"Sajirō, you hold onto this. Once we find another Yin-type stone, we'll pass this round," Naruto said with a grin.
"…Alright."
Sasuke nodded.
But before he could say more, the ground beneath them suddenly gave way. None of them kept their footing, and they stumbled down.
In the next instant, three or four massive serpents burst forth around them, jaws open wide, razor fangs glinting as they struck.
It all happened in a flash.
Sasuke froze for a moment, kunai in hand, ready to counter—
But then he stopped.
Because Naruto had already entered Nine-Tails Mode. Behind him, Kurama's chakra had taken shape into three glowing arms, while three orbs spun into existence at his feet.
"Gaara!" Naruto shouted.
Without hesitation, Gaara's sand condensed into a massive stone spear—
the Spear of Shukaku.
"Go!"
The spear flew forward, piercing straight into the serpents' maws.
The snakes roared in rage, blood spraying as they slammed their colossal tails down.
But Gaara's sand rose into an unyielding barrier, shielding them from the crushing blows.
Then came the chakra of the tailed beasts.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Rasengan!"
Naruto's clones appeared in a burst, three of them each forming Rasengan. They slammed them down onto the snakes' skulls.
"Boom!"
With an earth-shaking explosion, the serpents' heads were obliterated.
Blood rained down like a storm, flesh and gore scattering everywhere. The corpses of the snakes crashed heavily onto the ground, shaking the earth.
"Done!"
Naruto grinned, clapping Gaara's hand in celebration.
"Sazō… you—"
But when he turned to Sasuke, he found him standing frozen, still clutching his kunai, eyes distant.
"What's wrong?!" Naruto asked, confused.
Snapped from his daze, Sasuke blinked. But when his gaze settled on Naruto, it was complicated, conflicted.
Because Sasuke knew—what Naruto had just done, he himself could never replicate.
Even Gaara might already be stronger than him.
"…It's nothing. I was just thinking. We got the Taiji Stone, and then those snakes appeared. Clearly a trap. Looks like every stone triggers a test. If we can't clear it, we'd be badly injured—or even fail outright."
"So we have to stay cautious. We can't afford mistakes."
His words were logical, but they came too fast, betraying something hidden.
"Yeah, makes sense. Looks like Uchiha Kaede-sama gave us our own special test."
Gaara nodded calmly.
The snakes' power was far beyond what ordinary Genin could handle. Unless Kaede wanted every participant slaughtered, this had to be a selective trial aimed at them.
In other words, Sajirō had been dragged into their burden.
Naruto only laughed. "Then no problem! This is just proof Kaede-sama wants to see our true strength. Gaara, Sazō—let's move. Time to find the other Taiji Stone."
Like a blazing sun, his energy was impossible to dampen. The idea of a special trial only excited him more.
"Alright, let's go."
Gaara agreed without hesitation.
But Sasuke said nothing. His fists clenched.
Jinchūriki…
They were different.
But he would prove it. He would surpass them both. Uchiha Sasuke would not be left behind.
"You've stirred up that boy's fighting spirit," Kaguya murmured as she glanced at Kaede.
Moments earlier, Sasuke's aura had grown stronger. She could feel it.
Kaede smiled. "Of course. I never intended to remove Indra's mark from his body. It's unnecessary. That mark is what drives him to grow stronger."
He remembered well—when he sensed Asura's mark on Naruto, he had erased it instantly.
Because that mark was poison. It would have turned Naruto into a foolish saint, someone who forgave even those who abused him, someone incapable of vengeance.
Kaede had no patience for that kind of "hero."
Konoha had no right to call Naruto a demon fox. If not for him, they would all have been slaughtered in Kurama's fury.
Yet instead of honoring him, they beat and cursed him, letting him grow up starving and alone—shown kindness only at Ichiraku's ramen stand.
Any child would have grown up broken. Even revenge would have been justified.
But Asura's mark wanted Naruto to forgive them all.
Forgive? For what?
No—Kaede wanted a Naruto who remembered kindness and repaid it, but also one who remembered cruelty and answered in kind. Only such a man could rule a village.
"Pitiful people are often hateful people," Kaede said with a soft chuckle.
Kaguya's pale eyes lingered on him. "You really are interested in their fates… in the clash between those two."
(End of Chapter)
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