Senju Araki vs Uchiha Keshiro

The fourth match was between Senju Araki and Uchiha Keshiro.

Both seemed to be similar in terms of age. Actually, Uchiha Keshiro seemed to be a little older than Senju Araki. Possibly by a few months.

Anyway, the two seemed to observe each other somewhat cautiously.

It was Uchiha Keshiro who moved first. He was holding his own sword, although it was a little short compared to Araki's sword.

Araki took his stance as well and prepared to counter Uchiha Keshiro. Just when Uchiha Keshiro was within one arm distance, he moved his sword so fast that an average shinobi wouldn't be able to see it.

Uchiha Keshiro raised his short-sword to immediately deflected this sword slash which was going for his head.

Senju Araki was a little surprised by his reaction speed, but he didn't stop at that moment. He used his other hand to punch Uchiha Keshiro's gut.

From the range, Uchiha Keshiro's short sword wouldn't be able to reach him.

And just when he was becoming assured that his hit would connect, his eyes widened a little when he noticed Uchiha Keshiro's fist holding his punch.

As Uchiha Keshiro stopped Araki's punch, he felt a slight tremor in his body. The punch was far too powerful… He shuddered a little at the thought if that hit had connected with his body.

Araki used his entire strength in his right arm and brought down the sword at a rapid speed.

It was so fast that Uchiha Keshiro barely had any time to respond.

However, just before it slashed Uchiha Keshiro's chest, Araki felt as if his body had stopped.

Uchiha Keshiro spoke out at that moment, "Lightning Release: Quick Paralyse."

Araki really felt that his body was paralysed. He couldn't move at all. And hearing the name of the technique from Uchiha Keshiro, it meant that he had used this technique without performing hand seals.

Such control over lightning chakra was indeed surprising.

'Now, this is over!' Just as that thought entered Uchiha Keshiro's mind, the ground beneath him ruptured.

Another Araki appeared and punched Uchiha Keshiro away.

After Uchiha Keshiro was thrown away, he stood next to Araki who had also started moving. It seems that the Quick Paralyse Jutsu would only work for a short period.

"That was pretty good…" He honestly admitted while looking at Uchiha Keshiro.

In turn, Uchiha Keshiro simply grunted. He didn't think this guy would perform a sealess Wood Clone in that situation. It seemed he couldn't be defeated that quickly after all…

Uchiha Keshiro sheathed his sword and started making quick hand seals. His speed was so fast that Araki was barely able to keep up with his eyes.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Hound!"

A hound of lightning was formed, and it attacked Senju Araki.

Araki didn't move at all. Instead, his Wood Clone did. His wood clone moved a bit ahead and used, "Earth Release: Earth Wall Jutsu."

The Wood Clone raised a wall of Earth in front of Araki. The Lightning Hound crashed against the Wall and dispersed.

Just when Uchiha Keshiro was about to move, he suddenly felt a kunai blade hitting his back.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he understood what happened. He noticed that Senju Araki was right behind himself and a hole near his position.

However, he didn't despair at this moment. In fact, it was Senju Araki whose eyes widened when he felt his Kunai passing through Uchiha Keshiro.

He felt a strong bolt of lightning coursing through his body. While he was electrocuted, he thought in his head 'I see… That was a Lightning Shadow Clone.'

Uchiha Keshiro was suddenly behind Senju Araki's body.

Just as he was about to slash Araki's body, he was suddenly stabbed by two Wooden Spears which pierced his stomach.

However, he wasn't going to go down without a fight, so he managed to stab Araki's hand while he was falling on the ground.

The hand which he stabbed was the hand with which Araki held his sword. Feeling such pain, Araki couldn't help but release his grip on his sword.

Araki used that opportunity to jump backwards and create some distance between himself and Uchiha Keshiro.

By now, Uchiha Keshiro managed to deal with the Wood Spears piercing his stomach. He was losing a lot of blood, so he decided to end it quickly.

He made a single hand seal and shouted, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Unlike the Great Fireball Jutsu from Uchiha Jirou, this was indeed a colossal fireball. Even though it hadn't reached his position, Araki did feel the heat from this Jutsu.

He used a single hand seal and shouted, "Water Release: Raging Waves!" Araki released a considerable amount of water from his mouth, which was enough to counter the Great Fireball Jutsu.

The steam covered the whole Platform.

Now, the Uchiha Clan Members and Kushina couldn't see what was going on the platform. They merely heard some sounds which sounded as if they were running. Some sounds of metal clashing against each other.

Slowly, the steam had started the disperse.

On the platform, they saw Araki and Keshiro standing next to each other. Araki's kunai which he was holding with his left hand was placed against Keshiro's throat.

While, Keshiro's short sword was placed against Araki's left side of the chest, directly in front of his heart.

Uchiha Shinjiro was a little confused at what he should do. Should he stop the match right here or let it continue. He turned towards Uchiha Kazuma who gave him a signal.

"This match ends as a draw. Both sides should lower their weapons now."

Both Araki and Keshiro tched at this decision. It seemed like they were disappointed that this match ended as a draw.

Keshiro started thinking deeply 'He got lucky… If I had used my Three Tomoe Sharingan, he would have definitely lost.'

Araki was also thinking in his head 'I could have ended this fight much earlier by sending 50 Wood Clones to fight him. So what he used Sharingan? At one point or another, he was bound to exhaust himself and lose.'

They didn't realise, but the two believed with utter faith in their abilities that if they had truly fought, they would have won. During the fight, the two didn't want to showcase their full ability to the opponent since they didn't find each other worthy enough.

But now, the two knew that their opponent wasn't some random person. He was strong… Although they didn't say anything, the respect for their opponent did grow in their head.

Just like that, this battle between the Uchiha Clan youngsters and Senju Araki had come to an end.

The other Uchiha Clan Members were somewhat satisfied with this result. To them, a draw was good enough.

Moreover, many of the Uchiha Clan Members were going to urge their children to start training seriously. Or maybe they would personally train them from now…