Wow... The Third Hokage couldn't help but exclaim, marveling at how fast Naruto had grown. Just based on Naruto's current series of performances, he was fully qualified to be promoted to Chunin.
The Third Hokage thought to himself: Naruto's change since graduation is truly unexpected...
Naruto's brilliance outshone Sasuke's. Even Orochimaru, who was disguised as the Fourth Kazekage, couldn't help but take a few more looks at Naruto.
In the stands, Might Guy walked up to Kakashi and shouted, "Kakashi, don't think that just because your Naruto defeated my two strongest students, you've won over me."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Kakashi seemed cold on the surface, but he was actually overjoyed for Naruto, so he wasn't really in the mood to banter with Might Guy.
Kakashi thought to himself: Naruto, as expected of you. You're definitely the most dazzling new recruit in Konoha.
Back in the arena, Sasuke had already fought Gaara for several rounds. Gaara had been standing still the whole time, waiting for an opportunity to counterattack while on the defensive.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto at this moment and saw that Naruto was showing concern for Hinata. There were also Lee and Neji lying unconscious beside them.
"..." Sasuke felt that the gap between him and Naruto had widened even more. He had thought that after learning Lightning Release Chidori, he could finally catch up with Naruto, but unexpectedly, he still couldn't catch up with Naruto.
At this moment, Naruto was really going too far. He said he wanted to check if Hinata was injured and even suggested applying the healing ointment on her.
Hinata blushed and said she wasn't injured. On this highly charged battlefield, she was still chatting and laughing with Naruto.
While there was such tenderness and affection over there, Sasuke here couldn't break through Gaara's defenses for a long time and couldn't find a way to turn the tide of the battle.
Sasuke looked away and decided not to look at Naruto anymore. He was going to defeat Gaara today, even if it meant giving it his all.
Since Gaara's Absolute Defense was too strong, Sasuke was at a loss. The unyielding Sasuke used the newly learned ninjutsu, Lightning Release Chidori.
"Wow! Is it coming!" Naruto put on a look as if he was about to watch a great show and planned to see Sasuke's new ninjutsu.
Hinata silently took half a step closer to Naruto, gently moving her feet towards him.
It was like a thousand birds were chirping in unison, the strange sound produced by the friction between countless thunderbolts and the air. A terrifying thunderous power burst out from Sasuke's left hand, and the thunderlight illuminated Sasuke's unpredictable face.
Sasuke transformed into a blue lightning bolt and rushed towards Gaara at an extremely fast speed. Gaara's whole body was wrapped in a huge Sand ball, planning to use his Absolute Defense to counter the Chidori.
Just at this critical moment, Temari took to the air and waved her huge Tessen, violently fanning towards Gaara and Sasuke.
The powerful gale turned into wind blades, sweeping towards Gaara and Sasuke like a storm.
Facing this sudden attack, Sasuke could only choose to avoid its edge for the moment and flashed to the side with extremely fast footwork.
The wind blades didn't hit Gaara. They only stirred up a cloud of sand beside him.
A gap appeared in the huge Sand ball, and Gaara's face poked out. He said mercilessly, "Temari, I don't need your help."
At this time, Kanpo also appeared and said, "Gaara, remember the purpose of our trip. It's not for you to act willfully."
At this moment, Naruto noticed that many people were approaching and soon realized that someone seemed to be eyeing him.
Sensing the danger, Naruto quickly picked up Hinata and fled. A long, dark shadow appeared on the ground.
"Humph!" Shikamaru said regretfully, "When did that guy Naruto become so vigilant? He actually noticed the shadow I quietly extended."
Seeing the shadow on the ground, Naruto immediately recognized it as the famous Shadow Imitation Technique. Without a doubt, the attacker must be Shikamaru.
At this time, the chubby Choji was standing beside Shikamaru and said, "Is it really a good idea to provoke Naruto? Look, beside Naruto, Neji and Lee are lying there."
"What a hassle," Shikamaru said. "I really don't want to get involved in this fight. It was all Ino who forced me." Just thinking about Ino's angry face made Shikamaru feel extremely bothered.
Choji asked, "Does Ino hate Naruto that much?"
Shikamaru said, "It's so troublesome. Who knows what Naruto did to Ino."
At this moment, Ino, hiding in the dark, formed the hand seals for the Mind Body Switch Technique. From the hand seals, it was obvious that Ino was targeting Naruto.
Naruto thought to himself: Shikamaru is here, so Choji and Ino must be nearby too. These three guys...
"I know the weaknesses of your ninjutsu like the back of my hand," Naruto said as he formed hand seals. "Multiple Kage Clone Jutsu!"
As white smoke continuously billowed from all around, Naruto created fifty Shadow Clones in one go.
"Hey, Naruto, aren't you making things difficult for me..." Shikamaru, hiding in the dark, saw Naruto create so many Shadow Clones. His Shadow Imitation Technique couldn't possibly bind so many targets.
"Come out, Shikamaru," Naruto shouted. "How many targets do you think your Shadow Imitation Technique can capture?"
Shikamaru had no choice but to step out openly. He thought to himself, 'When did Naruto become so aware of the weaknesses of my ninjutsu...'
Seeing Shikamaru come out, Naruto looked around and said, "Ino should be here too. Anyway, I have so many Shadow Clones. She definitely can't use her unique ninjutsu. Let her come out too."
Naruto was right. Ino's Mind Body Switch Technique was limited to a single target. With fifty Shadow Clones gathered together, it was impossible to tell which one was Naruto's real body.
Ino stepped out from behind the small forest and said furiously, "Naruto, I'm going to beat you up badly."
"What?" Naruto was stunned and asked, "Did I piss you off?"
Ino said, "We ran into Sasuke in the forest not long ago. Sasuke attacked me as soon as he saw me."
"So what?" Naruto said. "Go and get revenge on Sasuke."
"I don't know who Sasuke has in his heart," Ino shouted angrily, "but now I know that the person in Sasuke's heart is definitely not me."
"Damn it!" Naruto thought, on the verge of tears. He had left some tricks for himself just in case, but unexpectedly, it had backfired on him.
A few days ago, Naruto went to the flower shop run by Ino's family. With just a few words of nonsense, he managed to deceive Ino, trying to get her to go easy on him during the Chunin Exams. The reward was to tell her who was in Sasuke's heart.
"Naruto, how dare you deceive the feelings of an innocent girl!" Ino's expression grew more and more terrifying. Emanating an earth - shattering aura, she said fiercely, "Naruto, you toyed with the feelings of an innocent girl. You deserve to die!"
"..." Naruto was stunned for a moment and thought to himself, "Is it really that serious though?"
"Wow... This is getting more and more troublesome..." Shikamaru complained, "Naruto, you idiot. What the hell have you done? You've dragged me into this."
"Multi - Size Technique!" Choji used the ninjutsu and enlarged his body dozens of times, looking like a big round ball. At the same time, he shouted, "Human Bullet Tank!"
At this moment, Choji thought to himself, "Naruto, don't blame me. It was Ino who threatened me to do this. I dare not offend Ino... Although I'm really grateful to you for treating me to barbecue, Ino is even scarier..."
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