(A.N: Hey guys do any of new some Ideas to increase the reach of this novel, I would be really thankful if anyone shared some... please^~^)

  ***

  The energy iadium hadn’t waned sihe first few matches. If anything, it had only intensified. The spectators, both civilians and shinobi alike, were locked in, their eyes glued to the arena. After the exhirating matches between various partits, anticipation for the round was sky-high. Now, it was time for the st two fierce battles.

  As the proctor stepped forward once more, his voice amplified to annouhe match, a hushed silence fell over the crowd.

  “ match: Deidara of Iwagakure versus Naoki of Kirigakure!”

  Immediately, the arena buzzed with excitement. Deidara was a name known even among the younger geion—simply because he never actually hid his powers. A prodigy of Iwagakure, feared for his Explosion Release and his mastery of destructive cy-based jutsu. Oher hand was Naoki, a skilled Water Release user from Kirigakure. Though not as famous as Deidara, just being from a major vilge was enough of a testament to his strength—no major vilge would send a weak ninja to the in Exams.

  “Pce your bets now! Deidara from Iwagakure, 1:1.3, and Naoki from Kirigakure, 1:2! Explosive odds for an explosive match!” the stall owners shouted, adding to the fever-pitched atmosphere. Being in this field, they had some idea of the partits as well.

  As the two petitors ehe arena, the differeween them was striking. Deidara’s wild blonde hair and carefree demeanor trasted sharply with Naoki’s calm, collected posure. Deidara’s smirk and rexed posture made it seem as though he wasn’t taking the match seriously, but everyone who knew him uood better. His nont attitude art of his style—Deidara always saw his art in the destru he caused, and he was fident in the power of his creations.

  Naoki, however, was not intimidated. Aside from strength, he also had quite a lot of experience, having killed his fair share of ninja. Some of them were even strohan him, but in the end, he was the winner, and that was all that mattered.

  The proctor raised his hand and shouted, “Begin!”

  Deidara immediately reached into his pouch, pulling out a handful of cy. The mouths in his palms began to chew, molding the to small, lifelike shapes—a swarm of birds. With a quick hand sign, Deidara sent the cy birds s into the air. After reag a satisfactory height, they swooped down toward Naoki, fast and deadly, ready to explode on impact.

  Naoki reacted instantly, f seals at a rapid pace. “**Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!**” he shouted, and a barrage of high-speed water bullets shot toward the ining birds. Each water bullet collided with a cy bird, detonating them in midair before they could reach him. The explosio shockwaves through the stadium, but Naoki remained firm, his water bullets ralizing the worst of the damage.

  *Woooh* came a shout from the audiehe start of the match was the most visually impag of all they had seen so far.

  “Hmm, not bad,” Deidara muttered to himself, his grin widening as he molded more cy, this time creating small, spider-like creatures. He tossed them onto the ground, and the spiders scurried toward Naoki with terrifying speed.

  “**Water Release: Water Wall!**” Naoki called out as a high wall of water rose in front of him, blog the cy spiders as they exploded harmlessly against it. But even as Naoki held his defense, he was aware that this was just the beginning. Deidara’s attacks weren’t meant to break through—he was evaluating him. Though Naoki wao attack, the number of spiders and birds attag him was not small, so he had to defend while keeping an eye on Deidara.

  As the smoke from the explosions cleared, Naoki shifted his stance. Knowing he may not get such a ce again, he prepared to go on the offensive. He performed another series of hand signs and smmed his hands down. “**Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!**” A massive dragon made entirely of water surged forward from Naoki’s position, its maw open wide as it shot toward Deidara with incredible force.

  Deidara, unfazed by the sight of the ining dragon, quickly formed his own seals. “**Earth Release: Earth Dome Jutsu!**” he called out, and a thie of earth rose around him just in time to block the water dragon’s ferocious attack. The dragon collided with the earth barrier, creating a massive spsh and dreng the battlefield, but Deidara was fihough the dome had almost colpsed, it did its job—proteg Deidara.

  Naoki gritted his teeth. He knew Deidara’s Earth teiques, famous for their defense, would be difficult to break through. He had to be careful not to overextend himself. While Deidara’s attacks were explosive and deadly, Naoki knew his own jutsu could wear Deidara dowime.

  However, Deidara had other pns. From behind his earth dome, he crafted more explosive cy—this time in the form of a rge bird. As the earth dome crumbled away, the bird flew high into the air, cirg above the battlefield. Naoki immediately fired more water bullets, but the bird was agile, dodging the attacks. Being high in the air, it had ample time to do so. Uhe smaller birds, this one was in full trol of Deidara.

  “**Art is an explosion!**” Deidara shouted, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He made the hand sign to detohe bird, but Naoki was ready.

