“Naruto!” After several minutes of fighting, Rock Lee pulled back, took a breath, and loudly said, “Let’s go all out!”

Although Naruto hadn’t held back in Taijutsu and had been constantly pressuring him, he hadn’t used Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.

“But—” Naruto’s face showed hesitation.

In his opinion, using Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu would no longer be a pure Taijutsu Ninja battle.

“Youth is all about giving it your all!” Rock Lee gave a thumbs up and said, “Besides, Guy Sensei taught me a new Ninja tool to counter your Shadow Clone.”

“You’re right!” Naruto showed his sparkling teeth and excitedly said, “A full-power battle is youth!”

“It’s called nunchaku.” Rock Lee took out the nunchaku and introduced them.

“What a peculiar Ninja tool!” Naruto looked at them for a moment and asked, “When did you learn that? I had no idea.”

“A month ago.” Rock Lee held the nunchaku, twirled them, and said.

“So that’s it.” Naruto’s face showed sudden understanding.

He had been busy cultivating Rasengan at the Ninja Academy for the past month, so it was normal that he didn’t know Rock Lee had learned nunchaku.

“Come on!” Naruto shouted, “Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

Bang, bang, bang! From within the smoke, thirty Shadow Clones appeared.

The audience immediately burst into exclamations. Many people were seeing Naruto use Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu for the first time and were momentarily stunned.

“Huh?” Shibi Aburame couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

He could accept that Uzumaki Naruto and Rock Lee had previously displayed Taijutsu far exceeding a Genin.

But what was this Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu? Thirty Shadow Clones at once; even he would find it difficult to do, or rather, could barely do it.

He wouldn’t normally do that, as there was no point. Shadow Clones divide the user’s Chakra.

For many, the more Shadow Clones, the more their strength is weakened.

Naruto summoning so many Shadow Clones had only one explanation. That was, he still had a lot of Chakra left.

As Shibi Aburame thought that he was only seven years old, he felt as if he had lived his entire life in vain.

“So much Chakra?” Nono Yakushi asked with a surprised look.

She had seen many Ninjas with a lot of Chakra, but they were all adults, at their peak. It was her first time seeing someone so young with so much Chakra.

“I think he’s a member of the Uzumaki Clan.” Kabuto looked at Naruto, his glasses gleaming.

“Aren’t the Uzumaki Clan members supposed to have red hair?” Nono Yakushi paused slightly and asked.

“Maybe he’s a mixed-blood.” Kabuto thought of Karin, who trained with them. She also had a lot of Chakra.

“Don’t say such things to outsiders.” Nono Yakushi cautioned.

Involving the annihilated Uzumaki Clan, there must be many secrets. She had already left Root and didn’t want to get involved in trouble again, only wanting to work as a Medical Ninja at Konoha Hospital peacefully.

“I understand.” Kabuto nodded and said.

“Konoha Whirlwind!”

“Dynamic Entry!”

“Konoha Strong Whirlwind!”

Including the original body, thirty-one Uzumaki Narutos charged at Rock Lee.

Immediately, he was plunged into a tough battle. But as he said, the nunchaku did have some restraining effect on the Shadow Clones.

The nunchaku spun in Rock Lee’s hands. With every strike, a Shadow Clone’s scream could be heard.

“This Ninja tool is indeed powerful!” Naruto quickly dodged a strike, formed hand signs, and shouted, “Again! Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

A flash of smoke passed, and thirty more Shadow Clones appeared. After Kitazawa’s guidance, Naruto no longer summoned hundreds of Shadow Clones at once.

Because with so many Shadow Clones, very few could actually hit the enemy.

Unless a long-range tactic was used. But Naruto didn’t intend to use long-range tactics against Rock Lee.

On one hand, because Rock Lee was a Taijutsu Ninja, facing long-range attacks, he could only passively take a beating, which was too unfair.

And on the other hand, Naruto felt he could win without using long-range tactics. Although the nunchaku did put pressure on him, it wasn’t enough.

The audience consisted of Ninjas who came to watch the matches. As for the students participating in the exam, they stood on both sides of the Training Ground.

“I didn’t expect Lee to have become so strong now,” Tenten said with some emotion.

