"Everyone, I won't say much about the rules. During the match, if I tell you to stop, you must stop," Biting down on a toothpick, Shiranui Genma swept his gaze over the contestants gathered in the arena.
"Understood?"
"Understood!"
Everyone answered in unison, but someone suddenly raised a hand.
"Uchiha Sasuke, do you have a question?", Shiranui Genma looked toward Sasuke.
Sasuke's expression was calm as he asked, "Isn't Aoba participating in the match?"
The others actually had the same doubt, because after the speech ended, Hayate had not come to the arena.
Seeing that everyone wanted to know, Shiranui Genma explained.
"Your strength is far from his. This match is meaningless for him, so he won't participate in the later matches, he directly advances."
Everyone was surprised, but also found it reasonable.
Otherwise, should they fight a log?
Really?
"Damn it!", Only Sasuke clenched his fist, extremely unwilling.
Seeing this, Shiranui Genma couldn't help but complain in his heart.
'As expected of the Uchiha clan, stubborn to the core.'
But he only needed to host the match properly.
"Alright, next we'll officially start the matches. The order is still according to the previous list."
"First match today—"
"Uchiha Sasuke versus Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Yes! Sasuke, I've been looking forward to this match for a long time!", Naruto's face was full of impatience.
"Hmph!", Sasuke only gave a tsundere snort.
Shiranui Genma didn't bother further, "The others, wait outside the arena first."
The crowd quickly left, leaving only three people in the arena.
Naruto and Sasuke also created distance from each other, forming the seal of confrontation.
"Begin!"
After Shiranui Genma spoke, he retreated backward.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
Right at the start, Naruto took the initiative, rushing forward and kicking toward Sasuke.
Sasuke stood still in place, hands forming seals.
BANG!
Naruto kicked a wooden log.
Sasuke's seal just now was a Substitution Jutsu.
The next second, Naruto felt a wave of scorching hot air from behind.
A huge fireball was flying toward him.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Years of sparring had long made Naruto accustomed to this.
With ease, he leapt aside, dodging Sasuke's attack.
But the attack wasn't over.
Expressionless, Sasuke raised his hand.
Several shuriken were thrown toward Naruto.
Naruto again dodged skillfully.
However, just as he dodged all the shuriken, Sasuke couldn't help but sneer.
His ten fingers curled slightly.
Naruto's expression changed.
But he didn't panic.
The wires attached to the shuriken instantly wrapped around him.
Looking at the temporarily immobilized Naruto, Sasuke bit down on the wire and quickly formed hand seals.
"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Flames spewed from his mouth, traveling along the wires toward Naruto.
Shiranui Genma prepared to intervene and save him.
But suddenly, a terrifying chakra burst from Naruto's body.
The fearsome flames were forcibly dispersed by the chakra.
The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched, 'Why did this guy's chakra increase again?'
But he had no extra time for surprise.
Naruto, having broken through the Fire Style, was already before him.
Sasuke had to cross his arms to block.
When the punch landed on his arms, his expression changed slightly.
He retreated to absorb the force, then steadied himself a short distance away.
"Naruto, warm-up's over. Let's get serious now!"
"Just what I wanted," Naruto also stood still, a confident smile on his face.
"Sasuke, if you lose, no crying!"
He reached up and removed his body weights, which hit the ground and left two deep craters.
"...", Sasuke felt a chill inwardly and activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan.
He drew the sword from his back.
But Naruto's transformation wasn't over.
A massive amount of chakra surged around his body.
Terrifying waves of energy rolled outward.
His golden hair stood up like a Super Saiyan.
Sasuke instinctively gripped his sword tighter.
He had already seen this Taijutsu from Naruto before.
The Eight Gates had eight gates in total.
During his fight with Orochimaru before, Naruto had opened up to the seventh gate at most.
Sasuke had also been training with that version of Naruto as his imagined opponent lately.
But Naruto now only opened up to the fourth gate before stopping.
If it were the seventh gate, Naruto wouldn't last long now.
"Come, Sasuke!", Naruto's face flushed red as he charged at Sasuke again, kicking up dirt.
His speed was so fast most spectators outside couldn't follow with the naked eye.
But Sasuke's Three Tomoe Sharingan saw it clearly.
The sword in Sasuke's hand was also wrapped in Lightning Release chakra as he met Naruto head-on.
Many spectators outside were already dumbfounded.
'Is this really a genin battle?'
———
"Naruto and Sasuke are really amazing."
"Aoba, who do you think will win?"
After the speech, Aoba had already slipped into the spectator stands.
At this moment, he was chatting idly with Tenten and a few others.
The one who had just asked was Ino.
"Well, that's hard to say," Aoba looked at the battle in the arena.
To be honest, it was hard to tell who would win. Naruto could open the Eight Gates up to the seventh and seemed to be able to use some Nine-Tails chakra.
But Sasuke also had the Three Tomoe Sharingan, had learned Lightning Release from Kakashi, and had sword techniques.
With both going all out, it was hard to determine the outcome.
"Aoba can't decide either?", Tenten watched the two trading blows in the arena, then suddenly switched topics.
"Then who do you think would win between me and Temari?"
"Uh…"
This question drew the attention of many toward Aoba.
Temari, who had been marveling at Konoha's strong shinobi, also looked over.
Her gaze carried curiosity.
She seemed interested in the answer as well.
"What? Is this question hard for you?"
Tenten gave Aoba a sidelong glance, "It's fine, just tell the truth, I won't get mad."
'Heh, do you think I believe that?'
Aoba couldn't help but roll his eyes and replied tactfully.
"Tenten, your taijutsu and weapon skills are impressive. Temari's Wind Release isn't bad either. I really can't say who's stronger."
"Hmph!", Tenten snorted lightly, clearly a bit dissatisfied with Aoba's neutrality.
Temari, however, didn't mind, she just chuckled.
She was the dignified princess of the Sand Village, how could she get angry over such a thing?
"Then what about between me and Sakura?", Ino's face carried mischief, she wanted to see if Aoba would answer the same way.
Sakura was slightly stunned, not expecting her to bring herself up.
But when she looked at Ino, her gaze held unprecedented confidence.
This clearly made Ino pause for a moment.
Sakura rarely showed such confidence before.
Aoba patted Ino's shoulder, his expression turning serious, "Ino, the third round of the Chunin Exams isn't all about winning or losing. Even if you lose, you still have a chance to become a Chunin."
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