Sakura vs. Naruto
Puff!
Naruto had fallen to the ground, turned into a wisp of smoke and dissipated.
Whoosh whoosh!
Dozens of Naruto -like figures burst forth from all directions, swiftly throwing out Kunai or Shuriken!
Faced with a barrage of hidden weapons raining down all around, Sakura had no way to dodge and stood still, being pierced by hundreds of sharp weapons at the same time!
Blood gushed out like a fountain from the wounds on Sakura's head, body, and limbs, instantly turning her into a dark red blood-soaked figure!
The spectators in the stands were in an uproar over the sudden turn of events in the battle and the girl's serious injury.
Splash--
The girl's severely injured body turned into a puddle of water and spilled on the ground!
"Another clone!" "They're so fast!" "They both tricked each other with clones!"...
A wave of amazed discussion immediately erupted in the stands.
"When did they turn into clones? I couldn't even see it with my Byakugan!" Hanabi exclaimed in surprise.
"When the examiner announced the start of the match, Naruto secretly used Shadow Clone. At the last moment before Sakura attacked him, he used Substitution Technique to switch places with the Shadow Clone, rendering Sakura's surprise attack futile! Sakura, on the other hand, was ★★★★, ≧∧ the instant she realized she had hit the Shadow Clone, she created a Water Clone in the distance, Water Substitution Jutsu to evade Naruto's ninja tool attack!"
On the rest platform, facing the same question, Hinata glared at him with her Byakugan and solemnly explained.
Shikamaru leaned against the railing, watching the two facing off below, and murmured, "The most terrifying thing is the timing, speed, and stealth of their techniques!"
Even if you come up with a plan, facing an opponent like this would be a huge headache! Shikamaru thought to himself.
Shikamaru's casual remark caused everyone present to nod in surprise.
As soon as the examiner announced the start of the match, Sakura instantly rushed in front of Naruto, her speed was already amazing; Naruto was not inferior at all, in those few seconds he used Shadow Clone Technique and Substitution Technique in succession, no wonder even Sakura had to praise Naruto's speed!
The latter, on the other hand, could unleash Water Clone and Substitution Technique consecutively without needing to Hand Seals, and his mastery of Ninjutsu was truly admirable. If Hinata hadn't been scanning the entire scene with her Byakugan, she probably would still be completely bewildered.
Hinata felt a chill run down her spine.
The Substitution Technique is the most basic Ninjutsu, but also the most difficult to use Ninjutsu. In principle, as long as one's Chakra is infiltrated into an object of similar size, the Substitution Technique can be used to swap the positions of oneself and the object.
However, in actual combat, it is extremely difficult to seize the right moment and use this Ninjutsu at the last moment before the enemy attacks. In ninja battles where every second counts, it is too late to think about infusing Chakra into a distant object when the attack is already upon you. Therefore, the object of substitution is usually a substitute tree that has been infused with Chakra beforehand, or one's own clone.
If I were on the scene with my Byakugan activated, and Naruto and Sakura had mastered these Ninjutsu to the limit, I probably wouldn't have had time to react and would have been tricked by the clones!
Let's stop this probing!
Sakura smiled and walked out from a distance.
Indeed, the brilliant duel and ruthless attacks just now were merely a test for the two of them.
Thanks to Jiraiya's guidance, the two, especially Naruto, have made great progress.
Their understanding and application of Ninjutsu have reached a new level. They no longer unilaterally pursue the power of techniques, but rather focus on their rational use. They can create amazing combos with just two simple Ninjutsu. This is the mark of a mature ninja.
Naruto smiled faintly.
Sakura's sudden attack was much faster than before; if he hadn't trained with Jiraiya for a month, he might not have been able to dodge it.
Naruto, now Naruto with confidence, declared, "Then let me show you the results of my recent training! Sakura, you'd better watch out!"
"Ninja Art: Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
A massive army of Shadow Clone has reappeared on the field!
The sheer number of them elicited a collective, suppressed gasp from the audience in the stands.
"Is it another Multi Shadow Clone?" Sakura frowned slightly and her smile faded.
To her, Naruto's move always felt like a nouveau riche showing off... flaunting his Chakra reserves. However, Naruto uses sheer numbers to bully you; his Chakra reserves are high, he can pull off this move, and it's quite effective. Sakura seems... unable to do anything about it.
The girl pouted unhappily.
Water Release: Super Water Gun Technique!
Without Hand Seals, she directly condensed a ball of water in her hand, and with a flick of her finger, a transparent stream of water shot out from her slender fingertip.
Although the water blade's power was greatly reduced due to the excessive emphasis on activation speed, losing its sharpness that could cut through iron like mud, it was still more than enough to finish off the vulnerable Shadow Clone.
Naruto's Shadow Clone fell in rows, turning into wisps of smoke. However, even more Shadow Clone leaped up and scattered in mid-air, depriving Sakura of her chance to clear the area.
The number of clones destroyed by the water blade was merely a drop in the ocean.
Seeing that the Shadow Clone covering the ground had already rushed in front of her, and that it was too late to deal with them with Water Gun Technique, the girl decisively stopped using water blades.
He pushed off with his feet and jumped up, dodging the attack of the two clones.
