Chinatsu had already realized that the man was an assassin. After all, she possessed Sage Mode, and even without activating it, her perception far surpassed that of ordinary shinobi; she could clearly sense even the faintest killing intent.
However, Chinatsu could not understand why someone would attempt to assassinate her. It should not have been someone from the other Four Great Shinobi Villages, and it certainly could not have been Konoha itself. Hiruzen Sarutobi was not foolish enough to provoke her now.
Could it be… an underground bounty hunter?
Within the black-market bounty organizations that existed outside the authority of the Five Great Nations, Chinatsu remembered that the last time she visited one of those underground exchange stations while searching for Hidan and Kakuzu, her own bounty had only been around five million ryo.
Not that high. Asuma Sarutobi's bounty next door was already thirty-five million. I wonder if mine has increased recently…
Chinatsu continued munching on the snacks while calmly thinking to herself. She was not worried about poison at all. First, if the assassin intended to poison her, there would have been no need to stab her with a kunai earlier. Second, Chinatsu genuinely doubted ordinary poison could even kill her current body. Between Senju vitality, Sage Mode, and her monstrous chakra reserves, she was absurdly resistant.
Turning her attention back toward the Chunin Exams arena, Sasuke suddenly noticed movement near Chinatsu's direction. Very few people had realized an assassination attempt had just occurred, yet Sasuke had instantly sensed it.
Sasuke: Someone just tried to attack my sister!!!
Sasuke's thoughts immediately became chaotic, completely ignoring his opponent from Kumogakure.
The Kumogakure shinobi, seeing Sasuke openly disregard him, instantly became furious.
"Even if I know I probably can't beat you, this is still too insulting!!!"
The Cloud shinobi quickly formed hand seals, preparing to use his strongest Lightning Release ninjutsu to force Sasuke to take the match seriously.
Sasuke finally pulled his attention back to the battlefield after hearing the shout. Watching the other side rapidly weaving hand seals, he sighed lightly before raising one hand himself.
At that moment, the Kumogakure shinobi had already completed over ten hand seals and was about to finish his technique. Sasuke calmly completed only a few seals, inhaled deeply, and released chakra from his chest.
What kind of powerful technique was Sasuke about to unleash?
A newly learned forbidden technique?
No.
It was merely the Uchiha Clan's signature C-rank ninjutsu Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
A massive fireball over five meters wide instantly exploded forward like a miniature sun, roaring toward the Cloud shinobi. The Kumogakure ninja's pupils shrank in horror.
"Wait I still need two more seals!!!"
Boom!!!
Before he could finish his technique, the gigantic fireball swallowed him whole. Sparks scattered violently through the arena, and even chunks of the stone floor cracked apart from the impact.
The result of the match was obvious.
But defeating an opponent instantly with only a C-rank ninjutsu was enough to demonstrate Sasuke's overwhelming superiority.
The entire arena fell silent. Everyone suddenly realized they had underestimated Uchiha Sasuke far too much. Many spectators even began wondering whether there was any participant in this year's Chunin Exams capable of matching him at all.
Naruto: Yeah! Me!!!
After Sasuke stepped off the battlefield, Naruto finally entered the arena wearing an extremely chuuni-looking cloak, instantly reviving Chinatsu's interest just as she had begun feeling bored again.
"Enough snacks! Time for the real show!"
The audience once again erupted into discussion after Naruto appeared. As Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchuriki, Naruto had gradually earned recognition through his talent and achievements, yet many villagers still subconsciously feared or disliked him because of the Kyubi sealed inside him.
Although Naruto's entrance was nowhere near as dramatic as Sasuke's, Naruto himself did not care in the slightest. He simply waved both arms enthusiastically at the crowd and grinned broadly.
"Thanks for all the support everyone! I'll do my best! I'm definitely gonna beat Sasuke!"
Instantly, Sasuke's fangirls booed loudly in protest.
Seeing Naruto continue smiling without caring at all, Chinatsu immediately stopped eating her snacks.
No one's cheering for Naruto? Fine, then I'll cheer for him myself!
Of course, even Chinatsu could not bring herself to scream "Naruto! Go for it!!!" in front of thousands of people. That would be way too embarrassing.
Fortunately, she had other methods.
And far flashier ones.
Chinatsu raised one finger toward the sky, and Fire Release chakra instantly ignited into the air. Under her absurdly precise chakra control, the flames twisted and danced like brushstrokes across the heavens. Within seconds, four enormous flaming characters appeared above the arena:
"NARUTO, GO FOR IT!"
The burning words shone brilliantly over the entire stadium.
Fire Release: Chinatsu Style Flame Special Effects Technique!
After finishing, Chinatsu even blew lightly against the fingertip she had raised, posing dramatically like a cowboy holstering a revolver.
The entire scene was unbelievably flamboyant.
Many spectators stared at her in complete disbelief, while Naruto and Sasuke themselves looked utterly stunned.
Sasuke: Why… didn't I get one?
Naruto: Amazing! With Sister cheering for me, my strength's increased by at least ten times… no, nine times at minimum!
Naruto excitedly tore off the chuuni-style cloak he had bought somewhere, revealing an even more embarrassing level of chunibyou inherited directly from Minato Namikaze himself especially Minato's habit of giving overly dramatic names to techniques.
Naruto then looked seriously toward his opponent.
Just like in the original story, standing opposite him was the Hyuga Clan genius: Hyuga Neji.
Originally, Neji deeply resented the Hyuga main family because his father, Hyuga Hizashi, had been sacrificed during the Kumogakure incident. At that time, Neji constantly spoke about fate and destiny until Naruto eventually defeated him with both strength and words.
But now, things were different.
Hyuga Hizashi was still alive. Because of that, Neji's childhood had been far healthier than in the original timeline. Although his personality remained serious and proud, the darkness inside him was far less severe. Under Hizashi's personal training, Neji's strength at this age was no weaker than his original counterpart.
As Neji stepped into the arena, he immediately lowered his center of gravity and assumed the classic Gentle Fist stance of the Hyuga Clan. Naruto, meanwhile, confidently pulled out a special three-pronged kunai.
Hmm? A kunai?
Neji frowned slightly. In his memories, Naruto either rushed forward with Shadow Clones or charged in with a Rasengan. Since when did he rely on kunai?
Could this be some kind of feint?
Regardless, he needed to stay cautious.
Neji's eyes narrowed seriously as the veins around his temples bulged outward.
Byakugan!
The Hyuga Clan's dojutsu activated instantly. Comparable to the Sharingan, the Byakugan dramatically enhanced Neji's observation abilities, dynamic vision, chakra perception, and insight. More importantly, it allowed him to see the opponent's chakra pathway system directly.
The first thing Neji sensed after activating his Byakugan was Naruto's terrifying chakra reserves.
For a moment, Neji could not even estimate the amount properly. Naruto's chakra was ridiculously massive, almost like staring into a moving sea.
Neji immediately adjusted his strategy. He expected Naruto to rush him directly with Shadow Clones and a Rasengan.
Instead, Naruto suddenly threw the three-pronged kunai.
Neji casually sidestepped it, allowing the kunai to embed itself into the arena floor behind him.
At that moment, Naruto revealed an extremely smug grin.
Seeing that smile, Neji's expression suddenly changed. A dangerous sense of unease surged through his body.
Naruto grinned wildly.
"You're already in range!"
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