Sasuke staggered towards the arena, each step like treading on blades, and he pushed away Sakura's support.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura's cry was tearful; she wanted to go forward but was stopped by Kakashi's outstretched hand.
"Let him go," Kakashi's voice was low, "This is his own battle."
Sasuke's opponent, Akado Yoroi, a Konoha Genin, who was actually Orochimaru's Sound Village spy, was already waiting in the arena. Seeing Sasuke looking like he could collapse at any moment, a scornful smile appeared on his face.
"Match, start!" Gekkō Hayate announced weakly.
Akado Yoroi didn't hesitate for a moment. He formed hand signs, and his body transformed into an afterimage, rushing forward. He specialized in absorbing an opponent's Chakra, which was perfect for an enemy in Sasuke's condition.
Sasuke barely managed to raise his head, his crimson Sharingan rotating with difficulty, tracking the opponent's movements. He wanted to retaliate, but the Cursed Seal on his neck burned at that moment, black patterns spreading across his skin. The intense pain made his body go limp, almost causing him to fall to his knees.
"Now!" Akado Yoroi's palm was already about to press against Sasuke's chest.
In the stands, Kakashi's fist clenched.
Just then, in Sasuke's mind, a scene flashed: Naruto subduing him with his bare hands. That unreasonable impact, that joint destruction precise to the millimeter, that method of disassembling a human body as if it were parts.
Humiliation ignited him like a flame.
"Ah ah ah!"
Sasuke let out a suppressed roar, not from pain, but from anger. He forcefully twisted his body, abandoning all elegant evasions, and used his shoulder to ram into Akado Yoroi's arm.
Bang!
A dull thud. Akado Yoroi felt as if his palm had struck an iron plate; a brutal force rebounded, making his arm numb.
Sasuke didn't stop. He unleashed a furious counterattack with his incomplete "Warhammer Style Taijutsu," which he had imitated with his Sharingan. He abandoned Ninjutsu, abandoned his familiar fighting rhythm, leaving only the most primitive, brutal style of trading blows.
He punched towards Akado Yoroi's face; the opponent dodged by tilting his head, Sasuke's punch missed, but his knee had already slammed into the opponent's abdomen.
Akado Yoroi retreated in pain, but Sasuke followed like a shadow. The Cursed Seal on his neck flickered, and each intense pain made the crimson in his eyes grow stronger, and his movements more vicious.
This was no longer a Genin duel, but a beast-like tearing.
Finally, Sasuke seized an opening, delivering a hand chop to Akado Yoroi's neck. The opponent's eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
"Winner, Uchiha Sasuke!"
Sasuke stood in place, gasping for breath, his body swaying. He had won, but it was an incredibly messy victory. He turned his head and looked at Naruto in the stands.
Naruto simply watched him calmly, then turned to Kakashi beside him.
"The safety on this weapon isn't very reliable," Naruto's words clearly reached Kakashi's ears, "It needs to be reinforced."
Kakashi's face twitched, speechless.
The next name appeared on the screen.
"Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba"
"Oh! It's finally my turn!" Kiba yelled excitedly, leaping down from the stands. Akamaru on his head also barked, equally excited.
"Hey, Naruto!" Kiba pointed at Naruto in the arena, grinning, "I didn't think a Loser like you could make it this far! Watch me finish you in ten seconds!"
Kiba's provocation drew a burst of laughter. In most people's minds, Naruto was still the troublemaking underachiever.
Naruto said nothing, slowly walking down to the arena.
"Don't be reckless, Kiba," Shino, beside him, pushed up his sunglasses, "His Chakra is very unusual."
"Relax, relax!" Kiba waved his hand dismissively.
Gekkō Hayate raised his hand: "Match... start!"
Before he finished speaking, Kiba and Akamaru had already pounced.
"Ninjutsu: Beast Human Clone!"
"Fang Over Fang!"
Two high-speed rotating tornadoes, one left and one right, with a tearing roar of air, instantly rushed in front of Naruto.
In the stands, Anko raised an eyebrow: "Good speed."
Asuma also nodded: "Kiba's burst power is indeed very strong."
But Naruto didn't move.
He neither formed hand signs nor dodged. He just stood there quietly, allowing the two deadly tornadoes to approach.
"What is he doing?!" Neji's Byakugan couldn't analyze Naruto's intentions.
Just before Fang Over Fang's claws were about to tear Naruto's body.
Naruto moved.
His body shifted slightly, precisely avoiding the rotating core of Kiba and Akamaru. Immediately after, he leaned forward, dropped his shoulder, and exerted force.
An elbow strike.
Without any Chakra enhancement, it was purely physical strength, delivered at the most devious angle, slamming hard into Kiba's exposed back spine during his high-speed rotation.
Thud.
The sound was dull, like a hammer hitting flesh.
Kiba's rotation stopped abruptly. He couldn't even let out a scream; his entire body, like a broken sack, flew out tumbling with Akamaru, crashing heavily against the wall and instantly losing consciousness.
The entire arena was dead silent.
Everyone's mouths were wide open, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
Fast.
Too fast.
From the start to the end of the match, it was no more than fifteen seconds.
Gekkō Hayate was also stunned. He coughed several times before stammering, "Win... Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto turned around expressionlessly and walked off the arena, as if he had merely swatted a fly.
In the stands, the atmosphere in the Jonin section was heavy.
"That just now..." Yuhi's expression became serious, "That was pure killing technique. Timing, angle, force, not a single wasted motion."
Asuma exhaled a smoke ring, the smoke unable to hide the shock on his face. "How does he know that? Kakashi, did you teach him?"
Kakashi gave a bitter chuckle: "I don't even know it myself."
Asuma patted Kakashi's shoulder, forcing a strained smile: "Kakashi, I envy you, having such an excellent student."
"You like him?" Kakashi replied weakly, "He's yours."
Naruto returned to the waiting area for contestants, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes. The surrounding examinees instinctively moved further away from him; the invisible pressure was suffocating.
Footsteps stopped in front of him.
Naruto opened his eyes and saw Rock Lee in his green jumpsuit. Beneath his thick eyebrows were eyes burning with fire.
"Naruto-kun!" Lee's voice was loud, "Your Taijutsu is incredibly powerful! Please, you must fight me..."
"Your Taijutsu is excellent," Naruto interrupted him, his ice-blue pupils examining Lee up and down as if evaluating an object, "Your will is also commendable."
Lee was stunned.
Naruto continued in his flat, unperturbed tone: "A qualified 'Berserker' in the making."
Berserker? Lee didn't understand the word's meaning, but that didn't prevent him from feeling a certain affirmation contained within it.
"Don't die without value."
After Naruto finished speaking, he ignored him and closed his eyes again.
This sentence, which didn't sound like encouragement at all, instantly made Lee's blood boil. He felt that this was the acknowledgment of a strong person to another strong person! It was a higher level of motivation!
"Oh oh oh oh! I feel it! The flames of youth are burning!" Lee struck his classic passionate pose, turned, and prepared to face his battle with Gaara.
In the corner, Shikamaru yawned, having seen everything.
"This is... getting more and more troublesome."
He felt that, compared to Naruto, that madman Gaara seemed a little more normal.
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