The four rounds of battles ended almost instantaneously.
In less than ten minutes, the preliminary rounds had reached the fifth match.
This round, however, became lengthy, so much so that many spectators couldn't help but yawn.
Because the matchup for this round was… Yamanaka Ino vs. Haruno Sakura.
Just as Uzumaki Naruto had mastered Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, Haruno Sakura had also made significant progress compared to the original story, but that was about it.
She had learned a Genjutsu technique from Kakashi Hatake, the D-rank technique called Narakami, which could make opponents see scenes that triggered their deepest fears.
During the survival exercise, Haruno Sakura had been defeated in an instant by Kakashi's Genjutsu.
If her opponent had been Minako, perhaps Haruno Sakura could have won.
Unfortunately, her opponent was Yamanaka Ino, who excelled in the Shadow Imitation Technique.
Narakami was easily countered by Yamanaka Ino.
Similarly, while Yamanaka Ino was the heir to a secret ninja clan and had mastered the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Body Switch Technique, the technique was purely supportive and had no offensive power.
Although she successfully switched bodies with Haruno Sakura using the Mind Body Switch Technique, she was quickly expelled by the second personality residing within Sakura.
One Genjutsu was countered, and one clan secret technique was countered.
These former best friends, like natural enemies, could only settle their differences using the basics taught in ninja school.
Three Body Technique, shuriken throwing, kunai close combat, Taijutsu Duel… both girls had excellent fundamentals and were undoubtedly top students.
Yet, in the eyes of the Jonin, it was as if children were playing a ninja game, utterly boring.
Even Izayoi and the others felt that these two were too weak.
Only Minako resonated with them, realizing that these top students were just like herself.
In the end, both girls, just like in the original story, collapsed from exhaustion, equally missing out on the official matches.
When they awoke, the battles had already progressed to the ninth round.
The sixth match was Tenten vs. Temari.
This was a crushing battle, with Tenten, whose attributes were countered by Temari, having no means of resistance against her opponent's Wind Release.
The seventh match was Nara Shikamaru vs. Sawano Genichi.
The latter was one of Kiba Inuzuka's teammates, and like Haruno Sakura, came from a ninja family, with his father being an ordinary Chuunin who had a surname.
Sawano Genichi's strength was decent; he had mastered a C-rank Water Release: Water Chaos technique.
Though it was a basic Water Release technique, its application was flexible and varied, and if he had a large amount of chakra, its effect could rival that of a B-rank Water Release: Water Barrier.
Unfortunately, his combat experience was too limited, and his intelligence was nowhere near Nara Shikamaru's.
When he unleashed the Water Release, spewing forth a torrent of water that made Nara Shikamaru disappear from his sight, the outcome was already decided.
Nara Shikamaru first retrieved a kunai, holding it in his mouth, then used the Shadow Imitation Technique to immobilize Sawano Genichi. As he removed the kunai from his mouth, Sawano Genichi voluntarily conceded.
Just as Sawano Genichi was defeated, the eighth match was set for Minako vs. Hyuga Neji.
Seeing that her opponent was a member of the prestigious Hyuga clan and the previous year's top student, Minako didn't even bother to put on a show; she simply raised her hand to concede.
The ninth match was… Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba! "Awesome, it's that idiot Kiba! I've got this in the bag!"
Upon seeing his opponent's name, Uzumaki Naruto immediately stepped up onto the railing, his expression brimming with excitement as he shouted loudly.
Inuzuka Kiba, equally delighted, retorted with a frown, "Idiot Naruto, that's something I should be saying!"
In the hall, Inuzuka Kiba looked at Uzumaki Naruto with an arrogant expression, saying, "Dead last, if you say something nice to me now, I'll let you lose with some dignity. Or you could just concede!"
In Inuzuka Kiba's eyes, Uzumaki Naruto was no different from a few months ago. Faced with the combined strength of himself and Akamaru, defeat was absolutely certain.
However, Uzumaki Naruto wore a similarly arrogant grin and replied, "Watch me take you down in one move!"
"Hahaha… take me down in one move? Dead last, you're still half asleep!" Inuzuka Kiba couldn't help but burst into laughter, then turned to Akamaru and said, "Akamaru, let's teach this dead last a lesson."
"Woof!" Akamaru barked in response.
"Round nine, begin!"
As Hayate Gekko's voice fell, Uzumaki Naruto immediately formed a Ram seal and shouted, "Shadow Clone Technique!"
Days had passed since Uzumaki Naruto had been sealed with the Five Elements Seal, and his chakra was no longer as chaotic as before.
While he still couldn't create hundreds of shadow clones in an instant, producing a double-digit number of them was still a breeze.
Bang bang bang…
The crisp sounds echoed as puffs of white smoke appeared out of nowhere.
When the smoke cleared, over twenty Uzumaki Narutos had surrounded Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru.
"This is… the Shadow Clone Technique? How can there be so many?!" Inuzuka Kiba exclaimed in shock.
He wasn't the only one astonished; the Genin in the second-floor stands and even the Jonin were equally surprised.
Especially the well-informed Jonin, who immediately recognized that this was not just a simple Shadow Clone Technique, but the Forbidden Technique known as the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!
"Wind Release…"
Before Inuzuka Kiba could recover from his shock, Uzumaki Naruto and his shadow clones had already formed hand seals.
Seeing his hand signs, the Jonin's expressions changed again, as they anticipated what was coming next.
By the time Inuzuka Kiba reacted, Uzumaki Naruto and his shadow clones had already shouted the name of the technique: "Great Breakthrough!"
Whoosh…
The sound of howling winds filled the air, as the tangible gusts of air, like visible yet untouchable hands, lifted Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru into the air.
Then, hands appeared out of nowhere, tossing the boy and his dog around in the air as if they were caught in a tornado.
Even the candidates and Jonin on the second-floor stands were affected; the former clung tightly to the railings, eyes squeezed shut, while many of the latter raised their hands to shield their eyes.
When the Jonin instructor of Team 6 saw Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru spinning rapidly in the air, about to crash into the wall, he quickly used the Body Flicker Technique to catch them, halting the match.
"Round nine, the winner is Uzumaki Naruto."
With his feet firmly planted on the ground and hands shielding his face, Hayate Gekko immediately announced the result.
"Hahaha… Kiba, now you've seen my power!" Uzumaki Naruto laughed arrogantly, hands on his hips.
Having successfully taken down a former friend who had once dominated him in one move, Uzumaki Naruto felt an exhilarating rush.
With his ego swelling once again, he couldn't help but fantasize about punching Izayoi and kicking Uchiha Sasuke, imagining their faces as they knelt in defeat.
His face, once filled with laughter, gradually took on a lewd expression, and drool even began to trickle from the corner of his mouth.
It wasn't until Hayate Gekko reminded him that he snapped back to reality, striding back to the second-floor stands with a swagger.
The screen flickered
once more, and when the image settled, many people perked up.
The screen clearly displayed—Izayoi vs. Rock Lee.
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