Third-Person POV

"FIGHT!!!"

Iroko blitzed across the arena towards Itsuki with the Flash jutsu.

"I knew you would start with that," said Itsuki, already erecting a Mud Wall.

The blue-streaked ninja collided with it, landing on the surface by using the Surface Walk jutsu. By concentrating chakra into his right foot, he then propelled himself over the wall with another burst of speed.

The instant he was over the wall, Iroko was prepared to bombard him with a hail of kunai but he saw to his surprise that Itsuki was no longer on the other side of the wall.

"What the-- Where'd he go?"

"Mineral Style: Sifting."

He heard his voice from the side of the wall he just came from. Suddenly the Mud Wall came crashing down and its remains moved across the arena like a river of rocks toward Itsuki's location. The massive piles of minerals and rubble surrounded him like a spiral of dirt.

"You and Ena really believe you can get me to use Scorch Style," he said. "What do you even know of my situation, Iroko?"

"I know enough."

"Then I suppose you think you're the 'hero' in all of this, don't you?" As he uttered those last two words, he hurled forth at Iroko giant piers of rocks.

Iroko drove back his right foot and released an explosive amount of chakra, launching himself straight at the attack.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Punch!!"

In his left hand, he released a massive output of lightning chakra. Dodging the first few slabs of rock that came his way, he flung his fist at the ones he couldn't, completely destroying them as he zipped through the arena. Itsuki was taken aback by the sheer power of the jutsu.

That's not the same attack he used on the swordsman, he realized. I already knew Lightning Style could counter Earth Style but I didn't know he could conjure up a jutsu this strong to do it.

Yuura looked on at the progression of the match with satisfaction, feeling proud of Iroko for having remembered what he told him.

It was just after Ena shared with them the information concerning Itsuki and his Kekkei Genkai. After Iroko had made that promise to her, he and Yuura departed from the front of the Academy and it was then he told him about it.

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"Iroko, are you really serious about this?"

"Yeah, I guess I am. Honestly, I'm surprised at myself as well. But ... it just feels like the right thing to do, even if I was only doing it to help Ena. But she is right. He does need help, and I might be the only one that can give it."

"I see... Well, I was going to tell you about this yesterday anyway. I think what I have to say may be able to help. Remember when I said that Earth Style is weak to Lightning Style?"

"Yeah, even Ena just mentioned it."

"True, but that wasn't the most important thing I was trying to get at. During my own match against Itsuki, I noticed something. The entire time he was manifesting all those large-scale ninjutsu attacks, especially after when he raised the arena into the air, I saw that he was nowhere near as fatigued as he should've been from doing so."

"Hmm. Okay, but wouldn't that just mean he's got massive chakra reserves?"

"Maybe, but consider this: Last night, I went back home to watch a recording of the Preliminaries, and I noticed that Fumino, Genzo, and Baku all manifested a powerful ninjutsu technique at least once in their own matches respectively. But immediately afterward, they were left either unable to perform ninjutsu anymore as a result of having run out of chakra, or they could only perform small-scale ninjutsu thenceforth. But that hadn't been the case for Asami or Sayo. We both know Asami and Sayo have incredibly large chakra reserves whereas Fumino and Baku both stated to only have above-average reserves (more so in Baku's case than Fumino's). Now, what did we observe when Asami came back to the seating area after her match with Baku?"

Iroko snapped his fingers. "Oh, shoot, Asami looked completely fine!"

"Yes, but Baku didn't. You could argue that it would've been because it was a hard-fought battle but wouldn't Asami have been exactly the same way if that were the case? Even after the match, Baku remained even more sluggish than he usually was for a while. I saw that it was the same thing with Genzo and Sayo. Genzo was way more fatigued than Sayo by a long shot, while she didn't appear as fazed as him and was still fairly energetic even after the match. This leads me to my point, Sayo and Asami only went as far as to unleash at most two powerful attacks during their match. Doing so put some stress on Sayo's body, and it's confirmed she has a smaller chakra pool than Asami.

"Itsuki, on the other hand, used at least three powerful techniques almost consecutively. I'm sure even you remember seeing them. He erected two massive Mud Walls, the kind that jonin do, and went and lifted over half of the arena ground into the air. And even after the match ended he looked just as unfatigued as Asami did at the end of her match."

