The st fight of the second round began.

  Teams 3 and 9 stepped forward, reaching the arena almost immediately.

  The team leaders, at the front, stared intensely at each other, waiting for the signal to begin.

  The examiner raised his hand and, with a firm voice, decred:—The st fight of the second round begins now!

  As soon as he finished his words, the leaders of both teams propelled themselves forward with almost instant speed, unsheathing their weapons and aiming directly at the vital points of their opponent.

  Meanwhile, their teammates didn’t fall behind.

  One of the members of Team 9 quickly performed a series of seals and struck the ground with both hands.—Earth Style, Stone Spears Jutsu!

  The ground trembled, and in an instant, several stone spikes shot up from the sand, flying directly toward Team 3.

  —Wind Style, Cutting Storm Jutsu!Raising his sword, the leader swung it with a fast spin, sending a sharp gust of wind that not only deflected the stone spikes but also sent them flying back toward the opposing team.

  Without wasting time, the second member of Team 9 had already completed his jutsu.—Fire Style, Annihition Fme Jutsu!

  He took a deep breath and exhaled a wave of scorching fmes that engulfed the battlefield, creating an incandescent whirlwind that turned everything in its path to ashes, evaporating the stone spikes before they could reach them.

  The st member of Team 3, seeing the powerful fmes approaching, executed his own jutsu.—Water Style, Great Tide Jutsu!

  He inhaled deeply and shot a massive current of water from his mouth that quickly flooded the entire field, crashing against the annihition fmes. The two extreme forces collided and consumed each other, culminating in a loud hissing sound as the water and fire extinguished, enveloping the battlefield in a thick curtain of steam.

  The leaders of each team did not stop to observe their teammates' fight. As the strongest, they were more focused on taking each other by the throat.

  Sparks flew with the sound of kunais cshing, a pure high-level taijutsu battle.

  The leader of Team 9 unched a direct punch to the face of the leader of Team 3, but he tilted his head to the side and countered with a spinning kick. The leader of Team 9 blocked with his forearm and used the momentum to throw an elbow to his opponent’s ribs.

  The leader of Team 3 grunted but did not back down. Instead, he spun on his axis and slid a kunai toward the leader of Team 9’s neck. He ducked at the st moment and attempted a quick sweep to take him down.

  Jumping back, the leader of Team 3 nded with a roll and unleashed a flurry of punches. The leader of Team 9 deflected them one by one, looking for an opening. For a brief moment, their gazes met. Both knew they couldn’t afford a single mistake.

  It was then that both jumped backward.

  —BOOM!— An explosion erupted right where they had been moments before, the consequences of their teammates' battle reaching them.

  Looking to the side, one could clearly see the winner.

  —Damn!— shouted the leader of Team 9, seeing his teammates unconscious on the ground.

  —Looks like we almost have a winner— said the leader of Team 3 arrogantly. To which the other clicked his tongue and attacked the leader of Team 3.

  —If I defeat you, taking care of your teammates will be easy— he said, continuing his fierce combat.

  Unfortunately for him, no matter how strong he was, facing one against three was an impossible task.

  Defeated and on the ground, he could only whisper:

  —I surrender...

  He said weak words before passing out.

  Thus ended the st fight of the second round, and the final round began.