Unfortunately for Mizuki, his kunai struck Sanada Aran's wooden clone—and was instantly knocked aside, repelled as if it had struck solid iron.
"What?! How can your body be this hard?" Mizuki's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the unyielding figure before him.
"That's just one of my clones," Aran replied coolly. "If you can't even damage a mere shadow of me, what chance do you have against my real self?"
Even as he spoke, Aran's true body had already slipped around behind Mizuki.
"No way… A clone with a body that solid? Impossible!" Mizuki's mind reeled. Naruto's Shadow Clones had already left him shaken earlier, but now another so-called dropout—Sanada Aran—was displaying techniques just as terrifying. The thought alone made Mizuki tremble.
"Ordinary clones, yes, they're weak. But what I used…" Aran's hands blurred into seals. "...is Wood Release: Multiple Clone Jutsu!"
The forest shook as three thousand wooden clones erupted around them, lining the trees in every direction. The sheer pressure of their presence was overwhelming.
"And now," Aran declared, his grin sharp, "I'll show you my original taijutsu secret art!"
"Taijutsu secret art?!" Naruto, Iruka, and Mizuki all froze at his words.
Everyone knew the pinnacle of taijutsu—the Eight Inner Gates. With even one gate opened, even a Kage-level shinobi could be forced back.
"Could it be… has Aran mastered the Eight Gates?" Iruka's heart skipped. By now, his astonishment had transformed into genuine admiration.
"Aran… your strength… it truly leaves me in awe as your teacher! You—"
But mid-sentence, Iruka caught a glimpse of Aran's hand seals and his expression froze. His stomach dropped.
"Thousand Years of Death! Three-Thousand Barrage!!"
Iruka's face darkened instantly, three black stress lines forming on his forehead. "I take it back. Forget I said anything. Of course it had to be that…"
"Thousand Years of Death… and three thousand times in a row?!" Iruka groaned, burying his face in his hands. "This kid is insane!"
Mizuki, realizing what was about to happen, let out a panicked scream and bolted for the treeline. But it was far too late.
Aran's army of wooden clones lined up in perfect formation, advancing with eerie precision.
The stillness of the night forest shattered with Mizuki's scream—a shriek like a slaughtered pig—as three thousand clones simultaneously unleashed Aran's "ultimate taijutsu."
Mizuki soared into the night sky, propelled by a rainbow arc no one would ever want to replicate. In certain circles, it might later be jokingly referred to as a "Rainbow of Shame."
When Mizuki finally crashed to the ground, he writhed in the dirt, vomiting, convulsing, and completely broken. Whether he'd ever walk normally again was questionable—but at the very least, one thing was certain: constipation would never trouble him again.
Ding!"First successful use of Wood Release: Multiple Clone Jutsu. Reward: Body Flicker Technique obtained!"
"Aran, that was insane!" Naruto gawked, eyes sparkling. "Since when do you know Wood Release clones?!"
"Oh, that?" Aran laughed lightly, scratching the back of his head. "I, uh… kind of picked it up in my sleep one night."
Naruto's jaw dropped. "You're kidding me! You can just sleep and wake up knowing a jutsu like that? You're a total genius!"
Seeing Naruto's envy, Aran chuckled. "Don't look at me like that. You've already mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu yourself, haven't you?"
"Shadow Clone's nothing! I'm gonna be Hokage someday!" Naruto puffed out his chest, his trademark confidence shining through.
Aran smirked. "Funny, that's my dream too—to become Hokage."
"Really?! Then that makes us rivals! And I'm not holding back against you!" Naruto grinned fiercely.
The two boys laughed together, their rivalry sealed in that instant.
Iruka, standing nearby, felt warmth spread through his chest as he watched them. Two children, so young, yet already showing extraordinary potential.
"These two brats…" he murmured with a smile. "If it's the two of them… maybe one day, either of them really could become Hokage."