"Wait, seriously?" Iroko was stunned to hear this. "I didn't notice."

"I'm sure a lot of people didn't, myself included, since I was knocked out at the end there anyway. But now this begs the question: Does this mean Itsuki has a larger chakra pool than even Asami?"

"No way," Iroko suddenly objected. "I- I mean, she's a Senju. How can Itsuki have an even larger chakra pool than a Senju?"

"Well, what if he didn't?"

"What?"

"I'm saying what if he doesn't even have that much chakra reserves, to begin with? This is just a hunch, a hypothesis at best really, but what if Itsuki's Mineral Style is a Kekkei Genkai that's been refined to consume as little chakra as possible?"

"Refined... as little chakra as possible...," he thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, not sure I follow, Yuura."

"Okay, think of it as like a stamina meter in a video game. Normally, the moves used in the game would deplete a realistic amount of stamina, like when you're running or attacking someone or something. But what if those very same movements only depleted half of the usual amount? You would then have to perform double the number of movements to bring the stamina meter down to the same level as if it was being drained normally."

"Ohhhh, I get it now!"

"Knew that would work..."

"So you think Mineral Style uses less chakra for Itsuki's techniques than it normally should?"

"Just going off from what I've seen, yeah. All those attacks and he comes out of it without looking the least bit drained? It wouldn't make much sense to me otherwise. And that's where my strategy comes in. Earth Style being weak to Lightning Style won't make much of a difference if the Lightning-natured jutsu isn't as powerful or more powerful than the Earth-natured jutsu. But I think you can change that."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't think I haven't noticed," he took a step towards his friend. "You've got pretty large chakra reserves, too, if that fight against Daito was anything to go by. Ordinarily speaking, even high-profile jonin would struggle to spawn more than three to five Shadow Clones at a time. I've seen you spawn at least 10 on the go. It wouldn't be far-fetched to say you've surpassed Kazue and might even match Sayo."

Iroko averted his gaze from Yuura's. "So what? What does that matter?"

"So, you can play that to your strength. If Itsuki is going to come at you with powerful techniques from using a minimal amount of chakra then you'll need to match that by using powerful techniques yourself from your own chakra pool. That's my strategy!"

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"Everything has an advantage and a disadvantage to it," said Yuura. "Your Kekkei Genkai's no different, Itsuki."

Iroko cleared the last few piers of rocks thrown at him and pulled up in front of Itsuki almost within the blink of an eye. He reared his Lightning Punch back preparing to drive it through his face while he was still midair--

Then Itsuki, with a swift jerk of his arm, swung a massive boulder at him when he was only an instant away from getting his nose broken. Iroko was pelted back across the arena but managed to destroy the boulder with a surge of lightning chakra before it could take him any further away from Itsuki.

Damn, I almost had him!!

"You're no good in long-ranged combat," said Itsuki, "which is why you're constantly trying to close the distance between us as fast as you possibly can."

Iroko sweatdropped, remaining silent at his comment. All around him, though, there were whispers among the chunin and jonin about what the outcome of the match would be. And nearly everyone agreed that it was all in Itsuki's favor. After all, what reason would there be to doubt him for the skill and prowess he showed during his match in the Preliminaries, and the Forest of Death, in comparison to Iroko who only barely won his match?

Seems like everyone here already knows it since having watched the Prelims, thought Kanbe, and I'm sure Iroko does, too. There's just far too much of a power differential, and it's been like that since the Age of Shinobi began. No matter how much skill or resolve you have, it's all meaningless in the face of natural power. He's going to lose this, no doubt about that, the question just becomes how is he gonna go out?

A small smirk then began to play at the edge of Iroko's lip.

Itsuki noticed that smirk and at once a million things began to run through his head.

What's with that smile? He's hiding something, isn't he? Come to think of it, why are his arms and feet covered in cloth? And why hasn't he used the Shadow Clone jutsu yet? I know he can.

He said he would come back with enough strength to blow me out of the water. If he wasn't bluffing back then... and he still isn't even now... then I'll need to end the fight quickly before something happens!

Iroko had once again taken a running stance and was speaking. "Itsuki, if you think that I'm the 'hero' in this situation then that means deep down you know you're in the wrong!"

