Chapter 101: Sparring Ends

Torifū scratched his head. Although Getsuji was quite strong, at least ranking in the top three among these five, in his eyes, he was just average. His assessment was that Getsuji was not as good as Hiruzen.

"Winning or losing isn't the goal; achieving peaceful coexistence between villages is the theme of this meeting. If you want to win, I can let you have it."

Getsuji smiled faintly, then shook his head, "That's not necessary. Spar with me seriously, just like you did with Mū."

Torifū nodded. Since the other party requested it, as the host, he naturally had to oblige. However, if he truly used the same strength he did against Mū, Getsuji probably wouldn't last more than a few minutes.

Getsuji took the initiative, spitting out a continuous stream of water, forming a pond a few meters around him. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"

The water dragon bullet roared towards them but was easily torn to shreds by Torifū's crystal dragon. Getsuji wasn't surprised, having already witnessed the crystal dragon's power. But this crystal dragon hadn't disappeared after so long, so it must have other transformations. He needed to be careful. Close-quarters combat was definitely out; he'd die horribly. If he could cleverly use ninjutsu to counter Torifū's moves, there might still be a glimmer of hope.

"Wind Release: Hurricane Tornado!" A fierce wind burst from Getsuji's mouth, then transformed into a violently spinning tornado! Getsuji then injected water into it, forming a water tornado. But Torifū clapped his hands together! Countless vines burst from the ground, shooting straight into the sky! They intertwined and connected, tearing the eye of the hurricane to shreds.

Just as the hurricane gradually subsided, Torifū found that Getsuji was nowhere to be seen. Even after using Fire Release ninjutsu to dry up the water, Getsuji remained hidden. However, a faint mist appeared on the field, gradually thickening.

"Is that the Hidden Mist Technique? Perfect, I was getting tired of sparring anyway."

Getsuji thought he could use the Hidden Mist Technique to ambush Torifū, unaware that Torifū also possessed Cloud Release. He gently exhaled a wisp of cloud chakra, so faint it was almost invisible to the naked eye, but this single wisp quickly enveloped all the mist on the field. Using his sensory abilities, Torifū precisely located Getsuji's position. Since he wasn't going to continue the spar, Torifū decided to end it quickly.

A dozen crystal spikes burst from underground, crisscrossing to firmly bind Getsuji. Then Torifū used his mirror dragon to violently send him flying out of bounds! Getsuji hadn't even realized what was happening before he was sitting outside the arena.

Kagami, seeing Getsuji fly out of bounds, walked in and announced Torifū's victory. Although Mū, Shamon, and A were very unwilling, they still offered their congratulations. Getsuji, meanwhile, sat on the ground, pondering why his Hidden Mist Technique had been discovered.

"Hahahaha, this sparring match was truly spectacular! It showed me the vigor of the new generation of ninja! I hope you all will dedicate yourselves to maintaining peace in the Ninja World in the future," Hashirama's mood was clearly good. His disciple had taken first place in the sparring match, and he was naturally overjoyed.

The five ninja below responded to the Hokage's words, their battle wounds already healed by medical ninjutsu. The Mizukage, sitting on the side, slowly spoke, "It's getting late. I'll go back and rest first. Hokage-sama, please don't mind."

Hashirama waved his hands repeatedly, "It is indeed getting late! Attendant! Escort Mizukage-sama back to his quarters and prepare some food." The ninja responsible for hospitality immediately followed the order, escorting the Mizukage back to his resting place.

This afternoon's sparring match left all the Kage, except the Hokage, more or less dissatisfied with their chosen successors. However, if they knew that Torifū's strength was only slightly below Kage-level, one wonders what their expressions would be.

After the sparring, it was already time for dinner, so everyone dispersed to find something to eat. Getsuji wanted to ask Torifū how he saw through his technique, but he felt it might be presumptuous, so he held his tongue.

"Torifū, you were amazing today! Even the Kage's guards couldn't beat you!" Naori said, her smile radiant, as she wrapped an arm around Torifū's.

"It was alright. None of them were using their full power; they were all holding back."

Naori made a face, "Hmph, weren't you too? You didn't even use Cloud Release the whole time."

"I did, you just didn't notice."

At Torifū's hint, Naori searched her memory again, "Was it the final mist?"

Torifū nodded, then walked towards the Hokage's office. Naori had nothing else to do and wanted to go along to see, perhaps even running into some of the Kage.

Pushing open the door, only Hashirama and Tobirama were inside. Both wore smiles, clearly very pleased with Torifū's performance today. Tobirama patted Torifū's shoulder with his large hand, "You little rascal, you truly keep your true strength hidden."

"Not at all! Wasn't I very useful when I went to capture the Six-Tails with Tobirama-sama?"

Then, the two exchanged smiles.

Hashirama sat in his chair, his smile unwavering, "You did well in today's sparring. You greatly boosted Konoha Village's morale!" Torifū couldn't see the Kage's expressions, but Hashirama could. In the viewing stands, the Tsuchikage's and Kazekage's faces kept changing colors, as if they had eaten something bad. And the Raikage's expression wasn't clear, as he was very dark-skinned. In short, only Hashirama was smiling throughout, occasionally chatting casually with the other Kage.

"I said the winner would get a reward, but I haven't decided on it yet. I'll give it to you in a while."

Torifū naturally had no objections and was also a little curious about what kind of reward his teacher would prepare.

Naori and Torifū chatted with the two adults in the Hokage's office for a while longer, then Kagami also came in. His main purpose was to report on the day's work. Seeing that his teacher had matters to attend to, Torifū pulled Naori and left.

"It'll get dark soon, you should go home quickly, or you'll get lost at night."

Naori nodded, giving Torifū a bright smile, "Okay, I'll go back now then, bye-bye."

...

The half-day's effort was finally over. Torifū felt more tired than if he had been on an outdoor mission. Back home, Torifū went to check on the old hen. He felt its feathers were a bit brighter than before, though he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination. Aokumo and Ryūfū seemed to still be out playing and hadn't returned. However, their food had already been given, so they could eat when they got back hungry.

The afternoon's battles had left him quite dirty, so he immediately stripped down for a bath to wash off all the dust and dirt. The Five Kage Summit was nearly over. In another day or two, the Kage would return to their respective villages. After all, if they didn't return to their villages for a long time, paperwork would pile up, and they would also have to worry about anyone trying to usurp power.

It was then that Torifū remembered that he had drawn a tube of Mū's blood, which could be used to activate a puppet. But he was truly tired today, so he decided to leave it for tomorrow.