Naruto Uzumaki's gigantic wind blade and Uzumaki Sōnagi's Thunder Dragon Whirlwind canceled each other out simultaneously.
Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno all looked astonished—because the principle of attribute suppression hadn't worked at all.
"Hey, losing focus during battle is never a good habit."
Uzumaki Sōnagi used Lightning Body to appear before Naruto Uzumaki, then sent him flying with another punch.
Distracted as well, Sasuke Uchiha was intercepted by Kimimaro Kaguya.
Cursing under his breath, Sasuke Uchiha barely started to pull away from Kimimaro Kaguya when he was hit with a spinning kick and sent crashing to the ground.
Mockingly, Uzumaki Sōnagi said, "Is this all? Can you still stand up for more fighting? If not, we'll be taking your scroll and forehead protector as souvenirs."
Gritting his teeth, Naruto Uzumaki pushed himself up from the tree trunk.
Now his entire body ached terribly.
He originally thought that since Uzumaki Sōnagi couldn't use Thunder Breathing Sword Techniques, he would have the advantage—but he had greatly miscalculated. Even without using Thunder Breathing Sword Techniques, the gap between himself and Uzumaki Sōnagi remained enormous.
"Hey, Naruto, do you want me to lend you my power so you can properly teach this arrogant brat a lesson?"
Nine-Tails was already excited, eagerly wanting to give Naruto Uzumaki some chakra.
Since Uzumaki Sōnagi was Chinya's son, if Naruto managed to beat him up, Nine-Tails would feel delighted.
However, Naruto Uzumaki firmly rejected: "No, Sōnagi hasn't even used Thunder Breathing Sword Techniques—he hasn't even activated Sharingan. From what I know, he trained in Sealing Technique years ago. Now he's only using Ninjutsu and Taijutsu—how could I possibly rely on your power?"
Nine-Tails scoffed angrily: "That's ridiculous! That's exactly why you should borrow my power. If you miss this chance, you might never defeat him again!"
Yet Naruto Uzumaki didn't waver in his decision: "So what? I want to defeat Sōnagi using my own strength!"
Nine-Tails was left speechless by Naruto Uzumaki's words.
It desperately wanted to say that its own power belonged to Naruto, but saying that would mean acknowledging Naruto as its companion—something it hated admitting.
Though deep down, Nine-Tails already saw Naruto as its companion, it refused to admit it outright—it just felt like conceding that would put it one step below him.
As Uzumaki Sōnagi and Kimimaro Kaguya approached Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, Haruno Sakura, hiding nearby, finally couldn't hold back any longer.
It was always Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha protecting her. She felt helpless and guilty about never being able to help.
Sakura Haruno burst forward, standing protectively in front of Sasuke Uchiha, her hands trembling yet firmly gripping the kunai.
Looking up, Sasuke Uchiha murmured, "Sa...kura."
Seeing Sakura Haruno blocking his path, Uzumaki Sōnagi smirked toward Naruto Uzumaki: "Well, how touching. Seems like you're the one who's really unnecessary here."
Naruto Uzumaki twitched his lips slightly—Uzumaki Sōnagi's words were pretty unnecessary too.
Just then, a figure appeared before Naruto Uzumaki.
Naruto Uzumaki slightly furrowed his brows—it was Hinata Hyuga.
Hinata took up the Gentle Fist stance, ready to fight against Sōnagi Uzumaki.
Naruto didn't understand why Hinata Hyuga had come to help him.
Now it was Sōnagi's turn to smirk: "Looks like I'm unnecessary after all."
Before Sakura Haruno stood another figure—Rock Lee.
"The Azure Beast of Konoha makes his entrance! Rock Lee, ready for action!"
Seeing Lee appear, Sōnagi turned his gaze leftward—and sure enough, Neji Hyuga had arrived as well.
In addition to Neji were Tenten, Hinata Hyuga's teammate, plus Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi.
Sōnagi scratched his head: "Wow, so many people. Looks like they're trying to swarm us like cowards. Kimimaro, Jugo, I'm kinda scared now—what should we do?"
Kimimaro Kaguya was quite serious—he completely failed to detect the sarcasm in Sōnagi's tone, and instead asked earnestly, "Rokumei, are you saying we should kill all these guys?"
Everyone present stiffened at Kimimaro's words.
Jugo Tenbin, who now wore suppressors that kept him from going berserk, was actually quite gentle by nature. Hearing Kimimaro speak like that, he gave an awkward expression and replied, "Uh, Kimimaro, I don't think that's what Rokumei meant."
With a dramatic flair, Sōnagi said, "Look at all these people. We're outnumbered. I say we pull back for now."
Sōnagi fixed his gaze on Neji Hyuga: "Besides that blonde punk over there, you seem to be the strongest one here. My next target is you."
Neji stared coldly at Sōnagi: "Let's see if you can survive being hunted by me instead. I'm really looking forward to seeing those tears, kid."
Sōnagi scoffed: "Me cry? Let's see who ends up crying then. Come on, Kimimaro, Jugo, let's go."
Sōnagi Uzumaki, Kimimaro Kaguya, and Jugo Tenbin instantly vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
After the three disappeared, everyone except Neji Hyuga and Naruto Uzumaki exhaled in relief.
Actually, Sōnagi hadn't posed much of a threat—the real danger came solely from Kimimaro Kaguya.
It felt like one command from Sōnagi would be all it took for Kimimaro to start slaughtering without mercy.
Neji walked toward Rock Lee: "Don't act alone next time. If you die or get incapacitated, we'll be eliminated from this exam."
Tenten defended Lee: "Neji, don't be so harsh. Lee was just trying to help our fellow villagers."
"Originally, both you and Lee were the ones who insisted we conserve strength, avoid fighting as much as possible, and move together rather than alone. Let's go. No need to stay here any longer—we must head to the Tower."
Without another word, Neji turned and walked away. Tenten and Lee quickly followed behind.
Yamanaka Ino had already rushed to Sasuke Uchiha's side, asking if he was alright. Shikamaru Nara kept sighing, muttering how troublesome this was. Choji Akimichi, figuring there wouldn't be a fight after all, cracked open a bag of chips and started munching.
Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame approached Hinata Hyuga.
Kiba complained, "Hinata, you were supposed to be keeping watch. Why did you suddenly rush out like that? You almost scared me to death."
"I-I..."
Hinata secretly stole several glances at Naruto Uzumaki, her cheeks turning red, and finally lowered her head without saying anything.
Naruto thanked Hinata, saying, "Thanks for helping back there, Hinata."
Even though he wasn't sure why she'd helped, he was still grateful.
"It wasn't anything really," Hinata stammered, her face instantly reddening. "I-I didn't even help much. Anyway, here's some medicine—it works really well..."
Hinata pulled out a box of ointment and handed it to Naruto.
Naruto found Hinata more and more puzzling—why was she always so kind to him?
He politely declined, "You don't need to waste it. My wounds'll heal on their own soon enough."
"O-oh... Is that so..."
Naruto's refusal left Hinata feeling slightly disappointed.
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