The first to arrive at the Forest of Death were, unsurprisingly, Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Tsunade.
But by the time they got there, Yakumo and Shinji's duel had already begun.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The constant rumbling echoing through the Forest of Death, paired with the flickering bursts of firelight, made all three of them frown in unison.
This scene was a bit beyond their expectations!
"Isn't this getting a little out of hand?"
Kakashi's face showed concern.
Both Yakumo and Shinji were exceptional young talents in the village. If something went wrong in this duel, it'd be a significant loss for Hidden Leaf.
Jiraiya nodded lightly at first, then added, "But with Tsunade here, it shouldn't turn into anything too serious."
Tsunade, standing nearby, remained silent.
Her brows furrowed, she gazed solemnly into the distance.
Based on her assessment, Uchiha Shinji's strength should be slightly below that of Uchiha Sasuke, who'd already awakened his Sharingan.
But the commotion before her clearly didn't align with that.
After all, Yakumo had taken down Sasuke with just one punch. Even accounting for Sasuke's carelessness, it still highlighted the gap between them.
So under normal circumstances, Shinji's performance, even if better than Sasuke's, should only be marginally so.
Soon, the crowd from the shinobi academy caught up.
Before they could even enter the Forest of Death, many were startled by the relentless explosions and towering flames within.
"Are they waging a war in there?"
"Is that Yakumo and Shinji causing this?"
"This is way too over-the-top!"
Amid the gasps, people started climbing over the iron fence.
Kiba, wrapped in the crowd, asked Hinata beside him, "Can you see anything? Is it Yakumo and Shinji fighting in there?"
Hinata, with her Byakugan active, nodded, then shook her head.
Kiba blinked, confused, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Hinata stammered, "There are definitely two people fighting in the forest, but I can't tell if it's Yakumo and Shinji—they're moving too fast!"
On the other side…
Seeing his father mixed in the crowd, staring intently into the depths of the Forest of Death with gleaming eyes, Shikamaru rubbed his forehead, "Having such standout classmates at the academy is really a headache!"
Choji, sympathizing, grumbled, "My dad's here too."
Ino lost it, "Argh, I'm gonna get nagged by Mom and Dad again when I get home!"
Swish!
Swish!
Sasuke and Neji, traveling together, outpaced the crowd and rushed into the Forest of Death, stopping at a distance on the edge of Yakumo and Shinji's battle zone.
Neji said, "Looks like Shinji's getting serious!"
"He's the last line of defense!" Sasuke's face darkened as he spoke, "If he loses too, our era of dominating the academy is over!"
"It's too tough. Yakumo right now isn't someone an academy student can handle!"
Neji shook his head slowly.
In his Byakugan's vision, Yakumo's chakra fluctuations kept climbing, already several times stronger than Shinji's.
Haku, avoiding the spotlight and lagging behind the main group, looked anxious.
He peered into the distance but could only catch the occasional flashes of fire in the Forest of Death and the constant rumbling.
So he lowered his voice and asked Karin, trailing close behind, "How's it going?"
Karin, who'd already activated her 'Mind's Eye of the Kagura,' shook her head, "Yakumo's chakra is too strong—she's like a torch. Everyone else compared to her is just a firefly. Shinji might be in trouble this time…"
Inside the Forest of Death…
Shinji's hands dipped into his ninja pouch again, pulling out a string of explosive tags while shouting, "Is this all you've got?"
Yakumo stomped her foot.
Bang.
The ground cracked instantly, fissures spreading out like a spiderweb.
Using the massive recoil, Yakumo's body shot forward like a cannonball, whistling through the air as she lunged at Shinji.
Shinji grinned, deftly hurling a series of explosive tags toward Yakumo with his kunai, then ducking behind a towering tree.
Boom, boom, boom.
Another round of deafening blasts erupted in the forest!
But just like before, Shinji's explosive tags didn't halt Yakumo's charge. She barreled straight through the explosions, swinging a punch at the tree Shinji hid behind.
Crash!
In an instant, wood chips flew everywhere!
A colossal tree—too thick for four or five people to encircle hand-in-hand—was punched through by Yakumo, a gaping hole smashed into its trunk.
Yakumo burst through the hole, lunging at Shinji behind it.
Facing a Yakumo as ferocious as a monster, Shinji showed no trace of fear—there was even a faint, fleeting smile on his face.
Soon, the two clashed, engaging in fierce taijutsu combat around the damaged tree!
Fused with the First's cells, wielding 'Chakra Enhanced Strength,' and using the Koryugan to regulate her blood flow for a massive stamina boost, Yakumo was an absolute beast in taijutsu!
Her normal moves were heavy and powerful beyond reason, and her 'Chakra Enhanced Strength' strikes were downright terrifying.
It was the kind of power where you either avoided it entirely, or one hit ended the fight!
Bang, bang, bang.
Amid the rapid clash of fists and feet, Shinji remained calm and composed, fighting while retreating.
Yakumo, meanwhile, grew increasingly frustrated, feeling like she had all this strength but couldn't land it on Shinji.
Slowly, she realized why.
Her regular moves? Shinji either blocked or countered. But every time she unleashed 'Chakra Enhanced Strength,' Shinji dodged with pinpoint accuracy!
No doubt about it.
For Yakumo right now, 'Chakra Enhanced Strength' was an active skill, not a passive ability woven into every move.
This meant that while she could casually punch through a giant tree, Shinji could still tangle with her in taijutsu for so long!
The key was that Shinji always precisely evaded the 'Chakra Enhanced Strength' hidden in her regular strikes.
"How's this possible? Shinji hasn't even awakened his Sharingan!"
Yakumo's confusion deepened.
Before, whether facing Sasuke or Neji, their dojutsu hadn't seen through her 'Chakra Enhanced Strength.' But against Shinji, who hadn't awakened his Sharingan, she felt completely exposed—a terrible sensation.
What she didn't know was that Shinji possessed a secret technique called 'Killing Intent Perception.'
Without activating his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Shinji lacked the ability to read the minute details of Yakumo's movements. So his uncanny precision in dodging every 'Chakra Enhanced Strength' came from his subtle sensing of killing intent.
Though Yakumo didn't truly want to kill him, in the heat of battle, faint traces of killing intent inevitably slipped out. And by reading those, he could anticipate her attacks.
To the unaware onlooker, this all looked utterly stunning…