CRASH!
In the tournament arena, Naruto and Neji clashed once more, then both leaped backward, disengaging. By now, they had been exchanging taijutsu blows for several minutes. Judging from the current state of the match, neither had gained a clear advantage. Naruto's physical constitution was clearly slightly superior, but Neji, with the aid of his Byakugan, held the advantage in terms of technique and precision.
"Neji, watch out! I'm getting serious now!" Wiping a smear of dirt from the corner of his mouth, Naruto shouted at Neji, his voice grave and determined. With that, Naruto crossed the four fingers of both his hands together in a familiar seal.
Poof! Poof! Poof!
A continuous stream of Shadow Clones appeared beside him, dozens of them materializing in an instant. Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Seeing this, many in the spectator stands gasped in astonishment. Such a ninjutsu was definitely beyond the capabilities of an ordinary Genin! Not just Genin, even many Chunin and Jonin couldn't perform the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu with Naruto's proficiency and sheer numbers.
After summoning these Shadow Clones, Naruto immediately directed them to attack Neji from all directions simultaneously.
Facing the onslaught of numerous Shadow Clones, Neji's expression turned serious. He let out a soft breath, spread his hands, and slightly lowered his stance. Just as Naruto's Shadow Clones were about to reach him, Neji's body suddenly began to rotate on the spot with incredible speed.
Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven! This was a secret taijutsu technique unique to the Hyuga clan.
Wham! Wham! Wham!
As Naruto's Shadow Clones made contact with the spinning Neji, they were all forcefully repelled, then dissipated into puffs of white smoke in mid-air. Under the assault of this powerful defensive technique, all dozens of Naruto's Shadow Clones were quickly and completely cleared away.
However, Neji, having just stabilized himself after the rotation, didn't even have a chance to catch his breath. From diagonally above and in front of him, Naruto was already charging in again. This time, it was Naruto's real body, and in his hand, a Rasengan was spinning at high speed.
There's no time! Seeing this, Neji's expression changed. He wanted to dodge, but it was already too late.
In the spectator stands, the faces of everyone watching the match also changed drastically. If Naruto's Rasengan hit Neji, even if it didn't kill him, he would undoubtedly be severely injured.
Swoosh~
In the arena, Gekko Hayate's figure appeared with incredible speed, intending to intervene and stop Naruto's attack.
Just as the devastating blow was about to land, Naruto's figure suddenly stopped less than half a meter in front of Neji. The Rasengan in his hand slowly dissipated. A look of undisguised triumph spread across Naruto's face. "Neji, you lose!"
Hearing Naruto's words, a complex expression appeared on Neji's face—a mixture of unwillingness and a sense of powerlessness. Neji knew in his heart that compared to Naruto, his strength was indeed far inferior. With his head slightly bowed, Neji turned and walked out of the arena.
Watching this scene, everyone in the spectator stands fell into a brief, stunned silence. Even Gekko Hayate, who had been about to intervene, froze in place. Judging from Naruto's display of the Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Rasengan, his strength had indeed far surpassed that of the other Genin. To be able to use two such advanced ninjutsu with such proficiency, Naruto's abilities had long since crossed the threshold of a Chunin.
"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!" After a moment of silence, Gekko Hayate stepped forward, raised Naruto's right hand, and announced the result loudly.
Heh heh! Naruto grinned triumphantly, then walked out of the examination area.
"That guy…" Watching Naruto's smug demeanor, Sakura, in the spectator stands, said with a hint of exasperation. After speaking, Sakura turned to look at Sasuke beside her. According to the previously drawn match order, it was now Sasuke's turn to fight.
Swoosh~
Under Sakura's gaze, Sasuke's figure flickered and vanished from his spot. A moment later, his figure had already appeared in the tournament arena.
On the other side of the spectator stands, Gaara, carrying his sand gourd on his back, remained motionless. A cloud of fine sand formed beneath his feet, gently carrying him down towards the arena floor below.
Seeing Sasuke and Gaara, the two contestants about to face off, the entire stadium erupted in a thunderous roar of cheers. Although Naruto and Neji's match had been somewhat surprising, it hadn't been particularly spectacular, and many people had already anticipated the outcome before the fight even began. After all, the difference in strength between the two was not small.
But Sasuke and Gaara were different. Both were renowned geniuses from Sunagakure and Konoha Village respectively. The battle between them was highly anticipated by everyone.
Looking at Gaara opposite him, who exuded an aura of intense killing intent, a grave expression appeared in Sasuke's eyes.
Swoosh~
His figure flashed, and Sasuke initiated the attack.
Konoha Outskirts.
Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu stood quietly, guarding a secret entrance to the village. Today, it was their turn for duty.
"Sigh! I really wish I could go watch the finals today!" Hearing the faint cheers drifting from the direction of the Forest of Death, Izumo said with a hint of wistful resignation on his face.
"Can't be helped," Kotetsu replied with a sigh of his own. "The situation outside the village is tense, and we're short-handed here. Lord Hokage doesn't have many more available personnel to spare."
"Who do you think will pass the exams in the end?" Izumo mused.
"Naruto, Sasuke, and Choji will definitely pass. They were all personally trained by Lord Tatsuya; their strength probably isn't much weaker than ours by now! I heard Lord Tatsuya even gave his summoning beast, Seiryu, to Sasuke."
"Oh? If that's the case, then wouldn't Naruto and Choji be outshone by Sasuke?"
"It's hard to say. These young ones are all incredibly strong. They might still have other trump cards hidden up their sleeves!"
With nothing else to do, the two of them began to quietly discuss the ongoing exams.
Tap, tap, tap~
Just as the two were engrossed in their conversation, the faint sound of footsteps echoed from the dense forest outside the village.
"Who's there?" Hearing the sound, both of them immediately looked up in that direction. At the same time, they both drew their weapons, assuming a vigilant stance.
From the shadows of the dense forest, a figure slowly emerged. Seeing the newcomer, both Izumo and Kotetsu's expressions changed drastically. The person who had appeared was none other than Tendo Pain, clad in his black Akatsuki robe with red clouds.
"Quick! Sound the alarm immediately!" Izumo shouted to Kotetsu, then charged forward without hesitation, intending to buy Kotetsu some time.
However, it was all in vain.
Tendo Pain extended his right hand towards the two of them. Bansho Ten'in! An immense attractive force emanated from him, and both Izumo and Kotetsu's bodies were irresistibly pulled towards Tendo Pain.
Shlick! Shlick!
Two soft sounds of flesh being pierced echoed, and both Izumo and Kotetsu were impaled by the black rods in Tendo Pain's hands. Tossing aside the bodies of Izumo and Kotetsu, who had been killed instantly, several figures emerged from behind Tendo Pain. It was the remaining five Paths of Pain.
"Let's begin here," Tendo Pain murmured softly to himself. Behind him, the Asura Path and the Animal Path stepped forward. The Asura Path placed its hands on the Animal Path's waist, then, with a powerful heave, threw the Animal Path high into the air. The Animal Path's body soared upwards, heading towards the sky directly above Konoha Village.
Reaching the highest point of its trajectory, the Animal Path's hands quickly formed a series of seals. Several puffs of white smoke appeared, and the other five Paths of Pain were directly summoned to its location high above the village.
At the same time, the Konoha Barrier Team, which was constantly monitoring the village's protective barrier, finally detected Akatsuki's intrusion.