Then a circle of stone was erected from the ground and began to enclose Iroko with remarkable speed. The blue-streaked ninja felt his heart rate double as he shot his Flash jutsu haphazardly to get out of the circle before it could trap him. He thought he managed to escape but beheld to his horror swarms of stones and minerals converging on him from every direction.

"No," said Itsuki, holding his hands out to control the swarms. "The way I see it, everyone wants to believe they're in the right, that they're the hero of the story, so much so that they would've convinced themselves that their way is the best and everyone else's is wrong, just like what you're doing."

"Is that so? Well, sounds to me like you're describing yourself right now!" Iroko had started running in a zig-zag pattern.

"If that's the case, then that means it applies to you too! Remember I told you we were alike in more ways than one!"

Itsuki's body jerked to and fro in controlling his jutsu while his eyes struggled to stay locked on Iroko. The arena seemed to stretch out before the boy as he leaped over and past obstacles in a desperate attempt to avoid being captured or worse, crushed, by Itsuki's swarm of rubbles. He could make out all sorts of hard-surfaced and incredibly sharp minerals that would most definitely hurt if he made contact with them. But all the while he darted back and forth he never forgot what his main strategy was.

Fumino blinked her eyes in confusion over the words that were exchanged between the boys just now.

"Does anyone else know what they were talking about?" she asked. "What did Itsuki mean by he and Iroko were alike in more ways than one?"

Ena, Genzo, and Yuura shifted about uncomfortably at the question, while Daito, Yohei (and Baku, who came back for no real reason) raised their eyebrows at their reaction.

That should have been the sign to drop the matter, but Fumino had taken it to mean she should press further on it. "Hang on, is there something going on between the three of you and them that the rest of us don't know about?"

"Well, you see, Fumino," Yuura began, "i-it's sort of a personal issue between the two of them..."

"Personal how? Do they know each other?"

"Ehhhhhh, nah, not really," said Genzo. "By the way, you're cute. What's your name and can I get your number?"

"Huh??" The suddenness caught Daito off-guard but Fumino hadn't even been paying attention just then.

Ena still proceeded to glare Genzo down into a shadow of his former self. "If that's all you have to say, then just shut up and leave."

"So then, if they don't know each other that well, then why are they addressing each other as if they do? Yuura, what's going on?" Fumino asked him again.

"Yeah, dude, what was all that talk about everyone believing they're in the right and thinking they're the hero and whatnot?" asked Daito.

"While you're at it, might as well add the part about refusing to use a Kekkei Genkai," Asami added.

Yuura had his lips pursed and was sweating buckets. His hands felt clammy and at once he felt like he was being overwhelmed. But he held his ground nevertheless. Asami observed the forced mental composure that was taking place on his face.

At that same moment, Iroko cried out to Itsuki from across the arena: "Agh, dammit, Itsuki, THAT KEKKEI GENKAI BELONGS TO YOU, NOT THE CLAN!!!"

"I'm sorry," the blond water ninja finally spoke, "but it's not my place to tell you about any of those things. I'm just someone that's hoping for his friend's success."

Iroko lost his footing when a mass of rocks crashed right beside him, throwing him off his feet and into a tumble before he swiftly rolled back into a running position and took off from his spot before Itsuki could strike at him again.

"Can't you see you're limiting yourself? Maybe it won't happen now, but there's gonna come a time when you need to rely on that power and if you don't it'll put your and the people you care about's lives in danger!! Are you gonna keep holding on to that stupid vow even then?"

Iroko reached a new level of speed; his legs blurred so fast that before even he himself knew it he was behind Itsuki, firmly in his blindspot, with another Lightning Punch at the ready.

Iroko's words took Itsuki back to the Forest of Death and his battle with the white snake. He gritted his teeth in annoyance that he was forced to remind himself of when he used Scorch Style.

But there was another memory there as well, one much deeper than the Forest of Death one. The scenario was more or the less same, only the consequences were much more disastrous, and it physically hurt to recall it.

"So you think I'm weak without it?"

Iroko rushed towards him, prepared to drive the Lightning Punch into his back. "That's not what I said!!"