  “**Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!**” Naoki yelled, sending a massive surge of water spiraling toward the bird. The water collided with the bird midair, f it to explode high above the stadium, sending a rain of water and debris down onto the battlefield.

  The crowd erupted in cheers, impressed by the spectacle in front of them. This was the true power of ninjas—capable of altering the terrain.

  Deidara, now drenched but smiling even wider, decided to escate the fight. He molded even more his hands, creating another swarm of smaller birds and spiders. This time, he sent them toward Naoki from multiple angles, f him to split his attention.

  Naoki mao block several of the attacks with his water jutsu, but some of the cy creatures slipped through. One exploded near his leg, causing him to stumble back with a grunt of pain. Before he could recover, another explosio off close to his shoulder, sending him tumbling across the wet ground.

  The croed as Naoki struggled to stand, blood dripping from a few minor wounds. Deidara wasn’t letting up, and Naoki knew he had to end this soon. Being injured, he now had even less ce to defend himself, so he prepared to make his final move.

  But Deidara wasn’t giving him any time. He crafted one final, rger cy spider a it rag toward Naoki. With a swift hand sigo just as it reached a few meters away from Naoki’s feet.

  A deafening explosion rocked the stadium. Smoke and debris filled the air, and for a moment, the crowd held its breath.

  As the dust settled, Naoki y on the ground, unscious and severely injured from the bst. His body was covered in burns and bruises, and the stadium fell silent.

  The proctor rushed forward to che Naoki before raising his hand. “Winner: Deidara!”

  The crowd erupted in appuse, but Deidara wasn’t paying attention. He goward Kaida, standing among the other partits, and gave him a subtle smirk before turning and leaving the battlefield.

  Mediinja rushed onto the field to tend to Naoki, lifting him onto a stretcher and carrying him out of the stadium. The fight had been intense, but Deidara’s explosive power had proven too much for Naoki to handle.

  “You really made a powerful enemy for yourself,” Kabuto said, seeing the smirk on Deidara’s face as he looked toward Kaida.

  “Well, he’s notain’s problem anyway, so I don’t have to worry about a thing,” Kaida said, shrugging his shoulders. For the first time, Itachi felt like pung someone, but he had to go for his match.

  ---

  As the dust settled from Deidara’s victory and some of the restoration had been dohe proctor stepped fain.

  “ match: Itachi Uchiha of Konohagakure versus Ayami of Kumogakure!”

  The crowd buzzed with anticipation. Itachi, a member of the Uchiha , and for those who knew better, heir to the , had no doubt about his strength at all.

  After witnessing Kaida’s use of genjutsu to swiftly defeat his oppo earlier, Ayami, a kunoichi from Kumogakure, was on high alert. She knew better than to look directly at an Uchiha’s Sharingan, and her guard as she ehe battlefield.

  Ayami, a skilled swordswoman and user of Lightning-Style jutsu, kept her head down, avoiding any direct eye tact with Itachi. She knew she couldn’t afford to fall under his genjutsu.

  Itachi, oher hand, remained calm and posed. He could see that Ayami was taking precautions against his Sharingan, but that didn’t faze him at all.

  “Begin!” the proctor called.

  Itachi didn’t waste any time. He formed a series of hand seals and unleashed a **Fireball Jutsu**, sending a massive wave of fmes toward Ayami. She quickly formed seals of her own, using a **Lightning Release** teique to move swiftly, dodging the attack easily.

  Before she could fully recover, Itachi used his **Body Flicker Jutsu**, disappearing from view in an instant. He reappeared directly in front of her, his movements too fast for her to react.

  Ayami instinctively swung her bde, but she made a fatal mistake—her eyes flicked toward Itachi’s face for just a split sed duritack.

  That was all Itaeeded.

  Ayami’s movements froze as she fell under his genjutsu. The entire crowd knew what had happehe moment she made eye tact with Itachi, the match was over.

  Itachi, calm and collected as always, approached her slowly, just as Kaida had done in his match. The crowd watched in silence as he raised his hand and tapped Ayami lightly on the neck.

  The genjutsu broke, and Ayami came out of it with a defeated look on her face. She said, “I surrender.”

  The proctor stepped forward. “Winner: Itachi Uchiha!” The match was over even before people could pce their bets. Those who had wao bet on Ayami thanked every god they could, relieved that their money was saved.

  The crowd erupted into cheers once again, though this time there was a certain awe in the air. Itachi’s mastery of genjutsu and his calm, calcuted approach had left everyone iadium speechless. Along with his looks, some marriage proposals were flying toward him from the girls iadium.

  Itachi simply ignored all that and walked off the field.