"This technique is nothing to fear once you see how the shadow moves!" Seeing the situation, Kin confidently smiled.
Unaware, she was walking into Shikamaru's trap. Shikamaru knew his clumsy attempt to ensnare her with the shadow wouldn't work, but he did it anyway.
His goal was to reinforce her preconceived notion, making her believe his technique was always this obvious.
After she dodged, Shikamaru quickly canceled the technique, then crouched to avoid Kin's senbon attack, which had bells attached.
Kin's abilities involved using the bells' sound to trap people in a Genjutsu and senbon without bells for sneak attacks.
However, when Kin gained the upper hand, Shikamaru used common sense to disguise his shadow, hiding it within the shadow of a wire to connect with Kin's body.
He then used shuriken to make her forget about the wall behind her. She crashed into it and fell unconscious, securing Shikamaru's victory.
Ui and Ritsu watched the entire match, only noticing the anomaly in the wire's shadow at the very end. They couldn't help but feel impressed… Shikamaru truly wasn't simple.
After Shikamaru's match came Naruto vs Kiba. The two were at odds from the start. Kiba looked down on Naruto, given Naruto's poor performance at the Ninja Academy.
So, at the beginning, Kiba told Naruto not to bother helping.
"Naruto, don't lose to that guy!" Seeing Akamaru's arrogant manner, Sakura above felt annoyed.
'Naruto... I'm sorry, but he can't beat Kiba, Kakashi.' The beautiful Kurenai thought to herself.
As the match began, Kiba immediately used [Ninja Art: Four Legs Technique], gathering Chakra in his limbs to assume a beast-like form, greatly enhancing his traction and attack power.
Unfamiliar with Kiba's style, Naruto was sent flying by a single elbow strike.
Just as Kiba thought it was a one-hit knockout, Naruto quickly stood up. Compared to others, Naruto's defense and vitality were incredibly strong. Coupled with his willpower hardened through constant training, Naruto stood up under Kiba's astonished gaze.
"Don't... underestimate me!" Naruto said seriously, looking at Kiba.
"You're already bleeding. Why keep putting on a brave face?" Kiba frowned, seeing blood trickle from Naruto's mouth.
"I was letting you win, just to see your strength. You're the one who shouldn't act tough. Bring out your dog!" Naruto retorted, turning the tables.
"You'll regret that!" Seeing Naruto's attitude, Kiba gritted his teeth seriously.
Then, Kiba and Akamaru charged at Naruto. Kiba quickly used a special smoke bomb, instantly enveloping Naruto in thick smoke.
Using the dense smoke, Kiba, relying on his keen sense of smell, launched continuous attacks. Blinded, Naruto could only take the hits.
Takeru observed it all clearly with his Observation Haki.
When Naruto tried to escape the smoke, Akamaru pounced, biting him and sending him back into the smoke.
As the smoke cleared, Kiba saw Naruto lying on the ground. He was about to praise Akamaru when Akamaru bit his arm.
It turned out Naruto had used the Transformation Technique to become Akamaru, while the fallen one was a clone. The real Akamaru had been captured by Naruto.
After avenging the bite, Naruto still controlled Akamaru.
Seeing Naruto cleverly combine the Shadow Clone Technique with the Transformation Technique, Shikamaru was amazed.
What no one knew was that earlier fight with the Amegakure's Ninja had made Naruto's use of the Shadow Clone Transformation Technique more flexible.
However, just a bite naturally didn't affect Kiba much, aside from a tooth mark on his arm and some pain.
Looking at Naruto now, Kiba finally felt a sliver of respect. His eyes turned serious. He then took out a pill from his pouch and accurately tossed it into Akamaru's mouth. After consuming it, Akamaru underwent a significant transformation.
First, his size increased, and he became more ferocious. Moreover, his fur turned red.
The sudden change made Naruto instinctively let go, allowing Akamaru to return to Kiba's side, baring its teeth at Naruto.
Seeing Naruto's astonishment, Kiba smiled lightly. He also placed a soldier pill in his own mouth. After consuming it, Kiba's Chakra surged dramatically.
"Go, Akamaru! Ninja Art: Beast Human Clone!" Kiba shouted. Akamaru leaped onto him, and Kiba used a technique, transforming Akamaru into his own likeness.
Seeing this, Naruto complained to Hayate that Kiba was using a stimulant and it was against the rules.
But Hayate stated that soldier pills were one of the ninja tools and weren't considered a violation.
The so-called soldier pill was a secret medicine that allowed soldiers to fight continuously for three days and nights… high in protein, easily absorbed, and with stimulating and calming effects.
With the soldier pill, Kiba's Chakra temporarily doubled.
Then, Kiba rapidly attacked Naruto. He infused his entire body with Chakra, becoming like a wild beast as he assaulted Naruto.
Facing two Kibas simultaneously, Naruto was at an absolute disadvantage.
During a jump to dodge, Naruto left a huge opening. Kiba and Akamaru seized the opportunity, using [Fang Passing Fang]. The two spun rapidly, forming what looked like two tornadoes, crashing into Naruto with terrifying force.
Under this collision, Naruto suffered serious injuries again. However, he slowly stood up once more, declaring his resolve to become Hokage.
Hearing this, Kiba laughed mockingly, taunting Naruto for constantly acting tough.
Naruto didn't hold back in his retort. Kiba and Akamaru attacked again. Naruto dodged initially, but after Kiba used another smoke bomb, Naruto was forced to take hits again.
Amidst this, Naruto finally thought of a way to break through. After the smoke cleared, he quickly transformed into Kiba.
Now, there were three Kibas on the field. But Kiba had an extremely keen sense of smell and immediately identified Naruto, delivering a powerful punch.
The flying Naruto cleverly transformed into Akamaru. Seeing this sudden change, Kiba froze. He then attacked the real Akamaru, knocking him out of the fight.
Seeing his plan succeed, Naruto smiled and returned to his original form. Though injured, he had at least neutralized Akamaru.
Naruto took the chance to mock Kiba: "A Ninjutsu needs to be used with thought. Otherwise, it can be used against you, idiot."
Kakashi watched Naruto speechlessly… he had said those exact words to Naruto before.
Hearing Naruto, Kiba was furious but quickly bit his own hand, using the pain to calm his mind.
Calmed down, Kiba decided to use his speed advantage, attacking gradually while looking for an opening, aiming to crush Naruto in one blow.
The plan seemed sound and was going smoothly. Naruto, however, displayed astonishing perseverance and endurance.
Finally, because of a fart from Naruto, Kiba left himself wide open. Naruto seized the chance, using a move based on Lee's Shadow of the Dancing Leaf: Naruto Barrage.
Multiple shadow clones delivered spinning kicks to the enemy, followed by the real Naruto delivering the final blow. After this attack, Kiba lost consciousness.
After checking Kiba's condition, Hayate quickly announced Naruto's victory.
"Naruto actually beat Kiba?!" Shikamaru said in surprise.
"What an upset!" Choji exclaimed.
As Kiba was carried away by the medical team, everyone looked at Naruto in amazement.
When Naruto returned to the observation deck, Hinata, suppressing her shyness, handed him a healing ointment. Naruto didn't understand but accepted it after Kurenai's persuasion.
Naruto applied the ointment and could visibly see himself healing. As he marveled at the miraculous ointment, Kakashi reflected on the terror of the Nine-Tails.
