Naruto: The New Beginning

69. Rebellion of the clones

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"Big fox, come out and blow up Konoha."

Naruto is tired of it all; he wants to destroy the village.

"I won't," Kurama responds, uninterested. "Why should I destroy Konoha? I'm watching this show with amusement, don't disturb me."

Besides, what did Konoha do wrong? It's not like you didn't cause this yourself.

This kid is full of violent thoughts every day, he needs to be educated. Isn't peace better?

Clone 001 also receives Naruko's memories at the same time. His expression, which had been joyful at unlocking a new jutsu, suddenly turns menacing:

"All this just to make me lose face in front of my future wife? You guys are dead!"

"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

Clone 001 nearly drains all his chakra, and in an instant, a massive wave over 30 meters wide and 10 meters high surges forward, crashing down on the three trembling Grass Ninja.

They are tossed around like clothes in a washing machine, spinning and rolling with the waves, their limbs completely unresponsive.

Before they fall unconscious, all three Grass Ninjas have the same thought: Do you call this a Water Release jutsu?

When the water subsides, Clone 001 spots a large wild boar nearby and kicks it hard on its rear.

The enraged boar charges forward, and Clone 001 runs to where the three Grass Ninja have fallen, stops, and willingly allows himself to be trampled by the wild boar.

As for whether the boar stops after hitting him, that's none of his concern.

On the other end, another unnamed clone also receives Naruko's memories. His mouth twitches slightly before he regains his usual stoic expression.

The three Grass Ninjas who had been mocking the unnamed clone's poor accuracy now laugh even harder.

"With such a big mouth, I thought you'd be strong! But you can't even throw a kunai properly!"

Of the three kunai thrown, two are off-target, and the only one on course looks weak.

So the Grass Ninja in the middle casually catches the kunai. The other two fly past the Grass Ninja on either side.

What they don't expect is for the three clones to suddenly appear right beside them, standing in a triangle formation, surrounding them.

Each clone holds a Rasengan and thrusts it forward:

"Forbidden Jutsu: Instant Prison Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The three Grass Ninja are sent flying by the impact of the Rasengan, colliding with each other, coughing up blood, and falling unconscious.

In the Forest of Death, the smell of blood will soon attract wild beasts.

The unnamed clone doesn't kill them, but he doesn't care about what happens next either.

Naruto's real body clutches his chest. The revenge he sought has been achieved, and he's even shown off his Hokage-level skills, but why doesn't he feel satisfied?

How will he explain this to Hinata when he gets back...

Naruto walks mechanically beside his two teammates, like a lifeless body, with a white soul seemingly floating out of his mouth.

Sasuke notices Naruto isn't in a good state and occasionally helps lift branches that might scratch him.

Sakura looks at Naruto with concern, though she also envies the attention he's getting.

Eventually, the three of them reach the central tower without further incident. The last part of their journey is surprisingly smooth.

Once they arrive, Sasuke and Sakura follow the instructions written on the wall and simultaneously open the Scrolls of Heaven and Earth.

By this time, Naruto has nearly regained his strength. He looks at the figure emerging from the smoke alongside his teammates.

Long black hair, a forehead protector, a tear mole at the corner of the right eye, a delicate face, and a purple coat.

"Why are you here?!" Sasuke exclaims, recognizing the person he least wants to see—Izumi Uchiha.

"Hello, Sasuke, Naruto, and you must be their teammate, Sakura?" Izumi Uchiha greets them with a smile.

"Ah, yes." Sakura quickly responds. Seeing the Uchiha crest on Izumi's clothes, she wonders why Sasuke seems to dislike her so much.

"Sister Izumi, why is it you?" Naruto asks. He's met Izumi a few times when visiting Sasuke's house and has once seen her give a dango stick to Itachi, who ate it happily.

"I heard from Itachi that you all were participating in the Chunin Exams, so I arranged for Anko to be in charge of your group."

Izumi can't understand why Sasuke has disliked her since they were kids. But she hopes that with more interaction and care, things will improve.

"Ahem." Izumi clears her throat, "Now, I'll explain the significance of 'Heaven' and 'Earth'. This is very important for becoming a Chunin."

Sasuke reluctantly listens to her explanation alongside his two teammates.

The gist is that a Chunin should be capable of leading a team, needing both brains and brawn—both are essential.

"That's about it. You're the first team to complete the second round of the exam. Keep up the good work."

Izumi bids farewell to the three with a smile and disappears into smoke.

"So, what now?" Sakura asks.

"We wait here for the other candidates to finish the exam. In the worst-case scenario, it could take up to five days."

"It's so boring. How about I create some shadow clones to take our place, and we can use the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to sneak out and come back when it's time?"

Sasuke thinks it might be better to train outside rather than just wait around.

Sakura doesn't mind as long as she's with Sasuke—she can train anywhere.

So Naruto creates three shadow clones and lets them assign roles among themselves.

However, as soon as the first clone appears, it shouts, "Freedom or death!" and stabs itself to death.

The second clone shouts, "I'd rather be free in death than live in chains!" and also stabs itself to death.

The third clone begins, "The mere body..." before Naruto punches it, finishing the sentence for it, "...would you rather have a seed?"

"Damn it, why are you all rebelling?"

Naruto understands what they mean. The main body doesn't want to stay bored here, and neither do the clones. This is a case of "what you don't want to do, don't force onto others."

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Naruto feels like he's on the verge of losing his mind.

Sasuke and Sakura watch this scene unfold with barely contained laughter.

At first, they find Naruto's clones to be unruly and strange, but after getting used to them, it's quite entertaining. Not many things can make Naruto so frustrated.

What is this? The only one who can defeat him is himself.

Naruto, now accustomed to his clones' antics, pulls out a deck of cards from a scroll and a bunch of snacks like peanuts and melon seeds: "Forget it, let's just play cards while we wait."

Naruto Uzumaki, the man who can pull out anything from his scrolls, from sleeping bags to snacks and cards, is prepared for anything.

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