The sound of his voice alerted Itsuki to his location and he spun his head around to see Iroko coming just in time. He intercepted the Lightning Punch with a never-before-seen Wind-natured jutsu that trapped Iroko's hand in a small vortex of wind. The spectators gasped at this reveal.

Crap, he knows Wind Styled jutsu, too?! Not to mention, did he bait me just then? He tried to push back against it but the jutsu held his arm in place. Next, Itsuki summoned huge gusts of wind that managed to lift Iroko off his feet and propel him into the air.

"IROKO!!" Yuura cried.

"Damn, I messed up--"

"But you seem to think I have less of a chance of winning this battle without it, isn't that right?" Itsuki kept talking.

With his jacket unzipped, he shot himself up to Iroko's level using the same Wind Jutsu, and there the blue-streaked boy was met with his ghostly pale eyes that seemed even more chilling thanks to the sudden rush of emotions. But what alarmed him more was the new jutsu he could see forming around Itsuki's right arm: a conglomeration of quartz rocks gluing themselves together to form an elaborate-looking gauntlet.

Itsuki smiled. "Then I'll just have to prove you wrong."

Iroko held his arms up to defend himself as Itsuki brought the gauntlet down on him with a crushing blow. There was so much force behind his punch that they nosedived back to the arena ground together, shaking the arena itself and stirring up a sea of dust.

Ena grimaced at the sudden turn of events.

***

The trembling of the arena was so loud, that it alerted Hisao, Issun-boshi, and their team who were deeper underground. Dust that was caked into the edges of the walls came pouring out, and the corridor seemed to somewhat shake.

"What the hell was that?" One of the shinobi exclaimed in panic.

Hisao checked the comms. "No word from the other teams above, so I can only assume that the next match has begun." Which hopefully means Iroko managed to arrive in time. "Let's continue."

As the shaking from the upper levels stopped, the team of jonin descended deeper and deeper into the stadium.

"Remind me again, Hisao, why were we sent to sweep the lowest level of the stadium?" A chunin asked.

"We discovered that one of the target in question's main abilities is the manipulation of the shadows," he said. "The underground piping is the darkest level of the stadium and gets almost no light 24/7. It would make an optimum hiding spot for someone with such abilities, no? So I decided we ought to begin our sweeping of the perimeter from down here and then work our way back up. With the combined effort of the other chunin and jonin teams, we should find him soon enough."

A moment later, the team arrived at the piping system. It was as dark as Hisao said it was, with the only source of light being a fluorescent lamp that was constantly flickering. The ground, walls, and ceilings were riddled with a myriad of pipes of varying sizes that intersected and interlaced between each other and went down a long tunnel that seemed to lead into eternal darkness.

"Creepy..."

"Alright, we shall split up from here," Hisao announced. "Issun-boshi and I will sweep this central pathway; Ohashi and Satoru, you take the left; Kimito and Ran, the right. Once you've reached the end of your respective pathway we will reconvene at this exact spot and join the other teams on the upper levels. If you should happen to encounter him, signal the rest of us."

"What's the signal?" Satoru asked.

"Whatever you desire, just ensure it alerts the rest of us to your location promptly."

"Understood," the three chunin chimed in unison, with Ran lagging behind slightly.

At once, the six of them proceeded down their pathways. Kimito eagerly forged ahead, staying ever vigilant while Ran hung back behind her by a few paces.

"What do you think we should be looking for?" he asked.

"Our best bet would be to listen for any sounds that sound out of the ordinary within the context of the environment, while you could look for chakra signatures."

"Right, since I'm a sensor and all..."

She looked back at him. "That's right. Hey, come to think of it, I thought you were placed on Shizune's team."

"I was actually reassigned to Hisao instead. She said she had too many chunin on her team already."

"Oh, okay then. Let's keep going."

"Yes."

"Hisao, if one of them does end up encountering Momotaro..." said Boshi.

"I know," said the android. "I've long been considering it already. Preferably I would have rathered it was just the two of us to check down here but Shizune had insisted. Only the two of us and Asami know how strong he truly is, especially somewhere as dark as here. If we had told Shizune I fear she would have sent even more shinobi to aid rather than the opposite." He heaved a sigh. "At this point, we can only hope their skills will be great enough to at least help them escape."

