After thinking for five minutes, Naruto realized that he could only practice water-walking using the Shadow Clone Technique. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but seeing Ino's "Water Severing Wave" pockmarking the Earth-Style Wall and sending torrents of water flying everywhere, combined with the powerful ninja techniques like "Exploding Water Colliding Wave" and "Water Dragon Bullet" he had witnessed during the bandit extermination, Naruto felt a mix of emotions. His classmates had already reached such a level, but what about him? Naruto felt deeply disheartened. He dispelled his Shadow Clone Technique and his gaze happened to fall on Sasuke's profile—his fists clenched tightly, his face filled with frustration. In this moment, Naruto felt that Sasuke must be suffering just as much. He felt he understood Sasuke better now, and in this instant, their hearts were connected. Naruto felt he had to do something—for Sasuke and for himself.
"I challenge you!" Naruto suddenly leaped in front of Ino, his left hand on his hip and his right hand pointing at her. "Speak your mind and act on it—that's my Ninja Way! I want to know exactly where the gap between us lies!"
Naruto was dead serious. Sakura wanted to step in and try to talk him out of it, but Sasuke held her back.
Ino was baffled by Naruto's sudden outburst.
I'm just practicing my Water Severing Wave here—what's it to you? Shikamaru, lying on a tree branch, chuckled softly. Look at this, you've been pushing me and Choji, you've been pushing Team 8, and now you've even stirred up Team 7!
He jumped down from the tree and went back inside to fetch Choji, who was still busy eating. "Come quick, Naruto's about to get beaten up."
"Are you really going to fight?"
"Yes!"
"Alright then."
Ino and Naruto stood five meters apart, and following the rules of the Ninja Academy, they formed the "Seal of Confrontation."
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!Naruto immediately brought his index and middle fingers together, crossed his hands into a "seal", and unleashed his signature move!
Two hundred Narutos surrounded Ino.
In that moment, Ino felt what Mizuki must have felt in the original timeline—seeing so many Shadow Clones suddenly appear was indeed overwhelming.
"Naruto, you really have a lot of Chakra."
Ino's current Chakra reserves only allowed her to use the Shadow Clone Technique. Using the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique would be too risky for her.
She also formed the "Ren" seal and created two Shadow Clones. By then, Naruto was already charging at her, shouting at the top of his lungs.
One of Ino's Shadow Clones quickly formed hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
A curtain of water appeared out of thin air, swirling around the three of them.
"Ahhh—!! I won't lose!" On Naruto's side, his endless stream of Shadow Clones forcefully charged at her Water Formation Wall.
The force of the swirling water wall was immense, and Naruto's Shadow Clones were being dispelled one after another, turning into puffs of white smoke. Seeing that he couldn't find a weak spot in the water wall, Naruto decided not to look for one. Instead, he punched, kicked, and even headbutted the wall.
The two hundred Narutos used a crude but highly effective method to rapidly wear down the thickness of Ino's Water Formation Wall.
"Naruto's tactics are actually pretty good," Asuma commented quietly.
At first glance, it seemed like Naruto's Shadow Clones were being rapidly depleted—over fifty of them were dispelled in just over ten seconds by the swirling water wall. But the wall was undoubtedly thinning. One of Ino's Shadow Clones, which had been preparing to unleash a Water Dragon Bullet, had to stop and help the other Shadow Clone reinforce the Water Formation Wall. Her rhythm had been disrupted.
Kakashi chuckled dryly. Naruto didn't have any deliberate tactics—this guy fought entirely on instinct.
One shadow clone maintained the Water Formation Wall technique, while another created water to reinforce the rapidly depleting wall. Ino's main body had yet to make a move; she wanted to use her sensing ability to locate Naruto's true body. The result was predictable—if even Kaguya Otsutsuki, who possessed the "Rinne Sharingan," couldn't find him, how could she, with no special eye abilities, rely solely on her sensing skills to locate him?
She wasn't proficient with the Water Severing Wave, and considering its immense destructive power, she didn't want to accidentally provoke the Nine-Tails, Minato's Chakra, Kushina's Chakra, Ashura's Chakra, or even the Sage of Six Paths to appear. That would be far too awkward.
When dealing with someone like Naruto, who tends to get overly excited during battles, it's best to cool him down a bit.
Ino stuck to her old tricks.
She took a deep breath, gathering water attribute chakra in her throat, and then exhaled sharply: "Water Release: Super Exploding Water Shockwave!"
It was as if a massive hole had suddenly opened above everyone's heads. A colossal wave of water appeared out of nowhere, carrying immense force as it surged toward Naruto, who had already restored his two hundred shadow clones.
"Ah! Grab me!"
"I've got you!"
"Hold on!"
The two hundred Narutos were like actors in a movie, each holding onto the next. The lead Naruto clung tightly to a tree, while the one at the end was nearly swept into the sea. Despite the powerful water current threatening to scatter them, they held firm, forming what could only be described as a "Naruto Bridge."
Tazuna's house was right by the sea, so water resources were abundant. Ino glanced around, formed hand seals, and unleashed "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet."
A water dragon rose from the sea, accompanied by a wave over ten meters high. The wave crashed forward, uprooting trees, while the water dragon surged behind. With both forces working together, the "Naruto Bridge" lost its support and, like dumplings dropped into a pot, all the clones fell into the sea in unison.
Two minutes later, the last shadow clone disappeared, and Naruto, drenched like a drowned rat, swam back to shore. The two stood facing each other, formed the Seal of Reconciliation, and thus concluded their match.
Ino glanced at her status panel. Unfortunately, there was no achievement like "Overwhelming the Seventh Hokage." She shook her head and continued practicing the Water Severing Wave.
Naruto quickly regained his spirits. If Ino, who was so much stronger than him, was still training hard, what right did he have to slack off? Losing a fight and moping for days? That wasn't an option!
After giving himself a pep talk, he went back to find Kakashi.
The relationship between a Jonin leader and their subordinates wasn't the traditional master-disciple dynamic. There was no obligation to teach them ninja techniques. If the Jonin liked you, they might teach you a thing or two; if not, you were left to your own devices.
Kakashi was the direct disciple of Minato Namikaze, and Naruto was Minato's son. Naturally, their relationship was anything but ordinary.
Kakashi wanted to teach Naruto everything he knew, but Naruto's foundation was indeed weak, and there was a lot of catching up to do. The original plan was to gradually fill in the gaps during mission breaks, but now that Ino had joined Team 7, Kakashi couldn't stick to the original plan.
Saying that Naruto's foundation was too weak and he couldn't teach him? That would be too damaging to Naruto's self-esteem.
Sakura and Sasuke waited with anticipation, leaving Kakashi in a dilemma. Unable to come up with an excuse, he had no choice but to proceed! Kakashi briefly explained the theory of Chakra Nature Transformation. These concepts had already been taught at the Ninja Academy, and both Sakura and Sasuke had already developed their respective Chakra Natures, so they understood it well. Only Naruto was left confused, having no idea what the white-haired teacher was talking about.
Regardless of whether they understood or not, Kakashi handed each of them a piece of Chakra Paper to retest their Chakra Natures.
The results were unsurprising: Sakura's was Water, Sasuke's was Fire and Lightning, and Naruto's was Wind.