Reborn into Naruto World with Tenseigan

Unlike the first match, the second bout between Deidara of Iwagakure and Karatachi Tamako of Kirigakure ended abruptly, with Tamako suddenly losing consciousness due to her fear of centipedes. It wasn’t until Deidara left the arena that the audience began to react.

“Huh? Is it over?”

“I thought there’d be another twist… who knew it would end so suddenly?”

“Even if it hadn’t ended this way, Deidara would have won. His centipede had already captured Tamako.”

“You’re right, the match was decided the moment she was captured.”

“As expected from Deidara—he’s bound to win the whole thing.”

“Good thing I bet on him.”

“Hahaha… maybe, but don’t forget about Darui of Kumogakure and Raijin of Amegakure. Those two are monsters too.”

“Well, we’ll see who’s left standing in the end.”

As the audience debated the outcome, Suigetsu entered the arena, picked up Tamako’s unconscious body, and hurriedly left. He thought to himself, ‘Oh man, Hime-sama is definitely going to throw a tantrum when she wakes up. I better leave her with Mei-sensei or Chōjūrō—otherwise, I’ll have to deal with it…’ With that in mind, he quickly ran to find Chōjūrō, knowing he couldn’t take her to Mei since she was with the Mizukage.

Soon after Suigetsu left the arena with Tamako, the ninjas swiftly prepared the arena for the next match. Once everything was ready, Itachi announced, “Hyuga Neji of Konohagakure and Atsui of Kumogakure… please step forward!”

…

Konohagakure Waiting Room

“It seems it’s my turn now…” Neji mumbled as he stood up.

“The person you’re fighting is Atsui of Kumogakure. Neji-san, be careful,” said Kiyomi.

“I know,” Neji nodded. Though Atsui was only a year older than him, Neji wasn’t about to lower his guard.

At that moment, Shino, who usually stayed silent, stepped forward and spoke to Neji. “Neji, Atsui of Kumogakure can wrap Fire Style around his body, and he’s very skilled with it. Watch out for that.”

“I see. I’ll be careful,” Neji replied, acknowledging Shino’s warning.

During the preliminary round a month ago, Shino had fought against Atsui and lost badly, unable to cause any damage to him. With that in mind, Neji knew better than to underestimate his opponent.

But Neji had no intention of losing, especially not after mastering a new Gentle Fist technique during his month of training.

Rock Lee and Might Guy cheered him on enthusiastically. “Let the flames of your youth show everyone you’re not going down easily, Neji!”

“Neji-kun, you have to win this!”

“Naturally!” Neji responded with a calm, determined expression.

As he was about to leave, Naruto called out to him, “Win this, Neji, so we can duel in the next round.”

“Yes, this time… I want to defeat you, Naruto!” With those words, Neji left the waiting room and stepped into the arena.

…

Kumogakure Waiting Room

“It’s my turn now… Darui-san, Shee-san, I’m heading out,” Atsui said as he picked up his shinobi sword and stood.

Shee cautioned him, “You’re going up against the Godaime Hokage’s disciple. Don’t let your guard down.”

Darui nodded in agreement. “He might have something special up his sleeve, so stay sharp.”

“I understand. I’ll be careful,” Atsui replied before leaving the waiting room.

As he made his way to the arena, Atsui tightened his grip on his shinobi sword.

The shinobi sword he held was a gift from his elder sister, Samui, seven years ago, before she left on a secret mission with the Raikage to Amegakure to fight against the Akatsuki. The mission was a failure and she returned from that mission in a vegetative state and has remained in the same unresponsive vegetative state, despite all efforts to treat her.

It’s difficult to say whether she is even alive at this point.

So, in a way, the sword was the last tangible memory he had of Samui. Over the years, he had cherished it more than anything, holding onto it as a symbol of his sister’s strength and the bond they shared. It was his most treasured possession, and he was going to use the very same sword to win this fight.

‘Nee-sama, watch over me.’ With such a thought, Atsui arrived at the Arena.

…

Amegakure’s Waiting Room

Here’s an improved version of your story:

“Hm? So, it’s Neji and Atsui of Kumogakure?” Raijin murmured as he leaned forward, his interest piqued as he focused on the arena.

