Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Is he really Naruto?
Chapter 8: Is he really Naruto?
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The system's prompt made everyone present frown.
Especially those who wanted to answer casually—they had no way to respond instantly and could only make a decision after careful analysis.
After all, those who had answered correctly earlier had been rewarded, which was enough to prove the magic of the -viewing system.
If someone were to be punished, no one knew what might happen.
Uchiha Madara: "How does one answer that? We don't know anything about him."
Senju Hashirama: "Madara, are you trying to figure out an answer? I guess you must be."
Uchiha Madara: "..."
Senju Tobirama: "This is indeed difficult to analyze. Although there was a scene showing Naruto practicing shuriken throwing on the screen earlier, it flashed by too quickly. No one knows the full extent of his shuriken-throwing skills or how powerful they are."
Uzumaki Kushina: "But Naruto has already made a choice. My good boy, you were a little impulsive just to get angry with Sasuke."
Uzumaki Naruto: "Ah! I forgot there's a penalty for wrong answers."
Uchiha Sasuke: "Hmph! Your so-so personality really should learn from the other you."
The Naruto of this world always had a big grin.
Meanwhile, the Naruto in the black-framed screen was obviously more cautious than this world's Naruto.
But is this really the case?
After listening to Sasuke's narration, Kakashi glanced at the panicked Naruto.
He clearly remembered Naruto's performance during the Land of Waves mission and how he had used Shadow Clones to trick Neji into defeating a so-called genius.
There were various signs that even Naruto in this world hid a sharp and delicate mind beneath his seemingly sloppy personality.
- Just wait and see.
Kakashi's focus remained on the screen; it was fine to miss out on a quiz.
At the very least, it was necessary to get acquainted with Naruto's character as seen in the black-framed screen.
This was what ninjas called intelligence gathering.
Due to time constraints, the prize quiz ended automatically.
The screen continued.
[Hearing Iruka call on him to demonstrate shuriken throwing.]
[Naruto slowly walked to the front of the crowd.]
Shua!
[He quickly raised his arm.]
[A sound of something piercing the air was heard for an instant, followed by the "clang clang" of iron objects colliding not far away.]
Boom!
[The sound was deep and powerful.]
[Iruka's pupils shrank when he heard the noise. Looking at the target, he saw a shuriken embedded in it.]
["Eh?!"]
["Wow! This guy, Uzumaki Naruto, actually hit the tenth ring!"]
["Unfortunately, Sasuke is still better. After all, he hit the bullseye with three shurikens at the same time."]
["Hey, Naruto isn't bad, but he's not as good as Sasuke. Sasuke is still cooler."]
["Hey! Did you see that properly? Look again. The target Naruto hit and the one Sasuke hit are the same target!"]
["What? It's just the same target, the same..."]
["Nani!?"]
[The same target?]
[In an instant, everyone's expressions changed drastically.]
[At this moment, they discovered that Naruto had hit the same target as Sasuke.]
[Moreover, five additional shurikens appeared under the target. Including the one in the bullseye, there was a total of six shurikens.]
[In other words, Naruto had thrown the same number of shurikens as Uchiha Sasuke.]
[He had also thrown three shurikens in an instant.]
"Impossible!"
[Iruka was taken aback, his eyes trembling slightly.]
["Naruto's talent is no worse than that of Sasuke."]
["No, this isn't just about talent. Someone must have been guiding him in secret."]
[As a ninja, Iruka was well aware of the importance of talent.]
[Not only that, family inheritance also plays a critical role.]
[However, to reach a certain level of skill, one must work hard, building on talent and inheritance as a foundation.]
["This Nine-Tails kid is no ordinary child."]
[For a moment, Iruka nearly forgot that Naruto was the Nine-Tails' host—the one who had caused his parents' death.]
["Could it be that Naruto's shuriken knocked Sasuke's shuriken off the target?"]
["Amazing! Naruto-kun is incredible too!"]
["Tch! What's so great about that? He probably threw them randomly and accidentally knocked off Sasuke-kun's two shurikens."]
["Still, it's amazing!"]
[Many spectators believed that Naruto had thrown three shurikens, disrupting Sasuke's shurikens on the bullseye.]
[However, Sasuke frowned.]
[He knew very well that his shurikens in the bullseye had been knocked off by Naruto's.]
[The only shuriken still in the bullseye was thrown by Naruto.]
[And judging by the sound, Naruto's shuriken had been embedded deeper.]
["This guy is a master!"]
[In an instant, Sasuke scrutinized Naruto, looking him up and down.]
[He couldn't help but feel shocked: Is there anyone in this world better at throwing shurikens than my brother?]
[In Sasuke's mind, he often recalled practicing shuriken throwing with his brother, Itachi.]
[Although Itachi had rarely practiced with him since becoming an Anbu ninja, Sasuke believed that, as Itachi's younger brother, it would be difficult for anyone of his age to surpass him in shuriken throwing.]
[But the scene before him defied his expectations.]
[" Naruto..."]
["Next time, I won't lose to you."]
[The five-year-old Sasuke pouted, then turned and walked back to the crowd.]
[If my brother knew about this, he would definitely laugh at me.]
- Hiss! Impossible!
The correct answer was actually D- Naruto was right?
If Sasuke's shuriken throw was impressive, Naruto's throw was absolutely stunning.
His accuracy was on par with Sasuke's, but his strength surpassed Sasuke's.
"Impossible!"
"Is this really Naruto?"
Naruto's peers couldn't believe what they had just seen on the screen.
Even Naruto himself gaped in surprise.
"No, no, that can't be me. How could I be so strong?"
He remembered very clearly that when he had tried to steal Sasuke's spotlight, not only had his shuriken missed the target, but he had almost hit Iruka instead.
But the Naruto in the black-framed screen...
- Could it really be me? Or is it a version of me that the Nine-Tails hasn't devoured?
"This Naruto must be a monster in my skin," he muttered to himself.
"How could this be...?"
Sasuke stared at him even more intensely.
The yellow-haired boy on the screen... Is that really Naruto?