Chapter 73: A Strength Equal to Kakashi’s

"Hehe..."

"Blondie, you were quite cocky before, weren't you?"

Zaku held his head high, excitement written all over his face.

During the first exam, though they weren't exposed by that blond guy, it was still him who started the idea of framing others for cheating. This mission was to deal with Uchiha Sasuke, but it didn't stop them from tormenting this blond puppet user standing before them.

Zaku had done his homework last night. He'd learned that all of this kid's strength came from the puppets enhancing his abilities.

Without those puppets, the blond kid was nothing.

And conveniently, Zaku was extremely confident in destroying such things.

After all, his "Decapitating Airwaves" could even crush rocks.

"I'm going to have fun torturing you..."

Zaku wore a sadistic smile as he slowly raised his hands, aiming them at the blond.

Sasuke and Sakura stood to the side, not making any move to intervene.

Naruto held the massive iron gate with one hand, not even bothering to activate it, and vanished from where he stood, reappearing right in front of Zaku a split second later.

He lifted the iron gate high, leaping into the air, casting a large shadow over Zaku, sending a chill down his spine.

Zaku stared up blankly, the multi-colored gleam of the door reflecting in his eyes. The massive gate grew larger in his vision. He could even read the four characters written on Naruto's weapon: Just this?

At that moment, he smelled the scent of death.

He was going to die!

If that thing hit, he'd definitely die!

Naruto moved too fast—so fast that none of the Sound ninjas could react.

It was as if the moment Zaku had finished speaking, Naruto had already appeared in front of him.

In midair, Naruto's arms were raised high, his body forming a 'V' shape as he descended.

In Naruto's eyes, Zaku's figure overlapped with Obito's for just a brief moment.

Naruto couldn't help but add a bit more force to his attack.

"Did I break your defense?"

BOOM—

With a deafening crash, a powerful shockwave swept across the area, causing the surrounding Sound ninjas to squeeze their eyes shut from the gust of wind.

The instant the colorful door met Zaku's skull, he didn't even have time to scream before being smashed into the ground. If Naruto hadn't quickly closed his visor, blood would've splattered all over his face.

The spot where Zaku had been standing was now a small crater, with Naruto standing in the middle, blood pooling at his feet. Tiny droplets of blood even dotted the surrounding bushes.

As for Zaku...

He was turned into a bloody mess on the spot, and Naruto didn't dare take a second look.

Judging by the gruesome scene, Zaku's condition was no better than those people crushed flat by trucks back in his previous life.

"Ahh!!"

"Run... run!"

The other two Sound ninjas snapped back to reality. Upon seeing Zaku's fate, their entire bodies trembled, their scalps tingling.

They had only one thought now...

To escape from this monster!

If they didn't, they would die for sure!

The two quickly exchanged a glance and bolted in opposite directions into the forest.

Naruto swung the gate in his hand, flicking off the bloodstains. If it weren't for the fact that he was holding a door, he'd almost look like a swordsman who had just slain his enemies.

Casting a quick glance at the two fleeing figures, Naruto stashed the gate away, opened a portal, and gave chase.

Soon after, Naruto, now covered in blood, returned to the group in a few swift leaps.

"Sorry for the wait..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Sasuke suddenly lunged forward, swinging the massive Executioner's Blade straight at his face, while even Sakura leaped backward and hurled a kunai at him.

Without any hesitation, the two launched a joint attack on Naruto.

BAM—

Naruto's body was sent flying by Sasuke's heavy strike. Both of them shouted in unison:

"Who are you!?"

"Naruto would never apologize!"

"Hehehe..."

"I underestimated you."

The impostor formed a hand sign, releasing the disguise and revealing his true appearance.

Naruto, just having finished wiping the blood off himself, arrived just in time to witness the scene. He nearly pointed at Orochimaru's nose and cursed.

Seriously?!

Orochimaru, I didn't think you were this into role-playing!

Grumbling internally, Naruto opened a portal on the spot, flashing in front of Orochimaru, ready to pull out his iron gate and bash it over his head.

Unfortunately, Orochimaru had already taken note of the sudden appearance of the portal behind him and was on guard.

As soon as the blond kid emerged, Orochimaru kicked him right back into the portal and quickly formed a seal, unleashing a jutsu.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

The next second, Naruto was sent flying back to where he started.

To be honest, that kick from Orochimaru had left him a bit stunned.

It didn't really hurt, but it was the first time someone had interrupted his technique like that...

As expected of Orochimaru, huh?

Before he could fully recover, violent Wind Style chakra surged from the portal behind him.

The attack struck Naruto head-on, and even his Iron Man-brand weighted training gear was almost torn apart.

Since the gear was hastily crafted with no real defensive capabilities, it cracked under the force of Orochimaru's Wind Style attack.

Luckily, the injuries on his body weren't too severe and healed automatically within seconds.

Seeing Naruto get hit, Sasuke instructed Sakura to stay close and protect herself. Lightning flickered around his body as he grabbed the Executioner's Blade, charging at Orochimaru like a bolt of lightning.

From the few exchanges he had observed between Naruto and Orochimaru, Sasuke could tell...

This guy was definitely as strong as Kakashi!

Against an opponent like this, they had to give it their all.

With his Sharingan in full bloom, Sasuke appeared behind Orochimaru, twisting his body as he swung the Executioner's Blade with immense force toward his waist.

If that hit landed, Orochimaru's spine would surely be shattered.

Naruto, even faster than Sasuke, quickly stashed his training weights into the system after being knocked down. Then, he opened a portal right beside Sasuke and swung his colorful iron gate at Orochimaru's head.

The two of them, one on the left and one on the right, launched simultaneous attacks at Orochimaru. Their speed shocked even Orochimaru.

He had only come to test the strength of this Uchiha orphan, to see if the boy was worthy of becoming his new vessel.

But after a few brief exchanges...

Orochimaru grew even more excited.

He glanced at the massive blade in Sasuke's hand and twisted his body in an almost inhuman way to avoid the strike.

Then, he kicked Sasuke in the abdomen, sending both him and the sword flying dozens of meters away.

CLANG—

Orochimaru caught Naruto's door mid-swing, and the two of them locked into a fierce contest of strength.

As Orochimaru glanced at the weapon in his hand, his expression briefly froze.

If his eyes weren't deceiving him...

Wasn't this... a door?

Even a well-traveled ninja like Orochimaru had to admit that today had broadened his horizons.

Who the hell uses a door as a weapon?

Just as he was lost in thought, the door suddenly let out an infuriating sound...

"Did I break your defense?"

"Did I break your defense?"

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