XX-level Hokage

Sarada stood up again, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. She looked incredibly white. Physical attacks were useless, illusions were useless; she was truly powerful.

However, I absolutely cannot lose! "Lightning Release: Lightning Ball"

Sarada quickly formed hand seals, and a golden ball of lightning appeared out of thin air, hurtling towards Mashiro. Mashiro did not dodge.

Sheets of white paper fluttered down from her body.

The lightning bolt struck the paper, instantly turning the white paper to ash.

But it shrank and disappeared in just a moment. Paper? A perfect opportunity!

"Fire: Great Fireball Technique!"

Sarada quickly formed hand seals, and a huge fireball shot out of her mouth.

This fireball consumed all her chakra; it was her final strike. Facing the incoming Great Fireball...

Upon seeing this, Sarada collapsed to the ground.

"The winner of the second semi-final match is Hinata Mashiro, who advances to the final!"

Chapter 241: A Familiar Feeling

Next up is the third match.

"Now we begin the third match of the semifinals: Konoha, Mitsuki, versus Sand Village, Shinki. Begin!"

With Lee's announcement, the match officially began. "Wind Release: Breakthrough"

Yiyue launched the first attack, exhaling a stream of air that shot straight at Shinki. However, it was blocked by the surging iron sand.

Immediately afterwards, the iron sand transformed into a giant, pitch-black hand, which grabbed Yiyue's arm. "Got it."

But Yue's arms transformed into several white snakes, easily freeing her from Shinki's restraints.

"What an interesting magic trick! What will appear next, a pigeon?" Shinki asked Mitsuki.

“I can only conjure snakes. Your moves are truly unique. How exactly do you control the iron sand at will?” Yi Yue asked.

In the preparation room, Mashiro looked at the sand surging around Shinki through the screen and said, "He seems different from Gaara. Is he using Magnet Release? As expected of the Sand Village, if nothing unexpected happens, he should be the next Kazekage."

On the dueling field, Shinki said, "This is a ninjutsu that my father taught me personally. Never mind, you wouldn't understand even if I told you."

"Is that so? Oh well, it doesn't matter. Wind Release: Kamaitachi." Mitsuki launched another attack. "A waste of effort." Iron sand surged, and Mitsuki's attack was easily blocked once again.

Shinki then launched an attack, sending black waves of iron sand crashing towards Mitsuki. After a fierce struggle, Mitsuki was ultimately at a disadvantage.

"Is that all? You're clearly hiding the Killer Copper." Shinki said. Izuki didn't speak, just quietly looked at Shinki.

"I understand. Now please tell me where your composure comes from." With that, Shinki stretched out his right hand, and the floating iron sand condensed into a black spike.

“The attack just now has left you with the mark of iron sand. You should know the properties of iron sand, right?” Shinki said softly. “Magnetic,” Izuki replied.

“Yes, the unavoidable spear will pierce your body,” Shinki said emphatically.

"This situation is truly perplexing. The only way to defeat him is to transform into a Sage Mode, but..." Thinking this over, Yoru saw Boruto's figure.

“Come on, let me see your hidden power.” With that, the iron sand spear thrust towards Yiyue in an instant. “I lost,” Yiyue said.

Upon hearing this, Shinki immediately stopped her spear attack. "Did I hear that right?" Shinki asked.

“You heard me right, I said I lost,” Yi Yue said calmly.

Orochimaru warned him that he must never use Sage Mode in Konoha, or he would be sent back to Otogakure. Therefore, in order to stay by Boruto's side, Mitsuki chose to concede defeat.

"The winner, Shinki from Sand Village, advances to the finals."

"The finals will be held tomorrow. The teams are: Sand Village, Shinki, Konoha, Hyuga Mashiro, Konoha, and Uzumaki Boruto. I hope all participants are mentally prepared," Shikamaru announced the results of today's matches.

Inside the barbecue restaurant, Moegi was eating barbecue with Shikadai, Inojin, and Chocho, but none of the three of them showed any interest in touching their chopsticks.