In some way, both participants in this match were connected to him.

There was no need to discuss Neji—he was Raijin’s disciple. As for Atsui, he was the younger brother of Samui, whose soul Raijin had used to give intelligence to Ryūmyaku in the form of Toyotama-hime. No one else knew, but the person responsible for Samui’s vegetative state all these years was Raijin himself.

Did he feel bad about it? Not at all. Kumogakure ninjas had attempted to kidnap Uzumaki Kushina and Hinata for their own benefit and interests—so why couldn’t he do the same? It wasn’t hard to imagine the fate that would have awaited Kushina or Hinata in Kumogakure had their kidnappings succeeded. They would have been reduced to ‘machines,’ used by Kumogakure to produce ninjas with the Uzumaki Clan’s special bloodline and the Hyuga Clan’s Byakugan. And how would that have been accomplished? There was no need to guess.

Compared to that, the treatment Samui received was already far better.

Raijin wasn’t trying to justify his actions or claim any moral high ground—such notions were boring and irrelevant to him. He fully understood the consequences of ripping Samui’s soul from her body, yet he commanded Kasa, the Kazekage puppet, to carry it out without hesitation.

But all of that was unimportant now, and Raijin had no intention of ever revealing this information.

Setting those thoughts aside, Raijin watched as Atsui entered the arena and asked Tengu, “What did you think of his performance in the second phase?”

Since Tengu had fought against Atsui during the second phase of the Joint Chūnin Promotion Exam, therefore, Raijin sought his opinion.

Tengu considered the question for a moment before replying, “I wouldn’t say he’s an exceptional ninja, but he wasn’t bad either. He seems to have mastered a special Fire Style Chakra Mode. It’s quite similar to my Armor of Sand.”

“Hm, yes, the Fire Style Chakra Mode… that is indeed something of interest,” Raijin agreed.

The Fire Style Chakra Mode was a nin-taijutsu technique Atsui had developed, and it intrigued Raijin—not for his current clone body, but for the Tsukihi Clone body.

Having lost the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan—since it had been used to give birth to the Rinnegan—the strength of the Tsukihi Clone had dropped significantly. Of course, this decrease was somewhat irrelevant for the Kekkei Genkai Absorption Ritual, where the potency of each Chakra Nature mattered more than the individual strength of the clone. The strength of the clone body did matter to an extent, but the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan had never been part of the Tsukihi Clone’s power and wouldn’t have been used in the ritual anyway. Thus, Raijin had always known he would need to find a way to naturally enhance the Tsukihi Clone’s strength, and now, an opportunity had presented itself.

‘Mastering the Fire Style Chakra Mode created by Atsui of Kumogakure should improve the strength of the Tsukihi Clone,’ Raijin thought, as he activated the Sharingan in his eye socket and focused intently on the upcoming fight. He wanted to study Atsui’s Fire Style Chakra Mode closely so he could later master it using the Tsukihi Clone body.

…

At the Arena

As Atsui and Neji stepped into the arena, the crowd erupted in cheers once again. While Atsui of Kumogakure was relatively unknown, everyone recognized Hyuga Neji of Konohagakure, the first disciple of the Godaime Hokage. After the impressive performance by Uzumaki Naruto, another disciple of the Godaime Hokage, the audience was eager to see what Neji would bring to the match.

Feeling the weight of everyone’s expectations, Neji glanced toward the VIP stands where ‘Kuroto’ was watching him. Beside ‘Kuroto,’ an ANBU operative also observed him intently. Neji recognized the presence of both and thought to himself, ‘I can’t disappoint Kuroto-sensei and Koshinata-sensei; I must win this fight.’ He took a deep breath to steady his nerves before assuming his Gentle Fist stance.

On the other side, Atsui was also prepared, gripping the hilt of his Shinobi Sword, ready to strike.

Itachi gave a quick glance at the Genins, explained the rules, and confirmed that both were ready. Then he signaled the start of the fight, “Begin!” and swiftly exited the arena using the Body Flicker Jutsu.

Immediately after, several Konoha ninjas from the barrier division surrounded the arena and activated the Four Purple Flame Formation.