The gaunt young man's wooden sword pulsed with a strange energy, streaking through the air in a prismatic beam, directly toward Naruto. However, before it could even get close, a pinging sound rang out from the exterior of Naruto's thick meter-and-a-half shield as the wooden sword bounced off of it.
As soon as Naruto's protective shields flickered, his eyes glittered, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Clearing his throat, he actually just sat down cross-legged.
The audience exchanged confused glances. They weren't really sure what to say in response to Naruto and his extreme level of defense. They had seen people who focused on defense before, but... had never seen anyone who shielded himself this much.
As for his opponent, the young man's face first flushed, then went pale. Gritting his teeth, he roared, sending his flying sword shooting toward the glowing shields, ratcheting up in power even as it shot through the air.
A pinging sound rang out as the flying sword flew in again and again, but each time, it was sent spinning away. Finally, the pale-faced young man's spiritual energy was more than half depleted, and a look of despair appeared on his face.
He had been fighting in duels for years, but this was the first time he had encountered an opponent who hid like a turtle in a shell. However, he wasn't willing to give in yet. He had joined the competition with the express purpose of taking 3rd place. Staring at Naruto with bloodshot eyes, he furiously roared, "Get out from behind that shield!"
Naruto wasn't scared at all by this young man, so he didn't have any reservations about staying behind the shield and shouting, "If you're good enough, why don't you come on inside!"
Strange expressions appeared on the faces of everyone in the audience as they looked at Naruto, not sure whether to laugh or cry. The gaunt young man was so angry that blue veins popped out on his forehead as he clenched his jaw. Finally, he bit his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood. When it landed on his wooden sword, the entire thing turned the color of blood.
Discussion immediately broke out in the audience.
"Blood Spirit Magic!"
"For him to use that magical technique shows that he really has been driven to madness!"
The blood-colored wooden sword moved even faster than before, and emitted double the pressure. Blood-colored light spread out in all directions as it shot toward Naruto.
A boom rang out as the wooden sword pierced a full three inches into the shield. Rumbling could be heard as it tried to pierce further, but failed. In fact, because too much force was being exerted, cracks began to spread out over the sword.
A moment later, a pop could be heard as the entire wooden sword... shattered into pieces, which slowly floated down to the ground.
The gaunt young man's eyes went wide, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. His spiritual energy was vastly depleted, his magical item destroyed, and he was so furious simply passed out.
As Taruho watched the scene playing out, his face grew increasingly unsightly. Chuckling wryly, Elder Iruka stepped forward, signalled for people to come carry the gaunt young man away, and then declared Naruto the winner.
"Ah, he let me win!" Naruto said as the shield light around him faded away. Looking very solemn, he puffed his chest out and clasped his hands behind his back, looking every bit like a Chosen. As for the gaunt young man, as he was being carried off, he apparently heard Naruto's words, regained consciousness, coughed up another mouthful of blood, and then passed out again.
Clearing his throat, Naruto turned to Elder Iruka and clasped hands. Then he flicked his sleeve and walked out of the arena.
The Outer Sect disciples who had come to watch the competition took everything in fairly well. At most, they had strange looks on their faces. As for the contestants, they were looking at Naruto with very unsightly expressions.
That was especially true of the people who had already won their respective matches. When they compared the gaunt young man's current condition with Naruto, they couldn't help but feel the need to be on guard.
The competition continued, and soon the rest of the matches were completed. Of the original twenty participants, half had been eliminated to produce the current top 10.
That included Ryuzetsu, Tokuma, and Naruto, who stood there, chin stuck up, looking around at his fellow top 10 competitors. Inwardly, he was saying, "All I have to do is win one more match and then I'll have succeeded!"
Seeing hope right there in front of him, he felt quite excited.
Elder Iruka looked over the ten contestants, his gaze lingering on Naruto for a moment before saying, "The top 5 will now be selected. Would the ten of you please step forward to select your marbles."
