The battle in the arena was growing more intense.
At least, that's what the genin present were gradually realizing. This was a fight they had no place in—with the notable exception of Sasuke Uchiha.
Sakura Haruno watched the behemoth on the field nervously. Even after being sent flying by a punch, it was completely unharmed. She finally couldn't help but ask, "Can Naruto... really win?"
"If he can't, I'll be laughing at that idiot for the rest of my life," Sasuke sneered. Since he didn't have much information about the Tailed Beasts, he had no way to judge Shukaku's actual power.
Sasuke was, however, very clear about Naruto's strengths: abundant chakra, powerful ninjutsu, and high stamina. No matter how you looked at it, those traits meant he could fight against almost any enemy. Thinking of this, Sasuke couldn't help but glance over at Kakashi.
Kakashi Hatake, however, was oblivious to his student's disrespectful thoughts. He was too busy pondering what the Sand Village's intentions were in sending a jinchuriki to participate in the Chunin Exams.
Then again, it didn't seem that strange; the kid was of age. After all, Konoha's own Nine-Tails jinchuriki was also in the exams. And right now, the two of them were fighting fiercely within the Four Violet Flames Formation.
"Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet!"
Shukaku opened its mouth and shot out a cannonball of air wrapped in chakra. Both its speed and power were greater than anything Naruto had ever seen. The blast was so strong it even caused cracks to appear on the Four Violet Flames barrier, though they were quickly repaired by the sealing squad.
Missing the shot didn't seem to bother Shukaku. It just began preparing its next attack. It only needed to land one hit to ensure the little brat wouldn't survive.
However, Naruto's situation had become much more difficult.
Facing the complete form of the One-Tailed Shukaku, Naruto could clearly feel the immense power contained within the beast. This thing was not as weak as the Nine-Tails had claimed.
"Spiral Shockwave!"
Naruto knelt on the ground, watching as the Spiral Shockwave in his palm tore a wound on Shukaku's body. But it was no help. Shukaku wasn't afraid of such a pitifully small injury. Its fat body began moving toward Naruto as another Drilling Air Bullet started to form.
"This is not good," Naruto thought, cold sweat dripping from his forehead onto the desert floor. "I need a jutsu that can seriously injure this thing. Do I have to try that final idea?" He looked at the chakra vortex in his hand. "Right, I'm running out of chakra. I can't even form a Spiral Shield to block it."
When your chakra isn't enough, what do you do?
Inside the seal space, the Nine-Tails snorted. When Shukaku first appeared, the fox had been a bit excited, wanting to go out and see its old friend—and, while at it, sort out their thousand-year-old pecking order.
Now, the Nine-Tails seemed to have accepted its fate, muttering dejectedly, "Naruto, let me out... at least let my chakra join the battle..."
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
The sound of rapid running reached the Nine-Tails's ears. But it brought the fox no joy. It just flicked its tails and let its chakra leak out from the seal.
This time, however, Naruto didn't just absorb the Nine-Tails's chakra. He used it to directly form a Rasengan.
The Nine-Tails gave Naruto a surprised look. "What are you doing?"
"My new ninjutsu. I want to try another approach!"
Naruto quickly tried to condense and compress the chakra given to him by the Nine-Tails. The Rasengan worked by rotating and gathering chakra, while a Tailed Beast Ball worked by violently compressing it. What if he could use both methods at the same time?
He could use brute force to compress the chakra, and then use the Rasengan's rotation for a second compression. This would maximize the chakra packed inside the jutsu. Most importantly, the more violent the chakra's nature, the greater the power of the explosion.
And no one's chakra was more violent than the Nine-Tails's.
A crimson orb condensed in Naruto's palm. Just when it could no longer absorb any more chakra and was about to explode, it finally began to rotate. Clumps of chakra were supplemented into it, and its volume was continuously compressed.
Until the orb turned completely pitch-black.
Naruto stared at the pitch-black Rasengan in his palm, then looked at the huge demon fox in the cage with a happy expression. "Kurama, my new ninjutsu is a success! Come and see, the Spiral Wheel!"
The Nine-Tails glanced at it with some surprise. "How did it succeed?"
"Because my chakra is too bright," Naruto explained, looking at the pitch-black orb. Its rotation wasn't even fast; you could see strands of chakra intertwining within it. This Spiral Wheel had to be incredibly powerful. Just holding it for this short time, Naruto felt like it could explode at any moment.
Seeing the Nine-Tails's confused look, the yellow-haired boy continued, "If the Rasengan is the bright and gentle side, then the Spiral Wheel is the dark and violent side. Coincidentally, the chakra in your body has that exact characteristic..."
"Get out!" the Nine-Tails roared irritably, wanting to drive its jinchuriki away. But as it watched Naruto's joyful figure run out, it couldn't help but shout after him, "Hey, Naruto, if you still can't beat that One-Tail, then I'll teach you a new ninjutsu!"
"Ha, it's fine!" Naruto tilted his head, showing a confident smile. "This time, I will definitely defeat it!"
After the small jinchuriki left, the Nine-Tails slowly raised its head. It looked at the sealing gate that imprisoned it, stared tightly at the seal paper, and snorted coldly. "Hmph! What unqualified parents! Now I even have to teach him the Uzumaki clan's Sealing Scroll..."
Back on the preliminary match field, Naruto held a pitch-black chakra orb in his palm and gently tossed it toward Shukaku, as if flicking a glass marble.
Just as everyone was looking on in surprise, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened in horror at the black Spiral Wheel. Forgetting his status, he quickly formed hand seals. "Earth Style: Earth Flow Castle Wall!"
A tall, solid earth wall emerged around the Four Violet Flames barrier, blocking the view of the surprised genin.
Kakashi's expression changed instantly. He realized the problem: the situation was too dangerous, and the Third Hokage believed the barrier was not enough to protect them.
Might Guy's animal-like intuition took over. The taijutsu specialist punched a large hole in the arena wall and kicked his students out one by one. Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga didn't even have time to scream before their bodies were punted out of the exam hall by their jonin instructor.
Kakashi, at least, had some conscience. He tucked one student under each arm and quickly rushed out through the hole Guy had made.
BOOM!
A violent explosion resounded through all of Konoha.
-----
Bonus:
Nine-Tails: My chakra is violent and dark. You don't want it!
Naruto: Hey, I'm not a picky eater.
Nine-Tails: Isn't your own chakra all gentle and bright?
Naruto: Eh, it's all the same once it's in my hands.
Nine-Tails: I let you use it, and you still complain...
Naruto: I'm not complaining!
Nine-Tails: You should be grateful I give you any at all. Don't be so picky, got it?
Naruto: Okay, okay, thank you