The pale blue, Ultra-Pure Water transformed into a platform that floated in the air, like a staircase suspended in mid-air. She stepped lightly onto this blue staircase, the water mass steadily supporting her feet, allowing her to stand high in the air and look down at Naruto's clones below.
He controlled the Ultra-Pure Water with Chakra, and then used the Ultra-Pure Water to support himself.
In the Earth world, lifting oneself into the air is a complete paradox, but in the Hokage world, by using Chakra and imitating Gaara's flight, the girl simply realized humanity's dream of flight.
If this can be considered flying.
Or would "floating" be a more appropriate description?
The girl silently complained to herself.
Regardless, being able to float in the air and deal with enemies that can't fly means having absolute air superiority! Naruto's menacing clone army missed their target and looked at Sakura with great helplessness.
"That's so cunning! They actually managed to get so high up!"
Naruto, or perhaps one of his Shadow Clone, wrinkled his nose, looked up, and pointed at the girl resentfully.
But the girl standing on his head, talking to him with her nostrils pointed at him, snorted.
"This is part of the game, if you're unhappy, don't fight!"
That's true, but the current development of the battle is also giving the girl a headache.
Naruto thought his Water Gun Technique would clear out most of the Shadow Clone, but the result was far from satisfactory. Naruto cleverly chose to continuously create Shadow Clone instead of summoning Shadow Clone all at once. This piecemeal tactic effectively avoided the embarrassing situation of the Shadow Clone being wiped out in large numbers by a wide-range clearing Ninjutsu.
More importantly, compared to the sparring match a month ago where he used shadow clones, Naruto's Shadow Clone are now of higher quality and more agile. Sakura had already activated her Water Gun Technique as quickly as possible, but Naruto was even faster, closing in on her before she could completely clear the area, forcing the Ninjutsu exchange into close combat.
The girl was still shaken by the experience of being nearly drowned by Orochimaru of snakes in the Forest of Death a month ago. Without a second thought, she jumped into the air, avoiding a war of attrition.
Sakura isn't that brainless to compare Chakra reserves with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
However, absolute air superiority does not equate to absolute advantage.
At the girl's current height, Naruto was only temporarily at a loss; he would soon come up with a way to attack. Floating in the air with no cover, she was a target for Ninjutsu, and even Shadow Clone could threaten her by leaping in a relay.
Unless she ascends to a higher altitude, she can indeed dodge most of Naruto's attacks, but even then, it will be difficult for Sakura to launch an effective attack against Naruto.
Seeing the Shadow Clone gathering at her feet, Sakura wasted no time and immediately took out a sealing scroll from her backpack and unlocked it.
The scroll contained only ordinary water.
A huge amount of clean water!
The sheer force of a free fall from that height is already devastating, let alone the fact that Sakura intends to transform it into Ninjutsu to attack Naruto!
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!
Sakura quickly Hand Seals, and as her Chakra circulated, a large amount of water extracted from the scroll condensed into a lifelike giant dragon, slowly swaying its massive body, suspended high in the air!
A water dragon, hundreds of meters long, with a trunk so large that it would take several people to encircle it, slowly spiraled upwards, dancing gracefully and covering most of the sky!
The girl beneath the dragon appeared so insignificant and insignificant in comparison.
The sun shone through the dragon's transparent body, making even the most dazzling sunlight appear dim and weak.
It even gives people the illusion of being obscured by the sun.
It is magnificent and breathtaking!
The spectators in the stands couldn't help but let out a series of suppressed gasps!
He seemed worried that this powerful Ninjutsu might affect him!
Once the water in the scroll had completely condensed into a giant dragon, the girl unhesitatingly swung down her raised arm—
The water dragon flying through the air, with the force of a tsunami, rushed towards Naruto with devastating force!
Naruto's face suddenly changed color.
In their last sparring match, his Wind Release slightly outclassed the girl's Water Release. This time, however, the outcome was completely different!
Without the process of pumping water from the ground into the air, Sakura's Ninjutsu could be activated much faster. Most of Naruto's Shadow Clone didn't even have time to use Wind Release when the water dragon struck! The Shadow Clone managed to release a few Wind Release sparsely, but before they could gather into a group, the girl's Water Release had already reached the city!
"Damn it, it's too late!" Naruto lamented inwardly.
Boom--!
The dragon descended, crashing into the earth with overwhelming force, creating a deafening roar!
Whoosh--!
The water roared down from the sky, Naruto's resistance seemed so weak and powerless in the face of this overwhelming onslaught. The surging water mercilessly annihilated all the Shadow Clone, turning them into wisps of smoke. Even the flat and solid ground was eroded by the water dragon, leaving a large crater!
The water jets slammed into the ground, and the raging floodwaters swept across the entire area, uprooting several trees, destroying the forest, and turning the area into a desolate swamp.
P. S. [As I am, I've been extremely busy lately... I have exams coming up soon, my graduation thesis needs to be revised immediately, and I have various other tasks, so please don't rush me... If there's a break in updates, I'll try my best to catch up after I'm done with everything... All works are like the author's children, and I've been writing Water Release for so long, I won't abandon my eldest daughter so easily...]