When Shisui's soft voice faded, Naruto, Sasuke, Chiharu, and the other four genin exchanged solemn glances, their eyes flickering with uncertainty.
The two jōnin before them seemed like insurmountable mountains—impossible to overcome no matter how hard they tried. A feeling of insignificance and powerlessness gradually surged from the depths of their hearts, threatening to overwhelm them.
Despite their various backgrounds and talents, they were all merely students who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy. Feeling powerless when facing elite shinobi like Uchiha Shisui and Hatake Kakashi was only natural. The true purpose of this trial wasn't about victory, but about the choices they would make when confronted with such overwhelming odds.
"I won't give up!"
Just as Sasuke and the others hesitated, a loud, confident voice jolted them from their uncertainty.
"How could I be stopped by something like this?" Naruto's azure eyes blazed with unwavering confidence.
In situations like this, most would assume only one possibility—that he was simply a fool who didn't understand the reality of the situation.
"Shadow Clone Technique!" Naruto formed a cross seal with his hands, and dozens of shadow clones suddenly materialized beside him.
"AHHH!" Naruto and his shadow clones shouted in unison as they charged toward the two jōnin standing within the circle.
"Really, why does my brother always have to push himself so hard?" Chiharu murmured, shaking her head with a mixture of exasperation and fondness as she watched Naruto rushing forward. Personally, she wasn't particularly concerned about whether she passed this trial or not.
But this mattered to her brother, so she would definitely give it her all!
With a swift movement, she pushed off the ground with her toes and darted forward, her speed surpassing even Naruto's.
"Don't they realize there's no point in doing this?" Shin muttered, completely baffled. He simply couldn't comprehend Naruto's behavior.
Their earlier plan, which had combined almost all the strength of the six genin, had failed spectacularly. What could Naruto possibly accomplish now with his depleted chakra reserves?
"Indeed, that idiot is just causing trouble again," Sasuke agreed with Shin's assessment. Despite his words, the wild determination burning in his eyes mirrored exactly what had been in Naruto's moments before.
"However," Sasuke continued, his voice dropping to a more serious tone, "for us, giving up was never an option to begin with."
He clenched his fists tightly, nails digging into his palms. "Even if we're destined to fail, I'll at least give everything I have!"
With those words, Sasuke's eyes hardened with resolve, and he charged forward to join the fray.
"I can't just go back to the Academy like this!" Sakura exclaimed, watching Sasuke's retreating back. Her trembling body steadied with newfound determination as she followed in Sasuke's footsteps.
Sai exchanged a brief glance with Shin, gave him a slight nod, and joined the desperate battle.
"THUD! CRASH! BANG!"
One after another, Naruto, Sasuke, and the other four genin rushed toward the two jōnin in the circle, only to be effortlessly knocked down time and again.
"So this is the Fourth Hokage's son?" Shin observed Naruto, who was knocked down almost every time he charged into the circle yet immediately sprang back to his feet. His puzzlement only grew with each attempt.
In the past, he would have seen this as nothing more than a suicidal act—pointless and foolish. Yet for some inexplicable reason, as he watched the determined figure who continued to rise despite facing absolute disadvantage, Shin's body moved of its own accord.
His earlier Super Beast Scroll technique had already consumed nearly all of his chakra. With nothing left to give, he could only join the battle armed with two kunai.
Several minutes later...
"They're too strong... we don't stand a chance," Sai gasped, as he and Sakura, having exhausted all their strength, could no longer even lift their arms. Their skill level was far inferior to that of the other four genin.
After several rounds of futile attempts, all six members of the group had been knocked out of the circle.
"Heh... what's wrong with me?" Shin chuckled weakly as he collapsed to the ground, his limbs refusing to move. Strangely, despite his complete defeat, he felt oddly satisfied.
"Chiharu, are you okay?" Naruto turned his head with great effort to look at his sister lying not far away. Having continuously used shadow clones, he had expended the most chakra of them all.
"I'm fine," Chiharu replied with a bitter smile. "It's just that... we failed completely."
Hearing this, Naruto gritted his teeth. He raised his head with difficulty, his gaze fixing on Kakashi and Shisui standing before them.
"I need everyone's acknowledgment! How can I possibly go back to the Ninja Academy like this?!" he shouted, his voice ragged but unwavering.
In that moment, fueled by his refusal to accept defeat, something shifted within Naruto's chakra-depleted body. It was as though some internal restraint, some hidden seal, had loosened ever so slightly.
Driven by his unyielding will, Naruto once again struggled to rise from the ground, forcing his trembling legs to straighten.
"Naruto, you stubborn idiot..." Sasuke muttered from where he had fallen nearby. Though his spirit remained defiant, his body had reached its limit. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't summon even an ounce of strength.
"I can still... stand..." Naruto declared through gritted teeth.
Kakashi and Shisui exchanged meaningful glances, their eyes flickering with surprise and something else—recognition. They understood perfectly well that Naruto's body had reached its absolute limit, yet somehow, he had forced himself to stand again.
The two jōnin shared a quick look. Under these circumstances, the true purpose of their trial had already been achieved. If anything, they had perhaps been too harsh in their methods.
This was Shisui's first time serving as a jōnin instructor, and he was still learning when to push and when to relent.
Both men softened their expressions, smiling slightly as they prepared to announce their decision to the six exhausted genin before them.
However, to their astonishment, they saw Naruto forming the familiar cross seal with his trembling hands.
"MULTI SHADOW CLONE TECHNIQUE!" he roared, his voice echoing across the training ground.
"POOF! POOF! POOF!"
Suddenly, the entire Seventh Training Ground erupted in clouds of smoke, revealing copy after copy of Naruto. The clones filled not only the immediate area but extended deep into the surrounding forest—hundreds, perhaps thousands of identical shadow clones stretching as far as the eye could see.
"This power...?!"
Even though they were among the village's elite, both Shisui and Kakashi were stunned by the sight before them. Neither had ever witnessed a shinobi capable of creating thousands of shadow clones in a single breath as Naruto had just done.
If the jōnin were shocked, the other genin were absolutely thunderstruck. Sasuke's face contorted in disbelief, his body trembling not from exhaustion but from shock.
He and Naruto had grown up together, yet he had never known—never even suspected—that his friend possessed such overwhelming power!
"This chakra is..."
Shisui quickly recovered from his initial shock, remembering what Lord Fourth had confided in him regarding Naruto. His eyes narrowed in concentration as his dark pupils shifted to crimson, three tomoe slowly rotating within his Sharingan.
With the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan, he immediately identified Naruto's true body among the thousands of clones. What he saw made his breath catch—Naruto's normally blue eyes had transformed into scarlet orbs with vertical, slit-like pupils.
Even the six whisker marks on his cheeks seemed more pronounced, almost bristling with energy.
"The Nine-Tails' chakra!" Shisui realized with a jolt of alarm.
He had not expected Naruto's determination to pass this test would be so powerful that it would trigger this response. When Naruto's own chakra had been completely exhausted, the internal barriers that normally suppressed the Nine-Tails had momentarily weakened, allowing the beast's immense power—hidden within him since birth—to finally overflow!