Chapter 157: Naruto Versus Sasuke - The First Clash
Ino ultimately decided against undoing the seal on Gaara. That kind of decision definitely needed to come from the Third Hokage. Besides, she was quite amused watching the Sand Village ninjas' expressions, a mixture of helplessness and bewilderment.
The Sand Village ninjas were in complete disarray. They were in a situation where they had to act, but the most crucial element was missing. Their Kage hadn't given any orders, and the ninjas didn't dare to act rashly or coordinate amongst themselves. All they could do was exchange confused glances and wildly speculate.
The longer she watched, the funnier it became.
Ino easily advanced to the finals and immediately headed to the spectator seats to watch the next match. Having fought two tough battles herself, she wanted to see how her potential opponent in the finals would fare.
Naruto versus Sasuke!
This was a battle that hadn't occurred in the original timeline's Chunin Exams. She placed her hands behind her back and went to watch from the sidelines. Choji, thinking she had worked hard, offered her a bag of potato chips. She didn't hesitate at all. She was hungry after fighting for so long and started munching away, the sound of her chewing echoing slightly.
Hayate Gekko actually considered stopping her.
Seriously? A perfectly good arena has now turned into a giant artificial lake, and you're just going to walk away? Don't you have anything to say? At least get rid of this water!
Hayate Gekko was the referee, not the groundskeeper. Now, to deal with such a large artificial lake, he would have to use Earth Release to dig ditches around the perimeter of the arena, then divert the water into the Nanga River, and then reinforce the banks and dredge the riverbed. This was a significant amount of work and couldn't be done quickly.
Everyone was there to watch the Chunin Exams, not a landscaping demonstration by Hayate Gekko.
Seeing that the Third Hokage hadn't given any indication, he simply didn't care. It wasn't his exam, after all. Why should he worry?
"You guys can just fight on the water," he thought.
He signaled for the next match's participants to enter.
Naruto and Sasuke were completely oblivious to their surroundings; their focus was solely on each other. Seeing that it was finally their turn, their fighting spirit surged, and they leaped onto the water's surface simultaneously, facing each other in a somewhat unsettling silence.
Jiraiya and the "Fourth Kazekage" were deeply invested in this match. The Third Hokage was also paying close attention. They all watched the arena intently.
"Uzumaki Naruto versus Uchiha Sasuke... Begin!" Hayate Gekko announced loudly.
In the next instant, Naruto unleashed his Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, creating a dense mass of at least two hundred shadow clones.
Sasuke was intimately familiar with this technique. If his Sharingan couldn't distinguish between the real Naruto and the clones, he would simply eliminate them all.
He quickly propelled himself across the water, moving like a sharp arrow. He held three kunai between the fingers of each hand. Then, he spun his body, his arms swinging out, and the kunai flew in unison. Six shadow clones vanished in puffs of white smoke. After that, a sweeping leg kick tripped a shadow clone, his right hand slapped the water's surface, and his feet launched a rapid series of kicks. In the blink of an eye, he took down more than a dozen of Naruto's shadow clones.
Naruto still couldn't use the Rasengan, but his battle with Rock Lee seemed to have instantly improved his taijutsu. The sheer number of shadow clones appeared chaotic, but there was a hidden order within the chaos. A large group of clones wielding kunai surrounded and intercepted Sasuke, their coordination surprisingly good. Sasuke moved like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, his attacks relentless, but for the moment, neither fighter had a clear advantage.
"Who do you think will win?" Shikamaru asked Ino.
She pondered for a moment. "In terms of pure strength, Sasuke is probably stronger, but Naruto's unpredictability is off the charts. He might have some secret weapon."
The situation in the arena shifted rapidly. In the short time they had been talking, Sasuke had used Fire Release to clear out most of the shadow clones, followed by another round of close-quarters combat. During the intense exchange, Naruto spotted an opening and landed his Naruto Uzumaki Two Thousand Combo on Sasuke. However, to his surprise, it was just a clone. On the other side, Sasuke had already tightly gripped the Chidori, charging forward with a sharp, buzzing sound.
Because of the Naruto Uzumaki Two Thousand Combo, the shadow clones were positioned very close together. Sasuke had calculated that his Chidori could just encompass all the clones within its attack range.
Surging electricity rushed towards them.
Without even thinking, Naruto immediately formed the "Ram" hand sign.
"Harem Jutsu!"
There were still over fifty shadow clones remaining. At this moment, with a Harem Jutsu, they all transformed into shapely beauties wearing very revealing clothing.
Naruto's voice became sweet and seductive, and more than fifty shadow clones simultaneously opened their arms and lunged forward, calling out, "Sasuke-kun~~!"
The spectators' breathing became heavy. It was too much! The Third Hokage, Jiraiya, Iruka, and the others were all secretly wiping away nosebleeds. The Anbu ninjas, Jonin, and Chunin on the Leaf Village side had various reactions. Some looked up at the sky, their eyes wandering, while others mumbled about the decline of morality and human nature, but in reality, they couldn't help but steal a few glances.
The expressions on the Sand Village side were very strange. The tense atmosphere was more than halved by this erotic display. They loosened their grip on their kunai, unsure whether to laugh or cry, and just thought these Leaf Village ninjas were completely insane!
Ino, Shikamaru, and Hinata all wore expressions of disbelief.
Sakura gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. If the situation weren't so inappropriate, she would definitely rush over and beat Naruto senseless.
Of course, the most awkward person was Sasuke!
Maintaining his charging stance, he nearly tripped while running at high speed. After finally regaining his balance, he held the Chidori in his hand, and his gaze was involuntarily drawn to the "beauties" on his left and right. He froze, momentarily stunned. Should he continue his attack? Where should he stab? Who should he stab?
He was a ruthless individual, though. He only hesitated for about a second in the face of the seductive lure, and then the Chidori in his hand struck out.
The lightning released by the Chidori snaked across the water's surface like electric eels. Sasuke showed no mercy, not only eliminating all of Naruto's shadow clones but also injuring his original body.
Naruto regrouped and used the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu again. Sasuke met him with another Chidori.
When Naruto used the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu for the third time, his weakness in chakra control was completely exposed. As soon as the shadow clones appeared, they plummeted into the water like dumplings. He could no longer maintain the precise control needed to stand on the water.
Naruto versus Sasuke, the final winner is Uchiha Sasuke.
The Third Hokage and the "Fourth Kazekage" exchanged a few words, then announced that the morning's matches were over. Everyone should eat and rest for a while. In the afternoon, the final match between Ino and Sasuke would take place, as well as the match between Naruto and Gaara to determine third and fourth place.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio gathered to eat, celebrating Ino's excellent performance.
Naruto was somewhat unwilling to accept his loss. If the fight had been on land, he felt he could have lasted much longer.
Sasuke was under a lot of pressure. He didn't even eat and went to the back mountain to rest alone.
He was contemplating how to deal with Ino's Water Release when a masked man in black suddenly appeared behind him.