"I brought you here because you said you wanted to eat barbecue. It's a pity you lost the game, but I believe everyone saw how hard you tried," Menghuang comforted her.

Die Die picked up a piece of meat and said, "The meat is so thin it's almost transparent."

"There's nothing I can do, it's not payday yet," Menghuang said, puffing out her cheeks.

"Meng Huang-sensei!" Shikadai suddenly spoke up. Meng Huang turned to look at Shikadai.

“Are we missing something?” Lu Tai asked seriously.

“Yes, but you don’t need to dwell on this answer right now. Were you just thinking about how to beat Boruto in future matches?” Moegi asked, and Shikadai nodded.

"Preparations for the next Chunin Exams have already begun; special training will start tomorrow," Moegi announced. "Yes!" Shikadai nodded earnestly.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone. Here's the Q-style BBQ platter for 20 people." At that moment, three servers came over carrying four full plates of meat. "What? What? What's going on? Did they bring this to the wrong table?!" Menghuang said nervously.

"I saw you guys were having a serious conversation, so I ordered for everyone," Inojin said with a smile. "We've already ordered, what else can we do? Come on, eat," Shikadai chimed in.

After saying that, Diedie began to eat heartily. "You..."

"Please keep the bill." The waiter handed the bill to Moegi.

After glancing at the numbers inside, Menghuang instantly turned pale and fainted.

Not only them, but all the contestants from other groups who didn't advance to the finals were also comforted by their teachers or family members. Boruto, meanwhile, continued his special training with Sasuke.

Sasuke reached out and used Chidori to instantly slice a huge rock into pieces.

"Amazing! This must be Kakashi's technique! Teach me!" Boruto exclaimed excitedly. "No," Sasuke replied.

"Tch, stingy." Boruto scoffed.

“This technique is based on the Sharingan’s perception,” Sasuke explained, revealing his Sharingan. “Then why show it to me?” Boruto asked, puzzled.

"Your chakra has a strong lightning attribute. Work hard to improve the precision of your lightning release hand seals. One day you'll be able to use powerful techniques, starting from the basics."

"Let's begin and give it a try," Sasuke said.

"Okay, okay, you mean if I practice hard, I'll eventually learn a powerful move like Chidori, right? I understand." Boruto said listlessly, and then began practicing hand seals.

“Once upon a time, there was a man who ignored all advice and only knew how to seek power by any means necessary, attempting to change the world on his own,” Sasuke said in a long, drawn-out tone.

"What happened to that person later?" Boruto asked casually, practicing hand seals. "He stumbled, but in the end, his friends saved him," Sasuke replied.

"So that means friends are important, huh? No problem with that, hehe, I'm surrounded by really good guys." Boruto said with a smile. "Is that so?" Sasuke muttered to himself.

"Speaking of which, Master, do you think I could beat Shinki and Mashiro tomorrow if I could increase my hand seal speed?" Boruto asked. Sasuke didn't know who Shinki was, but he had seen Mashiro before.

Thinking of the feeling that Zhen Zi gave him, Sasuke replied, "No."

"Then I won't practice anymore. Master, please teach me a ninjutsu with stronger attack power. Let's see if I can learn it in one night," Boruto said dejectedly.

“Once upon a time, there was a loser who wouldn’t listen to advice and wouldn’t practice hand seals,” Sasuke began. “He stumbled too, didn’t he? I see,” Boruto said impatiently.

“No, he didn’t fail. His entire ninja career after that consisted solely of making Rasengan.” Sasuke continued. “Making Rasengan?”

"In short, let's stay in touch."

Unlike Sasuke, who is currently undergoing special training.

At this moment, Mashiro was being interrogated by Hinata and Hihana's Byakugan. "...That's how it is," Mashiro said softly.

"You mean, through records about the Rejuvenation Technique, you used your own thinking to combine it with Baguazhang (Eight Trigrams Palm) to create a new secret technique?!" Spark asked incredulously.

