For the final match, no matchmaking was needed—the last three participants knew they were up.
Thanks to the host's high-energy commentary and expert hype-building, even though the outcome seemed obvious, the audience's excitement reached a fever pitch.
Minato Namikaze greeted the crowd with a charming, radiant smile before entering the game. In his mind, he recalled Uchiha Kei's instructions from the day before.
"Minato, in tomorrow's exhibition match, you must win. And not just win—win with style. Win with flair. Got it?"
Minato wasn't sure what qualified as a "stylish victory," nor did he know why Kei wanted that from him. But as always, he chose to trust his best friend unconditionally. Without question, he decided to observe and adapt while flawlessly fulfilling Kei's request.
Their stage this time was a re-creation of a classic shinobi-era city modeled after the Land of Fire. In such a setting, close-quarters street combat was inevitable.
The city was filled with NPCs, each with unique behaviors. When players darted around rooftops and alleys, the NPCs would glance curiously, then return to their tasks. If combat broke out, they would flee. If an unlucky NPC got caught in the crossfire, panic would erupt. The goal was to make the setting as realistic as possible.
Of course, players could choose to massacre NPCs—but this wasn't a "Give Him Love"-type game. Killing NPCs would result in penalties: players' HP would drop based on the number of NPCs harmed, and they'd be afflicted with debuffs that lowered attack, defense, and speed.
Avoiding NPC casualties became a core mechanic of this battlefield. The rule seemed fair—it applied to everyone—but in reality, each character's abilities were different. Some had small attack ranges and didn't have to worry about friendly fire.
Others had wide-area skills that could easily strike unintended targets, making them more hesitant during combat.
Among the three participants, one had large AoE attacks. His moves frequently endangered the surrounding NPCs, forcing him to fight cautiously.
In contrast, Minato controlled a mini-version of the Yellow Flash—a character known for blinding speed and pinpoint strikes. His attack style focused on precision, allowing him to avoid harming NPCs.
Minato capitalized on this. Following Kei's instructions to win "with style," he avoided all NPCs flawlessly and launched surgical strikes on his two opponents using high-speed ambush tactics.
To the audience watching the livestream, Minato was the Yellow Flash incarnate. They saw him blitz behind the nearest enemy with breathtaking speed. Before his opponent could react, Minato unleashed a flurry of piercing blows, fully optimizing the character's speed mechanics.
When the enemy retaliated with destructive attacks, damaging buildings and endangering NPCs, Minato dodged with impeccable precision. Not a single hit landed on him.
Using a game character designed in his image, Minato demonstrated the true brilliance of the Yellow Flash.
With his first enemy taken down flawlessly, the second finally arrived—recklessly launching a high-powered attack to overwhelm Minato.
It was a fool's dream. Minato dodged again with blazing speed, rendering the attack useless.
In truth, this character wasn't overpowered. The speed difference wasn't enormous compared to others. Kei had done an excellent job with game balance.
However, Minato was simply the perfect match for the character "Jinjin." It was tailor-made for him. His mastery was so natural, it felt like he'd returned to his prime before mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He wielded the character to its absolute limit, elevating its power far above the competition.
In a dazzling flurry of golden strikes, Minato dispatched the second opponent—also without taking a single hit. Both players he defeated were left dazed, not even fully understanding what had happened.
With that, the match ended. Seeing the results Minato achieved, the audience erupted. After their gasps of awe came wild cheers and chanting.
"Yellow Flash!" they roared. The chant grew louder and louder, wave after wave.
Minato's victory wasn't just clean—it was spectacular. Every second of the livestream had shown him at his best, fully embodying the Yellow Flash.
Stylish. Powerful. Radiant. Swift.
Just like when Naruto fans on Earth first saw Minato dominate the battlefield during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, viewers today were blown away by his overwhelming talent and skill.
Minato had perfectly fulfilled Uchiha Kei's request:
Win with style. Win with flair.
His idol status soared.
The contrast with Akimichi Torifu couldn't have been more striking.
Torifu represented decades of seasoned experience—a classic elite ninja.
Minato, by contrast, wasn't calm or weathered. He embodied prodigious brilliance—an academic genius whose natural talent crushed the average shinobi. When a genius puts in just a little effort, the gap becomes insurmountable.
This extreme contrast set off a wildfire of anticipation. The crowd eagerly awaited the finals. They wanted to see who would win in a showdown between two elite shinobi representing different eras and philosophies.
As for Kakashi and Obito, though both were geniuses, they were still too green. While stronger than most players, compared to Minato and Torifu, they were just background characters for atmosphere.
That wasn't a slight. Just the truth.
Even Kakashi and Obito themselves felt the same.
After watching Torifu's calm, seasoned performance—and then seeing Minato's breathtaking battle—they realized just how overwhelming true genius could be.
The difference was obvious. You didn't need to be an expert to see it.
So, the two youngsters turned their gazes toward each other.
If they couldn't compete with their teacher or Lord Torifu… then at least they could take this opportunity to beat the crap out of each other.
And just like that, the spirit of infighting began to burn bright.