Kenta looked down at the basketball-sized Naruto and took a deep breath.
He didn't have much Chakra, so if he wanted to settle this in one go, he could only open the Eight Gates.
"Eight Gates: Third Gate—Gate of Life, Open!"
Instantly, his skin turned bright red, veins bulged, and his hair stood on end as a massive amount of green Chakra overflowed from his skin, surrounding his entire body.
At this moment, Kenta's muscles didn't tear as they used to when he opened the Eight Gates.
After years of training, he could use the first five gates as common combat moves.
Meanwhile, the clever Uzumaki Naruto on the field below had a sudden flash of inspiration and came up with a great idea.
Thousands of clones split into six groups and began building human ladders to slowly approach Kenta in the air.
Kenta seemed not to notice Naruto's actions, concentrating the Chakra in his body into his right leg.
His chest swelled, wisps of flame emerged from his nostrils, and the Chakra on his leg instantly turned red.
"Flame Breathing: Meteor Volcano!"
Kenta's right leg kicked rapidly in mid-air, and crimson flames spewed out continuously following his movements.
They transformed into countless scorching lines of fire, densely smashing down toward the Naruto clones below.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The rain of fire hit the ground, exploding into clusters of scorching fireballs, instantly turning the entire field into a sea of fire.
In the distance, Aoki Yoru raised his hand to his forehead, his fingers shielding his brows from the dazzling light as he narrowed his eyes to gaze into the distance.
"Oh! Not bad. This move is quite suitable for clearing out small fry!"
"It's decent, but it's a pity Kenta's Chakra capacity is too low; he has to use it in conjunction with the Eight Gates technique."
Yui frowned as she spoke, "And as you know, the Eight Gates is a Ninjutsu that squeezes out one's life force. It's better to use it sparingly."
Aoki Yoru nodded in agreement; unless one fought using Senjutsu like him, there was no way around it.
Moreover, the essence of Chakra cultivation was also a form of squeezing life force, a feeling he was very sensitive to now.
Especially compared to Senjutsu, he could clearly feel the Natural Energy constantly nourishing his body.
He was now only one step away from a Sage Body, and Aoki Yoru was confident he could achieve it during this period.
When the time came, he would try to use Natural Energy to assimilate the Chakra in his body.
He didn't know if it would work, but if it did, even if he didn't reach the Six Paths Level, he could stand on equal footing with the Sages of the Three Great Sage Regions.
At this moment, the flames on the field slowly died down, leaving only a mess behind.
Kenta, up in the air, panted slightly as he slowly descended to the ground.
Crack—
The moment his feet touched the ground, a crack suddenly split the earth, and a Naruto burst out from the soil, his fist smashing straight toward Kenta's chin.
Kenta's eyes sharpened, and he forcibly twisted his body in mid-air, kicking hard into Naruto's chest.
Bang!
Naruto went flying back and turned into a cloud of white smoke in mid-air, the clone instantly dissipating.
"Got you!"
A triumphant voice suddenly came from behind him.
Two Narutos rushed forward from behind simultaneously, with one rapidly condensing Chakra in the other's hand.
Before long, a light blue Rasengan lit up in the palm of the Naruto in front, and he slammed it straight toward Kenta's back.
"Rasengan!"
At this, a sliver of a smile tugged at the corner of Kenta's mouth.
"The original body finally came out!"
His right hand was immediately dyed in red flames as he spun around abruptly, throwing out a fist cloaked in raging fire.
"Flame Breathing: Fire Fist!"
The crimson Fire Fist and the light blue Rasengan collided violently in mid-air, erupting with blinding firelight and a shockwave.
Kenta was shaken back several steps by the impact, while Naruto was sent flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
Kenta looked at the flying Naruto and breathed a sigh of relief. "I finally lured out the original body."
He had deliberately held back some strength when using Meteor Volcano just to guard against Naruto's original body.
After a long while, Naruto scrambled back up as if nothing had happened, and the wounds on his body actually vanished rapidly.
This scene left Kenta dumbfounded.
Standing up again, Naruto looked at the shocked Kenta and said with a smile, "Let's continue. I, Uzumaki Naruto, will never give up!"
As he spoke, he clenched his fist and thumped it hard against his chest.
Kenta held his forehead and sighed, "Forget it, I forfeit."
This guy Naruto was like an unkillable cockroach, and his Chakra seemed infinite.
Although he could go even faster, there was no doubt that Naruto would just create thousands more Shadow Clones.
What was the point of being fast if you couldn't even find the original body? It would only waste his physical strength.
Unless he used even more powerful moves, but that would require coordinating with the Eight Gates.
To be honest, he didn't want to use it frequently unless necessary; after all, Yui had said the Eight Gates was a technique that squeezed out one's life force.
He valued his life very much and wanted to live to be a hundred.
At this point, Aoki Yoru and the others outside the field saw that the winner had been decided and instantly appeared beside them.
"You both did quite well!"
"Of course, I told you I've made great progress."
Naruto patted his chest proudly when he saw Tsunade appear.
Aoki Yoru walked up to Kenta and asked in a low voice, "You actually gave up so easily?"
Kenta rolled his eyes at him. "I had no choice. He's simply cheating. If I can't find the original body, I'll just waste my Chakra for nothing, and I don't want to use my other moves."
"If I relied purely on Taijutsu, I could fight forever, but how long would that take? It's pointless."
On Naruto's side, Sakura was very happily patting Naruto's shoulder and offering words of praise.
She was still brooding over the previous match; there was no doubt she had lost that one.
Now that Naruto from their team had won, it was at least a way to get even, allowing her previous frustration to settle a bit.
"I've seen quite a show today, so I'll be heading off now!"
Aoki Yoru felt the show was over, so he bid farewell to Tsunade and Jiraiya, preparing to go back and continue perfecting his Sage Body.
"Kid, wait."
Aoki Yoru stopped and looked at Tsunade in confusion.
There shouldn't be any major issues at this point in time!
Tsunade said with a fake smile, "You're all Kakashi's disciples, and now you're the only one who hasn't stepped onto the field. Don't you want to show off your skills?"
Aoki Yoru looked at her speechlessly. "No, and there's no opponent. I can't exactly run off to Orochimaru's place to fight Sasuke, can I?"
Tsunade pursed her lips and looked toward Kakashi, who was leaning against a tree trunk, reading his book with rapt attention and a lecherous smile on his face.
"Isn't he right there?"
"That's not a good idea. Kakashi-sensei is currently researching the philosophies of life. Wouldn't it be wrong to disturb him?"
At that moment, Kakashi closed his book in the distance and looked solemnly at Aoki Yoru.
"I would also like to see your current strength."
Aoki Yoru didn't expect Kakashi to suddenly get fired up and said helplessly, "Alright, I'll treat it as a warm-up."
Hearing this, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kenta, and Yui all showed expressions of anticipation.
Both of their strengths were undoubtedly at the peak of Kage-level; who knew what kind of sparks would fly when they clashed.