The Beginning

Neji knew full well that villains died from talking too much. He struck fast, accurately, and ruthlessly, attacking Naruto with a bizarre technique no one had ever seen before and giving him no chance to use the Multi Shadow Clone Technique.

Before Naruto could even react, he was already down. Disbelief flashed through his eyes, but Neji did not stop there. He swiftly walked over, extending his fingers to jab him again and again, completely sealing every acupoint and chakra pathway throughout Naruto's body.

Quite a few ninja in the spectator stands could not help twitching at the corners of their mouths. More precisely, what Neji was doing now was called making sure of the kill. It was a good habit, but there was no need to be so thorough and vicious about it!

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a little awkward. He secretly glanced at Rasa, only to see that Rasa remained expressionless, without even moving his eyes. It seemed he had looked like that ever since entering the arena.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sensed that something was wrong and tentatively began a conversation with Rasa.

Just as Genma Shiranui was about to announce Neji's victory, Naruto began struggling. An astonishing aura suddenly erupted from him, and red chakra gradually covered his body, nearly blasting Neji away.

Naruto got to his feet. "Are you kidding me? Today is incredibly important to me. I just boasted to Hinata—how could I possibly lose so miserably to a bastard like you?!"

He formed the Ram Seal and created multiple shadow clones. "Today, I will definitely defeat you!"

The sudden twists in this match were simply too spectacular. First, Neji had revealed his abnormal physique, and now Naruto had shown his trump card as well. The audience all stared wide-eyed at the arena, afraid of missing even a single moment.

Little did they know that Naruto's appearance had deeply provoked Neji. He once again recalled that [Neji] from the manga who had been brainwashed by Naruto. That scene had become a demon that continued to haunt him!

It did not matter that Naruto had unleashed the Nine-Tails Chakra. Neji had insisted on taking part in the Chunin Ninja Exams precisely for this moment. Defeating Naruto after he powered up might not bring him any tangible benefit, but it felt damn good!

"Destiny will be shattered by my own hands!" Neji twisted his face into a smile, letting out an eerie, wicked laugh.

Naruto had forcibly broken through Neji's acupoint strikes with the Nine-Tails Chakra. He appeared overwhelmingly powerful on the surface, but Naruto knew exactly how difficult it was for him right now.

Although the Nine-Tails Chakra could circulate through his body, every time it passed through an acupoint, it caused a stabbing pain as though he were about to burst apart. This was the aftereffect of forcibly breaking through such extensive acupoint sealing. He had no idea whether it would leave permanent damage.

Faced with Naruto's sea-of-people tactics, Neji's pale eyes abruptly darkened. The Naruto clones swept by his gaze immediately suffered a mental collapse. Grief, world-weariness, negativity, depression, and other extreme emotions flooded over them.

Each time a shadow clone was destroyed, the emotions it carried fed back to the original. This was a perfect counter to the Multi Shadow Clone Technique. A shadow clone's memories returned to the original body, which was both its strength and its weakness. A massive amount of chaotic, conflicting memories and emotions was enough to crush an ordinary person.

Naruto had Asura's Chakra supporting him, giving him endurance far beyond that of ordinary people, but he still could not recover so quickly. After all, he had never experienced an attack aimed at his emotions before, and his resistance was limited.

"The winner of the first match: Neji Hyuga!"

Even after hearing Genma Shiranui's voice, Naruto remained dazed. Right now, he only hated that he was not a salted fish. He was utterly dejected.

Everyone in the spectator stands had seen Neji's methods. Veiled gazes repeatedly swept toward Hyuga Hiashi. The vanished Caged Bird, the darkened Byakugan—Neji truly had many secrets.

Hyuga Hiashi looked incomparably calm on the surface, but inwardly, turbulent waves raged. He was accustomed to enduring in silence, and now he could only use silence to conceal his unease.

"The second match..."

At that moment, an ANBU member flashed to Hiruzen Sarutobi's side and whispered something to him. Sarutobi's expression immediately changed. "Suspend the matches for now!"

He rose to his feet and shouted, "Emergency! We are under enemy attack! All spectators, do not panic and do not move about! Konoha will ensure everyone's safety!"

It was no wonder Sarutobi was so urgent. The ANBU had just reported that the Hyuga clan compound had been enveloped in dense fog, and everyone who entered to investigate had vanished without a trace.

"Third Hokage, do you require Sunagakure's assistance?" Rasa asked helpfully.

"This is Konoha's private matter, so we will not trouble Lord Kazekage," Hiruzen Sarutobi declined. "The situation is urgent. I ask that Lord Kazekage cooperate and have Sunagakure's ninja remain here for the time being."

"Very well." Rasa nodded.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt slightly reassured when he heard Rasa agree so readily, but at that very moment, Rasa suddenly exploded.

With a bang, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched helplessly as the Fourth Kazekage burst apart before him like a balloon.

There was no thunderous blast like that of an Explosive Tag, no devastating shockwave capable of leveling cities, and no intense heat that instantly ignited every flammable substance. There was only powerful radiation, invisible to the naked eye yet undeniably real, howling outward in every direction like the explosion of a nuclear bomb!

This was an aberrant radiation unknown to the Shinobi World, yet existing because of the Demon. Absurd and sinister, it caused every living being exposed to it to undergo some unknown transformation in an instant!

Even the light seemed to warp at this moment. The sky above the arena appeared stained rust-red, like a patch of congealed blood.

The crowd screamed, and terror spread.

Centered on Rasa, Konoha's buildings began to rot and collapse, some even caving in directly and turning into slimy, nauseating fungal growths that gave off a sickeningly strange stench. Neither the bluestone paving nor the stone steps escaped disaster.

Scales and fleshy tumors gradually grew across the surfaces of the dead bodies, mutating them into bizarre demonic creatures.

This was nothing less than hell on earth.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was terrified out of his wits. His quick reaction had allowed him to evade Rasa's self-destructive attack.

Rasa was obviously dead beyond saving. Hiruzen Sarutobi could only glare furiously at the other Sunagakure ninja, hoping they could give Konoha an explanation and stop the bizarre situation in the arena as soon as possible.

Yet Hiruzen Sarutobi then witnessed an astonishing sight. It seemed only Temari and Kankuro mourned Rasa's death. Every other Sand Ninja remained expressionless, without even moving their eyes.

"What... is going on?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi was briefly at a loss.

The next moment, a longsword burst from underground and shot straight toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Orochimaru!" Hiruzen Sarutobi blocked the blade with his weapon, but was forced onto a rooftop.

Four Violet Flames Formation! Several Sound Ninja who looked like cannon fodder deployed the Four Violet Flames Formation, trapping Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru inside.

"You truly have grown old, Teacher Sarutobi. Even your mind has become sluggish." Orochimaru's hoarse, low voice followed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi tore off his Hokage's Ceremonial Robe, revealing the armor he had put on beneath it in advance. "This old man had a bad feeling beforehand. Orochimaru, was all of this your doing?"