Chapter 68: Fights, and Finally Izayoi vs Rock Lee

The first four matches ended almost instantly—each was decided by a rapid knockout. Barely ten minutes into the preliminaries, they were already onto the fifth round.

At last, the matchups shifted gears. This one dragged on so long that some spectators started yawning—because the matchup was Ino Yamanaka vs. Sakura Haruno.

Just as Naruto had learned Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, Sakura had indeed made progress compared to her original self. Still, it wasn't much. From Kakashi, she had picked up a single genjutsu—D-Rank: Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique, a jutsu that makes the target see whatever frightens them most.

During the survival exercise, Kakashi had used that same genjutsu to defeat Sakura in an instant. If her opponent this time had been someone at Minako's level, Sakura probably would have won. Sadly, she was up against Ino Yamanaka, master of secret techniques based in Yin Release.

Sakura's Hell Viewing Technique was neutralized easily. Meanwhile, though Ino had inherited the family jutsu—Mind Transfer Technique—that skill had no real offensive punch. She managed to catch Sakura off-guard and seize control of her body, but Sakura's "second personality" forced her right back out.

So, one of them had a genjutsu that got countered, the other had a clan jutsu that got neutralized. Ultimately, these former best friends could only fall back on the basics they'd learned at the academy: clone techniques, substitution techniques, shuriken throws, kunai melee, plain old taijutsu—both showed extremely solid fundamentals, the mark of "honor students."

But to the jōnin, it looked like two little kids playing ninja games—uninteresting. Even Izayoi and the others found their abilities underwhelming. Only Minako empathized, realizing that even star students could struggle just like her.

In the end, as in the original storyline, the two girls collapsed from exhaustion and both failed to advance. By the time they came to, the fighting had already reached the ninth round.

Match 6: Tenten vs. Temari.

This was a one-sided slaughter. Temari's Wind Release completely shut down Tenten's attacks, giving her no chance at all.

Match 7: Shikamaru Nara vs. Genichi Sawano.

Genichi was one of Kiba's teammates. Like Sakura, he came from a ninja family, with a father who was a mid-level chūnin from the Sawano clan. He was decently strong and knew C-Rank Water Release: Wild Water Wave—a flexible technique that, with enough chakra, could rival B-Rank Water Release: Water Wall.

Unfortunately, he lacked experience, and he definitely wasn't on Shikamaru's intellectual level. The moment Genichi spit out his wave, losing sight of Shikamaru, the match's outcome was basically sealed. Shikamaru hid a kunai in his mouth, used Shadow Imitation to pin Genichi, and the latter promptly surrendered.

Match 8: Minako vs. Neji Hyūga.

Seeing that her opponent was a prodigy from the Hyūga clan—the top rookie from the previous year—Minako didn't even bother showing up to fight. She forfeited outright.

Match 9: Naruto Uzumaki vs. Kiba Inuzuka!

"Awesome—it's that idiot Kiba. I've got this in the bag!" Naruto shouted excitedly, propping his foot on the railing the moment he saw Kiba's name.

Kiba wore a look of delight as well, but when he heard Naruto's comment, his face fell. "You moron, that line belongs to me!"

Stepping into the arena, Kiba sneered at Naruto. "Loser, if you say something nice to me right now, I'll let you lose without looking too pathetic. Or maybe just give up?"

In Kiba's mind, Naruto was the same as he had been a few months back—no match for him and Akamaru. He was sure the victory was guaranteed.

But Naruto only returned his grin. "Watch me beat you in a single move!"

"Ha! Beat me in one move? Still dreaming, huh, dead last!" Kiba erupted into laughter, turning to Akamaru. "Alright, Akamaru, let's teach this loser a lesson."

"Woof!" Akamaru barked in response.

"Match Nine, begin!" announced Hayate Gekko. The instant he spoke, Naruto quickly formed the Seal of the Ram. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A few days had passed since he was hit by the Five Elements Seal, and Naruto's chakra was no longer so chaotic. While he couldn't instantly produce hundreds of clones, whipping up a couple dozen was now child's play.

Poof, poof, poof…

One burst of white smoke after another appeared out of thin air. As it cleared, over twenty Narutos surrounded Kiba and Akamaru.

"What the—Shadow Clones? That many?!" Kiba gawked in disbelief.

Many of the genin on the second-floor balcony were just as shocked—so were some of the jōnin. The more experienced among them instantly recognized that this wasn't your ordinary Shadow Clone Jutsu, but rather the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, classified as a forbidden jutsu.

"Wind Style…"

Before Kiba could fully process his alarm, Naruto and his shadow clones all formed seals. At the sight of their hand signs, the jōnin's eyes widened again, already picturing the imminent attack.

"Great Breakthrough!" came the unified shout, moments before Kiba even realized what was happening.

Whoooooosh…

A fierce wind roared through the arena like a giant invisible hand, scooping Kiba and Akamaru right off the ground. They were flung into the air, then batted around by a flurry of outstretched arms, like they'd been sucked into a tornado.

Even the spectators and jōnin on the second floor felt its impact. The genin clung desperately to the railing, eyes squeezed shut, while many jōnin had to shield their faces with their arms.

When the jōnin instructor of Team 6 saw Kiba and Akamaru spinning uncontrollably and about to slam hard into a wall, they instantly flickered down to catch them, putting an end to the match.

"Winner of Match Nine: Naruto Uzumaki," Hayate Gekko announced, clinging to the ground himself to avoid being blown away, one arm raised to guard against the wind.

"Hahaha… Kiba, see how awesome I am now?!" Naruto stood there with his hands on his hips, laughing victoriously. He had just soundly beaten a teammate who used to crush him, and he was riding that high hard.

Pride swelling inside, Naruto's imagination went wild with visions of flattening Izayoi, smacking down Sasuke, and making "Bushy Brows" dogeza in defeat. He even started drooling mid-laugh until Hayate prompted him to collect himself. Strutting back to the second-floor gallery, he wore a grin like he owned the place.

The screen flickered again, revealing another matchup. When the list settled, everyone perked up slightly:

Izayoi vs. Rock Lee.

~~~

Patreon(.)com/Bleam

— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!