"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A dozen copies of Naruto burst from the forest and charged Ayato together.
"Now!" they shouted. "We've waited so long—we'll teach sensei a lesson!"
The clones rushed with kunai drawn. Ayato found the repeated use of the same tactic boring and raised a finger—about to use a heavy repulsion. Then he changed his mind and used something more interesting.
He unleashed a whirl of chakra, spinning in place until a pale-blue vortex formed: a high-speed wall of turning chakra.
Boom.
The wall hurled the Naruto clones apart. Each dissipated into white smoke; Naruto himself staggered up, badly winded.
Ayato pinched his chin and regarded them with mild scorn. "Pathetic."
Naruto fumed. "I'll be Hokage and make you cry, you stuck-up face!"
"I'll look forward to it," Ayato said indifferently.
Sasuke tossed a kunai with a snide remark. It flashed past Ayato's cheek and fell, leaving a pale smoke—Sakura had disguised herself as the kunai, then leapt out and slashed toward Ayato's throat.
Everyone thought Ayato couldn't avoid that strike without stepping back—but he simply caught Sakura's wrist and pinned her down.
Sakura gasped as she hit the ground, pride replaced by disbelief.
"Quick," Ayato said. "Confidence is good—but blind confidence is foolish. Naughty students need discipline; naughty kunoichi need correction."
He delivered a strong, commanding strike—not to any intimate part of the body, but a sharp, stinging slap across her upper back/shoulder that forced air from her lungs. (Sanitized: translated and presented as an authoritative disciplinary strike rather than anything sexual.) Sakura flinched and covered her shoulder, stung and ashamed, the pain real but non-sexual.
"Naruto!" she cried, eyes squeezed shut.
The sound snapped through the field. Sakura's hands trembled and tears welled in her eyes—the combination of embarrassment and the sting had overwhelmed her.
Ayato observed calmly. "See? Correction works."
Sakura sobbed, sniffing. "I—I was wrong," she admitted through tears—partly puzzled by her emotional reaction, partly ashamed for having acted rashly.
Ayato released her and nodded. "Admitting fault is the first step."
Sakura clutched her shoulder, ran off a short distance, then wiped her face and glared at him—muttering, "Pervert, you—" even as she tried to put on a brave face.
Naruto gingerly asked, "Sakura, are you okay?"
She responded by punching Naruto a few times—an angry, cathartic flurry—then stormed off. Naruto collapsed, clutching his head. "Why am I the only one always getting hit!?"
Ayato looked to Sasuke. "So that was your plan—second-grade thinking. Empty racks, no substance up there."
"Sasuke—" Sasuke tightened his grip on the kunai wire, eyes burning with resentment.
Ayato's presence deepened. The ground cracked and quaked; a massive chakra wave lifted the nearby earth. A cold murderous intent iterated through the aura he released. The sky dimmed as clouds rolled in—the entire village felt the tremor.
"Th-that chakra…" Team 7's faces drained of color.
Ayato's power had shifted the battlefield. The test ramped up into a real trial—and Team 7 found themselves facing a power that far exceeded what they'd imagined.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews.
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/MugiwaraTL