Spiraling Ring

Under normal circumstances, the color of a Rasengan reflects the user's own chakra. For Naruto, the sphere he creates is golden, matching the color of his hair. (The blue seen in the anime is an adaptation.)

However, during the process of repeatedly forming the sphere, Naruto discovered that if he injected a massive amount of chakra into a single Rasengan and compressed its volume further, the technique would not only increase in power but also turn black, with a ring-shaped white halo appearing around it.

Compared to a standard Rasengan, the power of the black Rasengan represents a qualitative leap, with an increase far exceeding Naruto's expectations.

After careful research with his parents and a "small" hint from his Master, Naruto found the reason: during the compression of the Rasengan, his highly focused mental state caused the chakra infused into the sphere to undergo a nature transformation of the Yin Style.

Therefore, to be precise, the black Rasengan should be called "Yin Style: Rasenshuriken."

But Naruto felt the name "Yin Style" didn't sound very good. After seeking advice from his Master and his parents—primarily his mother—he gave the black Rasengan a new name: Spiraling Ring.

Compared to Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, the Spiraling Ring possesses overwhelming destructive power, yet its range of destruction is relatively controllable.

Using his sensory abilities to pinpoint Gaara's location, Naruto stomped his foot hard, shaking off the sand wrapped around his leg. Before it could re-attach, he lunged forward with the Spiraling Ring held at the forefront, slamming headlong into the gathering sand.

The Spiraling Ring immediately began to expand, a white light surging from its core. In less than a second, the black sphere transformed into a white orb of light, drawing everything it touched into itself.

Miraculously, this white orb did not "explode," nor did it release any obvious energy outward; it simply grew at a remarkably restrained pace, consuming everything in its path.

Naruto used the white orb as a "spearhead," pushing it forward until he broke through the sand.

This brought a measure of relief to some in the spectator stands.

Gaara stared at Naruto and the orb in his hand, a faint sense of crisis rising within him: This is different from the previous technique!

Naruto said nothing, silently accelerating.

While keeping a wary eye out for Naruto throwing a Kunai, Gaara used both hands to control the surrounding sand, forming claw after claw that reached past the orb to strike directly at Naruto.

Naruto maintained his speed, extending two golden chains from his back to pierce and lock the giant claws reaching for him.

Gaara tried to exert force, but found that once entangled by the golden chains, the sand claws could not move. He frowned instantly: "A sealing technique?"

Within two seconds, Naruto had reached Gaara while pushing the orb. The latter immediately abandoned his attack, pressing both hands to the ground and pouring out a massive amount of chakra: "Shield of Shukaku!"

All the sand around Gaara gathered together, forming the shape of a fat tanuki wearing a straw hat, its claws spread wide to block Naruto.

Naruto pushed the orb into the fat tanuki's round belly, his speed dropping to a near halt. Unlike its chubby appearance, the interior was dense sand mixed with hard minerals, and reinforced by a massive amount of chakra, it was even harder to destroy than steel of the same thickness.

"So hard!"

Naruto said to Gaara with a hint of delight: "Is this your strongest defensive technique?"

"Yes."

Gaara didn't know what mindset he held as he replied: "This is the strongest shield I can create right now."

"Strongest?"

Naruto suddenly grew excited. The golden chains on his back retracted, and both his chakra and focus concentrated entirely into the Spiraling Ring in front of him: "Then I'll just have to grit my teeth and break through it!"

Where the orb met the sand, intense chakra collisions generated constant shockwaves. The sand-formed tanuki eroded at a visible rate, and it looked as though it was about to be pierced through entirely.

Gaara felt the pressure from the front continuously rising. Just as he thought to use the Sand Body Flicker to dodge, the voice of Shukaku suddenly rang in his ears: "Kid, you named this technique after me. If it gets broken, doesn't that mean I'm inferior to that stinking fox? Hold it together!"

Gaara exerted his utmost to output chakra, saying to Shukaku in his mind: "With my current ability, if we continue like this, even if I exhaust all my chakra, I won't be able to block it."

"Tch! You really are useless, kid!"

Shukaku said with disdain: "I'll share some Magnet Release chakra with you. Do as I say."

Gaara: "Are you... planning to fight alongside me?"

"Who cares if I am or not!"

Shukaku let out an annoyed sound: "Hurry up and do as I say!"

Gaara vaguely understood something: "Alright."

As Shukaku exerted his power, the surface of the Shield of Shukaku began to develop more patterns, their color shifting from red to deep blue. The round body grew even fatter, the straw hat on its head transformed into ears, the two short, spread-out arms thickened and lengthened to grip the ground, and a thick tail extended from behind to prop up its body like a pillar.

"Why did it suddenly get harder?"

Naruto, relying on his sensory abilities, found his Spiraling Ring's advance obstructed, even being pushed back by the sand bit by bit: "Oh! As expected of the strongest, this is the first time I've encountered a technique that can withstand the Spiraling Ring head-on!"

[Fool! How could this panda kid possibly withstand the Spiraling Ring on his own?]

Kurama's voice echoed in Naruto's mind: [It's that fat tanuki inside him exerting its power!]

Naruto: "Fat tanuki?"

Kurama: [Didn't I tell you before? The One-Tail, Shukaku!]

Naruto: "I think you did?"

Kurama: [Are you some kind of senile old man!?]

Naruto: "Ha~ of course I remember! So, are you going to help me too?"

Kurama: [Hmph, don't misunderstand. I just can't stand that fat tanuki, helping you is just a side benefit.]

Naruto: "A side benefit is fine too~ Let's go, Kurama!"

Kurama slowly increased his chakra output: [Don't be like last time, losing consciousness because you couldn't handle my power, only for your Master to have to wake you up.]

"Of course I won't!"

Naruto: "I'll let you see exactly how much I've grown during this time!"

In the spectator stands, the Third Hokage had already deduced Gaara's identity from his performance: "Lord Kazekage, to think you would send your village's Jinchuriki to Konoha to participate in the Chunin Selection Exams?"

"Is that Uzumaki Naruto not also a Jinchuriki of your Konoha?"

The Kazekage replied calmly: "If he can participate, then the Jinchuriki of our village naturally can as well."

"It is not the same."

The Third Hokage said slowly: "Naruto's mental state is very stable, his seal is secure, and he gets along harmoniously with many people in the village. As for your Gaara, I am unsure of the state of his seal, but his mental state appears rather unstable."

"Is the Hokage worried that Gaara might lose control?"

The Kazekage: "There is no need to worry. I am right here; if Gaara truly loses control, I will suppress him immediately."

The Third Hokage: "Before that happens, our village will certainly suffer significant damage. Could you, Lord Kazekage, assist in covering the costs of our village's repairs?"

"Of course."

The Kazekage agreed calmly: "However, none of that has happened yet. Let us continue watching the match."

The Third Hokage nodded silently, his gaze returning to the arena...