Hayate Gekkō raised his hand, slicing through the tense air of the arena.
"...Begin!"
Sasuke Uchiha didn't waste time probing. He launched himself instantly, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.
The Sharingan with two tomoe burned in his eyes. The world slowed down, breaking into vectors and trajectories. He saw Naruto: relaxed posture, arms down, breathing even. Open. Vulnerable. Audacious.
I'll wipe that smirk off your face! I will destroy you!
Sasuke closed the distance in a fraction of a second. He used the same explosive speed he had managed to copy from Rock Lee. His muscles ached from the overload, his ligaments creaked, but rage served as an excellent painkiller.
A kick to the jaw. Hard, fast, designed to knock the opponent out with the first hit.
Naruto didn't block.
He simply tilted his head to the left, slightly, almost lazily.
Sasuke's foot whistled a centimeter from his ear, ruffling his blonde hair.
The Uchiha, using the momentum of the miss, spun in the air and delivered a spinning elbow strike aimed at the temple.
Naruto took a half-step back. The elbow slashed through empty space.
Sasuke landed and unleashed a flurry of punches. Jab, hook, uppercut, knife-hand strike. Every blow was aimed at vital points; every blow was lethal.
Naruto didn't attack back. He didn't even raise his hands to defend. He simply shifted out of the line of attack at the last moment.
Right. Left. Step back. Torso twist.
To the spectators on the balcony, it looked surreal. Sasuke was a blurred smudge of aggression, a whirlwind of strikes. Naruto was like a leaf in the wind, impossible to catch because it moves with the airflow.
Neji Hyuga activated his Byakugan. Veins bulged around his eyes.
Impossible... he thought, watching the chakra flows. The Uchiha is expending a colossal amount of energy. His channels are burning. But Naruto... his circulation system is calm. He's barely using chakra for speed. Is this physical strength? How can he be faster than the Sharingan on reflexes alone?
Standing nearby, Might Guy suddenly frowned. He gripped the railing, not taking his eyes off Naruto.
"Kakashi," his voice became uncharacteristically serious. "Did he open the First Gate? Such speed on pure physical strength is abnormal."
"No, Guy," Hatake answered calmly without turning his head. "He hasn't learned any techniques like the Gates."
Guy froze.
"So this is his base form?" he exhaled. "How did you achieve such muscle density in a child?"
"I didn't achieve it," something akin to pride mixed with thoughtfulness slipped into Kakashi's voice. "This form is the result of his own training."
Meanwhile, in the arena, Sasuke finally lost the last shreds of his composure.
"Why?!" Sasuke exhaled, missing another kick. His breathing was ragged, sweat stinging his eyes. "I can see you! I see every move you make before you make it! Why aren't I hitting?!"
Naruto stopped. He stood a few meters from the winded Uchiha. His breathing was even, pulse calm.
"Because seeing and being able to do are two different things, Sasuke," he answered calmly. His voice echoed through the quiet arena, drowning out the whispers of the audience. "Your eyes see the future, but your body is stuck in the past. You try to copy Lee's speed, but you don't have his muscles. You try to kill me, but you don't have my preparation."
"Shut up!" Sasuke roared.
He was being humiliated. Publicly. In front of Jonin, other teams, Sakura, and Kakashi. This smug upstart was lecturing him without even bothering to strike back.
"You are weak and exhausted," the blonde continued ruthlessly. Every word felt like a hammer blow. "And that thing on your neck... it's not giving you power. It's eating you. You think you control it? You're just feed."
These words served as a trigger.
The Uchiha clutched his neck. The pain he had been suppressing with willpower flared with renewed vigor. The Cursed Seal reacted to the rage, despair, and wounded pride.
"Weak? Me?!" Sasuke raised his head.
His face contorted. Black patterns resembling flames burst from under his collar and crawled up the left side of his face, flooding his eye with inky darkness.
The Uchiha's chakra changed. It became purple, ominous.
Memories of the fight in the forest—how Naruto held back Orochimaru—surfaced and immediately twisted under the influence of the poisonous aura.
Just a Tailed Beast. That power isn't his own. He's lucky he has the Nine-Tails. But this power... the power of the Seal... I control it completely. I see everything. I am stronger. Now I am the predator.
On the balcony, Kakashi tensed, his hand tightening on the railing, ready to jump.
Anko, standing nearby, twitched, feeling the resonance of her seal.
"Sensei, wait," Karin, standing next to him, said quietly but firmly. "Watch. He knows what he's doing."
In the arena, Sasuke, engulfed in the purple aura of the Seal, laughed.
"Power... Here it is, power!" his voice doubled, acquiring demonic notes.
He felt omnipotent. The pain vanished. Fatigue vanished. Only the desire to rip and tear remained.
"Now you won't dodge, Naruto!" he growled. "I'll burn you to ashes!"
Sasuke wove seals with incredible speed, amplified by the cursed chakra.
"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu! (Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)"
He spat not one large fireball, but a dozen small flaming projectiles, each concealing a shuriken. And then he rushed after them, hiding in the shadow of the fire, intending to finish his teammate in close combat.
Gaara in his corner exhaled sharply. The sand in his gourd stirred.
Mother... Is Mother worried? About what? The demon inside him quieted, sensing the approach of something heavier than its bloodlust.
Naruto watched the incoming fire and his frenzied partner.
His face hardened. The carefree look was replaced by resolve.