Hyuga Neji didn’t speak, merely simulating in his mind how to deal with the nunchaku. Nunchaku posed a great threat to bare-handed Taijutsu Ninja.

But Hyuga Neji felt it would still be his victory.

Because his speed was faster than Rock Lee’s. He only needed to strike his pressure points before the nunchaku reached him.

“It’s a shame Naruto has too much Chakra; Lee can’t win.” Kiba shook his head and said.

At the same time, he performed a simulation, just like Hyuga Neji. But he put himself in Rock Lee’s shoes.

He felt that if he encountered Naruto, his Beast Clone would fall into the same predicament.

Either he would defeat Naruto’s original body with his Beast Clone, or Naruto’s Shadow Clones would exhaust his Chakra.

Sasuke thought differently. Because he noticed that Naruto only used thirty Shadow Clones.

The last time he sparred with him, he started with fifty or even a hundred. However, the number didn’t really matter.

Since defeating Naruto last time, Sasuke no longer felt that his Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu was a threat. He could handle it with a single Manipulating Shuriken Technique.

“Lee has tried his best, but he was just unlucky to meet Naruto.” Ino paused and added, “If he had a different opponent, he definitely wouldn’t lose.”

She found it extremely difficult to defeat Rock Lee. As a Taijutsu ninja, his speed was simply too fast, giving her no opportunity to use her secret techniques.

“It’s about to end; Naruto has already figured out the nunchaku’s attack pattern,” Shino Aburame said as he adjusted his glasses.

As soon as he finished speaking, the situation on the field shifted.

Rock Lee was already showing signs of exhaustion. After a brief wobble, Naruto seized the opportunity.

Two of his Shadow Clones darted forward, grabbing Rock Lee’s nunchaku directly. At the same time, two more Shadow Clones lunged in, hugging his thighs—one on the left and one on the right.

In an instant, Rock Lee was overpowered by four Uzumaki Narutos, completely surrounded. He struggled fiercely but couldn’t break free.

“Dynamic Entry!” Naruto, as the original body, launched a finishing flying kick.

Rock Lee took the kick head-on, pain spreading through his body. If it weren’t for Naruto’s Shadow Clones holding him, he would probably have been sent flying and knocked unconscious.

“I—I give up.” Rock Lee stopped struggling and admitted defeat.

“Lee, are you alright?” Naruto immediately dispelled his Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu and asked with concern.

“I’m fine.” Rock Lee gave a thumbs-up and declared loudly, “This battle was truly exhilarating!”

“This is the bond of youth!” Naruto responded enthusiastically. “Let’s have another exhilarating youth showdown next time!”

“It’s a deal!” Rock Lee felt his fighting spirit surge again and couldn’t help but smile.

“Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!” Kitazawa announced promptly. He feared that if the two kept talking, they might embrace and cry again.

“Kakashi, what do you think of my two students?” Might Guy asked proudly.

Although Rock Lee had lost, it was an honorable defeat. In terms of Taijutsu, there were no other students in the entire Ninja Academy who could match him. Considering his age, he could definitely be called a Taijutsu genius.

“They’re alright,” Kakashi Hatake replied calmly. “But if Naruto had been assigned to me, he would be even stronger.”

He wasn’t bragging either. He knew all of Might Guy’s Taijutsu and had even learned a bit of the Eight Gates Formation.

But Might Guy didn’t know the Ninjutsu that Kakashi did. And with Naruto’s enormous Chakra reserves, whether it was Ninjutsu or Taijutsu, he would excel faster and stronger.

In Kakashi’s opinion, letting him focus only on Taijutsu was wasting his potential. After all, Taijutsu consumed far less Chakra than Ninjutsu.

“As expected of my lifelong rival!” Might Guy gave a thumbs-up, then noticed something. “But what about Lee?”

Kakashi fell silent. He could see that Rock Lee was a reflection of Might Guy. Teaching him Taijutsu? He indeed couldn’t surpass Guy in that.

“Haha!” Might Guy saw his silence, laughed, and said, “It seems that when it comes to teaching students, we’re evenly matched!”

Kakashi was teaching Naruto to surpass him, but Might Guy was better at guiding Rock Lee.

