Time, like Sarutobi Hiruzen's life, was slowly approaching death.
The Daimyo of the Fire Country and the Wind Country arrived in Konoha one after another, and the Kazekage of the Sand Ninja Village also came with his escort team. The final round naturally began.
After Natsuki and Tenten met up with everyone, they entered the competition venue together.
This venue was very large, generally funnel-shaped, with the competition area in the center, and spectator seats all around, giving it a feeling of a Roman coliseum.
Natsuki, with his sharp eyes, quickly found his cheap Father-in-law among the audience.
Uh, actually, it was because he had left a Flying Thunder God Technique on his cheap Father-in-law, which was why he could locate him so quickly.
Originally, he wanted to persuade his cheap Father-in-law to go on a business trip to the Fire Country Capital during the finals, but his Father-in-law said that it was a rare opportunity to see his daughter and son-in-law shine in front of everyone, and as a father, he couldn't possibly not go.
There was nothing he could do, so Natsuki could only leave the Flying Thunder God Technique as insurance.
In case of an unexpected situation, he would take the risk of teleporting to his Father-in-law's side to save him, and even if he was injured, he could use a senzu bean.
Being in the competition venue was also fine. Although the Konoha Crush started from the venue, in reality, it was just Orochimaru and the Third Hokage fighting on the roof high up, and then Kakashi, Kai, and other Jonin fighting against the Sand Ninja and Sound Ninja. Basically, it rarely affected civilians. Outside the venue, there were three-headed snakes invading, as well as a large number of Sand Ninja and Sound Ninja causing trouble, which was actually more unsafe.
Natsuki collected his thoughts and began to survey the venue.
At this time, the venue was already a world of people and a sea of flowers, and it was very noisy.
The audience all looked very much looking forward to this final. They were talking loudly, wishing that the Hokage would give each of them a microphone.
Above the high platform, two Daimyo with big heads and big ears had already taken their seats.
The two Daimyo seemed to be teasing or perhaps ridiculing each other, and possibly even betting. What they called the final exam was just a game in their eyes, and they didn't care whether the competition was dangerous or not, because they wouldn't be in danger.
Hmm, there was a sense of irony like nobles watching a gladiator arena.
On the other side of the high platform, the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage had also taken their seats.
Natsuki looked at the Kazekage from afar. At this time, the Kazekage was covering his face, and his appearance could not be seen clearly, but if nothing unexpected happened, it should be Orochimaru.
The Konoha Crush had been planned for a long time. As long as it was not completely exposed, it would definitely proceed according to the original plan. At this time, Orochimaru was not too close to Sarutobi Hiruzen. He only needed to wait for the opportunity to achieve the feat of killing his master.
"It's about time. Let's begin."
Sarutobi Hiruzen gave the order, and the referee immediately entered the arena.
Since the protagonist of Shippuden was already dead, Genma Shiranui was now the main referee.
Genma Shiranui had a long senbon in his mouth. After simply explaining the rules, he announced the start of the first match.
"Konoha's Shino Aburame, Hidden Sand Village's Kankuro, step forward!"
Shino nodded to his friends and then quickly went to the center of the arena.
Kankuro was thinking about whether to just surrender. After all, there were plans later, but since the first match had just started, surrendering like this would be somewhat inappropriate.
Moreover, since Temari was unable to participate in the finals, he didn't have to worry about combat power issues.
So, Kankuro went down with a stiff upper lip and faced Shino.
As the referee announced the start, Shino immediately released a large number of insects, drowning Kankuro. Kankuro also didn't plan to hide his main body, but instead directly manipulated the puppet called Karasu to fight.
However, Shino's insects were overwhelming, not only instantly covering the puppet, but also blocking his vision.
Kankuro felt the insects gnawing at the Chakra threads and quickly manipulated the puppet to defend, but Shino's insects continued to attack, making Kankuro flustered.
Indeed, Kankuro's strength was not weak, but it was difficult to defend against insects, and it was also difficult to hide in the open arena.
For a while, he was clearly at a disadvantage.
At this moment, he suddenly heard a familiar voice: "Idiot Kankuro! He's up there!"
Kankuro was stunned. He heard Temari's voice and suddenly looked up. He was immediately dumbfounded because there really was a Shino hovering in the air above his head. But that wasn't right, there was still a Shino in front of him, so which one was the clone? Also, when did the one above his head go up? Was it when the insects were blocking his vision?
He didn't have that much time to think. The two Shinos, under the cover of the insects, attacked.
Kankuro gritted his teeth, manipulated the puppet to meet the one above his head, while he himself dealt with the one on the ground.
Unexpectedly, the Shino above his head lifted his leg and swept out a Wind Release: Gale Palm slash, directly cutting off the puppet's head, and at the same time activated Iron Skin and smashed downwards.
Kankuro was attacked from both sides and immediately knew he had no chance of winning.
Even if the puppet lost its head, it could still be controlled, but he clearly saw how powerful Shino was, and he also didn't want to waste energy at this critical moment.
So when Shino caught him, he immediately shouted: "I surrender! I surrender!"
Genma Shiranui immediately said: "That's enough! Winner, Konoha's Shino Aburame!"
Shino immediately froze. The look in his eyes under his sunglasses was clearly dissatisfied, but since the referee had already announced the result, he didn't need to continue. He directly put away the insect clone and all the insects, put his hands in his pockets, turned around and walked away, which was quite cool.
Fortunately, the audience's applause and cheers made Shino feel much better.
"Shino, amazing!" Natsuki and Tenten gave a thumbs up.
"Mm, thank you." Shino was also not modest.
After all, he won with his real strength. Although that puppeteer might still be holding back his strength 490, even if the puppeteer used his full strength, he was capable of winning.
Next was the second match, Kato Megumi against Ino Yamanaka.
The Yamanaka clan was also a major clan in Konoha, so naturally, they received a lot of attention, which put a lot of pressure on Ino.
In comparison, Kato Megumi was very calm. After the referee announced the start, she immediately used the Summoning Technique to summon all eight ninja dogs, including Pakkun.
"Pakkun! Go bite her!"
The eight ninja dogs immediately pounced on Ino, scaring Ino into turning around and running.
And Kato Megumi took the opportunity to use Water Release to intercept, appearing to want to give Ino Yamanaka no chance to fight back. It was clear that she understood the Yamanaka clan's secret technique.
It's no wonder that Ino-Shika-Cho must cooperate to be effective.
Although the Yamanaka clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu was powerful, it definitely wouldn't work alone.
What's more, Kato Megumi also sent out ninja dogs. Even if Ino successfully used the Mind Transfer Jutsu, her main body would be attacked by the ninja dogs, and the result would still be a loss.
After some struggle, Ino naturally lost, and Kato Megumi won.
Fortunately, in the third match, Shikamaru avenged Ino.
Yamashiro Rinne's Art of Scattered Crows combined with Fire Release Ninjutsu was indeed powerful, and his Taijutsu was also decent, but Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique was impossible to guard against. Coupled with Shikamaru's smart use of tactics, simple guys like Yamashiro Rinne were easily caught.
In the end, Shikamaru naturally won.