~ Moments Earlier ~

Back in the infirmary, Kazue stared somberly at the walls of the clinic. The nurse had just left recently to get more gauze bandages for his injury, leaving him and Jin alone again. He thought back to what his Masked teacher told him as he was leaving the arena.

"He left about halfway through."

He gripped the remote for the TV fiercely.

Is that so? I'm never gonna be good enough for you, am I? What the hell even was the point? Why do I care much about what you think of me after everything you've done? After everything that's happened...? How the hell could I have forgotten who I was trying to become the greatest for?

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"Back in my childhood, I believed I could become the best if I simply worked hard enough and made my family proud. But for some, you can never be good enough, no matter how hard you try."

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He gazed at Jin.

S&@t.

I f#*ked up--

That was when the shaking of the stadium occurred. It was both loud and obtrusive enough to wake Jin up.

"What the f#*k was that?" Kazue turned on the TV and turned the channel to a camera surveillance of the arena.

The screen displayed Iroko doubling back from a quartz-gloved Itsuki who was progressively trying to close the distance between them using Wind Style to boost his movements and Mineral Style to close off Iroko's exits.

Jiko and Tree-head? So their fight's already started.

"Iroko...?"

Kazue was caught off guard by having heard Jin's voice. She slowly rose out of bed but could only get as far as raising her torso. She looked distorted and confused at first as if she had no idea where she was but relaxed soon after when she realized she was in the infirmary.

Then she flew into a panic again.

"My Binding Cloths!!"

"Calm down, they're in the corner over there," Kazue pointed. "Look around more closely before you give yourself a panic attack."

Jin relaxed once again, but she had yet to register the voice she just heard as Kazue's. When finally she did, she jerked her head in his direction, turned red, then threw her back to him and dove into her sheets.

"The hell are you embarrassed for?"

She did not answer.

Or are you pissed at me...?

"Was Tensho here earlier?" she asked through the sheets as they muffled her voice.

Kazue glanced at her and then back at the TV. "I couldn't even make out a word you just said. Pull your head out of those sheets and talk to me properly."

He thought he heard a grunt escape from her before things went silent. A minute later, she slowly raised her head out of the bed sheets, still not making eye contact.

"Was Tensho here earlier?" she spoke clearly.

"Yeah, she was."

"Right, I thought I'd heard the sound of her voice at some point. I must have looked really pathetic at the end of the match to worry even her..."

"I guarantee you you're the only one in the entire stadium who was thinking that," he retorted, much to Jin's surprise. "You fought like crazy all throughout the match. No one blames you for your body giving out like that. Hell, it should've done so ages before then.

"And I still can't wrap my head around it. Why the f*&k would you go so far? What was even the point? You already killed your fear as soon as you jumped those explosive tags. So why?"

Jin fiddled with the bedsheets restlessly. Her face was getting progressively redder with each passing second.

Kazue's impatience at waiting for her to respond eventually boiled over. "Fine, if you won't answer then just forg--"

"I- I-I-.... wanted you to acknowledge me."

Kazue looked at her for a prolonged period of time, apparently dumbstruck by her answer.

"I thought... that if I could hold out for as long as I possibly could... you would see how serious I am about being a ninja, and that maybe... you would think I was strong, too."

You're kidding me.

"For someone whose grades are the best in the entire class, you're surprisingly dumb in other areas of life."

"Eh?"

"Tch, you're plenty strong already. You shouldn't need my opinion to verify that. You shouldn't need anyone's approval to tell you that. Look back at the old you and then at you now and answer your own question. Are you stronger now than you were then?"

She looked down at her bruised hand, then slowly closed it into a fist.

"Yeah, I think I am."

"Then that's all there is to it. No need to look any further than in yourself."

"You're right... And I don't think I'm just stronger, I feel braver now, too. I know I've still got a long way to go, but for the first time in 13 years, I really feel like I can finally face the world and its challenges head-on. Thank you, Kazue." When she finally looked him in the eyes, she gave him a shy smile. "You really are mean and scary a lot of the time, but I still consider you one of my first real friends, so thank you."

"Yeah, whatever," he waved his hand at her face as he looked away. "I didn't even do much, to begin with anyway..."

Even if you aren't pissed at me, she still is.

