Just as he muttered to himself.
On the platform beside the arena, Sasuke's brow suddenly twitched for some reason, and his eyes became clouded.
He involuntarily rolled his neck, his fists suddenly clenching tight.
In an instant, crimson Chakra surged from his body, forming a whirlwind that spiraled around him.
The Three Tomoe Cursed Seal on his neck gradually began to change.
Magma-like patterns spread out, slowly covering his body.
Everyone was shocked and turned to look in his direction.
"This Chakra..."
"Why is it so powerful? And why does it feel so evil?"
Kakashi's eyes widened, and even his words caught in his throat.
Yūhi Kurenai and Asuma hurried over, both staring at the changing Sasuke.
"Kakashi, this situation doesn't look good!" Asuma said gravely.
Kakashi sighed softly and nodded with an extremely grim expression.
"We need to find a way to control him. If this continues, it will definitely affect the exam!"
Asuma and Yūhi Kurenai agreed in succession. "All right, then let's restrain him together first!"
Just as the three of them were about to act, Naruto came waddling up from behind, twisting his hips.
"No need to rush, no need to rush. I can handle this!"
Kakashi and the other two froze.
Then they watched Naruto stride forward confidently and laugh.
"This happened once in the forest! It's easy to deal with!"
As he spoke, he raised both hands and formed hand seals with a wicked grin. "Wood Style: Thousand Years of Impalement Technique!"
In the blink of an eye, Sasuke was restrained by wooden stakes. A Wood Release Hand jabbed him fiercely, and he let out a pained howl.
A stream of evil Chakra spewed from his mouth once again.
Sasuke immediately returned to normal. "Naruto! You idiot! No wonder your dad died—you had it coming!"
At that moment, Kakashi stepped forward and looked at the now-normal Sasuke before asking quietly.
"What exactly did you encounter in the forest? Why did you release such evil Chakra?"
Sasuke looked confused by the question.
"What evil Chakra? I don't know anything about that."
"If you're asking what I met in the forest... I guess I got bitten by a giant snake that had taken human form!"
Kakashi's body shook.
"A giant snake in human form? Was it Orochimaru?"
He tilted his head and saw the Three Tomoe Cursed Seal on Sasuke's neck, his expression turning extremely grave.
Then he let out a long breath and pulled a dried gecko from his ninja tool bag.
It was a mysterious item he had scratched from one of the scratch-off tickets earlier.
The shop owner had told him that this gecko could attack, defend, and seal.
He held the gecko upside down by its tail, raised his other hand, and began chanting like a charlatan.
"Demons and monsters, begone! Demons and monsters, begone! Seal!"
As his words fell, a bolt of green lightning suddenly shot from the gecko and wrapped itself directly around Sasuke's neck.
A cage-like seal suddenly appeared around the Three Tomoe Cursed Seal.
Kakashi examined it carefully, then sighed in relief.
"All right. I've added another layer of sealing to the Cursed Seal. This problem shouldn't happen again so easily!"
"Naruto, let him go!"
Naruto clasped his hands together, and the Wood Style vanished instantly.
Sasuke also collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.
Not far away, the foreign village ninja's expressions gradually became solemn.
They truly couldn't understand when Konoha's ninja had become so powerful.
They even knew Wood Style!
It looked like they really needed to investigate Konoha when they had the chance!
In the arena, Ino fought more and more smoothly. Sakura, meanwhile, was already struggling to stand and was gradually falling behind.
"Sakura, pull yourself together!"
Naruto leaned against the railing and shouted at the top of his lungs.
How could Sakura not want to pull herself together?
But right now, her vision was filled with butterflies. She couldn't see anything at all.
Ino's attacks also became increasingly frequent and increasingly heavy.
Sakura's steps began to stagger. It looked like she would be defeated by Ino before long.
Naruto gripped the railing tightly and gritted his teeth. Damn it!
Sakura did her best to steady her breathing, carefully sensing the strikes coming from every direction.
Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed Ino at exactly the right moment.
Ino froze in disbelief. "Your vision isn't blocked?"
But when she saw Sakura's unfocused pupils, she suddenly realized that Sakura had determined her position from the trajectory of her attacks!
She wanted to retreat, but found that Sakura had already seized her tightly!
A sudden sense of foreboding rose in her heart.
Sakura sneered, and the Chakra around her body suddenly surged.
A fierce gale faintly covered her fist!
"Five Second Man! Ah—"
With a loud shout, Sakura launched her desperate counterattack.
She threw a fierce punch. Ino had no way to dodge and was struck directly in the chest.
She staggered back two steps, in so much pain that she could barely catch her breath.
However, before she could recover, Sakura suddenly appeared behind her and threw another punch at the back of her neck.
Her steps faltered, her head buzzed, and her eyes gradually darkened.
She had never expected Sakura to possess such tremendous strength after erupting like this.
Unwillingly, she toppled forward.
Under the effect of Five Second Man, every one of Sakura's strikes was fiercer than usual.
It was only natural that Ino could not withstand them.
However, after using that move, Sakura would also fall into a weakened state.
The moment the five seconds ended, the Chakra surrounding her body suddenly dissipated.
She suddenly felt as though the entire world was collapsing. Heaven and earth kept spinning, and the scene before her twisted beyond recognition.
Looking at Ino, who had already fallen over crookedly, a smile rose to Sakura's lips.
"Thud!"
Her body swayed, and she fell straight to the ground.
The entire arena erupted in an uproar.
It seemed this was the first time such a situation had occurred during the Chunin Exam.
Gekko Hayate hurried forward, checked the condition of both girls, then straightened up and coughed lightly.
"For this match, Yamanaka Ino and Sakura Haruno have tied. Both are eliminated!"
Hearing this result, everyone began discussing it among themselves.
Kakashi and Asuma rushed out at the same time, each picking up one girl and carrying her back to the stands.
"Sakura, Sakura!" Naruto hurried forward, staring at the unconscious Sakura and calling out loudly.
But Sakura could not hear anything at all right now.
The effects of Five Second Man would not fade so easily.
In the center of the arena, Gekko Hayate's voice rang out once more.
"The next match: Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha versus Inuzuka Kiba, also of Konoha. Both contestants, please take the stage!"
Naruto clenched his fists, turned around full of worry, and slowly shuffled down the stairs with his hips twisting.
Before you continue