Hokage, no one knows better than me how to cultivate talent.

Sasuke was faster than Naruto. Almost at the same time as Shusui spoke, he activated his Sharingan, and a dark tomoe appeared in his pupils.

He learned from his previous experience. Since the one-tomoe Sharingan couldn't distinguish between the main body and the clone after the Shadow Clone Technique was released, he activated it in advance to lock the location of Naruto's main body.

Sasuke saw the trajectory of the shuriken in the air. He swiftly threw sixteen kunai in two separate throws, each one hitting the shuriken that Naruto had shot at him with precision, creating a series of crisp metallic clanging sounds in the air.

Immediately afterward, Sasuke's fingers flew, completing hand seals in an instant. He took a deep breath and exhaled sharply forward, unleashing a five-meter-diameter fireball accompanied by a scorching shockwave, which hurtled straight toward Naruto's body.

Sasuke himself maintained a perfect distance from the fireball, concealing his figure behind the flames, using them as cover to advance in tandem, preparing to engage Naruto in close combat.

Although he mastered the B-rank ninjutsu Great Dragon Fire, that ninjutsu consumes a great deal of chakra, and he can only release it twice under normal circumstances.

Given that he activated his Sharingan at the very beginning of the battle and used the Great Fireball Jutsu, he can probably only use it once.

However, Sasuke remained calm.

He knew that Naruto's greatest strength was ninjutsu, and Sasuke was confident that he could easily defeat him in taijutsu.

If we can close the distance, lock onto the main body, and prevent Naruto from having a chance to form hand seals and use ninjutsu, it will be much easier, and we might even be able to win directly.

On the sidelines, Fujino Daikuma was completely dumbfounded when he saw the twenty shadow clones that Naruto had created.

He had always been skeptical of what others said before. But now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he realized that what they said was too conservative.

Where do ninja academy students engage in real combat competitions, immediately unleashing B-rank and C-rank ninjutsu?

Back then, at that age, he was still throwing kunai and using the Three Bodies Technique.

Naruto saw the Fireball coming straight at him and decisively dodged it.

His shadow clones quickly dissipated under the combined attack of Sasuke's fireball and kunai, leaving only three in the blink of an eye.

Naruto was preparing to form hand seals again, create more shadow clones, and unleash Wind Release: Gale Palm to win the match.

However, just as he raised his hand, he saw Sasuke's figure rushing to within two meters.

Naruto immediately commanded three clones to step forward and block, but the three clones couldn't even last a second before being pinned down by the kunai that Sasuke fired again.

Naruto had no choice but to grit his teeth and engage Sasuke in close combat.

In the past two months, his diet has indeed improved a lot, and his training volume has also increased. However, physical skills rely on accumulated practice over time, unlike ninjutsu which can be mastered quickly in a short period of time.

Sasuke then activated his one-tomoe Sharingan, allowing him to see through Naruto's every move.

As soon as the close combat began, Naruto was overwhelmed by Sasuke.

Sasuke was also very clever; he didn't give Naruto any chance to use ninjutsu.

Every time he sensed that Naruto was trying to use his attacks to create distance, he would lighten his attacks, sticking to him like an unremovable plaster.

"Is Naruto really going to lose?" A student watching couldn't help but ask, seeing Naruto being dominated and almost powerless for several minutes.

"How could that be! Naruto is only temporarily at a disadvantage. Once he finds an opportunity to use his ninjutsu, Sasuke will definitely lose." The student who didn't think highly of Naruto during the first monthly exam but now strongly supports him retorted confidently.

Naruto looked anxious.

He knew that continuing to fight like this was not a solution and that he would inevitably lose. So he gritted his teeth, took a few punches from Sasuke, and then rolled away to create some distance.

Before Naruto could even feel the burning pain on his body, he immediately created twenty more clones. Ten of them rushed towards Sasuke, while the remaining ten, together with the main body, simultaneously unleashed Wind Release: Gale Palm.

Seeing this, Sasuke stopped charging forward. Although he had been saved by his teacher Shusui last time, he knew that being hit by this ninjutsu was no joke. So he retreated while throwing out kunai, cleanly and neatly dealing with the oncoming clone.

"Sasuke-kun..." Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura, and the other girls clenched their fists nervously upon seeing this scene.

"It seems Naruto has won this match," Fujino Daikuma said confidently, looking at the dozen or so shockwaves in the sky.

Based on his experience, this was an attack that no ordinary student or genin could withstand; even a chunin like himself would need to expend some effort.

"It's hard to say until the results are in," Qiu Shui said, looking at Sasuke who was forming hand seals.

As soon as he finished speaking, Sasuke, after taking down Naruto's ten clones, ran while rapidly forming hand seals.

The next second, he suddenly spat out a three-meter-long fire dragon. The blazing flames condensed into the shape of the dragon, carrying a scorching heat, and rushed straight towards Naruto's main body.

"What? What kind of ninjutsu is this? It looks much stronger than the Great Fireball Technique!" a student exclaimed in surprise.

"So what if he's strong? Naruto could easily dodge it." The student who supported Naruto, though a little nervous, still stuck to his judgment.

Although Naruto had seen Sasuke practice this ninjutsu frequently before, he never took it seriously.

In his eyes, no ninjutsu could ever be a match for his own.

But what happened next left him completely stunned.

He discovered that the fire dragon Sasuke spat out was not fixed in one place after it was launched like the Fireball Jutsu, but could turn corners and even track him.

Seeing the remaining clones rapidly dissipate, Naruto tried to create new clones, but the temperature behind him was getting increasingly intense, and it was too late.

Just as the fire dragon was about to collide with Naruto, Shusui used a Body Flicker Technique to flash into the arena and scooped Naruto up in his arms.

"Sasuke-kun, I knew you were the best. Naruto was just lucky to beat you last time."

Seeing Sasuke in the arena with his hands on his knees, panting heavily, Sakura Haruno immediately ran up to him, her face flushed, and said something.

Not to be outdone, the girls, including Yamanaka Ino, gathered around and chattered on, offering words of comfort and concern for Sasuke.

"How come Sasuke is improving so fast?"

Kiba Inuzuka felt uneasy looking at Sasuke surrounded by girls.

He had previously thought he was making rapid progress and was planning to defeat Naruto in this monthly exam, but he lost to Shino Aburame without even seeing Naruto's face.

But now, he discovers that Sasuke, who was defeated by Naruto just last month, has become even stronger.

Suddenly, Kiba Inuzuka felt a huge gap between himself and the two of them.

Kiba Inuzuka did not lose his fighting spirit. He decided to double his training for the next month and win first place in the final exam.

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