"Naruto! That's a gun! It fires bullets from a distance! Stay out of its line of fire!"
"Huh? What's a gun?" Naruto was completely clueless.
After the proctor announced the start of the match, Naruto led with his signature move, the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. He might not be the sharpest kunai in the pouch, but he wasn't an idiot. Shikamaru's warning told him that the gun his opponent was holding was a powerful weapon.
This was where the advantage of the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu came in. He could hide among them while the clones tested the opponent, gathering intelligence on their abilities.
But Genya wasn't an idiot either. Over the past few years, although he still couldn't use Breathing Styles, his swordsmanship had become formidable, and his close-combat skills completely outclassed Naruto's.
BANG!
Genya opened fire. A single bullet tore through three or four of Naruto's clones.
"Everyone, spread out! That gun's really powerful!" "Got it!" "Alright!"
The remaining shadow clones learned their lesson and immediately fanned out, surrounding Genya and charging from all directions.
Genya swung his Nichirin Blade with his right hand, showcasing his impressive sword skills as he cut down Naruto's clone army one by one. Just then, hidden among the clones, the real Naruto threw several kunai. Genya instinctively dodged.
"Rasengan!"
As Genya dodged, the real Naruto, hidden among the clones, charged forward with a Rasengan aimed right at him.
Wait, is the timeline messed up again? Blondie shouldn't have learned the Rasengan until after the Chunin Exams. Did I remember wrong? In the crowd, Uchiha Nagi scratched his head, surprised to see Naruto use the Rasengan.
But it was only a momentary surprise. Although the Rasengan was an A-rank jutsu, its effectiveness depended on whether the user could actually hit the target. Nagi was confident that with Genya's skills, Naruto wouldn't be able to land an easy hit. Probably.
POOF!
But then, the unexpected happened. One of the kunai that had landed behind Genya suddenly transformed into Naruto. That little rascal was a master of the Transformation Jutsu. Genya paid the price for his lack of experience fighting other shinobi.
After the transformed kunai launched a sneak attack from behind, Genya lost his balance and was hit by the Rasengan from the clone in front of him. Although he managed to shoot the clone twice, blowing it away, the force of the Rasengan still slammed into his body.
"Yeah! I win!"
Naruto threw his hands in the air, shouting in excitement over his first victory.
The proctor looked at Genya and was about to declare Naruto the winner. "And so, the winner of this match is, Uzumaki..."
BANG!
To Naruto's disbelief, a bullet pierced his abdomen.
The proctor's eyes widened as he looked at Genya. The boy, who should have had a gaping hole in his stomach from the Rasengan, was standing up. The exposed intestines and flesh were squirming and retracting back into his body.
This was the power of Muzan's cells, one of the demon-eating cells' abilities. It was another life-saving power Nagi had given Genya. Besides Uchiha and Hashirama cells, he had also given Genya Muzan's cells.
Senju and Uchiha for offensive power, Muzan for regeneration. The Genya of today was essentially a boy with super-speed regeneration comparable to Hashirama's Sage Art. As long as the energy in his body wasn't depleted, he was practically unkillable.
The scar on Genya's face looked even more ferocious. A normal person would have been killed instantly by that Rasengan, so he was in no mood to show Naruto any mercy.
BANG!
Another shot hit Naruto in the chest. Genya then aimed the last bullet in his revolver at Naruto's head and slowly pulled the trigger, his killing intent flooding the arena.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura turned to look at Kakashi.
"Yeah, I know. Naruto lost. I'll go down and save him." Kakashi nodded. He couldn't just sit by and watch Naruto get shot in the head. Naruto wasn't just his student; he was the Nine-Tails jinchuriki.
"Wait, Kakashi. Look at Naruto's eyes," Guy suddenly said, placing a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "Naruto hasn't given up. He won't lose."
"But..."
"Kakashi, believe in your student. Naruto isn't as fragile as you think. Haven't you felt it? Inside Naruto's body..."
"Yes, that's..."
BANG!
Genya's last bullet hit Naruto in the head. However, the expected explosion of gore didn't happen. A layer of red chakra had appeared around Naruto's body, blocking the bullet.
The two bullets already in his body were pushed out by the chakra, and his wounds began to heal rapidly.
