Chapter 140 - 35: Sakumo Hatake VS Nishiyaku
"What a grand spectacle!" exclaimed Hiruzen Sarutobi, somewhat taken aback by the massive arena before him.
"Oh, it's nothing special," Jinghang replied modestly.
But that was an understatement - the arena could easily accommodate fifty thousand spectators, and thanks to Kōsaburō Hirai's excellent promotional work, it was packed to capacity for the opening match.
This so-called "World's Greatest Shinobi Tournament" was, of course, secretly about territory distribution. However, they couldn't announce that publicly - it would only stir up hostility between villages. Besides, if a ninja lost a crucial match, they might feel compelled to commit ritual suicide out of shame. So officially, this was promoted as a friendly competition between ninja villages.
Jinghang had carefully considered the rules. Even cage fights on Earth sometimes resulted in deaths, let alone matches involving actual weapons and jutsu. As the saying goes, blades have no eyes, and ninja techniques show no mercy. It would be terrible if what was supposed to be a mere competition ended in death.
Moreover, since all participants were elite jōnin from various villages, going all out could lead to unpredictable outcomes. That's why Jinghang specifically arranged for two Kage to serve as "safety officers" on site. This would minimize casualties while preventing any potential cheating by selecting Kage from different villages.
For example, in this first match between Sakumo Hatake of the Hidden Leaf and Nishiyaku of the Hidden Cloud, the "safety officers" were the Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi and the Fourth Tsuchikage Murasaki. Hiruzen Sarutobi and A would simply watch from above. And the Kazekage? Well, he had commentary duties to handle.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first World's Greatest Shinobi Tournament!" Jinghang began warming up the crowd with his chakra microphone. His casual, playful tone quickly captured the audience's attention. After all, they had paid 2000 ryō per ticket - twice the price of a theater show!
"Now, let me introduce our first competitors. From the Hidden Leaf Village, the elite jōnin - Sakumo Hatake!"