Only now did Yome begin to wonder if she'd been too merciful. She'd been treating this match as just another part of the Chunin Exam, but her opponent clearly didn't see it that way.
The girl, plagued by too many doubts, didn't think failing to advance was such an unbearable outcome. Her desire to win had already waned.
By the time she realized things were going south, it was too late.
She wanted to press harder, but her body was failing to keep up.
After forcing Uzumaki Naruto back once more, she steeled herself to aim for a vital point. But just as she did, Naruto, who seemed to have lost his senses, suddenly pulled two smoke bombs from his ninja pouch and crushed them. Acrid smoke instantly enveloped him and spread outward.
"This guy..."
Yome halted her charge, pulling out her goggles and putting them on before covering her mouth and nose.
*Trying to block my vision...*
She flicked her wrist, sending another volley of senbon flying. Amidst the sharp clinks of metal on metal, she heard the muffled cry of pain as a projectile found its mark.
*Another hit! Let's see who lasts longer...*
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto, gritting his teeth through the pain, had finally found an opening to use the jutsu he relied on most.
One after another, figures of the blond-haired boy burst from the smoke, lunging at the petite Yome.
"Quite a spectacle. But even the most impressive jutsu needs a skilled ninja to wield it..."
As she spoke, Yome parried a kunai strike from a shadow clone, then rolled low into the smoke. Several clones relentlessly pursued her.
Within the blinding smoke, the clang of steel on steel and a cacophony of shouts echoed endlessly.
When the smoke cleared, it revealed a tangled mess of Naruto's shadow clones, but Yome was nowhere to be seen.
"He's got some brains after all..."
Seeing his teammate finally get smart for a moment, Daigan offered a faint smile.
*Shadow clones can't solve everything. With Naruto's current combat sense, there are just too many openings to exploit. How can he hope to win by getting bogged down in his opponent's area of expertise?*
After a poor start, he should have switched tactics immediately.
He was more than a head shorter than his opponent, their physical abilities weren't even in the same league, yet he insisted on a battle of attrition. He was just asking for trouble.
Transforming into the opponent's likeness to blend in with the shadow clones was a clever trick. It consumed very little chakra and stamina but was highly effective against Naruto. Hatake Kakashi had used it before. For Yome to figure it out on her own without Daigan's prompting was quite impressive.
"The Chunin Exam really is a good opportunity to broaden your horizons and improve yourself."
Below, the dazed shadow clones began to revert to the real Naruto's rash personality and turned on each other.
"You're definitely the fake! You smell like that little girl. Take this!"
"You're the fake, you bastard! Your face is all swollen—your Transformation Jutsu is garbage!"
"It's swollen because I got hit! You're trying to stir up trouble, you're no good! Everyone, come and get him!"
Once the chaos started, there was no stopping it.
"Really..." Hatake Kakashi covered his face, too embarrassed to watch. "Fooled by the same trick again. It seems his training still isn't enough!"
There's no rule that a ninja can't be defeated by the same move twice, but to not learn a lesson after just a few months... this was a disgrace to his teacher.
After a flurry of shouts and kicks, the shadow clones vanished one by one in puffs of chakra, leaving only two figures staring at each other.
"What did you do, you bastard?"
"A disguise is more than just looks, idiot! You have to mimic their speech, mannerisms, expressions, and even their scent! I just sprinkled a little perfume around, along with a bit of a mind-tricking secret medicine..."
"Don't get cocky! It's not over..."
Naruto charged, kunai in a reverse grip, only to be deftly thrown to the ground by Yome.
Suddenly, the blond boy on the ground vanished. It was another shadow clone.
"I knew you'd try that!"
Yome half-turned and executed a spinning kick, slamming her heel into the chin of the real Naruto, who had just emerged from the ground for a sneak attack. The blow sent him flying.
"An ambush from underground? That's a trick practically everyone in Sunagakure knows. In the Land of Wind, you wouldn't last long going out on a hot day without it."
Besides, Daigan had just used that exact move against Rock Lee. To copy it in the same venue... did he think the ninja here were blind?
Before Naruto could even land, Yome dashed forward, driving her elbow into his unprotected chest and abdomen.
The small Sand Ninja, using all her strength, slammed Naruto—who was much heavier than her—hard against the stone wall behind them. The already battered blond boy coughed up a mouthful of blood and slid limply to the ground.
"That's rough. Can he still get up?"
The spectating ninja all stared at the seemingly weak but tenacious blond boy.
His skills weren't top-tier, but his unyielding will was certainly impressive.
Gekko Hayate waited a moment, but Naruto remained motionless on the ground.
*Is this it?*
He stepped forward, preparing to check on him, when suddenly, a powerful and fearsome chakra surged forth.
"This is..."
Daigan stared in astonishment as a crimson, flame-like chakra, almost visible to the naked eye, erupted from Naruto. After a moment of raging, it receded back into his body.
His injuries healed at a visible rate, replenishing his depleted chakra at the cost of his stamina.
"Tch. You just can't mess with people who have connections," Daigan spat, his thoughts tinged with malice.
An average Jonin might not be able to handle this situation.
Naruto's own combat ability was becoming irrelevant. As long as his constitution was good and he could take a beating, none of the Genin candidates, aside from Gaara, could outlast him.
It wasn't that the Sand Ninja were incompetent; the Konoha ninja were just playing by different rules.
Sure enough, when Naruto stood up again, he projected a completely different aura. His fighting style grew more savage. He didn't even bother with shadow clones, simply charging straight ahead.
The Jinchuriki of the One-Tail, his speed and reflexes now dramatically enhanced, easily overpowered Yome, whose stamina and chakra were already low. The tide of the battle turned in an instant.
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