“…”

Kakashi’s mouth twitched. Might Guy’s ability to link everything to their rivalry was impressive.

“Hey, don’t ignore Kitazawa’s contribution!” Kurenai interjected. “Naruto has been participating in Kitazawa’s special training!”

Kakashi nodded slightly. Even so, he still felt Naruto wasn’t impressive enough yet. At the moment, he was winning only because of his vast Chakra reserves. He wondered if there would be more surprises later on.

From the first row of the audience stands, Hiruzen leaned over.

“Tsunade, what do you think?” he asked with a chuckle, clearly pleased with Naruto’s performance.

“He has Kushina’s style,” Tsunade replied thoughtfully.

Like Naruto, Kushina had enormous Chakra reserves. Beyond that, her fighting style had also been reckless and aggressive.

Hiruzen sighed helplessly. He had hoped Naruto would become the second Minato Namikaze, but fate seemed to have other plans.

In his eyes, brute force was too simplistic and easily countered. He preferred Minato’s more stable, precise fighting style. But judging from the current situation, Naruto would have a hard time learning it.

“The second match begins now,” Kitazawa announced, drawing two slips of paper from the lottery box.

Although he was overseeing an elite tournament, battles as intense as Naruto versus Rock Lee were rare.

The crowd stirred with anticipation. After all, despite their strength, these were still Ninja Academy students.

“Seventh match, Sasuke versus Inuzuka Hana!”

The audience perked up at the mention of Uchiha Sasuke—the son of Uchiha Fugaku, younger brother of Uchiha Itachi, and a genius of the Uchiha Clan.

Kitazawa hadn’t rigged the draw. But as the saying goes, pride comes before a fall. The more arrogant Sasuke became, the more profound his future setbacks would be. Letting him win a round first would make his eventual downfall sting more.

“Go, big sis!” Kiba shouted from the stands.

“Kiba, who’s stronger—you or your sister?” Sakura asked while sneaking a glance at Sasuke, clearly trying to gather intel.

“Of course, me!” Kiba replied without hesitation.

“Then it’s fine.” Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey, what do you mean by that?” Kiba snapped, then quickly added, “I mean, I’m stronger now, but my sister was stronger than I used to be!”

“Is there a difference between you now and you before?” Naruto scratched his head, not understanding.

“What kind of special training did Kitazawa Sensei give you to make you so confident?” Shikamaru understood and asked curiously.

“It’s a secret.” Kiba smirked and said, “It’s definitely going to surprise you all.”

“Whatever.” Sasuke walked onto the field with his hands in his pockets, looking cool. He didn’t care about Inuzuka Hana or Kiba Inuzuka.

“Why does your sister have three Ninja dogs?” Ino Yamanaka asked, surprised, when she saw Inuzuka Hana enter the arena with three gray Ninja dogs.

“They’re triplets and work well together, so we didn’t separate them,” Kiba Inuzuka explained.

“Match start!” Kitazawa announced.

“Haimaru!” Inuzuka Hana went all out from the start.

Beast Human Clone! The Ninja dog named Haimaru transformed into a clone identical to her.

Fang Over Fang!

The two Inuzuka Hana’s turned into tornadoes and attacked Sasuke at extreme speed. The remaining two Ninja dogs followed closely, opening their mouths to reveal sharp dog teeth.

In the original work, Fang Over Fang was a Ninjutsu commonly used by Kiba. Like Rasengan and Chidori, it was jokingly said that one Fang Over Fang was used until the very end.

However, Fang Over Fang was not a Ninjutsu created by Kiba; Inuzuka Tsume had also used it.

Sasuke stood still, calmly activating his Sharingan. The Fang Over Fang, which was originally as fast as lightning, slowed down.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique! Sasuke opened his mouth and spewed a large fireball.

Inuzuka Hana and the three Ninja dogs had no choice but to dodge to the sides.

Konoha Whirlwind! Uchiha Sasuke darted forward, kicking at the Inuzuka Hana on the left.

A whimper—Inuzuka Hana was kicked, revealing her true form, which was Haimaru from before.

