During the Chunin Exams, Ino used the Mind-Body Switch Technique to force her opponents to surrender by turning their own weapons against them. After her victory, Ino advanced directly into the finals.
Everyone's performance this time was much improved over the last round.
Choji nearly flattened his opponent, while Kiba faced a Sunagakure ninja who had made it through the first round.
At this moment, one of Naruto's clones arrived with a report.
Shizune turned to him:
"What's going on, Naruto?"
Naruto lowered his voice:
"One of my clones out on patrol in the desert found something."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she replied:
"Found what, brat?"
Naruto looked at her seriously:
"People wearing black robes with red clouds."
The roar of the arena masked their conversation from anyone nearby.
Tsunade motioned for Naruto to come closer:
"You'll have to go alone, brat. I'll give you a slug so I can keep track of your situation. But hurry back, alright?" Naruto nodded. "You're going to need a fast escape plan."
She summoned two palm-sized slugs and tucked one into Naruto's hood.
Naruto met her gaze:
"You've got to hit me, Granny—hard. Send me flying northeast. You've got to launch me over that cliff."
Tsunade frowned:
"You sure about this?"
Naruto nodded again.
"Fine then, brat. Be careful out there."
She channeled chakra into her fist and punched him straight in the chest.
Turning away, Tsunade spoke to the other two Kage:
"Rude little punk. Doesn't show any respect for his elders."
The Tsuchikage grunted, clearly amused.
******
"Dammit, Granny Tsunade! That sent me way farther than I planned!"
Naruto quickly stood up after landing in Sunagakure's dumpsite, dusting himself off.
Glancing at the confused onlookers watching him, he muttered, "You didn't see anything," before heading northeast.
******
Kiba's opponent finally collapsed from blood loss.
Still clapping, Shizune leaned toward Tsunade and whispered:
"Do you think Naruto will be okay?"
Tsunade kept her eyes forward:
"If he runs into trouble, we'll know right away. And if something really happens, I'll go handle it myself."
Kurotsuchi looked around:
"Where's that boy the Hokage launched into the sky? She said he'd be fine, but forty-five minutes have passed and he hasn't returned yet."
Shizune smiled nervously:
"Oh, Naruto has terrible directional sense. He might've taken a wrong turn on the way back. He's fine."
******
"Are we there yet?" Hidan shouted. "I freaking hate the desert!"
Kakuzu snapped at him:
"Shut up and pick up the pace. Look at that dome structure ahead—we're almost there, idiot."
[Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Cage]
Hidan and Kakuzu suddenly found themselves trapped inside an electric cage.
Hidan scowled and looked around:
"What the hell is this?"
Kakuzu snapped, "Shut up, Hidan! Someone ambushed us—that much is obvious. But it's not lethal… yet."
Hidan shot a furious glare at his partner.
"Figure out a way to get us the hell out of here!"
Naruto's voice rang out across the desert.
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you two go."
A sizzling hiss came from inside the electromagnetic cage as a small cluster of explosive tags burned beneath the sand's surface.
Boom~~~
Naruto stepped forward, watching the smoke rise.
Suddenly, a scythe burst up from beneath the sand. Naruto jumped aside just in time. Hidan erupted from the sand, half his cloak charred away, exposing severe burns.
"You bastard! That damn near killed me!"
Suddenly, a pair of arms shot out from beneath the sand, grabbing Naruto and pulling him underground before yanking him out from a distance and slamming him violently into the ground.
Naruto quickly stood up, slightly dizzy, watching Kakuzu's arms return to his body, connected by black threads.
Naruto muttered to himself.
"Funny technique."
His hoodie tumbled off as he was smashed into the ground, revealing his face.
Kakuzu glanced at him and smirked.
"Look what we have here, Hidan. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki just walked right into our hands. Saves us quite a bit of trouble."
Naruto narrowed his eyes as crimson Nine-Tails chakra surged around his body, coiling in a fox-like shape. A tail grew from behind him, his teeth elongated, his eyes turned red, and his fingernails became claws.
******
Gaara shifted his gaze toward the northeast, sitting on the battlefield. The temporary ceasefire was nearing its end, and Naruto still hadn't returned.
He wasn't the only one who sensed the distant chakra.
Tsunade felt it too, but tried to hide her concern.
Onoki noticed the others' silence and kept his own.
Gaara rose, setting his hat and Kage robes down on the chair.
"Lady Hokage, Lord Tsuchikage, if you'll excuse me — I won't be long."
With those words, Gaara vanished in a swirl of sand.
Seeing Gaara leave, Tsunade let out a breath of relief. At least now Naruto had Kazekage's support.
Onoki gave a low chuckle.
"That new Kazekage doesn't waste any time, does he, Tsunade?"
******
Hidan swung his scythe at Naruto, but Naruto vanished from sight at an astonishing speed.
In an instant, Hidan found himself buried deep in the sand from a punch.
Hidan staggered upright, resetting his dislocated jaw. He snapped angrily at Kakuzu.
"You could help me deal with this brat anytime, you know!"
Kakuzu rolled his eyes.
"Aren't you always bragging you don't need my help?"
Roaring in rage, Hidan swung again, but this time he was blasted away even more violently, headfirst into a sand dune.
Watching this unfold, Kakuzu commented with interest.
"He might actually kill you. Watch yourself."
Just as Hidan prepared to retort, he suddenly found himself tightly gripped by a crimson chakra claw.
"Damn it! What is this? Kakuzu, help me!"
Kakuzu explained calmly.
"This is the Nine-Tails' chakra. To anyone else, it'd cause fatal burns... but given your situation, you won't die from it."
"Go to hell, Kakuzu! You're next!" Hidan shouted as he got dragged away.
Naruto retracted his arm and slammed his claws into Hidan's chest, then flung him back toward Kakuzu.
His eyes glowing crimson, Naruto glared at Kakuzu while crouched low on all fours.
"Next?" he snarled.
Kakuzu shook his head and walked over to Hidan, kicking him sharply in the head.
"Wake up, you idiot!"
After a moment, Hidan stirred and stood, clutching his head, ignoring the gaping hole in his chest.
"Why'd you kick me, you faithless bastard? That hurt like hell."
Black threads shot out from Kakuzu's body.
"Oh, shut up, you cursed fool. Getting beaten up like this by a kid," Kakuzu scoffed.
Naruto roared, preparing to attack again.
Once more, black lines burst from Kakuzu's body, taking the form of a bizarre four-legged creature with thin wings and a blue hawk mask.
The mask lunged at Naruto and spun rapidly, conjuring a whirlwind.
The gust slammed Naruto to the parched desert floor.
Naruto exploded upward from the sand burying him, glaring furiously at the advancing mask.
He unsheathed the sword on his back and leaped forward.
Kakuzu had just mended the wound in Hidan's chest.
As Naruto's dust-churning form barreled toward them, Kakuzu's eyes went wide in disbelief.
"You'd better move."
"Damn it, you know I'm not as fast as you, Kakuzu!"
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