The First Sage Shinobi World Elite Youth Tournament had set the entire Sage Shinobi World ablaze with excitement.
This was destined to be a grand event watched by the entire world. The stage was massive, and anyone who performed outstandingly here would undoubtedly rise to fame overnight.
Coupled with the generous rewards, both prestige and fortune were within reach.
As a result, countless people were clamoring to participate in the tournament.
Registration points across the five major regions and various villages were packed with people.
Contestants would first undergo an initial screening at their respective villages, with each village permitted to send a maximum of 3,000 participants to the second round of selection, which would be held at the regional level.
However, the second round of selection would be brutally competitive.
This was because each region could only select 30 contestants to advance to the final round of the main tournament.
The finals would be held in Hidden Sage Village and would incorporate the latest technology from Hidden Sage Village, live broadcasting.
Yes, live broadcasting.
Thanks to Hui's strong support, the technological advancements of the world had been progressing at a rapid pace.
Moreover, the technology in this world was not purely conventional science, it was an integration of technology, chakra, and Sage Chakra, forming a technology unique to the sage shinobi world.
This kind of technology defied all logic. If someone from Hui's previous world saw it, they would find it utterly incomprehensible, too fantastical to even believe.
Thus, the emergence of live broadcasting in this world was not surprising.
One could easily imagine how much attention an event of this scale, broadcasted worldwide, would generate. The most outstanding contestants would undoubtedly gain legions of fans.
Without a doubt, after this tournament, a new generation of world-famous stars would emerge.
Among them, Minato Namikaze was definitely going to be one of the brightest.
After all, the two key factors for attracting fans were strength and appearance, and Minato possessed both, and at the highest level.
With his talent and charisma, even if he wanted to keep a low profile, his abilities simply wouldn't allow it.
Meanwhile, Hui had returned to Hidden Sage Village with Madara and Kaguya in tow. Without wasting any time, he went straight to find Orochimaru.
However, this time, Hui did not intend to let Orochimaru take the lead in the research.
Instead, he planned to conduct the research personally.
After all, this was a living Ōtsutsuki, an entity with immense research value and quite frankly, strength.
And in truth, Hui was one of the best human biologist and biotechnologist in all of Hidden Sage Village.
Lest anyone forget, the Eight Gates Sage Ascension Technique was developed through countless live human experiments!
The regenerative ability of the Ōtsutsuki clan was unbelievably strong, so strong that it was terrifying.
You could cut off a piece of their flesh, and within mere seconds, it would regrow as if nothing had happened.
Thus, it was easy to predict just how miserable Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's fate would be in Hui's hands.
Of course, using live human experiments was inhumane and cruel.
So, Hui devised a compromise.
He needed a living body to study, but he didn't want to appear too ruthless or depraved.
Therefore, Hui used his abilities to put Isshiki's soul into a deep slumber.
This state of suspended consciousness ensured that Isshiki wouldn't feel a thing, even as his body was dissected and experimented on countless times.
By the time Isshiki woke up again, the experiments would be complete, and his body would be restored as good as new.
For him, it would merely feel like taking a nap.
As for how long this research would take, Hui wasn't sure.
In any case, to ensure progress, Hui had stationed a Shadow Avatar to permanently reside in the laboratory for the research.
Meanwhile, as time passed, the registration period for the First Sage Shinobi World Elite Youth Tournament officially came to an end.
The final number of registered participants exceeded 10,000!
This was a truly astounding figure.
After all, these 10,000 people were not weaklings, each of them possessed considerable strength.
With registration complete, the world's excitement reached new heights.
Immediately after registration closed, the first round of selection within each village began.
For the first time, people witnessed unfamiliar prodigies, and never-before-seen abilities emerged.
Various Kekkei Genkai, secret techniques, and unique abilities appeared one after another in the first round of eliminations.
Every battle was akin to clashes between deities, and each match was exhilarating.
The spectacle had people fired up, wishing they could step onto the stage themselves to experience the thrill of battle!
Many outstanding individuals emerged from the first round of selection, impressing audiences and securing a place in their village's history.
The first round continued with great enthusiasm across various villages.
However, the most thrilling, spectacular, and widely anticipated selection was undoubtedly the one in Hidden Sage Village.
This was where true titans clashed, a battle of gods in the most literal sense.
Hidden Sage Village was overflowing with prodigies, so many so that it was impossible to keep count.
Among them, the Four Great Clans, Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, and Uzumaki, alone had sent hundreds of competitors, with even the weakest among them being at least Jonin-level.
The tournament featured numerous Elite Jonin, and even several Kage-level geniuses had appeared.
With the addition of talented shinobi from other clans and rogue prodigies, the Hidden Sage Village's tournament had left even its own people completely dumbfounded.
There were simply too many geniuses, just the number of Kage-level contestants alone exceeded ten.
If this level of power had existed twenty years ago, it would have been a one-sided massacre for any other village.
Yet, despite the overwhelming number of geniuses, the one who shone the brightest was still, Minato.
With Nawaki not participating, Minato was undeniably the strongest young shinobi in Hidden Sage Village.
His Flying Thunder God Technique was unpredictable and instantaneous, making him nearly impossible to counter.
Adding to this were his Sage Mode, various forbidden jutsu, and secret techniques…
His opponents were tormented beyond belief.
The gap in power between Minato and the other geniuses was simply too great.
After all, Minato had already reached the Super Kage-level!
But it wasn't just raw talent, Minato had luck on his side as well.
From a young age, he had been personally taken in as a disciple by Tobirama, who meticulously trained him, refining his mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique to an unprecedented level.
On top of that, Hui had engraved the Sage's Seal onto Minato years ago, allowing his body to evolve far beyond that of his peers.
Coupled with his powerful secret arts, forbidden jutsus, and Sage techniques, Minato's strength was simply absurd.
However, Minato wasn't the only standout talent, Hidden Sage Village was filled with prodigies, each more dazzling than the last.
This was a true battlefield of gods.
For small villages, the first round of selection was essentially a free pass to the next stage.
For mid-tier villages, the first round was a competitive filtering process.
For the stronger villages, the first round was as difficult as the second round for others.
But for Hidden Sage Village, this wasn't a preliminary round at all.
Every battle here was worthy of being a final match in any other village.
Though it wasn't officially called a Top 100 Battle, the intensity of the matches made the comparison fitting.
Even though Hidden Sage Village wasn't affiliated with any of the five major regions, it was still only allowed to advance thirty contestants, the same limit as any other region.
And unlike other regions, Hidden Sage Village had no second round, one round determined everything.
Choosing just thirty competitors out of nearly a thousand elite geniuses made this selection process one of the most brutal in history.
The real spectacle would begin in the second round.
In the second round, the true competition would start, this time, it would be between the geniuses of entire regions.
Only those who passed the second round would truly become world-famous.
After all, humans naturally seek collective identity and pride.
Although the era of nations had ended, regional distinctions had emerged in their place.
Many people instinctively identified with their region, and they would closely follow the strongest talents representing them.
When their regional champions stepped onto the global battlefield, they carried the honor and pride of their home.
As a result, the second round of regional selection was bound to be a tournament that captivated entire regions.
And the final tournament would be the single most anticipated event in the history of the Sage Shinobi World.
…
Finally, after ten days of intense battles, the first round came to an end.
In those ten days, countless shinobi had made a name for themselves.
Now, in one month, the second round of regional selection would begin.
During this one-month interval, many participants who had tasted the thrill of recognition would push themselves to their limits.
After all, who wouldn't want to be one of the thirty chosen to represent their region, who wouldn't want to be in the spotlight of the entire world?