6 Competition (2)

Aizen looked at the girl that stood still, unwilling to make any move. She observed his every step and was formulating a plan in her head.

*If you don't come to me, then I will.* He thought and dashed towards the girl, instinctively releasing a tiny amount of his spiritual pressure.

She immediately panicked as she saw him darting towards her. Tears started running down her face. She felt as if she was facing the Shinigami himself, a being from the depths of hell that didn't belong to this world. Despite her best effort to calm down, she yelled: "I give up!"

Aizen didn't even notice such a tiny amount of spiritual pressure leaking, so he just glanced at the girl and shook his head as he commented: "If this is the future of the leaf, then this village has no future. You're a disgrace to every student striving to become a shinobi."

She felt as if she got stabbed several times by sharp knives. His words left a shadow in her heart, that will stay with her forever.

*He's right, I'm a coward. I didn't even try to fight back.* She tightened her fists and thought with her tears falling to the ground, leaving a wet trail as she left the arena.

Aizen left the arena and began observing remaining participants. Most students were engaged in fierce duels, unwilling to let their opponents get an advantage over them. A few students could use basic elemental ninjutsu, they were most likely scions of influential clans and trained since they could walk.

*Why did I get such a weak enemy?* He sighed and continued watching.

The next fight was almost as easy as the first. Aizen had utterly dominated his opponent in a matter of seconds.

The last fight of the second round ended and all participants were ordered to leave the arena for a while. The proctor began forming seals. When he finished and moved his hand towards the ground, it quaked and the stages rearranged, creating one large platform.

Startled shouts could be heard from the audience, as many civilians never experienced such a wondrous thing. The arena was created in a way that allowed a shinobi proficient in Earth Release to move individual elements, creating an entirely new design.

Participants swiftly returned to the new, transformed arena.

"The fights will no longer co-occur. Only the best students remain, but the winner is yet to be decided. I will read a list of students that qualified to the next stage of the competition." The proctor announced.

"Minato Namikaze, Ryoma Uchiha, Ayumi Mitsue, Shimei Haruta, Aizen Sōsuke, Shogo Akimichi, Hitomi Hyuuga and last but not least, Katsumi Saeki. Congratulations to the remaining contestants!"

"First fight, Minato Namikaze vs Shimei Haruta! You have five minutes to prepare." The proctor finished his speech.

Everyone but Minato and Shimei left the arena and sat comfortably in the area designated for the participants.

*I never liked Minato in the original series. Kind, noble and selfless. Those were typical traits of a fool that was too ignorant to see the world for what it truly is - a harsh place where the strong devour the weak.* He thought as he waited for the match to begin. Suddenly, he heard a voice coming from behind.

"Can I sit next to you?" Ayumi asked and meekly smiled. She was nervous but didn't let her emotions be seen on her face. As she finished the sentence, other girls sent her hateful glares with an expression that screamed 'How dare you!'.

"I don't see anyone sitting beside me, so I guess that you can." Aizen answered, apparently not interested in the girl. He immediately realised that she fancied him, but obtaining the championship had a much higher priority on his list, so he decided to pay attention to every fight.

Ayumi sat next to him and returned the glare to other girls with a triumphant smirk on her face that made them feel even more outraged.

Everyone tensed as the fight was about to begin. Both contenders were standing on a huge stage, ready to start at any moment.

"I've heard about your clan, Minato-san. Let me see how much a Namikaze is truly worth." Shimei said with a stoic expression and assumed a battle stance.

His white hair gave an impression of being made from snow. He wore a blue jacket with a white shirt underneath.

"I won't hold back, Shimei-san." Minato replied and prepared himself for battle.

"The fight will begin in 3... 2... 1... Hajime!" Said the proctor.

Minato swiftly formed seals required for his jutsu as he stormed towards his opponent.

"Wind Release: Gale Steps!" Gusts of wind enveloped his feet.

In less than a second, he arrived in front of his opponent and sent out a kick to Shimei's stomach, which was blocked on time by his opponent.

*swoosh* *swoosh* *swoosh*

Minato sent out punch after a punch, but none of them connected. Shimei was gracefully evading his onslaught. Beads of sweat started to form on the head of the white-haired boy.

*If I don't retaliate he will tire me out. How can he be so fast? I must create some space to breathe. I don't stand a chance in close combat.* Thought Shimei as he quickly formed a plan in his head.

He jumped back as far as he could. Minato promptly followed to reduce the distance between them, but Shimei formed a seal with a grin on his face.

"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!" Shimei spewed out a huge wave towards Minato.

*Crap, I won't be able to dodge from this distance.* Minato thought as he steeled himself.

The wave came crashing down on the yellow-haired boy, drenching him from head to toe, propelling him five meters from Shimei.

*That's a pretty useful jutsu, even if it's a low grade one, but I bet that he's almost out of chakra. It had to be taxing to create such a strong wave.* Aizen thought.

Shimei withdrew several shurikens from his pouch and threw them at his enemy.

Minato tried to get up, but he saw shurikens flying his way. He rolled to avoid the shurikens, but one of them connected and hit his leg. Blood started flowing from the wound. Minato barely managed to get up, just to see that Shimei continued raining throwing weapons at him. He attempted to dodge while trying to reduce the distance between them, but he got hit several times during his attempts and his body fell to the ground. Minato was desperately trying to stand up, but after a moment he fainted due to losing too much blood.

*Uff, that was close. I thought that he's never going to fall. I almost ran out of shurikens. What a tough bastard." Shimei thought.

"Winner - Shimei Haruta!" The proctor yelled.

A group of medics promptly arrived and placed the yellow-haired boy on a stretcher. They immediately took him to the hospital.