He lost control. If I delay, the Seal will take him over completely. His mind could be damaged. Need to knock him out. Fast. Hard.
Naruto didn't weave seals or summon clones.
He simply took a deep breath, activating Qi disguised as chakra at 100% output.
Perception accelerated.
The fireballs slowed down. Sasuke, rushing toward him with a face distorted by rage, seemed to barely move.
Naruto vanished.
A burst of pure kinetic energy breaking the sound barrier over a short distance.
BOOM.
The air exploded where Uzumaki had just stood, leaving indentations in the stone.
In the next instant, Naruto appeared right next to Sasuke, slipping between the fireballs with extreme precision. He was inside the Uchiha's guard, face to face.
But this time, Sasuke was ready.
Two tomoe spun wildly, predicting the enemy's appearance. He saw the blurred silhouette. His brain, overclocked by the Seal's chakra, sent a signal to his muscles.
Finally caught you!
Sasuke's hand, shrouded in purple energy, darted to intercept Naruto's strike. He grabbed the blonde's forearm to stop the attack and break his arm with a counter-jerk.
The Uchiha's fingers clamped onto his opponent's wrist.
But it was like trying to stop a boulder rolling down a mountain with one palm.
Naruto's inertia, multiplied by the weight of his densified bones and the explosive power of Qi acceleration, simply ignored the grip.
True horror of realization flashed in the Uchiha's eyes for a split second.
He overpowers me with the Seal?! With his own strength?!
"It's over," Naruto whispered.
His right palm, clenched into a hard fist, shot forward.
Precisely into the solar plexus, into the convergence point of nerve clusters and the central chakra pathway.
The strike was short. Economical. And monstrous in penetrating power.
Naruto imbued it with a Qi impulse designed to cause a shockwave paralyzing the diaphragm and energy system.
BAM!
The sound was dull and wet simultaneously; even experienced Jonin flinched at it.
Sasuke's eyes bulged. The air in his lungs was forced out along with saliva and blood.
The fireballs behind Naruto slammed into the floor and exploded, but no one was looking at them.
Everyone was looking at Sasuke.
His body folded in half around the Jinchūriki's fist like a broken mannequin. The black patterns of the Cursed Seal twitched convulsively and began to rapidly retreat, sucking back into the neck. The organism, receiving critical shock, shut down all third-party systems for survival.
The Sharingan faded. His eyes rolled back.
Uzumaki removed his hand.
The Uchiha collapsed onto his knees, then fell face forward, his forehead hitting the victor's sandal. His body shuddered in a retching spasm, but he was already unconscious.
Naruto stood over him, not even out of breath. He looked down at his fallen comrade. There was no malice in this gesture, only cold discipline.
Sasuke... we didn't get along before, but with this Seal, everything has become even more complicated. Damn you, Orochimaru.
All-consuming silence hung in the hall.
Not just a victory. It was a thrashing. A public, harsh, and undeniable demonstration of who the real monster in Team 7 was.
"W-winner..." Hayate's voice trembled, losing its monotony for the first time since the exam began, "Naruto Uzumaki!"
Medics rushed to Sasuke. Kakashi jumped from the balcony, but not to his fallen student, but to Naruto. The single eye quickly, tenaciously scanned his student's condition: pupils normal, aura calm. Convincing himself that Naruto was in control and hadn't injured himself with his own speed, Kakashi relaxed slightly.
At that moment, Anko landed nearby.
The woman looked at Sasuke's neck, where the mark had quieted, then at Naruto. Shock mixed with hope was visible in her eyes.
"You..." she exhaled. "How did you do that? You just shut it down. With a punch?"
Naruto looked at her.
"I cut off the flow of filth," he answered calmly. "You are Anko Mitarashi, right? The proctor from the forest."
Anko nodded, unconsciously touching her own neck.
"Anko. Remember that name, kid. Because you and I need to have a very serious talk. You seem to be the only one who understands how this crap works."
Sasuke was loaded onto a stretcher.
Sakura, who had stood in a daze this whole time, finally bolted. She ran to the stretcher, crying and clutching the Uchiha's limp hand. She didn't even glance at Naruto—her world had narrowed to the injured Sasuke. Kakashi motioned for her to follow the medics, and she went with them to the infirmary.
Naruto watched them go. His face remained impassive.
At that moment, two masked ANBU and a Jonin with a Grass protector approached the arena. They headed for Karin, who was just coming down.
"Kusagakure Genin," the ANBU said dryly. "Your village requested the return of survivors. You are coming with us."
Karin froze. A glance at Naruto.
Uzumaki wanted to intervene, but Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder.
"Not now, Naruto. This is politics. We cannot hold a shinobi of an allied village without cause."
Karin understood. She didn't resist. She just looked at the blonde with a long, memorizing gaze.
"Thank you for everything... Naruto," she said quietly.
He met her gaze and nodded barely perceptibly.
We will meet again, he mouthed. When I become stronger.
Karin smiled—sadly, but with hope—and allowed herself to be led away.
Naruto turned to the exit. The stretcher with Sasuke was carried past.
The Uchiha was semi-conscious. Through the veil of pain and humiliation, he heard the whispers of the crowd.
"Monster..."
"Power..."
"Uzumaki..."
No one spoke of the Uchiha.
Sasuke closed his eyes. In the darkness of his mind, Orochimaru's voice whispered again: Come to me, Sasuke. I will give you the power to crush them all.
This time, he listened.