Haruma knew nothing of the comments and evaluations made by the jonin and the Konoha higher-ups.
Even if he did, he would only have laughed them off.
Currently, Haruma and his Clone had already destroyed every single one of Naruto's shadow clones. Standing before the frozen, dumbstruck real Naruto, Haruma didn't immediately attack again.
Instead, he spoke calmly, "Besides that forbidden technique, do you have any other moves? If not, I suggest you surrender."
"O–of course I do! Don't underestimate me!"
Naruto snapped back to his senses at the sound of Haruma's voice, realising he had been scared stiff. Seeing how shameful that looked, he blushed furiously and barked a reply.
Then, as if trying to regain a shred of dignity, Naruto clasped his hands together with his thumbs extended and overlapped, left thumb on top forming the Ram seal. In his heart, he shouted to the Nine-Tails, "Stupid fox, time to pay your rent!"
Boom!
In the next instant, an overwhelming surge of chakra erupted from Naruto's body.
Fiery orange chakra whirled around him like a raging cyclone. Behind him, faintly, several orange tails swayed into view.
The spectators in the stands and even those in the VIP seats stared wide-eyed at the sight. Even the Third Hokage and Orochimaru, disguised as the Fourth Kazekage, were no exception. The Third Hokage was genuinely shocked, he hadn't expected Naruto to already draw upon the Nine-Tails' chakra. Though it was only a small portion, not yet the full tailed-beast cloak, it was still surprising enough.
Orochimaru's surprise, however, wasn't at Naruto's ability to wield the Nine-Tails' chakra…
It was at a far more troubling question, Who undid the Five Elements Seal on this brat?
Was it the old man sitting nearby? Or someone else? If it was the former, then fine. But if it was the latter…
Could it be... that idiot has returned as well? Orochimaru mused inwardly.
"…Haruma, our battle is just beginning."
This was Naruto's first time consciously using the Nine-Tails' chakra, and he felt as though he could do absolutely anything.
That intoxicating sense of power filled him with boundless confidence, just as Kurama had once feared, it was a taste that could make him addicted to the tailed beast's strength.
Grinning broadly at Haruma, Naruto declared, "Here I come! This time I definitely won't lose to you!"
Whoosh!
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Naruto vanished before Haruma's eyes with the Body Flicker Technique, reappearing behind him and sweeping a kick at his side.
But the very next second, Naruto's newly ignited momentum was extinguished.
Bang!
A kick landed, but it wasn't Naruto striking Haruma.
It was Haruma who had kicked Naruto.
What Naruto struck had been nothing more than a phantom afterimage.Haruma himself had appeared behind him, sending him flying with a solid kick.
That phantom wasn't an illusion, just sheer speed from the Body Flicker.
"Just because you're fast doesn't mean you've mastered the Body Flicker… Bang!"
Before Naruto could even hit the ground, Haruma's voice was already in his ear. The same Haruma who had just been behind him was now in front of his flight path, slamming another kick into him.
Naruto was given no chance to form hand seals midair for Shadow Clone Jutsu, Haruma knocked him flying again.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Enduring the pain, Naruto finally managed to form two shadow clones, hoping to use them to catch his body and soften his fall.
Unfortunately, before they could support him, two streaks of blue light pierced clean through them, bursting them into clouds of white smoke.
Boom!
"Ugh—!"
Naruto, still hurtling backward, didn't even see what had destroyed his clones. Suddenly, a crushing weight struck his chest, and his body slammed violently into the ground, throwing up a great cloud of dust.
When the dust cleared, Haruma was kneeling with one knee pinning Naruto's chest, a kunai pressed to his throat.
Around them, the cracked ground showed just how heavy Naruto's impact had been.
Looking down at Naruto, whose mouth was smeared with blood, Haruma said simply, "You lost."
"The match is decided! Winner... Haruma!"
Genma, seeing this, knew Haruma had already shown mercy. Not giving Naruto a chance to protest, he immediately declared the result.
"Thanks for the match."
Haruma put away his kunai, stood, and offered his hand to Naruto.
"Ow… that hurt…"
Naruto didn't reject the gesture. He grabbed Haruma's hand, pulled himself up, rubbed at his chest, and wiped the blood from his lips. With a wry smile, he admitted, "Even though I still had one more move left, I guess I really can't beat you, Haruma."
Had it been anyone else, Naruto would have stubbornly insisted he hadn't gone all out. But losing to Haruma, who had thrashed him countless times over the past six years, felt somewhat normal even though he tried denying it.
Haruma knew exactly what "one more move" Naruto was talking about and truthfully, the reason he had ended the fight so quickly was to prevent Naruto from summoning the toads of Mount Myoboku.
If Naruto, bolstered by the Nine-Tails' chakra, managed to call forth one of the great toads, Haruma's suppressed strength wouldn't be enough unless he resorted to advanced Fire Release nature transformations or even the sharingan.
And so, just as they had in the academy days, the two clasped hands in a reconciliation seal before heading together toward the players' entrance, the audience's cheers echoing behind them.
"Blondie, nice work!"
"White-haired guy, you're too handsome!"
"…"
On the way, countless spectators shouted at them.
For the first time, Naruto felt the thrill of being cheered for so wildly. He even blew kisses at the crowd, looking more like the victor than the one who had actually lost.
"I forfeit!"
Just as Haruma was about to enter the players' tunnel, a voice suddenly rang out.
Looking up, he saw Kankuro standing in the waiting area, raising his hand toward Genma as he declared his withdrawal.
This instantly drew the crowd's fury. After all, every spectator had bought tickets specifically to see the fights and there weren't that many matches to begin with. Missing one meant losing part of their money's worth.
Ignoring their anger, Kankuro only sneered inwardly. Our village will be attacking soon. Why would I waste unnecessary chakra now and reveal my techniques?
With Kankuro forfeiting, Shino advanced by default and would fight Choji after the third match, Temari versus Shikamaru.
Just as Haruma entered the tunnel, he saw Shikamaru walking past him toward the field.
As they brushed shoulders, Haruma raised his fist for a fist bump. "Good luck."
Shikamaru scratched his head, sighed, and muttered, "Another girl for an opponent… such a drag."
"That just means you're popular with women." Haruma patted his shoulder meaningfully.
"Thanks, but I'd rather not have that kind of popularity," Shikamaru muttered with an eye roll before continuing on.
Haruma regretted deeply that this world had no such thing as a voice recorder.If only he could record Shikamaru's words, the blackmail material would have lasted a lifetime.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Once Shikamaru exited, Haruma stayed in the dark tunnel. He created several shadow clones, which immediately transformed into stray cats and other small animals, sneaking out through different exits of the arena.
When the "Konoha Crush" plan began, Haruma's long-prepared "Leap of the Dragon Gate" plan would unfold simultaneously.
As for his true body, Haruma returned to the waiting stands, standing between Ino and Hinata as he looked down at the next fight about to begin.
This was to be Shikamaru's defining battle.
Through it, the audience and the shinobi alike would witness the brilliance of the Nara clan's intellect, earning him the recognition of every special jonin and jonin with leadership qualities.
When Tsunade later took charge of Konoha and reviewed the reports of this year's chunin exams, she promoted only Shikamaru from this generation of genin.
In other words, from the Konoha candidates in this year's exams, only Shikamaru would officially become a chunin.