"...By the way... sorry I strangled you..."

"Hm? Sorry, did you say something--"

"I SAID I'M SORRY I STRANGLED YOU."

"Oh. In that case, I'm sorry I made you stab yourself to avoid being susceptible to Kasane. I wish I'd known it could have come to that and tried to prevent it."

"Huh? What are you goin' on about? It was my choice to stab myself."

"But it wouldn't have come to that if I had used Kasane at a later time or more covertly."

"You can't have known that I wouldn't have used it anyway! It's not your fault so just leave it at that, alright?"

Then Jin started giggling. Now Kazue was even more confused. "And what's so damn funny about what I said, huh?"

"No, it's not that," she said, trying to stifle her laughter. "It's just that... we're both trying to take the blame for the other and then arguing about it just like friends do. It's funny to think about, is all."

After having heard that, even Kazue couldn't help but crack a smile. "Tch, you're an idiot..."

"Is that Jin's voice I hear?" the nurse suddenly poked her head around the door. "Oh, wonderful! I'm glad to see that you're awake! How do you feel?"

"Um, fine, thank you," she said bowing her upper body in respect.

As the nurse set aside the gauze bandages to tend to Jin, Kazue's eyes drifted back to the screen to continue watching the fight between losers unfold.

Jiko...

Don't you dare lose.

***

Out came Iroko from the billows of dust with Itsuki on his tail. Even as he used the Flash jutsu to try and put distance between the two of them, Itsuki was still moving at a faster rate by propelling himself with gusts of wind and blocking all of Iroko's exits. He was on him before he had a chance to think of another strategy.

The Quartz Gauntlet gleamed with the light of the sun on its surface as it closed in on Iroko's face. He held out a kunai to block it but it was shattered against its might. The delayed blow gave him time to fall back some but Itsuki halted his movement by trapping his left foot in a mold of sandstone. Once again, with nothing to stop him, he swung with such force that there were spectators who thought he was trying to kill Iroko.

THOOM!

There was the sound of impact. Everyone thought the punch had landed once they saw blood dripping to the ground, but they were surprised to see it was not coming from Iroko's face. His feet were being driven through the ground, digging up the dirt at the heels, as if he was being pushed back but then they stopped moving. His left hand was clasped firmly over the gauntlet, having held it back from punching him.

He's stronger than I thought, Itsuki grunted.

Iroko spoke: "Stop for a sec and just listen, wouldya? I know what you're going through, alright? I understand!"

"No, that's just it. You and Ena only think you understand. You don't have the full picture!" He would have said more but then he noticed something alarming. His Quartz Gauntlet was starting to crumble. Iroko's hand that held it at bay was generating lightning chakra and was eating away at the mineral like the natural elements eroded at a rock.

"Then help me understand! Help me see the full picture!" As Iroko said those words, he was starting to push back against Itsuki, destroying the mold of sandstone that trapped his foot with a surge of electricity. His hand clamped down further on the gauntlet, peeling off more of the cloth band and his skin, and dissolving the quartz mineral. "Tell me, what is it you're so afraid of?!"

Itsuki winced at his last comment and Iroko wondered why that was. But at that moment, he was focused on breaking himself out of the deadlock. With Itsuki having lost focus, he poured an absurd amount of chakra into his fist, and disintegrated the Quartz Guantlet entirely, then used Itsuki's chest as a jumping pad to put distance between them. By now, Itsuki's emotions had already gone over the edge.

As soon as he recovered, he lashed out with a scream and swung a humongous Boulder Fist at Iroko who wasn't expecting him to retaliate almost immediately. He tried to break into a run to avoid it but he moved too late. It whammed into him and sent him crashing into the hard, jagged ground, causing him to vomit blood.

Yui threw her hands over her eyes. It was only then that the spectators began to realize just how outmatched Iroko was. Even Asami couldn't help but furrow her brows at the sight of him coughing up his own blood.

"Oh, no. That's a lot of blood," said Fumino, now visibly worried. "Is Temari saying anything?"

"No, she's still quiet," said Daito.

"Wait, why...?" Yuura sweatdropped.

"I know, right? That's gotta be a foul at least! Dude hit him with enough force to break his neck!"

