As Seimei and his team entered their designated open resting place in the public stadium, Nara Shikamo finally congratulated his team as the captain.
"Great job, everyone."
"Our perfect coordination this time paid off, and we secured a perfect victory."
Seimei gave him a thumbs-up, while the other five nodded in agreement.
Uzumaki Keiko chimed in, "Your plan was perfect."
"Team 4-S couldn't even put up a decent fight before they lost their ground."
Sarutobi Yuto responded, "That's Nara clan's tactical intelligence for you."
And truly, that was the case.
Although Team 4-S only had five members left, they were, by no means, easy opponents.
Whether it was their captain, Kamishiro Renji, or the kids from the Akimichi, Uchiha, Aburame, or Shimura clan, each of them was a force to be reckoned with.
In most cases, except for Uchiha Reina or Senju (Otsutsuki) Seimei, others would find it incredibly troublesome to battle them, let alone subdue them quickly.
So, to finish the matches quickly, Nara Shikamo gathered intel on the members of Team 4-S.
He analyzed their strengths, weaknesses, habits, combat styles, and most-used techniques and Ninjutsu to create an effective countermeasure.
And that worked splendidly.
He pitted Uzumaki Keiko against the kid from the Akimichi clan, who excelled in Body Expansion Techniques.
These unique Yang Release secret techniques allowed the Akimichi clan members to expand specific parts of their bodies or their whole bodies, gaining explosive strength to flatten the battlefield in the process.
Fighting them head-on with common Taijutsu or low-rank Ninjutsu would be akin to suicide.
However, Keiko's Adamantine Sealing Chains, which could halt chakra flow and paralyze even tailed beasts, were the perfect counter against the Akimichi clan's secret Body Expansion Technique.
Ishimori Haneda had great control over Lightning and Water Release Ninjutsu, effectively countering most insect-based techniques of the Aburame clan.
Water Release could soak the flying and crawling insects, slowing their movements. Meanwhile, Lightning Release Ninjutsu could fry most insects and neutralize their poisons before they could even make contact with Haneda.
In short, Haneda was the perfect counter against the Aburame clan kid, making it easier for him to subdue his opponent quickly.
The other three members of Team 4-S were also countered using similar tactics to finish the match as quickly as possible with minimal chakra expenditure.
Nara Shikamo shook his head and responded, "Forget about it."
"The second group match will begin in 15 minutes."
"As long as nothing unexpected happens, Team 2-S should win this round."
"Let's use this opportunity to analyze the coordination, tactics, and techniques of the seven members of Team 2-S."
"Of course, we can't underestimate Team 3-S either."
"As for the individual matches against Team 4-S, following the pre-planned strategy should be enough."
"Very well," replied Seimei as he leisurely grabbed an empty glass, produced cold water using a simple application of Water Release to refill the glass, and drank it nonchalantly.
Witnessing this, his teammates couldn't help but twitch their lips in exasperation.
If the inventor of Ninjutsu, Otsutsuki Indra, witnessed how you're using Nature transformation techniques meant for war to produce drinking water, Earth-style toys, and a cold, spring breeze during scorching summer, he would have forced his father to cast Rinne-rebirth to revive again, only to beat you black and blue.
Uchiha Reina thought as she remembered the outrageous ideas Seimei often proposed every once in a while.
Seimei's ridiculous ideas, part one:
What? Is the uneven and rough road making transportation difficult? No problem. Just grab some Earth Release and Fire Release specialists to build solid and smooth roadways in the village.
What? Are you having trouble capturing precious beasts without harming them? Just grab a Nara clan member and let them use their Shadow Imitation and Shadow Binding Techniques to capture those animals.
What? You said your house was destroyed due to an unfortunate event? Never mind. I will just toss a few Wood Release users and make them build a house for you within minutes.
What? You are a ninja, and you are still using fishing rods to catch fish? Just use Water Release to control river water, make a whirlpool, trap the fish, and catch them all at once.