This time, Naruto scrambled to be first in line, and pulled out a marble with the number two written on it. Afterward, he immediately turned to study his fellow competitors.
It didn't take long for everyone to draw a marble, after which Elder Iruka announced that the first two fighters were to begin their match. Naruto was joined by a burly, muscular man who, upon seeing who he was fighting, began to laugh loudly.
"Other people might fear your defenses, but I don't care at all about them. I'm also adept with defense, so let's just wait and see which of us two can hold out for longer!" Laughing, the man slapped his bag of holding to produce a small buckler. After imbuing it with some spiritual energy, the buckler grew larger and began to emit a yellow glow which completely surrounded the man.
The man wasn't done yet, though. Roaring, his flesh and muscles expanded, and he even grew a few inches taller. The entire scene was quite shocking.
"I can't believe it's Body Forging Magic!"
"That buckler looks familiar. Don't tell me it's a Dawnlight Buckler! That things costs 9,000 merit points!" Everyone was shocked, and as for Naruto, his brow was furrowed.
When Elder Iruka saw what was happening, he nodded his head slightly, eyes shining with a look of praise. Turning to Taruho, he said, "This kid is Taru Shan, fifth level of Chakra Condensation. He'll be a difficult opponent, as he was born with godly power, plus cultivates the Body Forging Magic. Not only is he incredibly strong, he also excels in defense."
Taruho nodded slightly, then looked over at Naruto.
Naruto was studying the burly man's transformed body, and the shield he had. He recognized the shield from his visit to the Treasure Pavilion, and although he wasn't sure exactly how many merit points it cost, his frown deepened.
Everyone watching the competition seemed very interested to find out what was going to happen, especially the other disciples in the competition, who were clearly pleased to gloat in the misfortune of others.
"That fair-skinned disciple sure got unlucky."
"Well, he got super lucky before, that's all. Now that he's facing a powerful opponent like this, he'll naturally get beaten back into place."
As the audience discussed the developments, the burly man smiled viciously and then began to stride rapidly toward Naruto.
"There's nothing you can do. I beat the last disciple I fought without even drawing a weapon. My fist is the most powerful magical technique I have!"
The man sped up, causing a wind to blast out. As he closed in, Naruto's eyes glittered and he suddenly waved his finger, causing his little wooden sword to fly out from his bag of holding.
Without the slightest pause, it shot out in front of Naruto toward the burly man.
As it slashed toward him, sword Chakra built up for dozens of meters around the sword, causing rumbling sounds to echo out.
The burly man's face fell, and his scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode. His eyes widened as an intense sensation of crisis washed through him. Without the slightest hesitation, he fell into retreat. Roaring, he waved both hands, sending his buckler out to block the sword.
A boom rang out as the wooden sword and the little buckler slammed into each other. However, the buckler didn't do anything to even slow down the wooden sword. It was blasted apart, and the wooden sword continued on toward the burly man.
The man's face was filled with shock; even if he were capable of dodging faster, it would do no good. The flying sword was on him in the blink of an eye, causing an icy wind to buffet his face.
"I concede!" he shouted without hesitation, his voice rising by a few octaves as he fell to the ground.
A buzzing sound could be heard as the wooden sword stopped just in front of the man's forehead, then turned and flew back into Naruto's bag of holding.
Naruto blinked, also somewhat shocked by the wooden sword. Before, he had only practiced with it, and had no idea it was so powerful. And that was before he even began to utilize Lightness-in-Heaviness.
After looking up in thought for a moment, he stuck his chin up, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked coolly at the burly man.
The man's face was pale white, and yet he still didn't seem to want to back down. Crawling to his feet, he glared at Naruto and said, "Using the power of magical items doesn't count as winning! I don't accept this as being a defeat!"
With that, the man turned and stalked out of the arena.
Elder Iruka looked over at Naruto, also astonished by the power of the wooden sword. However, he didn't say anything other to announce that Naruto was the victor.
