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Minato chuckled. "Sensei, they're only eight years old. They're not going to be fighting at jōnin or even chūnin level."
Jiraiya laughed. "I know, Minato. I just want to see them give it their all."
Minato nodded. Around them, most of the clan heads were already seated, watching. They were well aware of the training that both of the jinchūriki children—Menma and Mito—were receiving. But they knew almost nothing about the third child, Naruto. In their eyes, he was insignificant. After all, it was the children of the Hokage who were destined for greatness. The other boy? Not worth paying attention to.
The matches began.
Menma and Mito both won their first rounds, surprising even Kushina and Minato with how well they handled themselves. But then came Naruto's turn.
He stepped calmly into the ring. His opponent? Inuzuka Kiba.
One of the clan heads chuckled. "Well, Kushina, I don't think your other child is going to win this one."
Kushina didn't respond. She wasn't sure what to expect.
Kiba smirked confidently. "I'm going to win this match and become the champion of this whole tournament!"
Naruto glanced at him, scanning his chakra and energy.
Pathetic, he thought.
He shook his head. "If you have something to prove, then go ahead. If you want to show your strength, do it now. I have better things to do."
Kiba growled. "You're gonna regret that!"
He looked to Iruka, who gave a nod.
"All right—hajime!"
Kiba charged at full speed, aiming to bring Naruto down.
But in the blink of an eye—before anyone could react—Kiba's face was slammed into the ground. Naruto's foot was on top of his head, pinning him down effortlessly. His hands were still tucked in his pockets. He looked utterly bored.
Gasps echoed around the arena.
Iruka rushed over, checking on Kiba, who had been knocked unconscious instantly. It had all happened so fast that no one, not even the proctors, had seen it clearly.
Only Minato and Kushina had managed to catch the movement—barely. Their eyes widened. That speed… It had been like a blur. Even Jiraiya and Tsunade noticed, along with a few of the more experienced clan heads.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed in suspicion and surprise, but she said nothing. She clenched her fists slightly, glaring at Naruto with rising interest—and perhaps unease.
Naruto noticed the hostility. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he channeled a small portion of his power. Immediately, something primal stirred in Tsunade's senses—something ancient. Her animal instincts, honed over years of training and her strong connection to medical and sensory arts, were screaming at her.
She took an unconscious step back.
A powerful aura radiated from Naruto—an alpha's presence, the aura of someone superior. Her instincts warned her: Do not provoke this boy. He is dangerous.
She said nothing more.
Most of the clan heads didn't notice the shift, but Tsunade did—thanks to her sensitivity to chakra and the animal-like instincts that came with her training in slug-summoning. Naruto noticed her reaction but chose not to comment. Instead, he turned away and walked off quietly.
One of the clan heads chuckled. "Well, that was one lucky kid, Minato. He's fast. Looks like he's been doing his own training."
Minato blinked for a moment, then replied, "Uh… yeah, something like that. I think he's been working with Guy on speed training."
Jiraiya smirked. "Are you sure about that, Minato? He might start wearing green spandex and shouting about the 'power of youth' soon."
They laughed. Even Tsunade allowed a small chuckle to escape.
"Still," Tsunade said thoughtfully, "his personality is very different from both Menma and Mito. He was fast. Though, I still don't think he's as fast as either of them—not yet, anyway."
Minato nodded. "Yeah, Menma and Mito can both enhance their speed with chakra. They've trained for that specifically."
Back in the arena, Naruto watched the rest of the matches unfold with a bored expression. The fights were unimpressive to him—predictable, basic, and sloppy.
Then came the match between his brother Menma and Uchiha Sasuke.
Naruto observed silently. Sasuke's chakra reserves were clearly lower than both Menma and Mito's, but there was something in his movements—something calculated. Naruto raised an eyebrow, intrigued. So he knows that skill can sometimes overcome raw power. Interesting…
He scoffed a little. It's true that a skilled shinobi could potentially take down a Kage-level opponent with the right timing, tactics, or a well-placed jutsu. But that only works when the gap isn't enormous. Against someone like me? It's like comparing an ant to a mountain. No number of ants can break a mountain.
Naruto smirked to himself. He wasn't just powerful—he was skilled, too. He knew ninjutsu, taijutsu, sealing techniques, and more. He had honed his craft in secret, away from the spotlight his siblings enjoyed.
The match between Manma and Sasuke continued.
Sasuke unleashed a fireball jutsu, only for Menma to counter it with a water-style jutsu. The crowd watched in awe as the two clashed. But the battle ended decisively when Manma used a shadow clone to get behind Sasuke and knocked him out with a swift strike.
Naruto raised an eyebrow. So… he's learned the shadow clone technique too. Good for him, he thought with a faint nod.
Well, good for him, Naruto simply shook his head. Then came the battle between Hinata Hyuga—a rather arrogant Hyuga at that—who was boasting about about winning as its her fate.
Despite Hinata declaring herself the winner before the match even started, Mito still won, thanks to the unique nature of her chakra. Even though Hinata had managed to shut off most of Mito's chakra points, she pulled off a narrow victory—more due to luck and her altered chakra than anything else.
Naruto took note of the technique Hinata used to block chakra points. He wondered whether that kind of move could affect him. But realistically? Not likely. He shook his head dismissively at the thought.
Now came the battle between Menma and Mito. It was a fairly intense fight—even Naruto found himself mildly interested. Jiraiya and Tsunade were both cheering, encouraging Menma and Mito respectively. The fight eventually ended when Menma managed to land a lucky hit on Mito. She hadn't fully recovered from her previous match against the arrogant Hinata, whose Gentle Fist had temporarily damaged many of her chakra points.
Naruto noticed the fatigue in her movement. So, Mito lost.
Iruka then stepped forward to speak.
"All right! The final match will be—"
"Naruto Uzumaki versus Shikamaru!"
"I forfeit," came Shikamaru's bored voice.
Most of the audience sweat-dropped at that, while Shikaku simply chuckled and shook his head. "Troublesome kid," he muttered.
Iruka sighed. "All right then. The final match will be Naruto versus Menma Uzumaki."
At this, the crowd erupted into cheers. Menma looked visibly nervous, though he didn't quite understand why. He clenched his fists. He had been trained by his father, his mother, and his godparents. He should be confident. So why did he feel so… inferior? It wasn't fair. He had trained so hard for this. What did Naruto have that he didn't?
In fact, he had a hidden power—something his godparents often said was incredibly special. Soon, they would start training him to control it. So why… why did he still feel jealous of his brother?
He clenched his fists tighter.
Mito, meanwhile, wore a concerned expression on her face. She glanced back and forth between Naruto and Menma.
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