Do you want perfectly grilled meat? Just make a sensor ninja do the grilling as he uses his senses and chakra sense to cook the meat evenly and coat it with the perfect blend of spices. The grilled meat is bound to taste fantastic.
The more Reina thought about Seimei's absurd comments, the stranger her expression became.
Seimei, this guy….he took the techniques meant for battle and destruction and used them for completely irrelevant things.
Using Wood Release to build homes, Water Release to catch fish, Earth Release to make roads and fences, and Fire Release to host a BBQ party?
Only Seimei and his eccentric mind could think something like that.
Even she, who lived for 600 years before her regression, never thought or dared to use Ninjutsu this way.
As she thought of that, Reina looked at Seimei with a peculiar expression.
Seimei, sensing Reina's gaze at him, looked up while refilling his glass with more cold water and raised an eyebrow as if to ask, "What's up?" silently.
Seeing this, Reina's lips twitched again, and she simply shook her head.
Soon, 15 minutes passed by, and the match between Team 2-S and Team 3-S began.
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On the other side, Team 2-S and 3-S members were locked in an intense confrontation.
Swords clashed, shurikens collided mid-air, and Kunai slashed, making sparks fly as the loud sound of metal hitting metal echoed in the arena.
When the battle reached the 3-minute mark, one student from Team 2-S and two from Team 3-S were already eliminated.
Suddenly, Uchiha Hina, the captain of Team 3-S, distanced herself, formed a few hand signs, and molded a generous amount of Fire Release chakra in her lungs.
Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique
Hina expelled a large amount of scorching flames from her mouth, which quickly condensed into a 3-meter-long and 1-meter-wide head of a dragon before quickly charging toward Hyuga Itsuki.
Seeing this, Senju Naoki performed a set of hand seals of his own, crouched down, and slammed both of his hands on the ground.
Mud Release: Mud Flow Wall
A 5-meter-tall and 6-meter-wide wall of churning and flowing brown mud was quickly formed, shielding Hyuga Itsuki and Senju Naoki from the incoming B-rank Fire Release Ninjutsu.
The large, searing hot, flaming dragon hit the mud wall in less than a second before detonating with a loud boom.
Bang!!!
The resulting shockwave and soaring flame tried to overpower the mud wall, but the wall held up.
The flowing mud quickly dispersed the heat and repaired the damaged part of the mud wall, thanks to its liquid-like nature and constant supply of chakra from Senju Naoki.
"Mud Release…truly troublesome," murmured Uchiha Hina as she began performing a series of hand seals to prepare a Lightning Release Ninjutsu, one of the weaknesses of the Mud Release Ninjutsu.
However, before she could finish her hand seals, Senju Naoki suddenly retracted the mud wall.
Uchiha Hina felt a chill down her spine as he watched Hyuga Itsuki lower his center of gravity, put his right leg forward, push his left side backwards, and thrust his open right palm at her with a powerful momentum.
Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm
Hyuga Itsuki's pure-white Byakugan gleamed as chakra surged on the surface of his right palm, creating a compressed vacuum shell, which was launched at Uchiha Hina at a blinding speed.
If the attack landed, Hina's vitals would be hit, she would feel immense pain, and she might even suffer from internal injuries.
And she knew that perfectly well. After all, it was one of the secret techniques of the Hyuga Main family.
Hina's Sharingan glowed with an eerie red light as two pitch-black tomoe kept rotating in her crimson irises, calculating the speed, range, and trajectory of the incoming vacuum shell.
All the calculations were done in a blink, and she quickly dodged to her right, letting the vacuum shell pass by her left side just in time.
Booooooom!!!!
The compressed vacuum shell continued to move until it struck the inner barrier of the stadium, exploding with a deafening boom.
"Fortunately, I dodged in time!"
Cold sweat formed on Uchiha Hina's forehead as she witnessed the immense power of the vacuum palm technique.
Even with chakra reinforcement, tanking it directly would have been disastrous. A couple of broken ribs were practically guaranteed.
Her team's future in this competition didn't look good at all.
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