"Hahaha," Naruto laughed to himself. "In the next battle I'll just instantly concede. I became a cultivator to live forever, right? All this killing and fighting is too barbaric. That's not how Naruto does things." Naruto left the arena, feeling wonderful at having complied with Taruho's requirement to get into the top 5.
Taruho's eyes had also come to rest on Naruto. Although everyone else had been focused on how incredible the flying sword was, Taruho hadn't been paying attention to that at all. He had been watching the skill and ease with which Naruto controlled the flying sword.
Seeing that Naruto had won another match, the crowd began to sigh emotionally.
"Ah, this guy must be rich, that's why he has such an incredible wooden sword. Hmph. If he had any other weapon he definitely couldn't have won!"
"Magical devices have nothing to do with your cultivation. First he used those amulets, then that sword. What a waste! He's definitely going to go broke eventually."
The grumblings didn't last for long though. The next battle soon got underway. Ryuzetsu was fighting an opponent with an extraordinary cultivation base. It was a fierce fight, but Ryuzetsu didn't use her banner. Instead, she utilized a flying sword. They fought back and forth in dazzling fashion until suddenly, Ryuzetsu's flying sword shot forward with incredible speed to appear directly in front of her opponent.
Such speed vastly surpassed that which ordinary disciples could control, sending the audience into an uproar when people realized what they were seeing.
"I can't believe it's Lightness-in-Heaviness!"
"Ryuzetsu has actually reached enlightenment of that stage..."
"It's Lightness-in-Heaviness!" Deep within Elder Iruka's eyes, the glitter of approval could be seen as he looked at Ryuzetsu.
Taruho also nodded.
Tokuma was shocked, and most everyone else who had made it into the top 10 had similar reactions. As for her opponent, he chuckled bitterly and clasped hands to concede.
Ryuzetsu stood there in the arena, looking around proudly. Clasping hands toward Taruho and Elder Iruka, she left the arena.
The crowd was still in an uproar.
However, Naruto was left standing there, blinking.
"That level of speed counts as Lightness-in-Heaviness?" he thought, astonished.
As Ryuzetsu proudly left the arena, slight drops of sweat could be seen running down her face. Despite being in the great circle of the fifth level of Chakra Condensation, fighting two successive battles was quite a drain on her spiritual energy. That was especially true of the battle just now, in which her opponent had possessed unusual battle prowess. In the end, she had been forced to unleash her magic of Lightness-in-Heaviness, which was an even bigger drain on her spiritual energy. That was how she had secured victory.
Her goal was 1st place, and she knew that subsequent opponents would only be more powerful. Because this particular sect competition wasn't very strictly organized, she wouldn't have much time to rest before the next fight. Therefore, she immediately pulled out a medicinal pill, which she consumed, then closed her eyes and began to take advantage of the time to recover.
The top 5 now consisted of Naruto and Ryuzetsu, as well as Tokuma. In the end, there were two other young men, both of whom had profound cultivation bases in the fifth level of Chakra Condensation.
Currently, everyone was in the process of rotating their cultivation bases, taking advantage of every opportunity to replenish some spiritual energy.
Only Naruto didn't seem to have spent any spiritual energy at all. In fact, he even stood off to the side yawning. When everyone else who had been eliminated from the competition saw that, it left them with the urge to beat him.
Now that he had fulfilled Taruho's demand to get into the top 5, he didn't care at all about the rest of the competition.
Trying to suppress his boredom, he looked over at the other four top 5 competitors, especially Ryuzetsu, musing that if the speed she had just unleashed counted as Lightness-in-Heaviness, then he was surely far, far beyond that.
"It's too bad she has such an extremely murderous aura. Why would a good girl like that be so into fighting and killing? Don't tell me that all girls who practice Immortal cultivation are weirdos like this? Kurenai is super proud, and Amaru is way too moody." Naruto shook his head. He was just about to look away from Ryuzetsu when she seemed to sense that he was looking at her. Her eyes suddenly snapped open to stare at him coldly.