"N-no, that's not what-- I mean, you're right, but... why didn't he dodge it? He easily could've with his Flash jutsu? Why didn't he?"

"Because he's run out of chakra," Asami answered.

Everyone became shocked to hear this.

"N-No way," Yuura objected. "It's too soon."

"You saw the way he reacted to the incoming boulder," she said. "And there's the fact he's been using too many techniques that cost him a lot of chakra as it built up. He started falling apart right from when Itsuki was ceaselessly trying to trap him."

"Even so, given how large his reserves are, he shouldn't have depleted them so soon!"

"Well, that's no good at all!" Genzo exclaimed. "He didn't have much of a chance before but now he's got none!!"

"Genzo!"

"Nah, forget it, Ena! Let's call off the match!! I knew this was a bad idea right from the start!!"

"What idea?!" Fumino demanded.

"GUYS!!" Daito shouted. "He's getting up again!"

Daito's witness rang true. Standing on his own two, shaky legs once more, Iroko rose back up and wiped the blood off his lips with his hand. The spectators had gone silent again. Kakashi watched eagerly.

Yeah, I never did stand a chance, did I? Iroko thought. I really thought I could go longer without using it but I just overestimated myself...

After using it once, I'll probably only have seven good tries left with it. Doesn't matter, though, 'cos there won't be any other way of reaching out to you otherwise.

Alright, Nakata, it's time to go ultimate.

"You could have dodged that attack with your speed jutsu, but you didn't," said Itsuki. "Combine that with your exasperated breath and with how much you were sweating earlier - you've run out of chakra, haven't you?"

There was no response.

"So this is where it ends?" Itsuki sounded almost in disbelief. "This is really the best you can do? After all that s#$t you talked about blowing me out of the water, you can't back it up anymore?"

No, this can't be the end. I won't believe it. He's still hiding something, I can feel it. But one thing's for certain, he is out of chakra. I can end it all now, just have to hit him with an attack he won't be able to get back up from. Don't wait around long enough for him to do something - just end it now!!

Itsuki raised his arms out before him and all the dust, debris, and fractured rocks came to him at his beckoning

"I guess this is how we'll just have to leave it. Sorry, Iroko, but I'll be going on ahead to win this tournament. Mineral Style: Extreme Sifting."

His teammates and the rest of the rookies called out to the blue-streaked ninja in distress but it obviously fell on deaf ears. Itsuki looked on vacantly as he hurled the equivalent of a landslide his way.

Then Iroko pulled back on his right sleeve again and held out the arm towards the landslide, bracing it with his left hand.

"Who said I was out of chakra?"

A strange yellow glow started emanating through the cloth bands. Suddenly the entire nerve ending in his hand, every single vein and artery, became visible, glowing a teal color and pulsating intensely.

Itsuki's heart skipped a beat as soon as he realized it, but it was too late.

A technique created for the sole purpose of countering Mineral Style no matter what.

The boy let rip the jutsu as he cried out from his lungs:

"LIGHTNING STYLE: BLACKOOOOUUUT!!!"

What followed was a storm, an ignition of several hundred, massive, vicious, volts of lightning that shredded and obliterated the landslide in a manner of seconds. It was so powerful, the tendrils of lighting threw Iroko himself off his feet and uprooted the ground around him. Itsuki was driven back just by the sheer air pressure alone, and the Barrier jutsu was momentarily shut down by the voltage density, almost endangering the lives of the spectators.

By the time the storm had subsided, there was no trace of any of the rocks and minerals Itsuki had gathered.

The Sand ninja pulled himself back up from the boulder he erected to both protect himself and stop himself from being blown away. He took a moment to take in the disaster that just occurred along with the other rookies and every spectator watching. Iroko was still standing his ground, holding up his arm with the now frayed cloth bands barely wrapped around it. His hand sparked and frizzed like a live wire while he looked back at Itsuki with dour eyes of his own.

In the end, he couldn't help himself but ask: "What... was that...?"

"Itsuki, you are strong with Mineral Style, there's no doubt about that. But where you were wrong was thinking you do have a chance of winning this battle with it alone. Listen up, you've got two options right now: Either you use Scorch Style to beef up your chances of winning, or you lose to me all the same because I swear to you now by the power I have vested in me, I will destroy your Mineral Style."