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Time flew by. Only two minutes remained until 10:30 AM.
Of the eleven examinees, everyone except Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha had already arrived.
"Aaaaah…"
Just as the final countdown began, a loud shouting voice suddenly reached everyone's ears.
They saw Naruto, being chased by a herd of bulls, scrambling scrambling into the plaza in a disheveled state, even tripping over flat ground in the process.
This scene made Shikamaru and the others, along with the large number of spectators, sweatdrop, the corners of their mouths twitching slightly.
Ryūsei too couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Truly worthy of being the number one most unpredictable ninja!
After Naruto joined the group, Hayate, who had a senbon needle clenched between his teeth, took out his pocket watch to check the time, then glanced towards the VIP seating area.
Seeing that the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage had both taken their seats, Hayate looked at the ten examinees before him and slowly began to speak. "The final matches of the Chunin Exams' third stage are about to begin. I am your proctor for this exam, Hayate Gekko."
"The rules for the final matches are the same as your previous elimination matches: there are no rules. You may use any means at your disposal."
"Let me offer you a piece of advice. If you find yourself in mortal danger, it's best not to be stubborn. Be decisive and choose to surrender! Unlike other proctors, I will not stop the match just because you're on the verge of death. Even if you verbally surrender, I might not be able to save you in time."
After finishing, Hayate took out a chart and continued, "The exam will now begin. Those who drew lots number [1], Naruto Uzumaki, and number [2], Choji Akimichi, will remain. Everyone else, please proceed to the contestant waiting area to observe and await your turn."
"Huh?"
Naruto was slightly stunned. He leaned forward, looking past Ryūsei and the others, his expression anxious as he addressed Hayate. "Proctor! Sasuke… he's not here yet!"
"Whether he's here or not, what does that have to do with me?" Hayate said flatly. "If it's his turn and he hasn't appeared, he will be considered to have forfeited. Instead of worrying about others, you should worry about yourself first!"
Soon, only Naruto, Choji, and Hayate remained on the field.
"Naruto, maybe you should just forfeit," Choji said kindly, munching on potato chips while offering his advice. "You're no match for me."
These words, however, made Naruto's hair stand on end. He pointed a finger at Choji and declared, "You're the one who's no match for me, you fat pig! Just watch how I pummel you!"
Whoosh—
The moment the words "fat pig" left his mouth, Choji, in the eyes of Naruto and Hayate, instantly transformed.
His previously good-natured, squinty-eyed image vanished. His eyes snapped open, and he stared sharply at Naruto.
"Naruto," Choji said in a low, serious voice, "I'm angry now!"
Naruto was startled by the intensity in Choji's gaze, but his mouth remained defiant. "Bring it on! Who's afraid of who!"
Seeing the thick atmosphere of gunpowder between the two, Hayate took a few steps back, raised his hand, and announced loudly, "The first match of the final round of the Chunin Exams' third stage: Naruto Uzumaki versus Choji Akimichi… begins now!"
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Unlike other genin who might start by testing the waters with thrown weapons, Naruto, whose throwing skills were decidedly average, immediately crossed his hands, forming a cross with his index and middle fingers, and shouted.
Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!…
A series of sounds, like balloons popping, echoed across the field. White smoke billowed and dissipated, revealing several dozen shadow clones surrounding Naruto.
This spectacle caused many ninjas in the spectator stands to widen their eyes in shock.
It's the forbidden-level Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!
To create this many clones so easily… just how astonishing is this kid's chakra reserves?
"Let's get him! Beat Choji down!" one of the clones shouted.
Instantly, several dozen Narutos charged towards Choji.
This human-wave tactic was indeed intimidating.
Choji, however, wasn't flustered in the slightest. He simply put away his potato chips, clenched his fists together, then jumped high into the air. His body swelled up like a balloon, his head and limbs retracting into his torso. Blue chakra flames spurted out around him as he began spinning rapidly in mid-air.
"Human Bullet Tank!"
The high-speed spinning ball crashed to the ground and immediately began rolling towards Naruto and his swarm of clones.
Its terrifying speed and power made it impossible for Naruto's shadow clones to dodge. They were smashed into puffs of white smoke one after another.
The ball rolled around chaotically, managing to wipe out the majority of Naruto's clones before it stopped.