As far as Ryuzetsu was concerned, Naruto wasn't even worth thinking about. After watching his first two battles, she was of the opinion that he had pulled off lucky wins, which caused the derision in her heart to grow stronger.
"Well well, you dare to stare at me, do you?!" Naruto immediately ceased any motion of looking away. Instead, his eyes went wide as he glared right back at Ryuzetsu. Staring contests didn't have anything to do with fighting and bloodshed, so from a young age, he had met few people who could overcome him.
Ryuzetsu frowned. As for the admirers who clustered behind her, they were very irritated, and cast ferocious glares in his direction.
However, seeing so many eyes staring at him, and considering that quite a few of them were extremely fierce, Naruto cleared his throat. He only had two eyes, so how could he possibly match up? "Well, they have numbers on their side, and besides, true men don't fight with girls."
With a harrumph, he looked away.
About that time, Elder Iruka's voice rang out across the arena.
"Very good, all of you. This competition has gone very well so far. And now, we will continue to narrow down the competitors. Would the five of you please step forward and select a marble. One of those marbles is a free pass into the top 3." Smiling, Elder Iruka produced the bag again.
This time, Tokuma was first. After pulling out the marble, he frowned; his marble had the number four written on it.
Ryuzetsu was next, who got the number two marble. The other two Outer Sect disciple got numbers one and three respectively.
Naruto didn't even need to draw a marble; the remaining marble was the free pass.
Naruto's eyes lit up, and he chuckled. He took his place outside of the fighting arena, arms folded, feeling completely relaxed as he prepared to watch Ryuzetsu and all the others. He hadn't even planned to continue on the with the competition, but now he didn't have to do anything and he was already in the top 3.
"Luck is a big part of strength!" he thought, feeling quite pleased with himself.
That very luck caused quite a few audience members to stare at him with even stranger expressions on their faces. Most of them really couldn't bear to accept the situation, especially the other disciples who had been eliminated, whose hearts were filled with jealousy and envy.
"This guy is totally shameless. Alright, fine, he used a magical item to get into the top five, but then he actually got a free pass into the top three!"
"How despicable. In fact, there's never been someone as despicable as this to ever show up in the competitions."
It wasn't just the audience. Even Ryuzetsu was feeling a bit jealous of how lucky Naruto had gotten. It was the same with Tokuma. The other four people who had reached the top 5 had all spend a lot of energy already. If they had managed to get the blank marble, it would have given them a bit of breathing room to rest, which would have been an immense advantage during the rest of the fighting.
Elder Iruka looked at Naruto and smiled, whereas Taruho's expression remained the same as before.
Naruto looked on excitedly as the next round of fighting began. Ryuzetsu's opponent was a fierce disciple who frequently left the sect on missions to slay wild beasts, and was the type of person who was used to seeing a lot of bloodshed. On the other hand, Ryuzetsu's skill with Lightness-in-Heaviness was quite fear-inspiring. Not only did it provide her with powerful defensive capabilities, but she was also able to move with incredible speed.
The audience was completely focused on the match, and occasional 'oohs' and 'ahs' could be heard. Both fighters were clearly in danger of being injured, and yet... there happened to be a certain voice calling out, taking the lead in the cheering.
"Whoah! Nice sword move!
"Look at that reverse Dragon Tail attack! Oh no! Look behind you! Quick, look behind you!
"Rah rah rah!" Naruto was really getting sucked into watching the fight, to the point where he even started applauding at key points. It wasn't an act either; he really was impressed by Ryuzetsu's performance, and by now, had forgotten that he was actually one of the competitors.
When Elder Iruka saw what was happening, he coughed dryly. Taruho's face was completely expressionless, but inwardly all he could do was shrug his shoulders. After all, Naruto had already accomplished the assigned task.
