"Naruto Uzumaki ranked last in the Ninja Academy. The missions he's completed were nothing special either. Yet someone like him can actually release Chakra with such destructive power..."
Kabuto quietly watched Naruto, slowly taking two steps back. The unfinished Rasengan in his hand came fully into view.
He might be even more interesting than Uchiha Sasuke. He watched with great interest as Naruto slowly raised his right hand. The violent energy fluctuations instantly drew the phantoms' attention.
Naruto looked provocatively at the phantoms before him, extended his left hand, and crooked his fingers.
"Kid, don't look down on us!" One of the real bodies in the distance twisted into a savage expression. He could clearly sense the fatal danger coming from Naruto's right hand. A premonition rose within him: if he were struck by that Chakra, he would be paralyzed from the waist down on the spot.
That faint anxiety caused the phantoms to waver for an instant.
"Now!" Sasuke, who had kept his eyes tightly shut, suddenly opened his scarlet Sharingan and stared ahead. "Naruto, in the bushes to the northwest!"
"Got it."
Naruto and the Shadow Clone beside him charged the phantoms at the same time. Ignoring their attacks, they thrust the Rasengan in Naruto's right hand forward, letting its violent Chakra sweep up the surrounding debris and dust. Several phantoms were caught up in it and completely shredded.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Kunai shot straight toward Naruto. Seeing this, Sakura knocked them all away with Shuriken and continued clearing a path for Naruto. At the same time, she began gradually concentrating Chakra into her fist.
Seeing that he was already extremely close to the real bodies, Naruto detonated the Rasengan in his hand.
He wanted to bring the entire area within the range of his attack, even if that meant sacrificing some of its power!
"Boom!!!"
The violent Wind Release Chakra instantly destroyed everything around them. The three brothers hurriedly retreated, trying to evade the tornado-like assault. Unexpectedly, behind them, Sakura carried an intense force in her fist as she streaked through the air with a piercing sonic boom, about to slam straight into the three men!
While Sasuke locked onto their position and Naruto kept driving the enemy back, she had gathered her strength and rushed to the front line, attempting to completely cut off the three men's escape route.
"You think you can succeed just like this? We'll show you our ninjutsu!"
At the critical moment, the three began forming hand seals simultaneously, barely finishing in time before Sakura touched them.
"Ninjutsu: Water Clone Jutsu!"
In an instant, the area was filled with all kinds of clones of the three men. Sakura's heavy fist arrived as promised, and with a tremendous boom, a thick tree trunk was smashed in two. Yet the clones remained unharmed.
At the same time, the gale carried by Naruto was completely ineffective against the clones. Looking closely, these clones were different from the black phantoms. They looked like Shadow Clones, but in reality, they had no physical form.
Naruto and Sakura quickly retreated. While airborne, Naruto shouted toward Sasuke, "Sasuke, see which one is a clone!"
Naruto did have a vague impression of the name Water Clone, but he had completely forgotten what it did. After all, the three before him had not been very prominent in the original story, and he couldn't remember the techniques they possessed at all.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan again and widened his eyes at the clones, but the stabbing pain in his neck soon distracted him. He fell to his knees in agony.
"Ugh... The real bodies aren't among these clones at all!" he yelled at the two of them with all his strength. Nearby, Kabuto adjusted his glasses and began covering the pair with Kunai, occasionally knocking away Kunai flying in from the shadows.
"Haruno Sakura ranked near the top in theoretical subjects at the Ninja Academy, but her practical results were average. She has no special background, yet she possesses Super Strength and has displayed extraordinary combat awareness..."
A trace of surprise flashed across Kabuto's face. This small team actually contained both a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger. With Sasuke added in, their battle power had already far exceeded that of Genin.
He secretly noted down all these details, intending to report them to Orochimaru afterward.
Elsewhere.
After hearing Sasuke's words, Naruto retreated while thinking. At last, he began to see the solution.
He smiled at Sakura, who was retreating alongside him. "Sakura, punch the ground beneath these clones."
"They're hiding underground..." Sakura instantly understood. She began gathering force into her fist again.
At the same time, one of the real bodies nearby heard Naruto's words. He extended a hand holding a Kunai from beneath the ground and suddenly stabbed toward Sakura.
"Watch out!" Kabuto shouted, tackling Sakura to the ground. A terrifying gash was carved across his face by the enemy.
Unexpectedly, Sakura wasn't angry. She turned and gave Kabuto a friendly smile. "Thanks for the effort."
Kabuto raised an eyebrow. This woman's composure was truly formidable. Her emotions hadn't been affected by the enemy at all. He watched as Sakura drove her heavy fist into the entire ground.
"Boom!!!"
A deafening explosion erupted around them. Huge cracks split open across the ground, startling every bird in the forest into spreading its wings and taking flight. Countless leaves whirled chaotically through the air as the earth shook violently.
The three Genin in yellow uniforms huddled together in a sorry state, looking at Sakura in terror as their entire bodies trembled.
Although the commotion is huge, she's actually handled the entire battle with ease. Kabuto thought this as he casually assessed Team 7.
Aside from Sasuke, who was drenched in sweat from the cursed seal and had to be helped up by Naruto, the other two still had plenty of energy left. Naruto in particular even chatted and laughed with Sakura after tying the three men up securely.
The potential of these two seems even greater than Sasuke's.
"It's another Book of Heaven. What should we do with it?" Sakura asked Naruto after searching the area.
"Burn it." Naruto didn't hesitate at all.
After hearing this, Kabuto asked with a warm smile, "Aren't you going to keep it for your other teammates? I mean the newcomers who graduated in the same year as you."
"No need." Naruto turned toward Kabuto and said calmly, "With their strength, passing the second round won't be difficult. If they can't even do that, then there's no need for them to continue to the third round."
"Wouldn't you agree, senior?"
Kabuto's smile didn't change. "You certainly speak like a seasoned veteran. You don't look like a junior at all."
After saying that, he looked over Sakura again. Expressionless, she took out a match and threw the Book of Heaven into the fire. Then she cheerfully knocked all three bound men unconscious, making Kabuto's eyelids twitch.
Does she really act that decisively?
"Oh, right." As Naruto tidied up, he asked as if unintentionally, "Senior, did you happen to see anyone from Otogakure on the way here?"
"Huh? I don't want to run into them." Kabuto smiled bitterly and waved his hand. "Their abilities are quite troublesome. If I encountered them, I probably wouldn't even be able to pass the second round." His tone was utterly sincere, without the slightest flaw.
"Kabuto, why did you take so long? We've been waiting for you."
As they spoke, two people whose faces were completely covered walked out and scrutinized Team 7 several times.
"Sorry, something unexpected happened along the way." Kabuto looked relieved. He then said to Naruto, "Let's part ways here. Good luck with the rest of your exam."
"Mm."
After the three of them left, Sakura moved closer to Naruto and asked in a low voice, "She hasn't come, has she?"
Sakura was referring to the transmigrator.
"No. She's already here."
Before you continue