Menma didn't let Omoi chance to launch a surprise attack once again and immediately wove a hand sign.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Menma said, and dozens of clones suddenly appeared near him.
Omoi's eyes shrunk for a moment, and a realization suddenly appeared in his mind after seeing the clone.
'Damn it! 'Omoi cursed inwardly.
It was clear that Menma was planning to overpower him by using sheer numbers, but that wasn't the reason why Omoi felt the situation turn worse, but something else.
While he might have had a chance of defeating the dozen clones, especially given that it only takes one solid hit to make them disappear, that was more than enough time for Menma to prepare a ninjutsu to defeat him.
This also doesn't include the possibility that Menma is going to perform ninjutsu alongside his clone, making it harder to dodge due to sheer quantity.
Not to mention that as someone who belongs to the Uzumaki Clan, Menma possesses incredibly large reserves of chakra even without including the Nine-Tails Fox chakra sealed within him. With the chakra he possesses, it should be easy for him to overcharge the jutsu, increasing its destructive power.
Menma and his clone weave a hand sign, and Omoi's eyes widen after seeing it.
"Damn it!" Omoi cursed out loud.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang!" Menma and his clone said, and it resounded throughout the area.
Lightning forms in Menma and his clone's arms, and once the lightning is released from their arms, it immediately takes the form of a hound, which immediately dashes towards Omoi at lightning speed.
Omoi tries to evade the attacks, but he quickly finds himself in an encirclement before the lightning hounds attack him at the same time, without leaving any chance for Omoi to dodge.
"Aaargh!" Omoi screams as his body is being electrocuted.
While he had an affinity with Lightning Release and trained himself to have some resistance to lightning-based attacks, the chakra that Menma and his clone pour into the ninjutsu is far larger than Omoi predicted, and with both quality and quantity, it wouldn't be surprising to see Omoi in pain and injured from the attack.
Omoi kneels down and uses his sword as support, and before he could try to stand up, he felt a kunai in his neck and saw that Menma's clone already surrounded him.
"Forfeit," Menma said in a low voice.
Omoi frowned for a moment before releasing a defeated sigh. "I forfeit."
"The winner of the match is Menma Uzumaki Namikaze!" Hayate announced, and Menma's clone explodes in a cloud of smoke while Menma slowly makes his way towards his team.
Omoi just sits down on the ground and lets the medical ninja heal him. While sitting on the ground, he couldn't help but think of the response of Karui after his loss.
While Samui probably understands the reason behind his defeat, Karui is a different story entirely.
'I hope my ears don't bleed out,' Omoi thought to himself before hearing from the medical ninja that he was already fully healed.
Shortly after, Omoi went back towards his teammates, and just like he predicted, he already received sermons from Karui while Samui just nodded and did not take any comment.
'This fight should be enough to teach him about his overconfidence,' Kakashi thought while staring at Menma, who is currently with his siblings and mother and talking to each other.
Kakashi didn't have time to focus on Menma and his siblings as he heard Hayate's announcement for the next two genin.
It was Hisateru against Haku's teammates. Their fight can be considered a normal one, unlike the others. Both of them showcase their capabilities and the reason why they are prepared to take on the mantle of Chunin.
Of course one can still tell that the two lack experience, but every jonin knows it's only a matter of time before they have enough experience.
Though while watching the fight, Kakashi slightly frowned, especially when he took a closer look when Hisateru fought.
At first glance it seems like he made a typical mistake when he dodged and launched an attack, but Kakashi noticed that each decision Hisateru took was very calculated, as if he were acting like he was an inexperienced Genin.
'What's going on here? Kakashi's frown deepened.
He originally thought that he knew his students well, but it seems he was wrong. In fact an idea suddenly appeared within his mind at this moment.
Naruto wasn't the only one who was hiding his strength from others.
'I should investigate this as soon as possible,' Kakashi decides while relaxing his expression to avoid anyone suspicious.
Hisateru didn't notice changes from Kakashi and thought he acted masterfully as he won his match and became a participant for the third exam.
While he was showing a happy expression, especially when he was talking with Kaori inside, Hisateru had some feeling that he was missing something, but he couldn't think of what it was and only placed such concern at the back of his mind for the time being.
After Hisateru and his opponent returned back to their respective teams, Hayate once again announced the next contestant, and it was Samui from the Cloud Village and a ninja from the Stone Village.
Samui had an indifferent attitude towards her opponent, but that wasn't the case for the Stone Ninja, who was staring at her with open hostility.
It wasn't really a surprise considering the terrible relationship between the two villages. In fact, the Stone Ninja attitude is considered normal for those who suffer from the hands of the other village ninjas.
It was clear to everyone that the Stone Ninja had his loved ones suffer from the hands of a Cloud Ninja, and this hatred was forced to be directed at Samui.
The fight between the two ended pretty quickly as Samui quickly overpowered her opponents in short rounds. No matter how much hatred the Stone Ninja possessed and wanted to kill Samui, he didn't possess the necessary capabilities to achieve his desire, and Hayate calmly announced the winner of their match.
While everyone was patiently waiting for Hayate to announce the next contestant, both Temari and Kankuro started to worry, especially after glancing at their brother Gaara, who started to get impatient and leak a slight killing intent.
What rotten luck! Why hasn't Gaara's name been announced yet? Kankuro cursed inwardly while slowly distancing himself from Gaara to avoid being injured by his brother.
I thought after what he did in the Forest of Death his bloodlust would subside? Who managed to spark his bloodlust so that he couldn't wait to kill anyone? Temari thought as sweat slowly fell on her face, but she didn't move away from Gaara.
While Gaara is staring downstairs in his mind, someone is telling him something with great intensity.
'Don't worry, Mother, I will do it,' Gaara said while his eyes flashed with intense killing intent for a moment.
Minato, on the ground floor, secretly glances at the Sand Ninja, or more specifically at Gaara, after sensing such intense killing intent. Other Jonin sensed it but didn't bring it out.
Though Minato had a problem with it, especially seeing the particles of sand floating from the gourd behind Gaara's back.
'Is Rasa that stupid to send their village jinchuriki without telling me? Minato's eyes slightly shrink.
'Or is it someone trying to create discord between our villages? Minato didn't ignore such a possibility, especially after Orochimaru suddenly launched an attack in the middle of the Chunin Exam.
Right now Minato felt that someone was deliberately trying to make trouble against the Leaf, but Minato didn't know who the culprit was.
While it might be easy to blame Orochimaru for it since he had the motivation behind it and the means as well, Minato felt that while Orochimaru might be capable, the latter also understands how to preserve himself, especially in these special events.
Orochimaru isn't a suicidal maniac and is instead a quiet, intelligent person. While he had his plan against the Leaf, he probably had some measure to make sure that other villages wouldn't be affected.
After all, Orochimaru surely wouldn't like all the Five Great Ninja Villages starting to hunt him down. Even if he had some secret location to hide it, it would only be a matter of time before he would be found out after the villagers work together to eliminate him.
Minato, of course, dismissed the idea of the company that he partnered with for this Chunin Exam being the culprit since the company had been trying to build better relationships with all the villages in the Elemental Nation.
In fact, it has been trying to promote peace between villages, and this was the reason why Minato accepted their sponsors for this special Chunin Exam.
If it were other companies, Minato wouldn't trust them easily since they might have other intentions.
Of course Minato was sure that there were possibilities that the company's past action was just an act, but such a possibility was close to zero, especially after he interacted with the company president.