At this moment, the proctor, Shiranui Genma, who was a special jōnin, finally realized the severity of the situation.
A heart-palpitating sense of oppression filled the air.
"Hey, Uzumaki Naruto! What are you doing?"
Shiranui Genma shouted sternly, a trace of cold sweat seeping from his brow.
However, the blond youth standing in the center of the arena remained completely indifferent.
He simply stood there quietly, as if the surrounding clamor had nothing to do with him.
Damn it.
Shiranui Genma gritted his teeth.
His duty as a proctor, combined with his instincts as a high-level ninja, made it impossible for him to sit idly by.
He disappeared from his spot with a senbon in his mouth.
Body Flicker Technique.
In the next second, he appeared behind Naruto.
Without the slightest hesitation, Shiranui Genma reached out to grab Naruto's shoulder, attempting to subdue him with a grapple.
"No matter what you're trying to do, right now, immediately—"
Just as his palm was about to touch the edge of Naruto's clothes.
"Don't touch me with your dirty hands."
Naruto didn't even turn his head.
A golden chakra chain suddenly shot out from his back.
The speed of this chain completely exceeded the limits of a special jōnin's dynamic vision.
A sharp screech even tore through the air.
"Wha—"
Shiranui Genma didn't even see clearly what had happened.
The next second.
He had already been tightly bound and entangled by the chain, unable to move as he fell to the ground like a discarded trash bag.
Shiranui Genma felt that his entire body's chakra was being completely suppressed by that overbearing chain.
Now, even moving a single finger had become a luxury.
With just one strike, he had been instantly defeated, despite being a special jōnin.
"This— this is—"
Not far away, Hyuga Neji, who had just woken up, stared blankly at the scene before him.
Looking at that back that had casually one-shotted a special jōnin, the images of his own back-and-forth battle with the opponent just now involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
A sense of absurdity welled up in his heart.
"So— when he was fighting me before, he wasn't being serious at all?"
Neji's hand pressed against the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
But within this trembling, there was a mixture of an indescribable shudder and excitement.
Breaking fate—
Naruto paid no mind to Genma, who had fallen to the ground, nor to Neji, who was in a state of shock.
He raised his head, slowly pushed up his glasses, and looked at the silver-haired man who had jumped into the arena.
Their eyes met.
The four golden chains behind Naruto's back danced slowly in the air, like the tails of a demon fox.
Kakashi stood opposite him and slowly lifted his forehead protector.
The curse seal originally used to suppress consumption was also actively released by him, revealing that crimson three-tomoe Sharingan.
This was the posture of Hatake Kakashi starting to get serious.
But at this moment, his gaze was complex to the extreme.
"Naruto—"
Kakashi's voice was somewhat raspy: "All of this, from the Chunin Exams—"
"No, even starting from the Land of Waves— has everything been your plan and your lies?"
Responding to him was Naruto's warm smile.
"Kakashi-sensei."
"Since it has already come to this point, does such a question still have any meaning?"
Zzzzt—!
Kakashi spoke no more, as blue lightning condensed frantically in his palm.
The sound of a thousand birds chirping resounded throughout the arena.
Yes, things had come to this; words were now pale and powerless.
Whether for the sake of the village or to stop a stray disciple, he had to take action.
However, before Kakashi could even begin his charge.
Naruto stood in place, slowly extending two fingers to make a simple hand seal gesture.
"To show my gratitude for all the knowledge you've taught me, as a return gift, I'll also teach you a simple truth."
Naruto said softly: "And that is— don't use things given by others carelessly."
Kakashi's pupils shrank violently.
Before he could react to the deep meaning of those words, a sudden change occurred.
He felt that the curse seal around his Sharingan, which was originally used to seal the Sharingan's consumption, suddenly began to run in reverse!
"Ugh!"
Kakashi let out a muffled groan, and the lightning that had just condensed in his hand instantly went out.
That curse seal spread through his meridians in an instant, like a pre-woven net, forcibly cutting off and locking down the chakra he had refined.
Not just the Sharingan, but even his own chakra was sealed along with it.
Thud.
Kakashi fell to one knee, looking at his hands in shock.
He hadn't expected that he had actually been plotted against long ago.
In this game, he didn't even have the chance to make a move.
"Now, you should have no reason to act anymore, right?"
Naruto's smile remained unchanged as he casually took a pre-prepared scroll from his pocket and tossed it gently in front of Kakashi.
"The method to release the seal is in here; you can study it for now."
"Of course, there is also a real gift I've prepared for you inside."
Naruto paused at this point.
"—If you are still willing to believe me."
Having said that, Naruto ignored him and walked toward the most luxurious spectator seats where the high-ranking officials and nobles were sitting.
The spectator stands were in a state of chaos at this time.
Konoha ninja were locked in combat with the Sand ninja and Sound ninja who had been lying in wait.
The sounds of explosions and battle cries rose and fell one after another.
A ninja wearing a Sound forehead protector rushed with a sneer toward the red-haired girl in the corner who seemed to be alone.
"Die, kid!"
The kunai in his hand stabbed down with a cold glint.
However, Karin in the corner did not scream this time.
Under the perception of the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, the opponent's movements were as clear as slow motion in her mind.
Sidestep, crouch.
Karin nimbly dodged the attack.
Immediately after, she slapped a sealing charm onto the opponent's leg with a backhand.
That Sound ninja only felt his legs go numb, and then his entire body became unable to move.
After dealing with the trouble, Karin didn't even bother to wipe the dust off her face and immediately looked down at the arena.
She looked at the blond youth who was suppressing the entire field, a trace of disbelief flashing in her eyes.
Is this the real Naruto?
That chakra was too terrifying.
Cold, dark, and carrying a suffocating sense of pressure.
It was a world apart from that sunshine-like chakra he usually had.
She instinctively felt a surge of fear.
A fear like that of a herbivore facing a top predator.
But she didn't run.
Because she thought of the nightmare-like days in Kusagakure.
She thought of how, in this world, only this person had reached out a hand to her.
"It's okay—"
Karin bit her lip and pushed up her slightly slipping glasses.
The fear in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by a kind of almost blind trust.
No matter how dark or how cold that chakra was.
As long as it was on that person, it was safe.
"No matter what you want to do— even if it's to destroy this place—"
Karin huddled her body and murmured in a small but incredibly firm voice: "I'll be watching you, Naruto."
Below the stands.
Naruto lowered his arms, no longer looking at Kakashi kneeling on the ground behind him.
He set off, walking toward the high platform.
The execution is about to begin.