Inside Naruto, the Nine-Tails opened one eye and snorted. It had clearly intervened to save him. It didn't want to suffer the unpleasantness of death. It was the same reason it had helped Naruto summon Gamabunta when he fell off the cliff.
[Hmph. Weak human...]
"That weapon of yours really hurt! I, Naruto Uzumaki, am the man who will become Hokage! How could I lose in the Chunin Exams?!" Naruto yelled angrily at Genya, crossing his fingers.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
POOF! POOF! POOF! POOF! +1000
The arena was suddenly filled with blondies. At least a thousand of them.
"What is that? So many shadow clones! This kid's chakra level..." "That's... at least a thousand of them..."
The spectators were silent for a moment, then erupted in cheers and shouts. This match was too exciting! At the last moment, not only had Naruto survived, but he had turned the tables with a thousand shadow clones, completely filling the arena.
Genya stood alone in the middle, looking helpless, lost in a sea of yellow.
"Alright, everyone, let's go!" +1000 "YEAH!" +1000
"Hmph. You think numbers are everything? If I hadn't been careless, you think that pathetic little ball of yours could have hit me?" Genya spat, then defiantly stuck his Nichirin Blade into the ground and began forming hand seals. "Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
RUMBLE... RUMBLE...
A vast forest of trees instantly grew from the arena floor, rapidly covering everyone's field of vision. Naruto's army of a thousand shadow clones was quickly entangled and blocked by the massive trees.
A horde of yellow-clad Narutos, kunai in hand, attacked the trees, but they did little damage. Instead, after entangling the clones, the trees' sharp thorns pierced them, draining their chakra and growing even more vigorously.
"Everyone, use the Rasengan!" "Right!"
The scene that made Kakashi's eye twitch unfolded again. Hundreds of Narutos partnered up, creating Rasengans, and a dense barrage of the spiraling spheres slammed into Genya's forest. The trees even began to spread into the spectator stands, forcing the audience to retreat or cut down the encroaching branches.
"Yosh! The first match is so exciting! As expected of Kakashi's student! Lee, you have to do your best! My team cannot lose to Kakashi's team!" Guy was crying.
"Yes, Guy-sensei! I will do my best!" "Lee!" "Guy-sensei!"
The two men in green jumpsuits, one large and one small, hugged each other tightly, weeping.
In the arena, wood chips and branches flew everywhere. The sight of hundreds of Narutos with Rasengans clashing against the Deep Forest Emergence was a rare one indeed.
"Hmph. You think that's all? Wood Style: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
The half-destroyed forest suddenly bloomed. The numerous flowers released a sweet, intoxicating fragrance that made anyone who smelled it feel dizzy and sleepy.
The scent of these flowers was poisonous. Even skin contact was enough for the poison to seep into Naruto's shadow clones. Hundreds of them began to disappear in puffs of smoke.
Just as Genya thought victory was at hand, Naruto somehow located his position hidden within the forest and charged. With the protection of his Tailed Beast cloak, he broke through layer after layer of trees and finally landed a punch on Genya's face, knocking him out of the forest.
"Damn it! I haven't lost yet!"
Just as Genya stood up and was about to charge back in, a voice stopped him.
"Genya, that's enough. You're out of bounds. The match is over."
Genya looked down and saw that he was indeed out of bounds, already in the spectator area. The person who had stopped him was Kimimaro.
"Hmph. You got lucky this time." Genya snorted and walked toward Kimimaro. He respected Kimimaro's strength. In the Swordsmith Village, besides Uchiha Nagi, only Kimimaro could persuade him.
"I declare the winner of this match is... Naruto Uzumaki!"
"Yeah! I won! That's great!" Naruto jumped for joy.
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
The crowd applauded thunderously, their hands red from clapping. The match had been too spectacular, comparable to a battle between jonin. No, it was Kage-level.
Not even a jonin could compare to their battle. What jonin could create a thousand shadow clones? Or create a sea of trees?
Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the second match began. But with such a high bar set, the following matches all seemed rather dull.
First, the chubby Choji fought a Sound ninja and was knocked out in two or three moves. Then, Kankuro fought another Sound ninja and was tricked by his puppets.
The fourth match finally brought another high point: Guy's student, Rock Lee, versus Kimimaro.
Kimimaro walked woodenly into the arena, coughing lightly into a handkerchief, a faint trace of blood on it.
