The third and final round finally began.

  Aranami Sōgen, the Kusakage, stepped forward.

  —Congratutions, shinobis, for making it to this final stage. You have proven yourselves not only as the strongest among your peers but also as having the cunning and spirit necessary to represent your vilge and lead your fellow shinobi —he said solemnly.

  —Team 3 from Souta, Team 8 from Aiko, and Team 12 from Raiden —he continued, slowly mentioning the team number and leader’s name. —It is time to show which team is at the top.

  —The final test is simple: three teams, one winner. The st team standing will win. No more, no less —he added with a sinister smile. —The test begins now. Show who is the strongest. —He said, and immediately all those not involved left the arena.

  Everyone reacted immediately.

  —Earth Style: Great Colpse Jutsu! —shouted a genin, and suddenly the entire ground colpsed beneath their feet.

  Akihiro wasted no time. Without saying a word, he pced his hands on the ground. Lines of fūinjutsu spread out like roots around him, stabilizing the terrain beneath his feet.

  —Lucky I’m always prepared —he murmured, while his gaze scanned the battlefield. The battles between the teams erupted without pause. His teammates were quickly dragged into a fight before they could formute a pn.

  —It’s the st round, so... let’s get a little crazy —he said with a smile, pulling a couple of scrolls from his weapon pouch. He unrolled them skillfully and made a release gesture. Five wooden figures in the shape of birds appeared.

  —Hello, friends —he greeted with a smile while raising his hand, and quickly performed several seals.

  —Yin Style: Cloned Mind Transfer Jutsu —he said, and a faint chakra figure, almost invisible, appeared behind him, taking control of the puppets.

  —Ah... this feeling of weakness... I never get used to it —he commented while stretching zily.

  Then, with a single motion, he began maniputing the wooden figures, which were actually carefully crafted puppets. They lifted into the air as if they were alive, although their flight was due to the wind fūinjutsu inscriptions etched inside them.

  It had been an experiment he had been working on for some time: creating puppets capable of flying and controlling them using the Yamanaka Cn's Cloned Mind Transfer Jutsu. Although cloning his mind consumed a rge amount of chakra, his reserves kept growing thanks to his constant training, so he had no reason to worry.

  —It's still too inefficient. Even making a contract with a group of birds and training them would be more effective... But this has its own charm —he said, while the birds took flight, observing the battle in real time.

  The information was transferred directly into Akihiro’s mind thanks to his mental connection with the mind clones inside the birds.

  —Aiko is facing the other leaders, while Hiroshi is fighting a lightning user. The others are fighting among themselves —he commented, evaluating the situation.

  Since the start of the battle, Akihiro had withdrawn to a hidden position, which is why no one had gone after him immediately. Probably the only one who knew where he was was Aiko, thanks to her extraordinary perception.

  —Let's go for the weaker ones and then help the others —Akihiro said, diving into the battle.

  Akihiro quickly found himself in a two-on-one fight. Two of the opponents were from Team 3, while the remaining one was from Team 12. Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Team 12 member was easily leading the fight, forcing the other two to stay on the defensive.

  —Wow, I didn’t expect him to be this strong! In his previous fight, he didn’t do much, but he’s not weak at all —Akihiro said, smiling, as he dove into the fight and appeared behind the badly beaten genins from Team 3.

  —Huh? —one of the genins said, just before Akihiro’s palms nded on his head.

  —You did well, now rest —Akihiro said, and the mind-sealing fūinjutsu activated in his mind, knocking him unconscious instantly.

  —It will only st an hour, but by then the fight will be over —Akihiro commented.

  —What did you do to him?! —his teammate yelled, charging toward Akihiro. But the Team 12 genin appeared behind him and struck him hard in the head, knocking him out.

  —Your methods are a bit violent, don’t you think? —he said, but Akihiro didn’t respond and unched himself toward him using a movement jutsu.

  —A person of few words, I suppose —Akihiro said, dodging his attack.

  The genin from Team 12 spun in the air, unching a burst of shurikens toward Akihiro. Without flinching, Akihiro jumped to the side, the metallic sound of the projectiles striking the ground resonating as he easily dodged them.

  —Shurikens? Really? —Akihiro commented, looking at him incredulously. Since he rarely used shurikens, he found it surprising that, in a battle of this level, the opponent resorted to them, knowing they were clearly useless in this situation.

  The genin from Team 12 didn’t waste a second. In the blink of an eye, he vanished in a puff of smoke, performing a movement jutsu.

  Akihiro didn’t make a move, only to shift backward. Suddenly, a hand covered in chakra appeared out of nowhere. If it had been a second te, it would have struck his side, leaving him severely injured.

  Akihiro extended his hand forward, catching the genin... only for his body to dissipate into smoke.

  —Got you! —the genin shouted from beside him, immediately appearing again, chakra focused in his hand. Confident of his victory, he threw the strike. But his attack didn’t hit anything.

  In the blink of an eye, Akihiro had disappeared.

  A few meters away, Akihiro appeared, exhausted and breathing heavily.

  —I let... my guard down —he said breathlessly.

  —Spatial Jutsu? —asked the genin, clearly surprised.

  —Sorry, but this is my victory —Akihiro said, as the genin, confused, failed to notice that where Akihiro had been, there was now a wooden puppet.

  The puppet opened, and from it, a powerful fuinjutsu immediately formed. Without the genin noticing, the fuinjutsu net slid toward his feet and wrapped around his body, trapping him.

  —What? —he asked, noticing the paralysis in his body, only for Akihiro, without wasting time, to knock him out with a blow before he could react.

  —That was exhausting —Akihiro said, taking the puppet. —It’s useless now, I’ll have to manually inscribe the seals, but that’s for ter —he commented as he stored it. The mind clone had already dissipated the moment he released the recorded fuinjutsu, so there was no point in using it as an observer anymore.

  —I have four more left. Three for detonation and one for restriction —he said, gazing at the sky. His puppets were still moving and surveying the battlefield, keeping him well-informed about what was happening.

  —With this, only one from Team 3, two from Team 12, and the three of us are left —Akihiro commented. —Let’s help Hiroshi take care of the st member of Team 12 and deal with the leaders —he said, vanishing from the spot.