The next moment, Nine-Tails chakra completely enveloped Naruto, turning his entire body golden.
Immense power surged through him.
He watched the incoming kunai and dodged with a quick sidestep. Then, like a golden flash, he instantly appeared right in front of the Cloud Village Genin.
He drove a fierce punch straight into his opponent's stomach.
The Cloud Village Genin had absolutely no time to react. The blow sent him flying backward, carving a long trench into the ground as he skidded to a halt.
He immediately lost consciousness.
Up in the spectator stands, the Fourth Raikage was utterly stunned.
Although the boy's speed was slightly slower than his own, it was still incredibly fast. Even among Jōnin, very few possessed that kind of velocity.
To have such speed at his age meant that in a few years, he was guaranteed to become a speed-type shinobi renowned throughout the shinobi world, just like his father, Namikaze Minato.
The Leaf Village had produced yet another formidable young talent.
Because he was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, the fact that he could activate this chakra mode meant the Fourth Raikage wouldn't doubt it for a second if someone claimed the boy could achieve full Tailed Beast transformation.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, felt a wave of relief. At a glance, it was obvious that Uzumaki Naruto possessed Kage-level combat power.
Compared to the Leaf Village, the Sand Village's military strength was vastly inferior.
It was a pity his son had been taken from him. However, even if Gaara hadn't been taken, he was still a highly unstable weapon who risked being controlled by his Tailed Beast. He was a failure.
In the stands, Tsunade knew that only Uchiha Ryōsuke could enable Naruto to unlock the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode at such a young age, simply because the Tailed Beasts didn't dare defy him.
Otherwise, how could a mere child possibly activate such a form?
Down in the competitors' waiting area, Uchiha Sasuke watched with an eager expression.
*'That idiot Naruto really stole the spotlight this time. I'll have to put on a good show myself later,'* he thought.
After all, he had a Tailed Beast too.
Up in the VIP seating, the Daimyō were all visibly shocked.
Namikaze Minato's son had truly inherited his father's prodigious talent.
The other Daimyō couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy toward the Fire Daimyō.
After all, having such a powerful new generation in the Leaf Village brought immense benefits to the Land of Fire, drastically bolstering the nation's overall influence.
The proctor soon announced Naruto's victory.
The second match began immediately after.
The competitors were Sasuke of the Leaf Village and a Genin from the Sand Village.
The two stepped into the arena simultaneously.
Following the proctor's signal, the match officially began.
The Sand Village ninja observed his opponent with extreme caution.
He waited to see what move Sasuke would make. The previous Leaf Village Genin had been absolutely terrifying. *'How could a monster like that even be allowed to participate in a Genin exam? That was a completely unfair mismatch!'* he wondered.
And now, he was facing a member of the infamous Uchiha Clan. Looking at Sasuke's arrogant expression, the Sand ninja felt this opponent would be even harder to deal with.
Meanwhile, Sasuke directly communicated with the Eight-Tails sealed inside him.
"Eight-Tails, give me your chakra. I'm going into full Tailed Beast transformation," he demanded.
Instantly, a shroud of red chakra enveloped his body.
A thick cloud of white smoke erupted, and a colossal monster with the head of a bull and the tentacles of an octopus materialized in the arena.
The entire audience was left dumbfounded.
"What the hell is that?! It looks terrifying!" someone shouted.
"Holy crap, that's a Tailed Beast! But wait, isn't that from another village?"
"Is it really safe for a Genin to be wielding that kind of power? Isn't this way too dangerous?"
The beast looming before them was impossibly massive, its towering form reaching even higher than the spectator stands as it radiated an overwhelming, oppressive aura.
The Fourth Raikage's expression shifted to pure shock upon seeing the beast.
Wasn't that the Eight-Tails that had been stolen from their village?
To think it was now in the hands of the Leaf Village! Did this mean Ryōsuke was the true culprit behind the theft?
Anger flared in his chest, but it was quickly smothered by a profound sense of helplessness.
What could he do? It wasn't like he could seek revenge.
If anything, he felt a grim sense of gratitude that Uchiha Ryōsuke had spared his younger brother's life. Otherwise, Killer B wouldn't have stood a chance.
The man was simply too powerful.
He was beginning to piece together Ryōsuke's motive for collecting the Tailed Beasts. *'Was he preparing for this exact day?'* he wondered.
Ryōsuke wasn't just showing off his military might to the other four great ninja villages.
He was flaunting his absolute power right in the faces of the Daimyō.
Meanwhile, the five Daimyō were already frozen in shock.
This was the first time any of them had seen a Tailed Beast in the flesh.
They had never imagined it would be such a horrifying monster.
A creature like that could likely only be matched by the Kage-level figures of the ninja villages.
This overwhelming disparity in power was exactly why they had never heavily interfered with the internal affairs of the hidden villages.
The military strength of the shinobi villages vastly outclassed the elite forces guarding the Daimyō estates.
Under the current cooperative system between the Daimyō and the hidden villages, the Daimyō still held a highly advantageous position.
They only needed to provide funding to secure the immense combat power of the shinobi.
Down in the arena, the Sand Genin facing the Eight-Tails felt its terrifying presence more acutely than anyone else.
He trembled in absolute terror, terrified that the colossal beast would suddenly crush him with a single punch.
Left with no other choice, he raised his hand and surrendered.
How could he possibly have the strength to face such a monster? He wasn't stupid—he knew exactly what a Tailed Beast was.
And this was a Tailed Beast with eight tails!
It was far stronger than the One-Tail their village used to possess.
And the One-Tail was already a nightmare.
It had killed countless people back in the Sand Village.
And those victims had been elite shinobi.
A mere Genin like him wouldn't have even been allowed to participate in a mission to subdue the One-Tail.
The slightest shockwave from its attacks would have been enough to obliterate him.
The proctor quickly announced Sasuke's victory, and both competitors exited the arena.
Sasuke walked straight over to Naruto.
"Well? My Tailed Beast transformation was pretty cool, wasn't it?" he smirked.
"It was alright, but you practically scared the audience to death," Naruto replied. "You might have overdone it a bit," he added with a hint of concern.
Sasuke, however, looked completely unbothered.
"I didn't destroy the arena, so it wasn't that big of a deal."
"As for scaring the audience, that's exactly the point. Isn't that the mission Ryōsuke-nii gave us?"
...
Soon, it was Fū's turn. The Leaf Village Genin was matched against a Genin from the Stone Village.
At the proctor's command, the match began.
A pair of wings sprouted from Fū's back, and she immediately took to the sky.
The Stone Village Genin stared up at her, completely dumbfounded.
Aside from throwing kunai, he had absolutely no long-range attacks in his arsenal.
Left with no other options, he pulled out his kunai and hurled them at his airborne opponent.
But Fū darted left and right with incredible speed, effortlessly dodging every single projectile.
She then exhaled a massive cloud of glowing scale powder, sending it raining down upon the Stone Genin.
Seeing the shimmering substance, the Stone Genin knew it was dangerous and immediately formed hand signs.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
A small earthen wall rose from the ground, shielding him from the front.
However, the scale powder simply drifted around the sides of the wall, enveloping his body anyway.
The Stone ninja instantly felt his body go weak. A wave of paralysis washed over him, and he quickly lost all sensation.
"It's poison..." he muttered.
But there was nothing he could do about it; he wasn't a medical-nin.
Moments later, the proctor announced Fū's victory.
Fū happily returned to Haku's side.
Haku offered her an approving smile.
"Well done, Fū," she praised.