Facing such a powerful opponent, Ryuzetsu had no time for distractions. She focused completely for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, and after using Lightness-in-Heaviness three times, she finally secured victory.
However, she ended up exhausting over half of her spiritual energy. Sweating, she was just about to walk out of the arena to rest up a bit, when she heard Naruto cheering her on. Then she thought about how incredibly difficult it had been for her to get into the top 3, whereas Naruto had done it without any effort at all. Irritation rose up in her heart, and she wished she could simply blast him with a powerful attack right then and there.
When Naruto noticed that Ryuzetsu was glaring at him angrily, he blinked a few times, feeling a bit offended. Then he glared back at her, which seemed to push Ryuzetsu to the point where she almost couldn't restrain herself from attacking.
Tokuma's next fight went a bit smoother. However, he still fought for about the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, and wasted quite a bit of spiritual energy.
He was also feeling quite envious of Naruto.
"We now have a top 3. All three of you are Outer Sect... celebrities." Elder Iruka cleared his throat. "Please come to determine the fighting order. This time, the number three marble counts as the blank marble. Whoever picks it will advance directly to the final match." Elder Iruka waved his hand, causing the bag to appear once again.
Tokuma was the first in line this time, and when he pulled out the marble and saw the number 'two' written on it, he sighed and stepped off to the side.
Ryuzetsu took a deep breath as she stepped forward. But then she stopped in place and turned icily to Naruto.
"You go first!" she said coldly.
Naruto, who had been watching the exciting fights this entire time, didn't refuse. He reached into the bag as Ryuzetsu looked on with an icy expression. It wasn't just her that was waiting to see what would happen, all eyes in the audience were fixed upon Naruto.
Even Elder Iruka and Taruho were craning their necks.
Being the focus of attention in this way caused Naruto to feel a bit embarrassed. Actually, he didn't even really care which marble he pulled out, and yet when he finally did remove his hand, his eyes went wide with shock.
Number three.
Naruto looked back at Ryuzetsu, coughed dryly, and said, "Um, hey, you asked me to go first."
Eyes gleaming ferociously, Ryuzetsu clenched her hands into fist and stared murderously at Naruto. Her chest rose as she took a deep breath; she seemed to be on the verge of exploding.
Tokuma's eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped. The idea of someone being so incredibly lucky simply exceeded his imagination. Yet again... Naruto would skip an entire match.
When the surrounding disciples saw the marble in Naruto's hands, they couldn't restrain themselves. Instantly, a huge commotion broke out.
"He advances automatically again! His name is Naruto, right? How... how could he be so lucky!? He got the blank marble twice in a row!"
"How shameless of this guy! He hasn't done anything, and yet has made it all the way to the final match..."
"How could a guy like that make it to the finals? Dammit, if I was as lucky as that, I could do the same thing!" Everyone was in an uproar, and the people who had been eliminated from the competition earlier seemed especially envious.
Elder Iruka hesitated for a moment and then looked over at Taruho. Taruho let out a long sigh; he had to admit that Naruto really had gotten lucky.
In Naruto's mind, there was no reason for the crowd to react in such a way. Smiling awkwardly, he hurried out of the arena, standing outside with an embarrassed look on his face.
"Ai. I was planning to concede anyway..." he thought, looking incredulously at the marble in his hand.
Ryuzetsu took a deep breath to suppress her extreme irritation. Gritting her teeth, she looked at Tokuma, simultaneously settling her Chakra and clearing her mind. She had done her homework on Tokuma, and knew that he was a very powerful opponent.
Tokuma smiled bitterly, taking a deep breath as he gazed back at Ryuzetsu.
After staring off for a few breaths of time, they sprang into action. Almost instantly, booms and bangs began to ring out. This was actually the most spectacular fight in the entire competition so far. Tokuma erupted with his full power, going to the lengths of throwing out some seeds, which he then catalyzed into full-grown plants with attack powers. When Naruto saw him use his skill in plants and vegetation in such a way, his eyes glittered.