“Yes, Ms. Spark, I’ve said it three times already,” Mashiro said softly. Upon hearing this, Spark instantly collapsed to the ground.

"It's true what they say, comparisons are the thief of joy," Hanabi said in a low voice.

"Mashiro is even more talented than Neji!" Hinata was also very surprised. Creating Gentle Fist—this was a skill possessed only by a few legendary members of the Hyuga clan.

"I don't care, Mashiro, teach me, I want to learn." Hikaru stood up and said to Mashiro. "Okay." Mashiro nodded with a smile.

In the courtyard, Mashiro began teaching the Spark Returning Heaven Palm technique and its application.

Hinata came to the yard after putting Himawari to sleep. Under the silvery moonlight.

Mashiro was instructing Hanabi to do this pose.

Hinata was somewhat dazed as she watched this scene. She had a feeling of déjà vu, as if it were very familiar.

The same was true for Spark; as Mashiro touched her, she kept recalling what Mashiro would look like when she grew up. Then, looking at the young Mashiro now, her face flushed slightly.

"What's wrong? Hanabi, you seem a little lost in thought," Mashiro whispered in Hanabi's ear.

For some reason, Hanabi didn't feel uncomfortable when Mashiro called her name; on the contrary, she felt a faint desire to get closer to her.

How strange, what's wrong with me...? The next day, in the dueling arena.

The Chunin Exams finals have officially begun.

Now, in the dueling arena, Mashiro looks up at the sky. It's getting closer and closer.

Chapter 242: The Arrival of the Otsutsuki

"Now the final battle begins! Konoha, Boruto Uzumaki, Konoha, Mashiro Hyuga, Sunagakure, Shinki. The final battle will be a free-for-all. The last one standing among the three will be the champion. So, begin!" Lee announced.

Shinki launched the first attack, his iron sand transforming into spikes that relentlessly lashed out at Mashiro and Boruto. Boruto quickly got up to dodge.

A paper shield appeared in front of Mashiro.

“They attacked the other two right from the start,” Darui said with great interest on the Five Kage platform.

"Isn't that stupid? He'll just get ganged up on in a melee." Hei Tu shook his head and said. "Or rather, he's quite confident." Chang Shi immediately offered his opinion.

Gaara looked at Shinki on the field and muttered to himself, "I hope this will be a blow to you, Shinki."

“My ninjutsu is suitable for one-on-many situations. I can fight both of you at the same time,” Shinki said to Mashiro and Boruto. “You really underestimate me,” Boruto said while dodging.

“Coincidentally, my deception technique is also good at dealing with multiple opponents. I should have played along with you, but I don’t have time for house now,” Mashiro said with a light laugh. Then she walked towards Shinki.

Seeing Mashiro's actions, Shinki controlled the iron sand to transform into a giant hand and reached out to grab her. However, a giant paper hand of the same size also appeared at the same time, blocking Shinki's attack.

Shinki then launched a series of different attacks on Mashiro, but all of them were neutralized by the same attacks made of white paper. After a moment, Mashiro appeared in front of Shinki.

“Even though you are strong, you can never beat me,” Shinki said calmly.

Iron sand condensed around him, forming an iron sand defense similar to Gaara's Defense.

“Apart from my father, no one in the Sand Village has been able to break through my absolute defense,” Shinki said.

"Has the Sand Village weakened to this extent?" Mashiro said softly, unleashing a palm strike at Shinji. Blue-white chakra emanated from her palm, forming a rapidly spinning vortex.

Upon contact with Shinki's absolute defense, the iron sand instantly began to scatter, flying in all directions.

The violent spiral, carrying a powerful centrifugal force, caused a large amount of iron sand to detach. To Shinki's incredulous gaze, the Heaven-Returning Palm touched his body. "!"

All the iron sand surrounding Shinki scattered, and Shinki was thrown heavily to the ground, unconscious. The entire dueling arena fell silent.