Oher side, the energy iadium was electric, buzzing with excitement as thousands of spectators filled every er, their voices melding together into an endless sea of sound. This wasn’t just another event—it was the event.

  The final stage of the in Exams, where the best of the best would csh in front of cheering crowds, elite shinobi, and even the highest-ranking officials from the great nations. Each match carried the weight of years of training, sacrifice, and dreams.

  Vendors shouted over the noise, selling food, drinks, and memorabilia to eager fans. High above the a, the three Daimyo sat in their exclusive booths, enjoying the spectacle with a casual air that only the wealthiest and most powerful could muster. Yet beh the surface, there was a yer of iy even here—100 million Ryo had been casually bet on the results of these matches.

  At the ter of it all was the massive stoadium, carved into the natural cliffs of Kumogakure. The sheer size and grandeur of the pce dwarfed that of the stadium in Konoha. Maybe Kumogakure spent more on military and fighting, or perhaps the mountain terrain was just optimal for it, but ohing was certain—it was grand.

  This was where futures would be decided. Not of the ninjas, because every partit had the caliber to reach in level easily. What the future here meant was the number of missions a vilge would get this year and their overall reputation.

  A proctor stepped forward to the edge of the battle arena, raising his voice to cut through the crowd's noise. His sharp, no-nonsense expression sighat it was time for the opening match to begin.

  “Partits, please step forward when your name is called,” he announced, his voice amplified by chakra for the eadium to hear.

  "First match: Darui of Kumogakure versus Shima of Sunagakure!"

  “Pce your bets now! The champion of Kumogakure or the hope of Sunagakure—the odds are 1:1.25 for Darui and 1:2 for Shima,” the stall owners started shouting. But si was almost guarahat Darui would win, no major bets were pced by the big shots, who had access to basiformation from the ninja world. Civilians, however, still pced bets, uerred by the odds.

  The crowd roared, eager to see the match. Darui, from Kumogakure, was well-known for his mastery of *Bck Lightning* in the vilge—sihe previous user of this teique was the Third Raikage himself, Darui’s fame was not small at all.

  He stepped into the arena with his usual calm and posed demeanor, his white hair framing his eyes as he surveyed his oppo.

  Across from him, Shima, the Sunagakure kunoichi, walked in fidently. Unlike Darui, she was less known to the audience, but her quiet strength radiated from her every move. Being the captain of a team from a major vilge roof enough that she wasn’t weak. With her wind jutsu and special kenjutsu, Darui knew she wouldn’t be an easy oppo—but nothing he couldn’t defeat.

  The proctor raised his hand. “Let the match begin!”

  Darui wasted no time, quickly f hand seals to summon his *Bck Lightning*, a rare and deadly element that only he in Kumogakure had mastered. His fingers crackled with dark lightning as he fired off a bolt straight at Shima, who was already moving.

  Seeing the famous dark lightning, she dodged, predig the trajectory of the attack. With a swift sidestep, Shima avoided the bolt, her speed impressive even to Darui.

  ‘She isn’t just fast—she’s calcutive,’ Darui thought.

  Shima immediately retaliated, using her *Wind Style: Gale Cutter* to send sharp, slig wind bdes toward Darui. He dodged most of the attack, using a lightning movement jutsu to increase his speed rapidly. But even at that speed, dodging all the bdes wasn’t possible—he had to use his lightning-coated bde to deflee as well.

  The crowd erupted, watg the csh between two skilled warriors. her was willing to back down, each testing the other’s limits. Shima’s tactics were simple—she used her Wind Style attacks to create an opportunity for close bat, knowing her ces in a ninjutsu-based duel were low.

  Lightning jutsu, especially Bck Lightning, were perversely hard to defend against. Even though Darui uood her pn, he went along with it, calm and collected. He wao see what she was truly capable of.

  The two exged a flurry of blows, her gaining a clear advantage. Shima’s sharp bde cut through the air, aiming for Darui’s oints, but Darui tered with his owsu. Lightning cshed against wind, creating sparks and gusts of air that rippled across the arena.

  The tension mounted as both fighters grew mgressive, appearing at one er of the stadium one moment, then on the opposite side the . The crowd went wild, cheering for the fighters they had bet on.

