped, forming hand seals in unison.
"Barrier Technique: Four Crimson Ray Formation!"
A deep red barrier snapped into place, enclosing Hiruzen and the Kazekage.
Hiruzen's voice rang out, calm but sharp:
"Orochimaru… making a mistake like this? That's beneath you."
The Kazekage's face peeled away
Revealing Orochimaru beneath.
"Ah… so you figured it out."
He struck.
Hiruzen's body turned to mud.
A decoy.
Outside the barrier, Konoha's elite had already surrounded the area.
Among them Obito, Hiruzen's real body, and a full lineup of top-tier shinobi.
Civilians were being evacuated as fast as possible.
Inside the barrier, Orochimaru licked his lips.
"…Looks like I've walked into a trap."
Hand signs flashed.
"Impure World Reincarnation."
Three coffins rose from the ground.
Hiruzen's voice cut through sharply:
"Obito move, now!"
"I'm trying! That barrier's messing with my space-time jutsu!"
By the time reinforcements broke through
The coffins had opened.
The first: the real Fourth Kazekage.
The other two
Empty.
For the first time, Orochimaru looked genuinely confused.
"…The First and Second Hokage… failed to summon? How interesting."
His eyes scanned the overwhelming force now surrounding him.
"…Well. This just turned into a survival game."
Up in the stands, Akio cracked his eyes open again, just a sliver.
"…Sorry. Hashirama and Tobirama are… out of network range today."
He closed them once more, completely still.
Orochimaru… I've done what I can for you.
The rest is up to whether you can make it out alive.
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