In the arena.
Uchiha Sasuke snatched a Kunai from his Ninja tool pouch, its cold gleam reflecting in his palm with a bone-chilling sharpness, aiming directly for Naruto's throat!
At the same time, his Sharingan locked onto every muscle and every flicker of Chakra in Naruto, predicting all his evasion trajectories.
However.
To Naruto's evolved, transcendent eyes, Sasuke's speed was as slow as a crawling turtle.
In addition to his extraordinary dynamic vision, he also possessed extremely high spiritual power, agility, and the Transparent World and Kagura Mind's Eye. These combinations made even the Ninja World's fastest speeds "nowhere to hide" in Naruto's eyes.
He didn't even move his feet.
"Clang!"
With a clear, melodious sound like the clash of metal and stone, Naruto simply raised his right index finger, its tip precisely touching the very end of the Kunai Sasuke had thrust.
More accurately, Sasuke's Kunai didn't even truly touch Naruto's fingertip, because Naruto was still wearing the Dragon Slaying Set, benefiting from the equipment's defensive effects.
"What's going on!?"
Sasuke's pupils suddenly contracted.
He felt as if he had pierced not flesh and blood, but an indestructible meteor iron!
A powerful, irresistible rebound force traveled up the Kunai, numbing his tiger's mouth.
What shocked him even more was that his Sharingan clearly "saw" a faint, molten-gold-like glow appear on the surface of Naruto's skin the instant his fingertip made contact with the Kunai!
"Should I remove the Dragon Slaying Set from the [Equipment Slot]?"
"Am I bullying the Second Pillar too much like this?"
Various thoughts popped into Naruto's mind.
Fighting Sasuke made it difficult for him to feel any tension or excitement; it was like a trivial little exercise after a meal.
"Hmph!"
Uchiha Sasuke used the momentum to backflip, forming hand seals rapidly the moment he landed.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Several scorching, orange-red fireballs shot towards Naruto like a barrage, sealing off all his evasion space.
Facing the roaring fireballs, Naruto still couldn't be bothered to move.
If it were Uchiha Madara's Fire Release, he might actively take it on, but a mere Phoenix Sage Fire Technique didn't even warrant dodging.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The fireballs either struck him or grazed his clothes and hair, exploding into bursts of flames behind him.
The scorching heatwave ruffled Naruto's golden short hair, but it couldn't even scorch a single inch of his skin.
"Phoenix Sage Fire Technique is useless too?"
"I guess Great Fireball Technique would also be ineffective."
"What Ninjutsu did Naruto use? Is it like Gaara's Sand Armor or Neji's Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, an absolute defense that is hard to detect with the naked eye?"
"If that's the case, how about this move!"
As Sasuke's mind raced, a surge of malice and anger rose in his heart.
Naruto's nonchalant demeanor stung his pride more than any taunt.
Chakra surged wildly within Sasuke, all of it pouring into his right hand!
"Zzzzzzz——!!!"
A piercing, ear-splitting noise, like the desperate shriek of a thousand birds, suddenly tore through the air!
Violent blue lightning frantically converged, compressed, and jumped in Sasuke's palm, its dazzling electric light illuminating his cold face.
"It's that move again!" Ino Yamanaka exclaimed, her eyes filled with worry.
She had witnessed the power of Lightning Release: Chidori in the first round of the competition.
This technique combines Chakra nature transformation and shape transformation, gathering Lightning Release Chakra in the palm to form a high-intensity current. The palm acts like a sharp blade, possessing extremely strong penetrative power, making it a genuine A-rank Ninjutsu.
In the original work, Sasuke used Chidori to pierce through Gaara's "Absolute Defense."
"Kakashi, is that your Chidori?"
Might Guy crossed his arms, glancing at Kakashi.
"Even Morning Peacock from Eight Gates Formation couldn't defeat Naruto. I doubt Chidori will either."
"Sasuke—"
Kakashi Hatake closed his "Make-Out Paradise" and said in a deep voice, "Morning Peacock is powerful, but its attacks are too dispersed. Its single-target power isn't as good as Chidori.
Let's wait and see."
Kakashi Hatake was quite confident in the Chidori he had created.
"Naruto!!"
Sasuke roared, pouring all his resentment, unwillingness, and desire for power into this one strike!
He transformed into a blue lightning bolt that tore through space, carrying an aura of destruction, aiming directly for Naruto's heart!
His speed was far greater than before!
This strike was unavoidable! At least, in everyone's perception, it was.
In the stands, Hyuga Hinata, Ino Yamanaka, and Kurenai Yuhi stood up nervously.
"Naruto-kun, be careful!"
Hyuga Hinata called out worriedly.
"Sasuke must be crazy, he's really piercing him, is he trying to kill him?" Ino Yamanaka was startled.
"That Uchiha brat, he's so reckless! What if he really hurts Naruto? I definitely won't let him off easy." Hyuga Hiashi, the future father-in-law, also became nervous.
Naruto watched the deadly blue lightning rapidly enlarge in his vision, his face devoid of any panic.
He didn't even assume a defensive posture.
The moment Chidori was about to pierce his chest—
Naruto raised his right hand.
His five fingers spread, his movement as casual as if he were trying to grasp a wisp of clear breeze.
Then, Naruto grabbed the violent lightning, powerful enough to pierce steel and destroy rock, with his bare hand.
"Is he insane?!"
Might Guy and Kakashi Hatake's expressions changed simultaneously.
This was an A-rank Ninjutsu, Lightning Release: Chidori.
Although Kakashi Hatake was known as the Copy Ninja who had copied a thousand Ninjutsu, in various battles, Chidori remained his go-to technique.
This demonstrates the value of Chidori.
"Boom—!!"
A deafening explosion accompanied by dazzling blue-white flashes erupted!
Violent electricity splattered wildly like out-of-control lightning snakes, lashing at the air and ground, leaving charred marks.
However, after the light dissipated—Sasuke remained in his forward-thrusting posture, frozen in place. All the ferocity and killing intent on his face had solidified, leaving only boundless shock and disbelief!
His right hand, along with the violent Chidori lightning, was firmly held by Naruto's right hand, like an iron rod.
The piercing shriek of Chidori abruptly ceased!
The violent blue lightning in Naruto's palm twisted and struggled wildly, like a venomous snake gripped at its vital point, finally extinguishing unwillingly, leaving only a few wisps of smoke rising from between Naruto's fingers.
Sasuke's Sharingan clearly saw that Naruto's palm skin was still perfectly intact, without even a single scorch mark, only a more noticeable, molten-gold-like liquid glow flowing over his palm!
That was a partial manifestation of the equipment activating and taking effect.
"No—impossible—"
Sasuke's voice was dry and hoarse, filled with the bewilderment of a shattered worldview.
"How could my Chidori…"
"This is Kakashi-sensei's secret technique—"
Naruto looked at him calmly: "Sasuke, did your Chidori eat too much grain?"
"?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's too weak, you still need to practice."