"Heh-heh!" Naruto flashed a wide grin, baring two rows of neat teeth.
He strode to the center and planted himself opposite Mamoru, chest puffed high and eyes blazing with confidence, victory already felt certain.
Mamoru kept both hands in his pockets, a faint, almost invisible smile on his face. His calm expression was impossible to read, as if none of this had anything to do with him.
Seeing both ready, Hayate cleared his throat and his hoarse voice rang across the arena. "Match seven: Uchiha Mamoru versus Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Mamoru, wipe the floor with him!" Ino shouted from the stands, shaking a fist, her blond ponytail whipping behind her.
"Mamoru, finish it in a flash—flash finish!" Tenten cupped her hands and let out a bright, crisp cheer.
"Mamoru-kun… good luck…" Hinata's tiny, anxious voice sounded, fingers tightly twisted together.
"I've waited long enough, it's finally my turn to shine!" Naruto spoke first, fists clenched high, brimming with fight.
"Shine, huh?" Mamoru echoed softly, lips curving in a half-smile while his gaze flicked toward the cheering section.
"Hey! Eyes on me!" Naruto bristled. "Don't look down on me! I'm not losing to you, watch my real power!"
"Ah… sure." Mamoru answered with utter indifference, tone flat, eyes unchanged.
"What kind of attitude is that? Argh, you're killing me!" Naruto jumped in fury, eyes almost spitting fire, knuckles crackling.
"Then, begin!" Hayate announced.
The instant his voice fell, the arena's air snapped taut.
Mamoru's right hand slid slowly from his pocket. As he lifted his arm, his dark eyes blazed to pale blue. He spread his fingers and leveled them forward.
Before Naruto could wonder, a swirling orb of cyan light crackled into being in Mamoru's palm.
BOOM!
In a heartbeat, the ground in front of Mamoru was torn up by the roots. The warping cyan sphere hurled chunks of stone straight at Naruto faster than eyes could follow.
Rubble danced mid-air, dust billowed.
Naruto had no time to react before the blast struck him head-on.
"Ugh—aaah!"
Wrapped in blue light, Naruto was flung tumbling, then slammed with a thunderous crash into the rear wall. The impact carved a deep hollow, debris flying, dust cloaking him from view.
"Naruto!"
Sakura's terrified scream rang from the stands, hands pressed to her mouth, eyes wide with disbelief.
The arena was stunned once more by Mamoru's uncanny strike—no hand seals, no warning;. A casual lift of the hand had unleashed such devastation.
As the smoke cleared, the corner's ruin appeared. Most of Naruto's body lay buried, only his limp legs sticking out.
Mamoru watched quietly. He knew that wouldn't kill a Jinchuriki, a few days in hospital at worst.
Just as everyone, including Mamoru, thought it was over—
Rustle…
A stone shifted in the rubble. Under stunned gazes, Naruto pushed himself up, swaying, dust trickling off him with every movement.
"Tough body." Mamoru murmured, brow lifting slightly.
He knew an ordinary Genin would've been crippled, but the Jinchuriki's strength and recovery were on another level.
Gritting his teeth, Naruto limped out of the debris and stopped a short distance from Mamoru. Blood seeped, streaking his dusty cheeks and the orange jumpsuit hung in tatters, revealing bruises and gashes.
Mamoru frowned faintly, voice carrying a hint of concern. "Hey, why not call it? You're pretty banged up."
Naruto yelled, legs trembling and betraying how spent he was. "Forget it! I can still fight!"
Mamoru stated flatly, gaze sharp, "You're shaking. Still want to go?"
Naruto bit his lip, silent. The arena's air seemed frozen, only his ragged breath echoing. Then he clenched his fists, nails digging crescents into his palms. His wavering eyes hardened like stone.
"I'm still standing! Don't underestimate me!" He threw his head back and roared, voice hoarse but resolute. "I'm gonna be the Hokage!"
The Jonin of Konoha smiled faintly at the boy's fierce will. The Genin were ablaze, cheering for the indomitable figure.
Mamoru eyed Naruto's sudden surge, puzzled. The guy could flip a switch and ignite in a heartbeat.
"Can you even block that again?" Mamoru asked coolly, hoping reality would sink in.
"Won't know till I try!" Naruto smeared the blood from his face with a sleeve, grin still plastered on despite the cuts.
Mamoru's brows drew tighter. He noticed Naruto's wounds were twitching, healing bit by bit beneath the blood.
"Don't say I didn't give you a chance as a friend." Mamoru said, his posture unchanged, left hand in his pocket and right hand hanging casually at his side, his tone still indifferent.
"This time, I'll let you make the first move."
"Heh..."
A confident curve appeared at the corner of Naruto's lips. He quickly formed hand signs, crossing his fingers in front of his chest.
"Watch closely!"
Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Bang... Bang...
A series of white smoke clouds accompanied by sharp, dense explosive sounds erupted in the arena, and thick smoke instantly filled the air.
As the smoke was gradually blown away by the airflow, a dense crowd of Naruto's Shadow Clones could be seen filling more than half of the arena, heads bobbing as they surrounded Mamoru in layer after layer, making it completely impassable.
"You'll regret your decision!" All the Narutos shouted in unison, their overlapping voices creating a deafening sound that echoed throughout the arena.
"One was already noisy enough." Mamoru raised a hand to pick his ear with his pinky, a clear look of impatience on his face. "With this many, who could stand it?"
"I'm going to pay you back for all the trouble I just went through, all at once!" The Shadow Clones roared in unison, their voices like a surging tide.
In the next moment, they rushed toward Mamoru in the center from all directions, from the ground and the sky, leaving no blind spots.
"Then let me tell you..."
Mamoru's voice remained calm and steady, as if the surging crowd before him was merely a phantom bubble that couldn't even touch a corner of his clothes.
"In the face of an absolute power gap, numbers are meaningless."
He raised his right hand again, his blue eyes calm and steady. The Six Eyes had precisely locked onto Naruto's real body, which was moving along with the clones within the crowd. His fingers spread, and a blue light sphere containing terrifying gravitational force instantly condensed in his palm, then shot out with a sharp whistle that tore through the air.
Boom!
The ground cracked in response. Wherever Blue passed, it swept up countless sand and gravel, surging forward with unstoppable force, plowing a smooth-edged trench into the ground as it headed straight for its target.
Hidden among the Shadow Clones, Naruto's real body didn't even have time to make any evasive maneuvers before he was struck once again by that blue glow of death, accompanied by the continuous "poof poof poof" of a large number of clones dissipating around him.
"Ugh—"
He let out a short cry of pain as his entire body was sent flying back, as if hit by a carriage at full speed, before slamming violently into the hard wall behind him once again, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.