No one had expected the Golden-Robed Youth, who wielded a magical artifact and came from a cultivation family, to end up trampled underfoot without lasting even a single exchange.
The courtyard fell silent in an instant.
The two beautiful young women watching the show gaped, looking from Naruto to the Golden-Robed Youth beneath his foot in disbelief.
Inside the pavilion's main hall, Daoist Qingyan and Wan Xiaoshan's Father finally rose from their chairs, their expressions no longer composed.
Daoist Qingyan's already bluish face, in particular, turned even darker.
"This rogue cultivator does have some skill. Your son let his guard down," Wan Xiaoshan's Father said consolingly beside him.
In the courtyard, Naruto ground his right foot hard against the Golden-Robed Youth's face, then patted the back of his neck and sneered:
"If you're not going to admit that what you said earlier was a load of hot air, then I'll be leaving."
With that, Naruto walked over to Hinata and Karin, took them by the hands, and headed outside.
What no one noticed was the nearly imperceptible Flying Thunder God Mark he had left on the back of the youth's neck.
In the original Naruto story, the Fourth Hokage had left a Flying Thunder God Mark on Obito's back for over a decade, yet neither Obito nor the White Zetsu attached to his body had ever noticed it!
So Naruto could do the same now.
The Golden-Robed Youth was still at the qi refining stage and had virtually no chance of discovering it. Only his father, a foundation establishment stage cultivator, might notice it if he examined him carefully with his divine sense.
But even if it was discovered, Naruto had other backup plans and could still kill him in the future.
Of course, it would be best if it