The great ocean current, carrying a massive volume of water, surged into the Forest of Death, providing an unexpected contribution to Konoha's greenery.
On the battlefield, the water level immediately dropped, allowing Naruto to breathe fresh air again.
Meanwhile, the Sand and Sound ninja hidden among the candidates seemed to receive a signal and simultaneously launched vicious attacks on the surrounding genin.
Fortunately, the Konoha examiners had wisely refrained from joining Naruto and Kisame's battle, thus preserving their strength. They reacted in time and, along with some equally vigilant candidates, managed to block the sudden ambush.
On the other side, Sakura barely deflected a Sound ninja's shuriken before she was knocked off her feet by a blast of compressed air shot from a small hole in another opponent's hand.
Just as she was about to lose her balance, with other Sound ninjas preparing to swarm and finish her off, Naruto, who was observing from afar with his Haki, prepared to intervene. But when another scene flashed into his mind, he abandoned the thought of leaving his own fight.
At that critical moment, just as Sakura thought she was going to be killed, a figure suddenly rushed to her side. A swift palm strike sent the leaping Sound ninja flying.
"You... are you?"
Hinata Hyuga, in this tense situation, had no time for shyness. She reached out and pulled Sakura to safety.
"Are you okay, Sakura?"
Sakura had some impression of Hinata from their Ninja Academy days. This quiet girl had always seemed weak and timid. She never expected her to become so reliable in a moment of crisis.
Beside Hinata, the other members of the Konoha 12 slowly gathered, forming a defensive line.
Seeing the stalemate over there, Naruto slowly exhaled, deciding not to waste any more time with his opponents.
"Hyaa!"
Kisame suddenly erupted from the water, slashing down at Naruto with his massive blade.
But Naruto seemed too lazy to even dodge, instead reaching out his hand toward a different direction entirely.
The next moment, another Kisame appeared at that position, his neck caught perfectly in Naruto's grip.
The Kisame that had attacked from behind dissolved back into a water clone.
Naruto didn't want to waste any more words. His arm muscles tensed, ready to snap the man's throat, but unexpectedly, the Samehada greatsword began to move on its own.
Samehada opened its great, scaled mouth and bit directly onto Naruto's shoulder. Although no blood splattered, Kisame could feel the sword greedily devouring Naruto's chakra.
Naruto's expression turned cold.
"You like to eat? Then I'll let you eat your fill."
A massive torrent of chakra began to pour actively from Naruto's body into Samehada's mouth.
As an Uzumaki, Naruto's natural chakra reserves were already far greater than those of ordinary ninja. Coupled with decades of strengthening from another world, even if not fully brought back, his power had still multiplied several times over.
Compared to Kisame, Naruto was now more suited for the title of "Tailless Tailed Beast."
Even Kurama, who had been watching from the sidelines, only now realized just how vast Naruto's chakra reserves were. While still incomparable to his own, it was certainly on par with a weaker tailed beast.
Soon, Samehada began to bloat like an overfilled waterskin. The sharp scales that had been tightly clamped on Naruto's shoulder started to loosen, and the entire sword's body suddenly went limp, drooping pathetically.
If it were in human form, its current state would probably be a dumbfounded stare, with chakra it couldn't swallow trickling from its mouth, its stomach completely stuffed.
Then, Samehada actually detached itself from Kisame's hand and moved closer to Naruto, nuzzling against him like a puppy seeking a new master.
Is this sword... trying to switch owners? Naruto thought with a mix of amusement and annoyance.
He knew from his Observation Haki that this was just a surface-level action. Samehada was a beast following its instincts, but its loyalty to Kisame ran deep.
Not deceived by the sword's display, Naruto then did something that made even Kisame's eyes widen in disbelief.
He opened his mouth and bit down hard on Samehada.
Then, gripping the living sword with his other hand, he tore at it with his teeth.
Samehada struggled frantically, but Naruto still managed to rip off a large chunk of its "flesh."
After chewing a couple of times, Naruto spat the mangled piece onto the ground.
"Tastes awful."
Then, before Kisame could react, he snapped his neck with a sickening crunch and threw his body, along with Samehada, aside.
Just as Naruto wiped his mouth and took a few steps toward Itachi Uchiha, he suddenly sensed something and turned his gaze to the water below.
Where Kisame's body and Samehada should have been lying still, they had vanished.
What tenacious vitality. Just like a cockroach.
He can even survive having his neck broken?
Kisame, and Orochimaru too. Ninja might be fragile, but their survival skills were truly something else.
Fortunately, although the opponent wasn't dead, he was likely heavily injured and had fled. His presence had now completely disappeared.
"So, your companion has been defeated. Aren't you going to do something?" Naruto called out to Itachi.
Itachi rarely responded, but this time he spoke.
"Naruto Uzumaki, you are indeed an unexpected factor, just as the intelligence suggested."
He glanced at his younger brother, who was still frantically trying to break free from the genjutsu by activating his Sharingan, then back at Naruto. A boy recorded as being the same age as Sasuke, yet already possessing combat power exceeding a jonin. His thoughts remained a mystery.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
At this moment, Sasuke, who should have been a paralyzed wooden doll, suddenly roared.
It wasn't clear if Itachi had loosened the genjutsu's hold, but he actually began to break free.
After witnessing Naruto defeat Itachi's monstrous companion almost effortlessly, Sasuke unconsciously compared it to how he was controlled by Itachi with a single glance, unable to move, like a stray dog on the roadside.
All his arduous training seemed like a cruel joke.
This intense frustration and stimulation caused Sasuke's Sharingan to spin wildly, evolving toward three tomoe.
When the third tomoe materialized in Sasuke's pupils, the restriction of the Shackling Stakes Technique shattered, and Sasuke regained his mobility.
Just as his fighting spirit surged and he was about to attack Itachi again, Naruto, from afar, foresaw what was about to happen and shouted.
"Sasuke! Close your eyes!"
But Sasuke's reaction was a step slower than Itachi's.
"Tsukuyomi."
As Itachi's single word fell, Sasuke, who had just experienced seventy-two hours of mental torture in a fraction of a second, collapsed.
Just after escaping the Tsukuyomi's mental space, Sasuke's body went limp and he fell powerlessly to the ground.
Because Tsukuyomi was released so quickly, the entire process of torture happened in an instant.
So even though Naruto had thrown a weapon the moment he observed the "short-term future," it was still too late to interrupt.
He could only watch as Itachi, after releasing Tsukuyomi, transformed into a flock of crows and dodged the thrown Kusanagi Sword.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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