Gulp!
The sensations feedback from the destroyed clones made Naruto swallow hard.
Since when was Choji this strong?
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Once Choji stopped rolling and returned to his normal size, Naruto again formed the cross hand seal and unleashed another Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu.
He had no other choice. At this point, aside from the Shadow Clone Jutsu, Naruto only knew the Summoning Jutsu, which he had learned not long ago. Without tapping into the Nine-Tails' chakra, it was unreliable, working only sporadically. Other than human-wave tactics, he had no other offensive methods.
This time, Naruto created over a hundred shadow clones, once again charging at Choji.
Choji remained unperturbed. He pulled out a large number of kunai connected by steel wires from somewhere, wrapped them around his body, and once again jumped up, transforming into the giant spinning ball, rolling towards Naruto and the clones.
"Spiked Human Bullet Tank!"
Faced with this even more powerful version of the Human Boulder, Naruto's shadow clones were again turned into vast clouds of white smoke.
His real body could only dodge in a panicked and disheveled manner.
"Dammit! I can't even get close to him!" Naruto cursed under his breath, watching the chaotic ball that even scared his own clones into fleeing. He began considering whether he should try to 'collect rent' from the Nine-Tails inside him.
Just then, his eyes suddenly lit up.
The rolling ball had suddenly come to a stop.
Choji, back to his normal form, was breathing somewhat heavily, perhaps from chakra exhaustion or simply from spinning for too long.
Seizing the opportunity, Naruto formed the hand seals once more and yelled, "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Another hundred-plus clones appeared, and Naruto directed them all to charge at Choji.
Seeing the incoming clones, Choji didn't use the Human Bullet Tank again. Instead, he shouted, "Partial Multi-Size Jutsu!"
Immediately, Choji began punching and kicking on the spot. His arms and legs massively expanded and elongated, resembling the punches and kicks of a giant. They swept through the clones, turning large swathes of them into white smoke.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto's voice rang out again.
Before the white smoke from the previous destroyed clones had even dissipated, new clouds of white smoke billowed forth.
Naruto had realized that Choji's chakra reserves were far inferior to his own, that Choji lacked long-range attacks, and that his speed was also lacking. He continuously used the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, planning to exhaust Choji's chakra completely through sheer numbers.
For a moment, Choji was genuinely put on the defensive.
Watching this scene from the contestants' viewing platform, Ino couldn't help but say, "Choji's being bogged down. If this continues, he might lose."
"He won't lose."
The voice belonged to Shikamaru.
Leaning on the railing, Shikamaru spoke with absolute conviction. "Choji is strong. Stronger than all of us!"
As if responding to Shikamaru's words, Choji, after enduring several waves of Naruto's human-sea attacks, finally managed to locate Naruto's real body hiding behind the clones and smoke.
Choji turned his head slightly, his gaze seeming to meet his father's in the audience.
In the next second, with a determined look in his eyes, he pulled out a rectangular, transparent box from his ninja tool pouch. Inside were three pills of different colors.
He opened the box, took out the green pill—the one seemingly made from vegetables—and tossed it into his mouth.
BOOM!
Blue chakra flames erupted from Choji's body instantaneously.
The fat he had accumulated over years, saved precisely for this moment, began to burn away rapidly. Choji's figure suddenly vanished.
By the time he reappeared, he was already right in front of Naruto.
His palm covered in solidified-looking chakra flames, Choji struck a palm strike against a wide-eyed, utterly shocked Naruto.
"Ultra Palm Thrust!"
In that split second, Naruto was sent flying backwards like an arrow released from its bow, becoming a blur.
The force behind Choji's palm, now three times stronger than normal, was comparable to the impact from a truck in Ryūsei's previous life. It sent Naruto flying dozens of meters through the air.
After crashing to the ground, Naruto's body tumbled and rolled for a significant distance further.
This sudden reversal stunned countless spectators.
Only Shikamaru and Ryūsei weren't surprised. They both knew Choji's true strength.
After all, in the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Akimichi clan were the primary damage dealers.
An Akimichi on pills was as fierce as a tank!
Their legendary Butterfly Mode was every bit almost as absurd as the Eight Gates.
In the original story's arc about retrieving Sasuke, only Choji and Neji managed to single-handedly defeat members of the Sound Four.