The sound of rushing wind—Hana, without Haimaru, didn’t stop at all and crashed into Sasuke.

Sasuke turned his head, meeting her fierce gaze. But in the next second, his Genjutsu was released.

Hana froze in place. She felt flames spontaneously ignite within her, then the flames covered her, and she screamed in pain.

It was Genjutsu: Unknown Fire.

Sasuke calmly took out a kunai and held it to Inuzuka Hana’s neck. The three Ninja dogs that rushed to protect their master immediately stopped.

Seeing this, Sasuke released Inuzuka Hana from the Genjutsu.

“So much fire, where did it go?” After breaking free from the Genjutsu, Hana instinctively patted herself.

“It was Genjutsu,” Sasuke said in a flat tone.

“I see.” Inuzuka Hana took a deep breath and said, “I surrender.”

“Hmm.” Sasuke nodded and coolly left the arena.

“Sasuke-kun, so cool!” Sakura immediately transformed into a fangirl, shouting excitedly.

“Genjutsu is really tricky.” Kiba knew Inuzuka Hana’s loss wasn’t unfair.

But he quickly realized something: his Hellhound wasn’t so afraid of Genjutsu. Because the Hellhound had two dog heads and two consciousnesses.

If one dog head fell into Genjutsu, the other dog head could help—Unless both dog heads fell into Genjutsu at the same time.

—

First row of the audience stands

“Not bad.” Uchiha Fugaku nodded and said.

Whether it was Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique or Genjutsu: Unknown Fire, Sasuke used them perfectly.

“Sasuke has done perfectly, especially since he’s only seven years old,” Uchiha Mikoto said with a smile.

“Indeed.” Uchiha Itachi agreed, saying, “I couldn’t even use Genjutsu: Unknown Fire when I was seven.”

He only awakened his Sharingan at eight, so he naturally couldn’t use Genjutsu at seven.

“After all, he is my son.” Uchiha Fugaku smiled at the remark and said.

He was actually very satisfied with Sasuke’s performance. But as the clan head, he had to maintain a certain dignity and couldn’t praise people casually.

“Eighth match, Kiba Inuzuka versus Hyuga Neji.” Kitazawa raised an eyebrow and said.

He hadn’t manipulated the draw; Kiba just had bad luck. However, fortunately, the practical exam wasn’t about the winner advancing to the next round; as long as one performed well, even a loser could advance.

“What?” Kiba’s eyes widened, and he asked, “How can it be Neji?”

“Congratulations on winning the jackpot.” Shikamaru patted his shoulder and said with a smile.

“Didn’t you participate in Kitazawa Sensei’s special training?” Ino said with a smile. “Bring out your secret weapon.”

“You’re right, I won’t lose so easily!” Kiba clenched his fists and said.

Hyuga Neji glanced at him, also feeling curious. But it didn’t matter; he would see soon enough.

The two walked onto the field.

“Is Kiba Hana’s younger brother?”

“Why didn’t he bring a Ninja dog?”

“It doesn’t matter whether he brought a Ninja dog or not; his opponent is Hyuga Neji, the super genius of the Hyuga Clan!”

Many spectators started discussing. Since Inuzuka Hana had just fought, they weren’t optimistic about Kiba Inuzuka without a dog.

Hyuga Neji took a Gentle Fist stance after stepping onto the stage. Just as he was about to attack, he suddenly stopped.

Because a very fierce, two-headed dog, over two meters tall, appeared before him.

“What?” Naruto’s eyes widened, and he asked, “How did Kiba turn into a dog? And such a big one!”

“Is this Kitazawa Sensei’s special training?” Ino asked in surprise.

“The Inuzuka Clan’s secret technique is the fusion of a person and a Ninja dog; the fusion of a person and a Shadow Clone is a first,” Shikamaru Nara didn’t know how to react for a moment.

“So, was this secret technique created by Kitazawa Sensei?” Shino Aburame asked in surprise.

The others also showed similar expressions.

Learning Ninjutsu and creating Ninjutsu were worlds apart in difficulty. They hadn’t expected Kitazawa to possess such talent.

—

—

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P@atreon/Arvinstorm (45+ Advanced Chapters)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep