The domineering Uchiha drove the Third Hokage mad!

Chapter 331 Encirclement and Suppression of Akatsuki Ninjas

The Joint Chunin Exams have officially begun, with the first day's test taking place in the Misty Forest in the eastern part of the Land of Water.

This forest is shrouded in grayish-white mist all year round, making it difficult for sunlight to penetrate. Not only is the visibility less than five meters, but it is also filled with a special miasma that can interfere with chakra perception. If you are not careful, you will lose your way.

Examiner Nara Shikaku stood on a high platform at the forest entrance, holding a megaphone. His voice, piercing through the mist, echoed throughout the area: "The rules for this assessment are simple: traverse the Misty Forest and reach the Misty Fortress located in the heart of the forest to advance to the next round. Note: Fair competition is permitted within the forest!"

Upon hearing this, the test takers from various countries gripped their ninja pouches tightly, their eyes filled with vigilance and anticipation.

Naruto cracked his knuckles and raised an eyebrow at Sasuke beside him: "Sasuke, I'll definitely get to the fortress before you this time!"

Sasuke glanced at him indifferently: "Don't get lost and I'll have to look for you."

Hinata Hyuga stood to the side and whispered, "Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, the forest is dangerous, please be careful."

At the examiner's command, hundreds of candidates surged into the misty forest like a tidal wave.

The fog instantly enveloped everyone, and all they could hear were their own footsteps and the chirping of birds in the forest. Occasionally, shouts from other examinees could be heard in the distance, but the fog made it difficult to determine their direction.

The red and yellow earth of Iwagakure led the team forward in a fan shape. Shinjutsu Suzaku, holding an Earth Release scroll, vigilantly observed the surroundings: "Everyone, be careful. The Akatsuki will definitely try something sneaky. Maintain formation and don't get ambushed."

Atsui and Yurui from Kumogakure used their Lightning Release chakra to dispel the surrounding miasma. Kayuu followed closely behind A, holding a specially made sensory tool in his hand: "There's a chakra fluctuation in the southeast direction. It should be someone from Akatsuki."

Sure enough, not long after, Oboro, Kagari, and Yumehi from Xiaoyin Village appeared in the forest clearing.

They were trying to dispel the fog with ninjutsu, unaware that the ninjas from the villages of Iwa, Rai, and Suna had quietly surrounded them.

Meng Huo was the first to sense something was wrong. Just as he was about to raise his hand to form a hand seal, he saw Huang Tu slam his fist into the ground: "Earth Release: Great River of Earth!"

The surging mud instantly trapped the three of them. Meng Huo struggled to release her Water Release technique, but was struck by Atsui's Lightning Release: Lightning Fang, and her body was instantly paralyzed.

"Do people from Akatsuki Village even deserve to participate in the Chunin Exams?"

Huang Tu's voice came from the mist, his eyes coldly fixed on the three trapped people: "Your country has seized our Land of Earth's territory, so you all deserve to die!"

Meng Huo's face turned deathly pale, and he shouted, "We're here to take the exam, you can't..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was buried dozens of meters underground!

The village of Xiaoyin was also attacked by Gaara, with its seasonal rains, sudden downpours, and plum rains.

Gaara suddenly raised his hand, and the sand instantly condensed into a giant hand, slamming down on the three of them: "Sand Burial!"

Three loud bangs rang out, and mud and sand flew everywhere. Shi Yu, Zhou Yu, and Mei Yu were crushed into mincemeat by the sand before they could even scream.

This scene was witnessed by Naruto, who happened to be passing by.

He had been following Sasuke to find their way when he heard the loud noise and immediately ran over. Seeing the horrific scene before him, his eyes widened in fury: "Gaara! What are you doing?! The examiners said intentional killing is forbidden! How could you just kill someone like that?!"

Gaara slowly turned around, sand flowing beneath his feet, his tone cold: "The Land of Akatsuki invaded our Land of Wind's territory, so the people of Akatsuki Village are all bad people. What's wrong with killing them?"

Naruto clenched his fists, his chakra surging: "Wrong is wrong! No matter who they are, you can't just take other people's lives! I absolutely won't allow you to kill people indiscriminately again!"

"You're such a nuisance, I'll kill you too!"

Gaara snorted coldly and raised his hand to throw three sand blades at Naruto.

Naruto quickly dodged to the side, the sand blade grazing his shoulder and leaving three deep marks on the tree trunk behind him.

Before Naruto could even regain his footing, Gaara raised his arm, and dozens of sand bullets rained down like a storm.

Naruto's eyes sharpened, and he quickly formed hand seals: "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

With a series of loud bangs, hundreds of Naruto's shadow clones appeared instantly. Some wielded kunai to block the sand bullets, while others charged towards Gaara. Under the cover of his clones, Naruto himself gathered chakra in his right hand: "Rasengan!"

The pale blue Rasengan spun in my palm, making a buzzing sound.

Naruto leaped into the air and slammed down towards Gaara, shouting, "Shadow clones, hold him back!"

Hundreds of clones immediately pounced on Gaara, attempting to restrict his sand manipulation.

Gaara, however, smirked coldly and swiftly formed hand seals: "Magnet Release: Sand Shuriken!"

The sand around him instantly condensed into hundreds of shuriken that flew out, spinning with a sharp sound as they cut through the air.

"Disperse!"

Gaara let out a low shout, and the Sand Shuriken flew towards the clone and Naruto's main body.

The shadow clone at the forefront had no time to dodge and was instantly sliced ​​into pieces by the Sand Shuriken, turning into wisps of white smoke.

Immediately afterwards, one sand shuriken after another rushed straight towards Naruto's body. Naruto's pupils shrank sharply, and he could only barely turn to the side. The Rasengan collided with the sand shuriken.

With a "crack," the Rasengan was shattered by the sand shuriken, and the sand fragments splattered onto Naruto's arm, leaving several bloody scratches.

"How is that possible?"

Naruto staggered back a few steps, staring at the wound on his arm with shock in his eyes.

He hadn't expected that Gaara's sand would not only be incredibly strong defensively, but also so powerful offensively.

Not far away, Sakura Haruno saw this scene and her heart leaped into her throat. She couldn't help but tug at Sasuke's sleeve: "Sasuke, Naruto is injured! We have to go help him!"

Sasuke frowned slightly, his gaze fixed on the battlefield, but he still didn't move: "Wait a little longer, Naruto hasn't shown his true strength yet."

He knew that Naruto would never give up so easily, especially when it came to sticking to his beliefs.

Sure enough, Naruto took a deep breath, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes regained their determination.

He closed his eyes, formed hand seals, and a pale golden natural energy began to emanate from his body, seemingly dispelling some of the miasma in the mist: "Sage Mode - Activated!"

A pale golden chakra cloak enveloped his body, his hair was slightly upturned, his pupils turned into vertical pupils, and his aura instantly became calm and powerful.

"What mode is this?"

Gaara sensed the change in Naruto, a flicker of wariness crossing his eyes. He quickly formed hand seals: "Magnet Release: Sand Binding Prison!"

The giant sand ball instantly enveloped Naruto, attempting to trap him inside.

But the moment the sand prison was formed, Naruto slammed his fist into the sand wall. Golden chakra clung to his fist, and he smashed a large hole in the sand prison.

"This is impossible! The enemy's destructive power has increased several times over!"

Gaara's expression changed, and he manipulated the sand to launch another attack: "Magnetic Release: Sand Burial!"

The sand within a radius of tens of meters was instantly churned up, crashing towards Naruto like a giant wave, as if to bury him completely.

Naruto's eyes sharpened, and he quickly formed hand seals: "Shadow Clone Technique... Sage Art: Super Giant Rasengan!"

Several Sage Art: Giant Rasengans were formed in the palms of the shadow clone and the main body, each three meters in diameter, generating powerful destructive force as they spun.

"Drink!"

With a roar, Naruto's shadow clone slammed his Sage Art: Giant Rasengan into the sand waterfall, while his main body charged towards Gaara!

"Shukaku's Shield"

Seeing that he couldn't contain Naruto, Gaara conjured a huge and sturdy Shukaku statue and placed it in front of him.

The massive Rasengan collided with the Shukaku statue, producing a deafening roar. The shockwave instantly dispersed the surrounding mist, creating a huge crater in the ground.

The Shukaku statue was pulverized by the power of the Sage Art: Super Giant Rasengan. Gaara was blasted away by the shockwave, crashing heavily into a tree trunk, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and sand scattered all over his body.

Naruto, panting heavily, deactivated Sage Mode and walked up to Gaara, his tone serious: "Gaara, you've lost. Don't kill people so casually again. Life isn't something you can trample on so easily."

Gaara lay on the ground, looking at Naruto with eyes full of resentment, but he was too weak to get up.

Seeing this, Kankuro secretly used a puppet to rescue Gaara.

He never expected that he would be beaten so badly by Naruto, and he never expected that Naruto would use such force against him for the sake of a complete stranger from Akatsuki Village.

Not far away, Sakura Haruno quickly ran over to treat Naruto's arm wound: "Naruto, are you alright? That was so dangerous!"

Naruto smiled and said, "It's alright. Luckily, we won in the end."

He looked at Sasuke, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Hey, Sasuke, did you see that just now? I beat Gaara!"

Sasuke stood up, dusted himself off, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. "I know, you idiot. But don't push yourself so hard next time. If you lose, I won't save you."

He turned and walked forward: "Don't waste time. If we don't leave now, the fortress will be taken by someone else."

Naruto pouted and followed, saying, "Okay, okay, wait for me!"

Naruto and Sakura exchanged a glance and quickly followed the group.

The fog in the forest was still thick, but the aftershocks of the battle had not yet dissipated.

In the distance, the ninjas from Iwagakure and Kumogakure watched this scene with shock in their eyes.

Akatsuchi whispered to Kurotsuchi, "Kurotsuchi, Naruto's strength... is terrifying, especially that giant Rasengan at the end, its power is simply beyond the range of Jonin."

Kurotsuchi narrowed her eyes, watching the direction Naruto had gone, her tone grave: "The Land of Water has indeed been hiding quite a few trump cards these past few years. This Chunin Exam will probably be even more exciting than we imagined."

Deep within the misty forest, the battle continues.

Candidates from various countries began to compete against each other in order to advance, with the sounds of chakra clashing and ninjutsu exploding all around.