  After fighting in close bat for so long, Shima uood that even isu, she didn’t have a clear ce of winning. She decided to use her final jutsu, but Darui wasn’t going to give her any more ces. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, trating his chakra.

  When he opehem again, f a series of hand seals in an instant, a dark aura surrounded him as he summoned his *Bck Panther*—an enormous, lightning-infused beast made entirely from his Bck Lightning chakra. The panther roared as it shot forward, tearing through the gust of wind with ease and charging directly at Shima.

  There was no time for Shima to react. The Bck Panther smmed into her, its lightning-infused fangs paralyzing her movements. She hit the ground, defeated but still scious. The crowd roared in awe of Darui’s power.

  The proctor stepped forward. “Winner: Darui!”

  The stadium erupted with appuse as Darui helped Shima to her feet, her a nod of respect before walking off the field.

  ---

  The energy iadium only intensified as the match was announced.

  “ match: Kaida of Konohagakure versus Shiro of Takigakure!”

  "Pce your bets, everyone! Kaida Uchiha from Konohagakure at 1:1.1, and Shiro from Takigakure at 1:4! That’s right—quadruple your money if you bet on Shiro and he wins! On-a-lifetime odds!” the stall owners shouted again. Normally, anyone sane would bet on Kaida, simply because he was from a major vilge, but the temptation of quadrupling their money was too muany to resist. Plenty of people bet on Shiro, praying for a miracle.

  Uerred by the crowd’s excitement, Kaida and Shiro ehe stadium.

  Kaida stood at the edge of the arena, his expression calm and unreadable. His mind was focused, though he could still feel the lingering fatigue from his genjutsu training. It was manageable—nothing major.

  Shiro, oher hand, looked nervous but determined. He wasn’t as strong as Kaida, but his resolve to fight for his vilge pushed him forward. He represeakigakure, a smaller, lesser-known vilge. If it were just about himself, he might have given up, but now it was about his vilge’s reputation. Running away wasn’t an option.

  As the two stepped into the arena, Kaida could sehe tension in Shiro. He admired the boy’s determination—Shiro knew he was outmatched, but he was still willing to fight. It was a rare quality in a ninja, especially one from a minor vilge.

  The proctor raised his hand once more. “Let the match begin!”

  Shiro didn’t waste a sed, immediately f hand seals for a *Water Style* jutsu. He knew his best ce was to take Kaida by surprise and use his water teiques to keep him at bay. But as soon as Shiro began his jutsu, Kaida was already moving.

  Kaida’s ha up in front of his face, f quid fluid hand seals. Shiro, instinctively, goward Kaida’s hands to see if he could guess which jutsu he reparing—an automatic rea for any ninja in bat.

  But that was Shiro’s mistake.

  The moment Shiro’s eyes locked onto Kaida’s, he was caught. Kaida’s 3-tomoe Sharingan activated, and Shiro’s body froze. He had fallen under Kaida’s genjutsu.

  The crowd watched in stunned silence as Shiro suddenly jumped bad fired water bullets—pletely in the wrong dire—followed by another water release, then another.

  Kaida pced his hand in his pocket and calmly approached his oppo, his steps casual. Shiro, fully trapped in the genjutsu, could only stand there helplessly as Kaida reached him.

  “Hey, what are you doing? I pced money on you! At least give a prht!” some spectators shouted, unaware of what was really happening. Ninjas in the crowd expihe situation to them, and ohey uood it was a genjutsu, the disgruntled gamblers could only curse their own greed.

  As Kaida reached Shiro, without saying a word, he lifted his hand and lightly tapped Shiro on the neck. The genjutsu broke, and Shiro suddenly saw two red eyes before everything became clear.

  The proctor raised his hand

  “Winner: Kaida!”

  The audieed into appuse, though there were some murmurs of surprise. The match had been over before it even truly began, in previous match at least both sides performed their best to win, but here Kaida didn’t even through a single pund won a true testament of why genjutsu was so deadly and why Uchiha were feared, But what stood out to many was Kaida’s mercy. He could have easily harmed Shiro, but he chose not to. Instead, he had ehe match with a simple tap on the neck.