"Go, Kimimaro!" Amaru cheered from the stands.
"Go, Lee! Don't lose to them!" Tenten, with her hair in buns, also cheered for Lee.
"Hmph." The two girls glared at each other.
In the arena, Lee looked at the coughing Kimimaro and asked hesitantly, "Hey, are you alright? If you're not feeling well, you shouldn't fight."
Kimimaro smiled. "Cough, cough. It's fine. Let's begin. It'll be over quickly."
Over quickly?
Lee wasn't sure if he meant that he would be eliminated quickly, or if he would eliminate his opponent quickly. But Rock Lee, ever the diligent ninja, gestured for Kimimaro to begin.
Kimimaro nodded, drew his Nichirin Blade, and began to use Water Breathing.
BOOM!
With a kick that sent dust flying, Lee chose to attack first. But Kimimaro simply stood his ground, deflecting Lee's furious assault with his Water Breathing.
After a flurry of attacks, Lee was covered in dust, while Kimimaro still stood in the same spot, completely unscathed.
"Lee! Take them off! You can't beat him otherwise!"
From the stands, Guy shouted at his student. Lee's eyes lit up.
"Yes, Guy-sensei!" He then turned to Neji Hyuga. "Neji, I was originally planning to save this for my fight with you."
Lee crouched down, removed his leg weights, and threw them to the ground.
CRASH!
Two massive craters appeared in the ground. If they were ordinary iron weights, they wouldn't have been this heavy. But Lee's leg weights were specially made, with sealing jutsu inside, making them hundreds of times heavier than normal. Only with such special weights could they be condensed into such a small size without affecting a ninja's movement.
"Be careful. My power and speed have increased significantly now."
"Is that so..."
Lee let out a roar and charged at Kimimaro at a speed invisible to the naked eye. The two clashed again.
"Primary Lotus!"
In the middle of the fight, Lee seized a slight opening when Kimimaro coughed, his body faltering for a moment. He finally caught him with his ultimate technique, the Primary Lotus, a signature taijutsu move from Guy.
Unlike in the manga and anime, when Lee used the Primary Lotus, he didn't consider whether his opponent would survive, or if the move would break their neck, spine, and every bone in their body. After all, the first thing every ninja learned after graduation was how to kill, not how to show mercy.
BOOM!
After a loud explosion, Lee stood panting beside the crater. He assumed his opponent's body was now a mess of shattered bones. With prompt medical attention, he might just be saved.
"Cough, cough... a very good taijutsu. If anyone else had faced you, they would have had a tough time. But you were unlucky enough to face me."
The dust settled, and Kimimaro walked out of the crater looking completely relaxed. Aside from some torn clothes, he was unharmed. He cracked his neck a few times and looked at Lee with a carefree smile.
"That's—Shikotsumyaku?" Guy stared in shock at Kimimaro. As a jonin, he had some knowledge of it.
On the parts of Kimimaro's skin that had been scraped, a layer of bone-like tissue was visible. That layer of bone was the number one physical defense kekkei genkai in the shinobi world: Shikotsumyaku.
"I have no choice. It seems I have to use that technique. Forgive me, Guy-sensei." Lee looked up at his teacher in the stands, giving him a solemn look.
Guy understood what his student intended to do and nodded with tears in his eyes. "Oh, Lee! Go! Let your youth burn brightly!"
Kimimaro: "...??"
"First Gate, the Gate of Opening, open!"
A vein popped on Lee's forehead, and a huge amount of chakra surged through his body.
"Second Gate, the Gate of Healing, open!"
The vein on his forehead bulged even more, and his aura intensified again.
"Third Gate, the Gate of Life, open!" After opening the third gate, Lee charged at Kimimaro at an incredible speed.
Kimimaro focused, raised his Nichirin Blade, and began to use the all-purpose Water Breathing. "Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
But Lee's speed and power were too great. And he was a taijutsu specialist. Unlike other ninja, he didn't learn ninjutsu or genjutsu, focusing solely on taijutsu. He was able to completely block Kimimaro's sword techniques.
Seeing that Constant Flux wasn't working, Kimimaro once again unleashed the strongest form of Water Breathing. "Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm!"
Seeing this, Lee opened another gate and roared, "Fourth Gate, the Gate of Pain, open!"