"Sakura, move!"
In the Rock Forest, Sasuke glanced at Iwayano, who was gathering chakra, and hurriedly called out.
"Got it!"
Knowing she had to buy Sasuke time to attack, Haruno Sakura swung both arms and immediately flung more than a dozen shuriken at Iwayano.
"That won't work!"
Iwayano smiled dismissively. As the shuriken spun toward him, he casually dodged from side to side and evaded every attack.
"Don't celebrate too soon!"
Seeing Iwayano's smug expression, Sasuke suddenly pulled a giant Fuma Shuriken from his back and hurled it with all his might.
With a thunderous whoosh, the Fuma Shuriken tore through the air and rushed toward Iwayano.
"They're using that move again! I hope it works!"
Seeing the familiar Fuma Shuriken from inside the Water Prison, Kakashi immediately recalled how perfectly Sasuke and the others had coordinated during the trial.
"This kid's got some skill. He can even spin a Fuma Shuriken!"
Looking at the Fuma Shuriken just inches away, Iwayano couldn't help but exclaim.
"Heh, but he's still too green!"
Iwayano narrowed his eyes, then immediately bent down into a crouch and sneered.
Based on his combat experience, Iwayano judged that Sasuke had thrown the Fuma Shuriken at too high an angle, giving him room to dodge. If it had been lower, Iwayano wouldn't have been able to avoid it.
But Iwayano didn't know that Sasuke had left that opening on purpose.
"Whoosh!"
The Fuma Shuriken narrowly skimmed over Iwayano's head, and he stood up again.
"You brats, it's about time you hit the road!"
Iwayano brought his hands together, preparing to use a jutsu to finish Sasuke and the others.
"Heh, you're celebrating too soon!"
But just as Iwayano finished speaking, a dull thud sounded behind him. The Fuma Shuriken that had flown past him stopped in midair and instantly transformed into Naruto.
"It worked!"
At that moment, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura all cried out excitedly.
Naruto's move might turn around their disadvantageous position.
"What?"
"H-How is that possible?"
Iwayano turned and saw Naruto behind him, his shock beyond words.
He had never expected Naruto to use the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as the Fuma Shuriken and fool him.
"Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"
Suspended in midair for just a moment, Naruto didn't dare let his guard down. He immediately created six Shadow Clones, then sent them all to tackle Iwayano.
"Damn it!"
Iwayano had just started to react when Naruto's Shadow Clones grabbed him, leaving him unable to move.
Although Iwayano was far stronger than Naruto, Naruto's Shadow Clones had strength in numbers, giving them a clear advantage.
"Sasuke, it's your turn!"
After the Shadow Clones restrained Iwayano, Naruto landed and immediately shouted.
"Chidori!"
Even without Naruto's reminder, Sasuke knew what to do. As he finished forming the Hand Seals, silver lightning appeared in his right hand.
Lightning crackled around him, its dazzling light painfully bright, enveloping his entire body as an extraordinarily violent force burst forth.
"So he really did use Chidori!"
Kakashi stared at the brilliant lightning in Sasuke's hand and murmured to himself.
Kakashi had known Sasuke was going to use Chidori as soon as he began forming the Hand Seals. He had once insisted Sasuke needed to awaken his Sharingan before using the technique, but he could understand that Sasuke had no other choice in this situation.
"Sasuke's amazing!"
Watching Sasuke flicker in and out of view amid the lightning, Haruno Sakura smiled and murmured.
"When did Sasuke learn such a cool jutsu? I've got to ask Kakashi-sensei to teach me next time!"
Naruto stared, dumbfounded, at Sasuke unleashing Chidori, then grinned with a hint of jealousy.
"Hey, Iwayano, watch out!"
Although he was some distance away, Sanli could tell that the lightning in Sasuke's hand was extremely dangerous, so he shouted a warning.
"That kid can use Lightning Style?"
Iwayano stared gravely at the lightning gathering in Sasuke's hand, tension rising in his eyes.
Iwayano was an Earth-style ninja, but lightning countered earth. Even if he hardened his body with chakra, he still wouldn't be able to withstand Sasuke's attack.
"You hurt my friends. You'll pay for it!"
Sasuke growled, then shot forward, a fierce, domineering streak of lightning trailing him as he charged at Iwayano.
The lightning in Sasuke's hand carved a deep furrow into the ground as it passed.
The flash of lightning rapidly grew in Iwayano's eyes. But with Naruto's Shadow Clones holding him fast, he couldn't dodge. He could only fix Sasuke's charge with a cold, unwavering stare.
"I have no choice. I'll have to use that move!"
But Iwayano didn't just sit back and wait. He began forming Hand Seals, preparing to defend himself.
"Die!"
Sasuke reached him in an instant. Seeing Iwayano forming Hand Seals, he jolted his arm forward and drove the lightning in his right hand toward Iwayano's heart, its force razor-sharp and destructive.
But just as Sasuke was about to hit him, Iwayano's body suddenly changed dramatically. He quickly turned black, then became a mud figure.
The sudden change shocked Sasuke, but before he could recover, the Chidori in his hand slammed into the mud figure!
"Crackle!"
A low rumble of lightning suddenly rang through the Rock Forest as the mud figure was torn to pieces by the force of the lightning.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
At the same time, the terrible lightning destroyed Naruto's Shadow Clones as well. They vanished instantly in puffs of white smoke.
"Damn it! He got away!"
Looking at the shattered earth on the ground, Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and his heart sank.
"Ugh, he used an Earth Clone. Iwayano's too strong!"
Seeing Sasuke's Chidori come to nothing, Kakashi sighed from inside the Water Prison.
Through the Sharingan in his left eye, Kakashi had clearly seen Iwayano use an Earth Clone to escape in that split second.
At that moment, Sanli smiled faintly, glanced at Sasuke, and said, "That kid actually forced Iwayano to use an Earth Clone. I haven't seen that happen in all these years."
"Sasuke, where did that guy go?"
Naruto knew Iwayano had escaped using some kind of jutsu. He looked up and scanned their surroundings.
Sasuke ignored Naruto. He was carefully searching for Iwayano. If he let his guard down, he would definitely be ambushed.
"Ah!"
Just as Sasuke was searching, Naruto suddenly screamed. An invisible force sent him hurtling backward, and he crashed hard into a distant rock.
(About the repeated chapter update, I apologize to all my readers. I'll make it up to you with extra updates from now on! If this week's recommendation votes reach five hundred, I'll post an extra chapter!)