As soon as she entered the MOBA battle space, Sako Uchiha had activated her Sharingan and carefully observed Gaara and the others. Although she didn't see anything conclusive, her instincts as a woman told her something very clearly—these people weren't ordinary.
Especially that boy with the dark rings under his eyes… the one that looked like a panda.
Adding the system's earlier announcement into the mix, she was now certain:
That panda-eyed boy was the one who got nerfed.
"What's your name?"
Gaara asked coldly.
"What's it got to do with you?"
Sako shot back without missing a beat.
[Ding! Support skills selection complete. Entering match.]
As the system voice echoed, the next moment, Hayashi Ren and the rest of the Blue Team transformed into five streams of blue light and vanished from the staging area.
Gaara and his Red Team companions followed suit, fading away as five beams of red light.
The ten beta participants were now represented as avatar cards within the MOBA space.
[Oh? So, aside from that panda-eyed kid, the others all got buffed?]
— User ID: Tobirama Senju
[I get the feeling this match might go to that panda-eyed kid.]
— User ID: Hashirama Senju
[Hmph, I never expected you of all people to finally say something smart.]
— User ID: Madara Uchiha
[Big bro! Don't be rude—Lord Hashirama's really strong, you know!]
— User ID: Izuna Uchiha
[Hmph, well… for once, you're right.]
— User ID: Tobirama Senju
"Master, why do you think that Sand ninja has the advantage in this match?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in the public feed.
[Monkey, are you still clueless? A truly powerful ninja is one who has been forged in the fires of real combat. Even if his raw stats are nerfed, his instincts, battle rhythm, and tactical precision won't be anything a rookie can match.]
— User ID: Tobirama Senju
[Exactly. Look at me and Madara. Even if our power is suppressed to Jonin level, normal Jonin still wouldn't stand a chance. Even some Kage-ranked shinobi wouldn't be able to stop us.]
— User ID: Hashirama Senju
[Kage level? Please. That's just a slightly bigger insect.]
— User ID: Madara Uchiha
Both Hashirama and Madara spoke at once, drawing stunned silence from the audience of ninjas watching the feed.
"…Seriously? You guys really think Kage-level shinobi are just oversized ants?"
The watching shinobi clenched their fists in silent frustration.
Still, when they remembered who these two were—the God of Shinobi and the Demon of the Shinobi World—they could only swallow their resentment.
[Welcome to the MOBA battle space.]
[Enemy forces will arrive on the battlefield in 30 seconds.]
[Crush them!]
As the match began, Hayashi Ren was already at the Red Jungle's Crimson Treant spawn point.
But instead of waiting for the monster to appear, Ren suddenly charged straight into Kiba Inuzuka's jungle territory.
[What's he doing?]
Tobirama Senju quickly typed into the battle commentary feed.
[He's got guts, I'll give him that.]
— User ID: Madara Uchiha
He had already guessed what Hayashi Ren was planning.
And he wasn't alone.
Nearly every elite ninja in the Shinobi World—those with sharp tactical awareness—instantly understood Ren's bold objective.
[Truly fearless. Impressive.]
Hiruzen Sarutobi said aloud, admiration in his tone.
"That kid… I must bring him into my Root division."
Danzo stared at the match screen, cold ambition burning in his eyes.
[Hehehe… So this is the new generation of Leaf ninja? Surprisingly ballsy.]
Another message flashed across the feed.
Seeing the ID of the sender, Hiruzen's face darkened immediately.