As for Ryuzetsu, she used Lightness-in-Heaviness to send her flying sword whistling through the air. After they had fought for a bit, she then produced a wooden sword, which swirled about in conjunction with the ordinary flying sword, turning the battlefield into an even more spectacular scene than before.
The two of them couldn't keep using their trump cards for very long, and were rapidly running out of spiritual energy. The fighting only continued to grow more bitter.
Naruto was watching excitedly, whooping and hollering the entire time.
The battle went on for about an hour, until a massive boom rang out as Ryuzetsu pushed the wooden sword so hard that it exploded. The resulting fragments were then propelled by Lightness-in-Heaviness in a huge attack that Tokuma simply couldn't dodge. He was forced into retreat and ended up drawing on all of his spiritual energy. Finally, he sighed and conceded.
The surrounding Outer Sect disciples were quite impressed by the intense battle, and their eyes gleamed with admiration as they gazed at Ryuzetsu. They were now fully convinced of how amazing she was. As for Tokuma, his reputation also improved because of the fight.
Even though he had lost, he was sure to become even more famous in the days to come.
Elder Iruka seemed quite pleased, and was even considering taking Ryuzetsu on as a personal apprentice.
At the same time, no matter how the competition ended, Naruto's name was also sure to spread...
The moment Tokuma called out that he conceded, Ryuzetsu slumped in place in the middle of the arena, her face pale. She was swaying back and forth in exhaustion, her spiritual energy almost completely depleted. Taking a deep breath, she produced some medicinal pills which she instantly consumed. However, she knew that the pills would only replenish so much, and she could only recover completely by sitting cross-legged in meditation for several hours. After all, she had just fought four battles in a row.
However, according to the rules of this type of competition, the disciples were not given very much time for rest. After all, it was only a small-scale competition.
"Naruto, get out here!" Ryuzetsu said through gritted teeth. Her eyes gleamed with a ferocious light as she looked at Naruto standing outside of the arena. She wanted to take advantage of the little bit of spiritual energy she had to defeat this damnable Naruto, who had gotten into the final match only by pure luck.
As soon as the words left Ryuzetsu's mouth, everyone in the audience turned to look at Naruto, eager to gloat in his misfortune. In their minds, even if Ryuzetsu was bone tired, Naruto had only achieved victory by random chance, and she would be able to defeat him easily no matter the circumstances.
Naruto blinked a few times, then looked at Ryuzetsu standing there unsteadily, and suddenly realized that he... could actually take 1st place.
"This is the time for Naruto to finally become super famous. Once I go out there and use my Lightness-in-Heaviness, then everyone is going to be completely shocked." Puffing his chest out proudly, he strode into the arena, envisioning the scene of everyone reacting in shock to his win.
However, the instant his foot touched down, Ryuzetsu's eyes flickered coldly, and she suddenly performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. Instantly, her flying sword shot toward Naruto.
A brutal air emanated off of the flying sword, sending intense coldness out in all directions. Clearly this one attack was backed by all of the spiritual energy Ryuzetsu could muster, causing the sword to emanate incredible pressure.
Even more shocking was that Ryuzetsu flew into the air behind the sword, almost as if she were about to merge with it and become one.
A boom rang out as the sword accelerated toward Naruto with shocking speed, a speed that vastly exceeded the speed she had used when fighting Tokuma. A piercing whistling sound echoed out as it became a prismatic beam that bore down on Naruto.
Everyone watching was completely shocked by the sword move, and began to cry out in shock.
"Solitary Sword, Flying Immortal!"
"I can't believe Elder Sister Ryuzetsu is actually using that sword incantation!"
Elder Iruka's eyes gleamed brightly, and Taruho nodded. Both of them could tell that Ryuzetsu had actually never successfully pulled off this sword incantation. However, at this point in the battle, when her spiritual energy was virtually depleted, she managed to succeed. Using her last bit of energy, she just barely managed to unleash the sword incantation.
