Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

"Good! Good! Good!"

Naruto shouted 'good' three times.

To have Neji willingly stay was the best outcome Naruto could've hoped for.

"Then you should have a good rest first. I trust you. Go bold with your plans, and if you run into any issues, come to me. I'll help wherever I can."

Leaving these words, Naruto turned and left the medical room.

'After such a long time, the match between Ino and Orochimaru's subordinate should be over, right?'

Hurrying back to the spectator seats, Naruto was immediately rendered speechless.

'My goodness… After nearly half an hour, they still hadn't finished?'

Generally, a battle between Shinobi will not last beyond ten minutes, with some able to deliver a quick win in mere seconds.

It was rare to see such a drawn-out war of attrition.

The audience, who'd initially been pumped up, had all lost their energy by now, and were booing incessantly.

After all, no one would be interested in watching such a tedious, drawn-out match.

Inside the arena, the duel between Ino and Kusano Hito was not at all fancy… They just used kunai to fight in close combat, like kids who hadn't graduated from the Academy.

'No matter what, they were still Genin… Couldn't they at least use some Ninjutsu?'

After only a few moments of watching, Naruto felt utterly bored. The clanging of kunai on kunai was painfully grating.

"Hey, hurry it up already! Who cares who wins or loses? This is too boring!"

Naruto couldn't help but shout out.

His words instantly resonated with the crowd, drawing cheers from all around.

After all, no one wanted this lackluster, technique-less match to drag on any longer.

Hearing Naruto's comment, Kusano Hito trembled, and his previously lazy demeanor changed, turning into a cold murderous aura, and his gaze tinged with blood-red fury.

He quickly formed hand seals and said in a low voice, "It's time to finish this. Water Release: Scattering Bullets Technique!"

Then, dozens of water balls as big as basketballs spurted out of his mouth and shot rapidly towards Ino.

Not only that, but as Ino dodged, Kusano Hito silently slipped into the ground.

"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!"

Kusano Hito's voice echoed around, though he was nowhere in sight. Ino suddenly felt her ankle seized, and in the next moment, her entire body was pulled into the ground, leaving only her head exposed.

Whoosh!

Kusano Hito jumped out from the ground, holding a kunai on Ino's pretty face, and said calmly: "Referee, declare the result."

"Third match, winner, Kusano Hito!"

Hayate snapped out of his daze and quickly announced the outcome.

No one would have guessed that Kusano Hito, who'd been locked in a lengthy struggle with Ino, would turn around and finish her so cleanly in one swift move.

The capture, the swift feint, the decisive finish… all of it contrasted sharply with the half-hour slog that had come before.

Seeing this, Naruto nodded in understanding.

'It seems that Kusano Hito followed Orochimaru's orders and delayed time for me. When he saw me coming back, he decisively launched a general attack and ended this boring match.'

In fact, if Naruto had thought about it more deeply, he would've realized this sooner.

After all, it was Orochimaru who led the team, so both Kusano Chi and Kusano Hito must be capable combatants. Against Ino, who relied on her Mind Body Switch Technique and lacked any real offensive power if she missed, Kusano Hito could easily win.

Once the arena was cleared, Hayate pulled out the roster again and said, "Fourth match, Uzumaki Naruto VS Kusano Ten. Both participants, please go to the arena and prepare for the battle."

"I forfeit the fourth match. Let's move to the fifth match."

A voice spoke from behind Naruto.

Turning around, Naruto saw it was none other than Kusano Ten, Orochimaru in disguise. As soon as he finished speaking, Kusano Ten vanished in a puff of smoke.

'Shadow clone?'

'It seemed that Orochimaru and Sasuke hadn't finished their conversation yet, so he sent a shadow clone to forfeit the match.'

"Since Kusano Ten has chosen to forfeit, we'll move on to the fifth matct, Tenten VS Gaara. Both participants, please come to the arena."

Hayate looked at the roster and announced.

The audience was actually quite eager to see Naruto fight. Unlike in the original work, Naruto was no longer the dead last of his class. In fact, he had graduated as the top student from the Academy.

Even Sasuke, the genius of the Uchiha Clan, had only graduated in second place.

After watching Sasuke's thrilling match with Neji, the crowd's excitement grew, and they were all the more eager to see Naruto in action.

But since Naruto's opponent had forfeited, there wasn't much to be done. And with the next match featuring Gaara, a Shinobi from Sunagakure, so the audiences were still excited, hoping he would deliver a spectacular fight.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two figures appeared in the arena… one with a pair of buns in her hair, Tenten, and the other carrying a large gourd on his back, Gaara.

Seeing Gaara, Naruto couldn't help but smile a bit.

Before, he thought that Gaara's dark circles were due to Shukaku tormenting him. However, now that Shukaku could no longer cause trouble and a month has passed, Gaara's dark circles should have faded a lot, but the dark circles remained completely unchanged.

'Could it be that they weren't dark circles, but actually birthmarks?'

Before Naruto could dwell on it, Hayate signaled the start of the match, "Both of you, get ready. The fifth match, begins!"

After saying that, Hayate quickly stepped back, giving both contestants ample space to battle.

Gaara, however, didn't immediately make a move. Instead, he asked, "I remember that you are Neji's teammate. Over the past month, you've been training with Naruto a lot, haven't you?"

"We've trained together a few times, and he even gave us a tough training regimen. But why do you ask?" Tenten asked in confusion.

"Since Naruto trained you, I won't hold back."

Gaara narrowed his eyes slightly, and the cork of his gourd shot away.

At the next moment, a torrent of sand surged out, engulfing the entire area and rushing toward Tenten from every direction.

'Whoa, going all out?'

Naruto was shocked, 'Given Gaara's personality, he should have become more calm and composed by now. So why did he change so drastically upon hearing that Tenten trained with me?'

'Could it be that Gaara felt left out and jealous because I didn't hadn't invited him to train?'

'No way... Could that really be it?'

Naruto hadn't brought Gaara along only because he felt Gaara already had a unique style and didn't need the extra training.

Little did he know that he had inadvertently dug a massive pit, and now Tenten was paying the price for it.

He couldn't help but shout, "Tenten, keep it up! Now's your time to show off all that training you've done this past month. You got this!"

"I will!"

Tenten responded confidently, swiftly pulling out a barrage of Ninja Tools from her pouch. She used part of them to fend off the sand, while the rest were directed at Gaara in an attack.

Every Ninja Tool was strategically utilized to maximize its effectiveness.

Not only that, but Tenten's hands constantly shifted, causing the Ninja Tools to change trajectory and initiate a secondary attack. Thin, nearly invisible wires could be seen guiding them… just like Sasuke's Shurikenjutsu.

'Within just one month, Tenten had improved considerably.'

Naruto couldn't help but nod in approval, feeling pleased with her progress.

But little did he know, his words of encouragement to Tenten only deepened Gaara's jealousy...