With the cold, sharp, metallic edge of a kunai pressing against his throat, Hyuga Itsuki had no room to make a move.
Forget about making moves. With the sharp edge of Reina's kunai so close to his throat, any sudden movement meant suffering a severe injury.
If this were a real battle against an enemy ninja, his fragile throat would have been slit by now. Nothing but his cold corpse lying in the pool of his own blood would have remained.
Since he could understand this situation, the referee, Inuzuka Hiro, a seasoned Shinobi, could also figure out that Itsuki had no other way to flip the table anymore.
Hyuga Itsuki had lost. Completely and utterly.
So, the referee didn't waste any more time and declared the match result.
"Hyuga Itsuki can no longer fight."
"The winner is…Uchiha Reina!"
After saying that, Hiro looked toward the crowd and finally said with a loud, booming voice, "With this, the final score of this round now becomes 4-2 in favor of Team 1-S."
"The opposing team has no more chances to close the gap."
"All the matches of the final round have been settled."
"Team 1-S of the second year of the Central Ninja Academy…WINS THE INTERCLASS COMPETITION."
"Congratulations, Team 1-S."
The crowd inside the stadium stayed silent for a moment before breaking into loud cheers.
And why wouldn't they?
They had been thoroughly entertained.
It wasn't every day they got to see real Shinobi fights.
Watching the young children controlling different elements like fire, water, air, earth, and lightning, and showcasing superhuman-level physical prowess, was a feast for their eyes.
Even better, these young children would soon become official ninjas and pillars of Konoha, protecting their home from foreign Shinobi and chakra beasts.
What did it mean?
Protection guaranteed!
They could sleep in peace knowing that no matter what disaster tried to hit Konoha, the danger would never reach their doorsteps.
After all, Konoha ninjas would protect them and their village.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Reina quickly slipped into her team's camp inside the stadium's reserve quarters amidst the cheers.
When she entered the room, she saw Seimei using Wind Release chakra to dry his damp hair. Her forehead was immediately filled with imaginary black lines as she watched his antics with a blank face.
The weather is already getting cold.
So, why are you blowing wind on your hair and face?
And most importantly, why is your hair damp?
What the hell did you do in the last few minutes while I was fighting the pompous Hyuga?
However, Reina didn't press him with any questions.
She simply walked forward and plopped into a comfy couch.
At this point, Seimei stopped blowing air on his hair and turned to look at Reina.
Yeah, as I thought.
She didn't even break a sweat.
She totally played that Itsuki guy for a while, got bored, and then ended the fight swiftly.
If she wanted, she could have ended the fight way faster than that.
Seimei thought inwardly.
Then, he asked, "You let that guy off easy, huh?"
"I was half expecting you to set the entire battle arena on fire, turn him into a roasted monkey, and end the match within seconds, after how he was trying to provoke you every chance he got, even before the competition started."
Hearing this, Reina turned her head toward him, raised an eyebrow, and activated her Sharingan, looking at him with a menacing smile.
She asked, "Oh?"
"Are you saying I'm a violent woman, Seimei?"
He wanted to say that she was indeed a violent girl.
But looking at that menacing smile on her face, he held back.
Although he didn't fear her, who knew what kind of shit she would pull if he answered her question truthfully.
It was better to avoid it.
Seimei immediately put on an innocent face and blinked at her with his large, ocean-blue, expressive eyes.
He tilted his head slightly to his right and asked in a confused voice, "Hmm?"
"What are you talking about, Reina?"
"Why would I think or say anything like that?"
After saying that, he blinked innocently at her again. Twice.
But even if I think that you are a violent woman, I won't tell you.
You're normally so easygoing. Completely un-Uchiha-like.
But when you start beating someone, your Uchiha Mad Laughter mode suddenly turns on.
Seimei complained internally. But on the outside, he kept looking at her innocently.
Hearing this, Reina narrowed her eyes slightly and asked with a doubtful voice, "Really?"
Her body language and facial expression were enough for Seimei to know that she didn't believe a single thing he said.
Her narrowed eyes and crimson Sharingan with two rotating tomoe were literally giving the 'I don't f*cking believe you' vibe.
But no matter what, he was not going to respond to her doubt.
Instead, he quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, the way you chained simple Ninjutsu with low chakra cost to completely overwhelm Hyuga Itsuki was amazing."
"The use of the Great Fireball Technique to make him dodge sideways, and immediately targeting him with Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson was just perfect."
Although he was trying to divert her attention from the "violent woman" talk, his praise for her application of Ninjutsu was genuine.
"Forcing him to use Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven and then following up with Earth Flow Spear to leave him with no other choice than to jump backward."
"And then hitting him with supercharged and concentrated Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Jutsu to slam him against the Fuinjutsu barrier…"
Even he had to admit, Reina was a genius. Not only because she could use high-level Jutsu with ease, but also because she could use low-cost C-rank Ninjutsu to overwhelm her opponent, giving them no leeway to breathe or counterattack.
And even though Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson was a B-rank Jutsu, it had such a high rank only because of its power, and its learning and casting difficulties.
Its chakra cost was roughly the same as the Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu, a commonly used C-rank Fire Release technique.
"...You're really amazing, Reina."
Seimei praised her with no restraint. He was clearly trying to use the standard Shinobi diversion tactics the wrong way.
Although his efforts had been seen through by her, causing his plan to fail 'successfully', things didn't escalate into a full-blown fight with a Mad Uchiha Laughter scene.
Hearing his praise and witnessing him try hard to change the topic, Reina gave him an amused look but didn't pursue the "violent woman" talk anymore.
There would be other chances to mess with him anyway.
And then, the two of them began to chat about random things before they were asked to go to the stadium arena again for the award ceremony.
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A/N: If you like my story and want to read ahead, you can check out my P@treon page and read up to 25 Advanced chapters!
patreon.com/Seigan
You can also help me by sharing the story around. Thank you for reading!
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The Time Skip is Coming!! Stay Tuned!!