"By putting everything on the line, she gained enlightenment of the sword incantation," Taruho said, eyes gleaming with admiration. "This Ryuzetsu isn't bad. She actually seems more suited to the cultivation of Green Crest Peak."
All of the Outer Sect disciples were completely shaken. Everything seemed to turn into a blur, except for Ryuzetsu and her flying sword, which merged together into a picture of perfect clarity.
The sword whistled through the air, followed by the sword wielder, becoming a powerful attack. Ryuzetsu looked exhausted, but her eyes gleamed with a sharp light. She was extremely confident that this sword move would secure her the victory.
In almost the exact same instant that the flying sword and Ryuzetsu closed in on Naruto, Naruto's pupils constricted. Rumbling sounds then echoed out as all of his numerous defensive assets erupted out layer by layer, including the jade pendant and all the amulets. At the same time, he flew backward at top speed.
The flying sword was clearly not an ordinary object, and it quickly began to pierce through the shields. It stabbed through layer after layer, collapsing all the defensive shields until it actually reached Naruto himself.
However, by that point, it didn't seem to have much energy left. Before it could actually stab into him, it got stuck. Even as he flew backward, the sword keeping pace, it was possible to see the layers of leather clothing he was wearing.
When the audience realized this, their jaws dropped, and they gasped.
"N-Naruto... has so many defenses!"
"How terrified of dying is this guy? Is it really worth it? He actually used magical items and talismans for a little competition like this? And on top of all that he wore leather armor!?"
Ryuzetsu's face was pale white as she watched Naruto running away like a rabbit whose tail had just been stepped on. Not only was he moving with incredible speed, her sword was still stuck in his clothing. Gritting her teeth, she performed an incantation gesture and pointed out in an attempt to drag the flying sword back to her. However, she had so little spiritual energy that all she could do was make it tremble a bit.
She tried one last time, but even as she tried to circulate her spiritual energy, blood began to ooze out of the corners of her mouth, and she staggered backward several paces, where she stood unsteadily for a moment before dropping down to sit on the ground. Her face was deathly pale, and her spiritual energy was completely drained.
In her heart, she felt that it was a big injustice. She had struggled so hard to get into the top 2, whereas Naruto had done almost nothing. In fact, he hadn't even used any of his spiritual energy. Her irritation quickly turned into rage; gritted her teeth, she stared murderously at Naruto, wishing she could kill him several times over. In fact, if she had the energy, she would go over and bite him.
Naruto took a deep breath as he sped backward in retreat; he had never imagined that Ryuzetsu would actually use a move like the one she had.
Unexpectedly, all of his defenses had been pierced.
"Fudge, it's a good thing I was thinking straight and put on eight leather jackets." He looked down at the flying sword sticking into his shoulder. It was now completely devoid of any energy, and was stuck fast within all the layers of leather. By the time it actually reached his skin, it had nothing left to push it any further.
Furthermore, thanks to his Undying Skin, when it actually touched him, it didn't even match up to a mosquito bite.
Fear lingering in his heart, Naruto eyed the sword and then carefully pulled it out. Then he glanced over at Ryuzetsu, who was sitting there gasping for breath.
"Elder Sister, you really shouldn't throw your treasures around like this. Do you want this sword or not? If you don't want it, then I'll take it." Looking extremely pleased, he put the flying sword into his bag of holding, then took out his own little wooden sword. Just as he was about to launch an attack, people in the crowd began to cry out in alarm.
Seeing Naruto take her flying sword caused Ryuzetsu's eyes to be shot with blood.
"You..." she said. Just as she was about to flip out completely, she passed out.
She was the second person in the competition to faint because of Naruto.
"Eee? What did you go and faint for?" Naruto looked at the unconscious Ryuzetsu, and then back at his little wooden sword. Finally, he shrugged.