After a short break, Hodaka and Sakai Yumi were called down.
Both of them took their stances. Hodaka immediately activated his Byakugan, while Sakai Yumi's eyes began to glow.
Seeing her comrades get ambushed, she decided to focus her Chakra in her eyes so she could see Chakra throughout the entire battle.
The Hidden Mist members watched nervously.
If they lost even this battle, it would mean they had lost all their battles against Konoha. This would be a huge blow to their reputation.
Inoichi Yamanaka announced.
"The first semi-final now begins. Get ready, start!"
As soon as he spoke, Hodaka rushed forward while performing Hand Seals. Sakai Yumi also retreated while performing Hand Seals.
Hodaka used Stone Shuriken Technique.
Sakai Yumi, on the other hand, used Water Wall Technique.
The Stone Shuriken were blocked by the Water Wall. As soon as the Stone Shuriken Technique ended, Sakai Yumi immediately performed a few more Hand Seals. The Water Wall transformed into Water Shuriken, pouring down on Hodaka's position.
Hodaka performed a Hand Seal, slammed his hands on the ground, and used Rock Shield Technique.
The rock shield blocked all the Water Shuriken rushing towards him.
While the rock shield was blocking, Hodaka secretly snuck underground, preparing to ambush Sakai Yumi.
However, his Byakugan detected Sakai Yumi staring at his exact location underground. He frowned.
"If her eyes can always see my Chakra, I won't be able to ambush her!"
After a moment of hesitation, Hodaka decided to attack. He performed a few Hand Seals and used Rock Thorn Bed Technique.
Sakai Yumi, having seen him underground, was already on guard. She quickly moved away.
Using Rock Thorn Launch Technique would be useless now, so Hodaka used Rock Thorn Bed Technique more often.
He used it 12 times consecutively, only using Rock Thorn Launch Technique once in between to block her retreat.
Hodaka saw her constantly dodging and unable to counterattack, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.
"Excellent, two more times and she'll be within attack range!"
Sakai Yumi kept thinking as she dodged.
"Is he trying to lure me closer to his position? He must be planning to use Hyuga Taijutsu on me."
Hodaka used Rock Thorn Bed Technique again, but Sakai Yumi dodged in a way that surprised him.
He frowned and used it three more times, finally forcing Sakai Yumi to the spot he wanted.
He smiled and emerged from underground. Hodaka was only a few meters away from her! He immediately used Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms.
At the same time, Sakai Yumi quickly performed a few Hand Seals.
Hodaka saw it but continued to advance. He released some Chakra from his right palm, thinking.
"I'll use my right hand to block her Water Release Ninjutsu, then continue my attack."
Unfortunately, his plan was based on a false assumption.
After preparing her Ninjutsu, Sakai Yumi sprayed a stream of steam at Hodaka.
Sakai Yumi used Boil Release: Hot Spring Boiling!
Scorching hot steam appeared in front of Hodaka, engulfing him.
His right palm was protected by Chakra. But the rest of his arm, and soon his entire body, came into contact with the scalding steam.
He was burned all over his body! Even his eyes were injured!
Hodaka cried out in pain, which also paused his attack.
But he gritted his teeth, endured the pain, and charged forward.
However, he saw a kunai with an Exploding Tag flying towards him.
Sakai Yumi snorted inwardly and commented.
"We may be fighting, but you're not the only ones with Exploding Tags!"
The appearance of Boil Release once again surprised the audience. Feng Zheng and Mieko were also surprised. Feng Zheng wondered.
"Boil Release... Does she have any connection to Mei Terumī?"
He looked at Hodaka, thinking.
"Hodaka will have a hard time in this match. As long as she uses Boil Release, she can ensure Hodaka can't fight at close range. And with her eyes, he can't ambush her, so this will be a long-range Ninjutsu battle. Although Hodaka's Ninjutsu has improved, Ninjutsu is not his strong suit."
Hodaka quickly sidestepped, barely dodging the explosion. However, the explosion brought dust into his burned body, causing him more pain.
As soon as he moved, Sakai Yumi appeared beside him, spraying more hot steam at him.
Hodaka flashed backward, made a Hand Seal, and slammed his hands heavily on the ground.
All the rock thorns in the area were launched. Most were launched into the air, but some were launched at Sakai Yumi.
She quickly performed Hand Seals and used Water Release: Water Armor Technique.
Water armor appeared around her, blocking all the rock thorns that came at her.
Hodaka waited for the Ninjutsu to end, and as the last rock thorn hit her water armor, he flashed behind her.
Hodaka placed his hand on her water armor, releasing Chakra from his palm. A hole appeared in the armor.
Hodaka wanted to use Gentle Fist through that hole, but Sakai Yumi directly abandoned her water armor and moved in the opposite direction.
Hodaka followed her, but she sprayed scorching hot steam at him again.
Anticipating this, Hodaka moved to the side. But the steam still burned him in more places.
Both eventually moved away from each other, observing each other.
Sakai Yumi stood still and silently. Her breathing was a little quick but steady.
She stared intently at Hodaka, watching for any tricks he might use.
On the other hand, Hodaka's breathing was heavy. His Chakra was almost depleted from using too much Ninjutsu.
He had mild burns all over his body, and it became increasingly difficult to move.
Feng Zheng looked at Sakai Yumi, thinking.
"She's strong. I underestimated her before. Fortunately, the steam she releases doesn't affect me."
Ibiki commented.
"Hodaka fought very well. It's a shame his opponent kept her distance from him very well."
Genma agreed.
"His rock thorn traps were also very good, forcing his opponent to keep running away in close combat. If it weren't for Boil Release, he might have won."
Raidō said.
"His opponent is also very excellent. Whether it was the last match or this battle, she was very calm and steady. She will be a trustworthy captain."
Ibiki and Genma both agreed.
Sakai Yumi's performance, while not as dazzling as Mieko, Feng Zheng, Hodaka, Rintaro, or Shinichi, was very steady and calm.
Hodaka thought.
"I only have one last chance. Otherwise, I won't even have Chakra for Gentle Fist!"
He flashed towards Sakai Yumi. Sakai Yumi responded by releasing steam in front of herself.
However, Hodaka didn't flash next to Sakai Yumi, but appeared 5 meters in front of her.
He also didn't charge directly at her, but performed a few Hand Seals, then slammed his hands heavily on the ground, using Stone Spear Technique.
As soon as Hodaka pressed his hands on the ground, Sakai Yumi took a few steps back.
Several stone spears emerged from the ground, but she had already moved out of attack range.
Hodaka used this time to flash twice! He arrived beside her, surprising Sakai Yumi!
He concentrated all his remaining Chakra in his right hand and struck at her, intending to knock her down with one blow.
However, Sakai Yumi blocked with her forearm, preventing the attack from hitting her.
She followed up with a kick to Hodaka's abdomen, sending him flying more than ten meters.
Hodaka flew for more than ten seconds, then rolled a few meters on the ground, losing consciousness.
The exhaustion of Chakra and the burning sensation made him unable to remain conscious any longer.
Inoichi Yamanaka jumped out and announced.
"The winner of the first semi-final is Sakai Yumi!"
Medical personnel quickly arrived and took Hodaka for treatment.
Due to the intensity of this battle, the crowd cheered. But since the winner was not from Konoha, there were fewer cheers.
There were also many sighs in the crowd, as they had bet on Hodaka.
Sakai Yumi walked to the waiting room, breathing a little heavily, and thought.
"He's strong. I've used up more than half of my Chakra in the battle! I won't be able to use Boil Release many times in the finals. I hope Mieko and Feng Zheng exhaust each other's strength, otherwise I'll be at a disadvantage."