A comic book journey to see the Eye of Antiquity

Temari shouted a warning, holding her fan in her left hand and biting her right thumb, just as she was about to draw blood on the fan to unleash an even stronger attack.

"Whoosh."

A soft sound suddenly appeared beside her. Temari turned her head in surprise and saw a thin line, almost invisible to the naked eye, already in front of her. If it hadn't been for the sunlight making it flash, Temari wouldn't have noticed it at all.

"what?"

Temari was startled and quickly turned her head to look at the kunai on the wall behind her, guessing that the source of the thin thread was on that kunai.

What puzzled her was, what could this thin thread possibly do?

"Oops."

Suddenly, Temari remembered that Shikamaru had defeated Kin from Otogakure in the previous preliminaries using a similar method. The only difference was that the thin thread used that time was made of gold, while this time the thin thread was prepared by Shikamaru himself.

"Shadow Imitation Technique".

Sure enough, Shikamaru on the other side formed hand seals and launched an attack. A thin shadow was seen rushing forward along the thin line.

Because Shikamaru and Temari were so far apart, even though the thin line had touched Temari, it still gave her time to react.

"Don't try to succeed."

Then Temari shouted and quickly jumped to the left.

Chapter 168

"Don't even think about escaping."

Shikamaru also shouted out, his left hand unable to move because of the hand seal, but he used his right hand to flick the thin rope, which actually carried his shadow forward for a long distance. Under Temari's wide-eyed gaze, he finally connected with her shadow.

"Shadow Imitation Technique, successful."

This guy actually came up with the idea of ​​making the shadow's pursuit even more elusive by swinging the rope; he's a genius.

0158 The Third Match

"Shadow Imitation Technique, successful."

Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief, let go of the thin rope in his hand, and took a step forward.

At the same time, Temari, who was originally standing in the middle of the field, threw down the large iron fan in her hand and walked towards Shikamaru with the same steps.

The two drew closer and closer until they stood face to face.

"It's no use."

Temari gritted her teeth and said defiantly, "So what if your technique succeeds? With the same movements, it won't be able to cause me any harm in such a wide area."

"Really?"

Shikamaru asked with a smile, his hands forming hand seals again, and said, "This is the latest technique I've learned. It gets more powerful the closer you are. Ninja Art: Shadow Strike Technique."

As Shikamaru used a new ninjutsu, the shadow under Temari's legs suddenly climbed up her legs and reached her neck in the blink of an eye. The shadow transformed into two hands, grabbed her neck, and strangled her forcefully.

"Uh."

Temari suddenly found it difficult to breathe, and her vision blurred with stars. She knew this was due to oxygen deprivation in her brain. If she couldn't think of a way to solve the problem, she would have to give up.

"never mind."

Because the Shadow Imitation Technique was still in effect, Temari couldn't even move a single little finger. Even if she tried to struggle, she could only move it a little bit after exerting a lot of effort.

"I give up."

She opened her mouth and Temari managed to utter words with difficulty, bringing an end to what had initially been a one-sided battle. However, contrary to what others expected, the outcome was completely reversed, with the initially weaker side ultimately emerging victorious.

“Waaah.”

Because Shikamaru's match was quite exciting, at least his victory surprised many people. Many people who didn't know about the Nara clan's secret techniques were still completely confused. However, that didn't stop everyone from applauding and cheering for the winner.

"I'm exhausted."

Shikamaru also breathed a sigh of relief. Although he was stronger than he was in the original story, the improvement was still limited. After all, he was Shikamaru, the epitome of laziness.

Therefore, he had actually reached his limit, and if he hadn't taken a military ration pill beforehand, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold on until now.

This is not a casual remark, nor is it meant to belittle Shikamaru.

The Konoha Arena is a huge arena. You probably remember that Shikamaru was slammed against the surrounding walls by Temari's Great Hammer Itachi Technique, while Temari stood in the center of the arena from the very beginning without moving, and the two were quite a distance apart.

Indeed, if they weren't so far apart, Temari wouldn't have been so careless.

Later, although Shikamaru had that thin thread to rely on, which allowed his shadow to reach Temari across a long distance, it was precisely because the thread was so thin and the shadow was so small that Shikamaru consumed a lot of chakra when using the Shadow Imitation Technique.

In fact, Shikamaru had already made up his mind that if he failed this time, he would not continue, or at least he would no longer have the desire to win.

. . . . . .

And so, the second match of the competition came to a successful conclusion.

It's considered perfect because the victory was unexpected, and Shikamaru is, to some extent, a member of Konoha Village, while a large portion of the audience are native residents of the village. Naturally, they would be happy to see their village's child achieve something.

Not long after Shikamaru and Temari left the field, the third match was about to begin, and next up were Naruto Uzumaki and Shino Aburame.

In this Chunin Exam, Konoha Village really made a name for itself. Out of a hundred or two hundred genin, only two of the eight who made it through were from Sunagakure, while the other six were all from Konoha.

Moreover, only Neji can be considered a veteran among the genin; the other five are all graduates from this year.

What's even more balanced is that Neji is in Team 3, Hinata and Shino are in Team 8, Naruto and Sasuke are in Team 7, and Shikamaru is in Team 10. All four of the newest genin teams have members in the team. The training is really good!

"Enough with the nonsense."

Just then, Genma Shiranui jumped out again, but this time not to make his presence known. Instead, he announced, "I hereby declare that the third match has officially begun."

“Waaah.”

Still not calmed down, Kanzaki clapped again to encourage the two children below, but from the mixed sounds, it was clear that everyone was cheering for Shino more.

"Defeat that nine-tailed brat."

Some people even shouted out loud, which was a typical case of being so engrossed that they forgot what day it was and who was around. As a result, they were escorted away by the secret service in the blink of an eye.

So you're the only one who knows Naruto's title? Nobody else mentions it, why are you the only one calling him that? You're just looking for trouble. Don't you know that there are not only politicians from various countries around here, but also many people from ninja villages?

. . . . . .

"Naruto, just admit defeat."

Looking down at the arena, neither Shino nor Naruto rushed to fight. At this moment, Shino pushed up his sunglasses and said confidently, "You should have seen my abilities, so you can't beat me."

"cut."

Naruto curled his lip in disdain and shouted, "Naruto-sama doesn't admit defeat unless you can beat me. Here we go."

Like Yang Lei, Naruto is the type to act on his words. His loud shout wasn't just bluffing; he was really going to do it.

Chapter 169

He charged forward while forming hand seals, and when he reached Shino, he shouted, "Let me show you my new skill: the Summoning Jutsu."

"Boom."

A plume of white smoke dissipated.

"Yo, Naruto-kun? What can I do for you?"

A tiny toad, no bigger than a palm, was summoned. It hopped and skipped around, raising its paw to greet Naruto, looking quite cheerful. It seemed very happy to be summoned by someone's spirit.

However, other people's reactions were different from itss. The entire arena fell silent for a moment before it came back to life.

"What is that? It's hilarious! Hahaha."

Suddenly, a deafening roar of laughter echoed through the arena, drawing puzzled looks from those outside, who wondered what had happened.

"That guy."

Guan Xing shook his head in disbelief and said, "As expected of the ninja with the highest unpredictability, it's impossible to guess what he'll do next."

"Naruto, that guy."

Slightly behind her, Xiaoying's pretty face turned bright red, feeling ashamed to have such a teammate.

Fortunately, unlike in the original story, she didn't cut her long hair. Instead, she lowered her head and let her hair fall in front of her face, choosing to ignore it.

Even Sasuke, who always maintained a cool and aloof demeanor, broke down, raising his hand to his forehead and letting out a soft sigh, muttering under his breath, "As expected of Naruto!"

0159 Naruto vs. Shino

Naruto's accident had nothing to do with external factors; it was entirely his own doing.

Normally, in order to perform ninjutsu stably, a ninja must keep himself still, or at least have both feet on the ground to keep himself stable.

For example, in the original work, when Kakashi and Zabuza fought, they both maintained a 'still' state while exchanging ninjutsu.

Of course, the so-called 'immobility' is not mandatory. Some powerful ninjas, or those with a strong talent for controlling chakra, do not need to care about the condition of 'immobility'.

But Naruto is different. Unless he unleashes the Nine-Tails' chakra now, because he can't accurately control his own chakra due to the Nine-Tails' chakra, it's very difficult for him to perform ninjutsu smoothly under normal circumstances.

In other words, the reason he only summoned a small toad was because he was forming hand seals while running, which is why people were speechless.

They say you shouldn't try to do something you're not qualified for.

With such terrible chakra control, wouldn't it be better to just stand still and perform the attack?

"Are you kidding me?"

Shino smiled speechlessly, but since Naruto performed so poorly, it was just right for him to easily win the crown.

“Secret arts, to harbor evil insects.”

Shino formed hand seals and activated his chakra, summoning the parasitic worms that had been living inside his body. Suddenly, countless tiny black worms crawled out of his body, sending chills down the spines of many who were seeing the Aburame clan's fighting style for the first time.

Even many people who knew about the Aburame family's secret techniques felt a chill, let alone Naruto, who lived nearby.

The Aburame clan signed a contract with the insect race, in which they would provide the insects with chakra and nests, and the insects would then obey their commands and help the Aburame clan in battle.

In other words, Shino is practically a humanoid insect nest, infested with countless parasites.

"How awful."

Before Naruto could even react, the little toad squeaked and vanished in a puff of white smoke.

The summoning beast left without a word, but Naruto wasn't angry at all. He had originally planned to send the little toad away as soon as possible so it wouldn't stay and cause trouble, and wouldn't be able to help at all and would even require his protection.

"Insects?"

Naruto quickly retreated. He had witnessed Shino and Sakura's battle in the previous preliminaries and knew that he absolutely could not let these parasites touch him, otherwise the match would be decided.

One or two parasitic insects wouldn't be a problem, but there are just too many. I don't know how Shino fed them. Naruto thinks that even if he has the Nine-Tails' chakra, once he's surrounded by swarms of parasitic insects, he'll probably be eaten into a mummy in no time.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique".

Fortunately, Naruto also had his own special skill. He formed hand seals and created ten shadow clones, which spread out to surround Shino in the middle. Each of them took out a kunai and a shuriken and swung them forward.

"The art of shuriken from all directions."

Then Naruto shouted, improvising another 'ninjutsu' on the spot.

"It's no use."

Zhi didn't move, and whispered, "Secret technique, Insect Wall Technique."

"Om."

The parasitic insects, controlled by Shino, formed a circle around him, protecting him and easily neutralizing all of Naruto's attacks.

"It's not over yet."

Then Naruto shouted, "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Technique!"

This is a wind-style ninjutsu that Yang Lei taught Naruto on their way to the Land of Waves.

"call."

A gust of wind was exhaled from Naruto's mouth, causing the swarm of insects protecting Shino to shake violently, and in the blink of an eye, they scattered into a pile with a 'pop'.

"Is that the original body?"

Chapter 170

Shino suddenly curled his lips into a triumphant smile, causing the insects to form a wall behind him. He then charged forward, quickly reaching Naruto and throwing a punch.

Shino's skills aren't limited to insects; he also has some knowledge of physical combat.

"We've been tricked."

Suddenly, the Naruto that Shino believed to be the real Naruto revealed a triumphant expression. He took out an explosive tag from his ninja tool pouch and said to Shino with a smile, "This is a technique I heard from Yang Lei before. Try it. Explosive tag, drink."