The Iwagakure ninja were pissed.
"Kitsuchi actually lost? He's the Tsuchikage's own disciple!"
"Who the hell is this Kisa Hoshigaki anyway?"
A few of them had already clocked that Kisa wasn't originally from Sunagakure.
"Sunagakure's shaless. Their own kids aren't strong enough, so they bring in outside muscle? That's bullshit!"
"And he used dirty tricks too. I still don't get how Kitsuchi lost to that ugly freak."
The Sunagakure ninja had been simring after dropping the first match. Even the ones who weren't thrilled about Kisa being a forr Mist ninja were now fully riding with him as one of their own.
"Iwagakure can't handle losing?"
"You lose, you own it. Simple."
"Kitsuchi's the Tsuchikage's disciple so he can't lose? Baki's our Kazekage's disciple too, and we didn't whine about it."
"Stop acting like sore losers. Kisa used to be Mist, but now he's Sunagakure. And he's staying Sunagakure."
The two villages' ninja kept screaming insults back and forth.
The referee climbed onto the stage with the next draw.
"Third match: Iwagakure versus Konoha."
"Bunya versus Kakashi."
Onoki was still fuming over Kitsuchi's loss. He didn't expect much from this one. Bunya was the weakest of Iwagakure's three picks. Losing was normal. Winning would've been a miracle. And his luck was garbage—he pulled Kakashi.
As the son of the legendary White Fang, Kakashi had been called a genius since he was a kid. He graduated early and showed up strong in the Third Great Ninja War—mostly against Iwagakure. So the Iwagakure ninja knew exactly what he could do.
"Bunya's probably not his match."
"Kakashi got even stronger after he took Obito's Sharingan."
The Iwagakure ninja looked worried. The Konoha ninja looked cocky as hell.
Kakashi's face stayed serious.
"If it wasn't for Iwagakure, Obito wouldn't be dead. If Obito wasn't dead, Rin wouldn't be dead either."
The mory of the Iwagakure attack on his team kept flashing through his head.
"Begin!"
Bunya knew he was probably outclassed, but he wanted to hit hard and fast right away—catch Kakashi off guard. Even if he lost, at least he'd show what he had.
He never expected Kakashi's attack to co faster and aner.
In a blink, Kakashi was right in his face. Then ca a nonstop storm of strikes—slashes, kicks, punches—relentless and overwhelming.
Bunya couldn't even get an attack off. All he could do was block and scramble.
"Too one-sided!"
"The gap's massive."
The Konoha ninja started laughing. The Iwagakure ninja's faces turned ugly.
Three matches in and Iwagakure had already lost one. If they dropped this one too, they'd be down two out of three.
"Co on, Bunya! You got this!"
But the cheers barely faded before the referee called it.
"Winner: Kakashi!"
Kakashi turned and walked off the stage without a word. Bunya crawled out of the corner, head down, looking crushed.
"I'm sorry."
So Iwagakure ninja were disappointed in him, thinking he'd looked pathetic. Others stayed cooler about it.
"Bunya losing is understandable. You can't bla the guy—his opponent was Kakashi."
"Bunya was always our weakest pick anyway."
"The one who should've won was Kitsuchi."
Onoki's face stayed dark. This wasn't going the way he'd planned.
According to Iwagakure's intel, Sunagakure's younger generation only had Baki worth a damn. But they'd dragged in Kisa Hoshigaki—and the guy was strong as hell. His abilities countered Kitsuchi perfectly.
"Not just Kisa's own power. That ninja tool too."
Onoki's eyes locked on Kisa.
"Rasa's bold, letting an outsider use sothing that valuable. What if Kisa just runs off with it?"
Onoki's gaze flickered with calculation.
"If Kisa's got that kind of ambition… maybe I can create an opportunity for him."
The idea tempted him.
"That way, even if Sunagakure gets a bigger cut of Grass Village's compensation from this win, losing a tool like that would still sting them bad."
The referee returned with the fourth draw.
"Fourth match: Sunagakure versus Konoha."
"Baki versus Asuma Sarutobi."
When he heard his na, Baki blinked in surprise. First match and now fourth again? But the second he heard Asuma's na, his interest spiked.
Against Kari he'd gone all out with no real answer—kekkei genkai users just had the edge, and he was countered. But Asuma was different. No bloodline limit. Just like Baki—an ordinary elental ninja. Sure, he had the "Hokage's son" rep, but Baki didn't think Asuma was that strong. The stories coming out of Konoha about his achievents felt fake, like they were padded on purpose.
"This one's mine."
Baki stepped onto the stage and locked eyes with Asuma across from him.
Up on the platform, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly.
"Baki again? Who's Sunagakure's third fighter? This draw feels off. Did Sunagakure bribe the referee?"
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.
"Still, against Baki, Asuma's got a real shot. If he actually shows his true strength."
After confirming both fighters were ready, the referee called it.
"Begin!"
Both moved at the sa ti.
Compared to the previous matches, this one was way more intense. Both were using Wind Style, even if their styles differed. More importantly, their power levels were close. That ant either side could win.
The crowd outside tensed up with them.
"Who do you think's gonna win?"
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