Naruto's Iron Resolve

"Hehe..."

"Huang Mao, you were quite arrogant before," Sak sneered, tilting his head back as he spoke, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

During the first exam, while that yellow-haired brat hadn't reported them, he had started the trend of falsely accusing candidates of cheating to get them eliminated. Their mission was to deal with Uchiha Sasuke, but nothing stopped them from killing the yellow-haired puppet master standing in front of them.

Sak had done his homework last night, learning that the kid's strength came entirely from his puppetry. Without his puppet, this yellow-haired brat was nothing. Sak was confident in his ability to destroy such things—his "Decapitating Airwaves" could shatter even rocks.

"I'm going to make you suffer..."

Sak's smile twisted into something cruel as he raised his hands, preparing to launch a sonic attack aimed at the puppet.

Sasuke and Sakura stood by, showing no intention of intervening. They knew better.

Naruto, gripping his large iron door—his "puppet"—in one hand, didn't bother to open the gate of light. In an instant, he vanished from his spot and reappeared in front of Sak, lifting the iron gate high above his head and jumping into the air.

The shadow of the door loomed over Sak, sending a cold shiver down his spine. Sak's eyes widened as the colorful panel seemed to grow larger by the second, reflecting in his eyes. He could even make out four words written on the weapon: This is the end.

At that moment, Sak smelled death.

I'm going to die! I'll definitely die if this hits me!

Naruto's speed was so incredible that neither Sak nor his companions could react. It was as if the yellow-haired boy had teleported.

Naruto, mid-air with his arms raised, envisioned Uchiha Obito's face overlapping with Sak's.

He couldn't help but put even more force into his strike.

"Did I break your defense?!"

Boom!

A loud crash echoed through the forest, accompanied by a shockwave that sent debris flying. When the colorful door panel connected with Sak's head, there wasn't even time for him to scream. He was smashed into the ground, blood splattering everywhere.

A small crater formed where Sak had stood. Naruto stood in its center, blood pooling around his feet and splattered on the nearby bushes.

As for Sak…

He was pulverized on the spot. Naruto didn't dare to look twice at the mess.

It was as gruesome as someone getting flattened by a semi-truck in his previous life.

"Ahh!! Run...Run!"

The remaining two Sound ninjas snapped back to reality. The sight of Sak's grisly demise left them trembling and numb with fear.

Their only thought now was to escape from this monster! Otherwise, they would surely die too.

Exchanging a quick glance, they bolted in opposite directions, diving into the dense forest.

Naruto shook the blood off the door panel with a flick of his wrist. If he wasn't holding a door, he might've looked like a swordsman cleaning his blade after a kill.

Eyeing the fleeing Sound ninjas, Naruto put away his door panel, opened a light gate, and chased after them.

Not long after, Naruto returned to the group, his clothes stained with blood.

"Sorry for the delay…"

Before he could finish, Sasuke rushed forward, swinging his Xuanzhong Ruler at Naruto's face. Sakura, not to be outdone, leaped back and hurled a kunai at him.

They attacked without hesitation.

Boom!

Naruto was knocked back by the blow from Sasuke, crashing into a tree. Both Sasuke and Sakura shouted in unison.

"Who are you?!"

"The real Naruto would never apologize!"

"Hehehe..."

The imposter chuckled, impressed, and then formed a seal with his hands. His disguise dissipated, revealing his true form.

Naruto, who had just finished cleaning the blood from his clothes, arrived back on the scene, nearly cursing aloud when he saw what had happened.

Orochimaru! Of all people!

He mentally cursed, thinking, Does Orochimaru like role-playing even more than me?

Fuming, Naruto opened a light gate and appeared in front of Orochimaru, ready to bring down his door panel on his head.

But Orochimaru, wary of the sudden gate appearing behind him, kicked Naruto away before he could attack, and immediately formed hand signs.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

In the next moment, a powerful wind chakra erupted from behind the light gate, targeting Naruto.

The impact nearly shattered Naruto's Iron Man weights. Though they were meant to be temporary training tools, they weren't meant for defense, and cracks appeared under Orochimaru's wind attack.

His body wasn't too badly injured; he healed in less than two seconds.

Seeing Naruto take a hit, Sasuke told Sakura to stay back, and with his Sharingan blazing, he rushed toward Orochimaru, Xuanzhong Ruler sparking with lightning.

Naruto, still recovering from the unexpected kick, stashed away his weights, opened another light gate beside Sasuke, and charged at Orochimaru with his door panel.

Both of them launched a simultaneous attack, one from the left and the other from the right, surprising Orochimaru.

He had come here to test the Uchiha orphan's strength, to see if he was worthy of becoming his vessel.

From just a brief exchange, Orochimaru's interest grew even more.

Seeing Sasuke's blade aimed at his waist, Orochimaru dodged in an inhumanly flexible manner, then swiftly kicked Sasuke away, sending him flying dozens of meters.

Bang!

Orochimaru caught Naruto's door panel with one hand, and the two locked in a contest of strength.

Orochimaru's eyes widened in surprise as he realized what Naruto was wielding.

Is this guy seriously using a door panel as a weapon?

Even for someone as seasoned as Orochimaru, this was a first.

Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard an obnoxious sound coming from the door panel…

"Did you break your defense?! Did you break your defense?!"