Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

"Inuzuka Kiba, Kankuro, Akimichi Choji, Aburame Shino!"

Hayate called out.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

In an instant, four figures flickered from the spectators' stands down to the arena.

Kiba, already displeased, grumbled, "What's with the special rules this time? Making us go through two elimination rounds was bad enough, and now more tricks?"

"The drawing was random… blame your luck, not the rules."

Hayate replied indifferently, "In order to save time, Kiba will face Kankuro, while Choji will battle Shino at the same time. The winners from each of these two matches will then face off against each other, with the final victor advancing to the next round."

Hearing this, Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

'Wow, these four guys are so unlucky… They have to fight so fiercely just to advance.'

When he thought about how he'd advanced without even having to fight, it really put things in perspective.

Still, what Hayate said is not wrong. If Naruto had drawn their lot, he'd be facing a similarly intense, potentially unfair matchup. Sometimes, luck is as much a part of a Shinobi's skills as anything else.

Plus, this stage of the Chunin Exams wasn't strictly about winning. The examiners would decide who advances based on each participant's performance. In the grand scheme, the match outcomes weren't the only factors that mattered.

"Any questions? If not, then the match begins now!" Hayate announced quickly, giving no time for objections before vanishing to a safe distance.

After being nearly hit by Temari's assault in the previous match, he wasn't about to risk getting injured by the participants' techniques this time.

"Shino, what are you doing here? Your opponent's over there."

Looking at Shino who rushed to his side, Kiba was speechless.

Hearing this, Shino was even more speechless, "This is strategy. My opponent is Choji, and yours is Kankuro. Teaming up doesn't break any rules, and we can take out our opponents one by one. This way, at least one of us will definitely advance, and we won't embarrass Kurenai-sensei."

"Wow, that's a clever strategy." Kiba clapped his hands in approval.

Naruto, observing from the stands, also cheered at Shino's quick thinking.

'Even if Choji and Kankuro chose to team up, they wouldn't have the same coordination as Shino and Kiba, who were already teammates. By turning the free-for-all into a 2v2 team fight, Shino had turned the tide of the battle in their favor. His tactical insight was commendable.'

"Don't be careless. You charge in, and I'll support you. Let's keep this quick to avoid wasting Chakra."

With a firm push, Shino sent Kiba into action.

"Leave it to us!"

Kiba grinned, then stuffed a pill into Akamaru's mouth, and said, "Akamaru, let's use that move!"

Bark!

Akamaru responded, and the white fur on his body instantly turned blood red, and his size increased slightly.

Kiba shouted, "Beast Human Clone!"

Bang!

With a puff of smoke, Akamaru transformed to Kiba's appearance.

"Fang Over Fang!"

Kiba shouted, and spun rapidly with Akamaru. Like two tornadoes, they rushed towards Choji.

Kiba wasn't picking the 'soft target'… he just knew Choji too well.

As he expected, Choji formed a hand seal, and his belly suddenly expanded, which is him using the Multi-Size Technique.

But Fang Over Fang was too fast, so before Choji could use Human Bullet Tank, he was hit head-on by Kiba and Akamaru's Fang Over Fang.

Seeing Choji struggling, Kankuro wasted no time and quickly unwrapped his bandages to release his puppet, Karasu, in an attempt to rescue him.

He knew that if Choji was taken out, he would be in serious trouble facing both Kiba and Shino alone.

However, halfway through unwrapping, Kankuro suddenly felt his movements restricted. Looking down, he saw that his bandages were now crawling with insects.

"Little bugs, trying to block me?"

Kankuro scoffed, lifting his puppet to smash the bugs.

However, Shino's insects, seeming almost sentient under his control, instinctively detached from the puppet at the last moment to avoid being crushed.

The insects had also accomplished their mission, as by the time Kankuro was ready to act, Kiba's Fang Over Fang had already reached full power.

Bang! Bang!

Being attacked from both sides by two tornadoes, Choji didn't even have the slightest resistance before he was knocked out cold, dizzy and seeing stars.

"One down!"

Kiba grinned, then he quickly formed hand seals with his hands, and then crouched down onto all fours.

"Four Legs Technique!"

As Kiba activated the technique, he took on an even more animalistic form, his nails extending like claws, while a blue aura flickered around him. This wasn't an attack technique, but a buff technique that boosted his agility and attack power by channeling Chakra into his limbs.

Akamaru mimicked Kiba, also using the Four Legs Technique.

The two of them blurred into motion, becoming afterimages as they charged towards Kankuro, spinning once again into twin tornadoes with Fang Over Fang.

"Don't underestimate me!"

Kankuro growled, deftly pulling Karasu in front of him while manipulating it with his Chakra Threads.

Bang!

With Karasu acting as a shield, Kankuro withstood Kiba's attack unscathed. Taking advantage of the moment, he swiftly triggered Karasu's secret mechanism, shouting, "Black Secret Technique: Poison Gas Bomb!"

Karasu's joints opened, releasing a dense cloud of toxic gas that enveloped the area. The gas served both as a smokescreen and a paralytic poison for anyone caught within.

Kiba and Akamaru, being so close, couldn't dodge in time. Their heightened sense of smell only intensified the effects of the gas, and both were quickly paralyzed, unable to move.

Kankuro, having some resistance to poison, avoided inhaling the gas and continued controlling Karasu from a safe distance.

"Black Secret Technique: Arm Dagger!"

"Black Secret Technique: Mouth Poison Spike!"

With two roars from Kankuro, he controlled Karasu to attack.

From Crow's wrist, a poisoned dagger extended and struck Akamaru, instantly dispelling his transformation as he reverted to his smaller dog form.

The poison spike in Karasu's mouth then aimed for Kiba, who managed to dodge slightly thanks to his resistance built up from time spent training with Shino.

But even then, he was unable to fully evade the effects of the poison and continued weakening.

"Black Secret Technique: Mouth Poison Needles!"

From Karasu's mouth, a volley of green, venomous needles shot out, concentrated in a tight spread. This time, Kiba couldn't dodge in time.

He collapsed, foaming at the mouth under the accumulating effects of the poison.

However, before Kankuro could celebrate, a figure rushed out from the poison cloud.

Kankuro instinctively tried to dodge but realized with horror that his legs couldn't move. Looking down, he found his legs were already covered in Shino's insects. Their paralyzing venom had rendered his legs useless.

The figure rushing toward him closed in swiftly and pressed a kunai to his neck, it was none other than Shino!

"How… how did you resist the poison?" Kankuro stammered in disbelief.

Shino replied calmly, "My insects provide me with natural immunity to poison. This fight is over. Drop your weapon!"

Feeling the cold metal of the kunai against his neck, Kankuro stopped controlling Karasu.

It can't be helped… From the moment the kunai was placed on his neck, he had already lost...