Naruto vs. Sasuke (Seeking Follow-ups)

Shikamaru wondered when Choji had become so eloquent, even knowing how to use the concept of the greater good to pressure him, so he nodded helplessly and said, "Got it."

Uchiha Sasuke stood at the edge of the group, listening to the chatter around him while looking at the number two tag in his hand.

He didn't care who his opponent was; no matter who faced him, the result would be the same: defeat.

Aburame Shino looked at the slip of paper in his hand, which read number twenty-five; his luck was not bad.

"Students who drew tags number one and two, please take the stage," Qiushui called out, standing in the center of the training ground.

Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke stood firm in the center of the arena.

"Naruto is really unlucky, running into Sasuke in the first round," Shikamaru Nara said, shaking his head.

"Naruto's performance these past two days has been pretty good. Maybe he can win?" Choji Akimichi reflexively retorted, though even he began to feel it was impossible.

"Naruto, don't get taken out in one hit again. Hang in there a bit longer; don't let that guy Sasuke be so arrogant." Between the two, Tsume Inuzuka had a better impression of Naruto.

Because Uchiha Sasuke was quite famous and Uzumaki Naruto was equally well-known, for a moment, not only the students from Class 1 of the fourth year but many from other classes gathered around as well.

"Is this even a match? You can tell who's going to win just by looking."

"But it's still interesting. A genius versus a dead last—let's see how many moves he can last."

"Naruto-kun, do your best," Hinata Hyuga said softly, watching Naruto in the center of the training ground.

In the center of the field, Uzumaki Naruto and Sasuke stood facing each other, hands crossed with index and middle fingers raised. This was a mandatory procedure for important Ninja Academy matches, signifying that the battle was about to begin. After the fight, both sides would have to extend their index and middle fingers and hook them together to perform the Seal of Reconciliation, indicating that although they had just fought, they remained good friends.

"Begin," Qiushui said, seeing that both were ready.

As the words fell, Uchiha Sasuke quickly pulled three Kunai from his ninja tool pouch and launched them at Naruto, locking onto his head, chest, and lower leg respectively. Immediately following this, he pushed off the balls of his feet and lunged toward Naruto.

If it were before, Uchiha Sasuke would never have taken Naruto so seriously, but after seeing Naruto's performance over the last two days and the dozen clones he had manifested, he had elevated him to the status of a worthy opponent.

Sasuke had formulated a complete combat strategy from the start: first, use shuriken to block Naruto's movement, then quickly close the distance to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

However, Uzumaki Naruto was no fool. He knew it was unrealistic to intercept the incoming shuriken on his own, and if he relied on dodging, he would fall into a disadvantage. Therefore, he decisively performed the Shadow Clone Technique. In an instant, two identical versions of himself appeared out of thin air, forming a three-man formation with the original, and simultaneously threw their own Kunai.

Although his shuriken throwing technique was far less precise than Sasuke's, he won by sheer volume. Nine shuriken whistled through the air, accurately intercepting Sasuke's three Kunai. Metal struck metal, sparks flew, and they fell to the ground with a crisp clatter.

"As expected of someone from the Uchiha Clan. That shuriken accuracy is even better than my older brother, who is already a genin," a student in the crowd exclaimed in awe.

"Wait, how can the Clone Technique produce two clones that can attack at the same time?" another person frowned, eyes full of confusion.

"Isn't Naruto always the dead last? How is he using the Clone Technique better than I can?" Another student watching the spectacle scratched his head in disbelief.

Matsumoto Mie, who was also serving as a referee, did not misunderstand like the students. As a chunin teacher, she saw at a glance that this was not an ordinary Clone Technique. She rubbed her eyes, feeling she hadn't seen wrong, but still felt uneasy and gathered her chakra to confirm it through perception. Only then did she turn to look at Qiushui beside her, her tone carrying a hint of uncertainty: "Qiushui, if I'm not mistaken... Naruto is using the B-rank Shadow Clone Technique, right?"

Qiushui nodded and explained calmly, "You aren't mistaken, Teacher Mie. That is indeed the Shadow Clone Technique."

Even though Matsumoto Mie had received confirmation from Qiushui, she still found it hard to believe.

The Shadow Clone Technique was difficult for ordinary genin to learn; even she had only mastered this level of ninjutsu after becoming a chunin. If Uchiha Sasuke had used it, she would have been surprised but not overly shocked, yet it was Naruto—who hadn't even been able to form the seals for the basic Clone Technique since enrollment—who had pulled it off.

"Naruto, you guy..." Standing in the crowd, Shikamaru Nara also recognized the move. Although he was one of the few in class who never looked down on Naruto, he knew Naruto's true level well. He hadn't expected this guy, who spent his days goofing off, to have quietly mastered a ninjutsu that even he hadn't learned.

"So what if he has two more clones? It's not worth mentioning in front of Sasuke. The one who wins in the end will definitely be Sasuke," Sakura Haruno said with certainty, though her face betrayed her surprise.

Seeing Naruto split into three, Uchiha Sasuke's expression remained unchanged, his pace not faltering in the slightest. He maintained his rhythm, throwing more shuriken mid-sprint, precisely locking onto the vital points of all three Narutos.

One of the clones couldn't dodge in time and was pinned by a shuriken, instantly dissipating into a puff of white smoke.

The pain transmitted the moment the shadow clone vanished caused Naruto's form to stiffen slightly, but the special training from this period allowed him to quickly suppress the discomfort and immediately continue to coordinate with the remaining clone to tangle with Sasuke.

The three moved back and forth, fists clashing, kicking up dust from the ground.

Uchiha Sasuke's taijutsu was clearly a level higher than Naruto's. Even facing a pincer attack, he remained at ease. By the eighth move, he swept away the other clone with a roundhouse kick and immediately followed up with a punch that sent the real Naruto staggering back several steps.

The students on the sidelines were completely stunned.

"I thought it was outrageous that a clone could throw Kunai, but how can they help fight?" a student asked, his worldview shaken.

"Isn't this Naruto the dead last? How come his taijutsu is actually pretty good?" another student from a different class muttered.

Never mind the students from other classes who didn't know Naruto; even the members of Class 1 of the fourth year had expressions as if they had seen a ghost.

According to the usual script, shouldn't Naruto have been taken care of by Sasuke in a few moves?

"It looks like this Naruto is going to lose," Matsumoto Mie said, watching Naruto retreating step by step in the arena. "Although learning the Shadow Clone Technique is an improvement, the gap in taijutsu between him and Uchiha Sasuke is just too obvious."