"Hey, what is his problem?!" Yamanaka Ino stomped over to Sakura, her voice a furious whisper. "Why is he provoking everyone like that? Is he trying to make the entire room his enemy? Does he think he can be that arrogant just because he's the son of the Fourth Hokage?"

Sakura sighed, her own face a mask of exasperation. "Don't ask me! I don't understand him either."

"Hehe…" Beside them, a pale boy with a cropped black shirt covered his mouth, a faint chuckle escaping his lips. It was Sai. Since the disappearance of Danzō and the subsequent disbanding of the Foundation, its younger members had been reassigned to various other divisions. Sai, due to his age and skill, had been placed on Team 7, alongside Naruto and Sakura.

In another corner of the room, Kankuro of the Hidden Sand Village sneered with disdain. "So that's the son of the Fourth Hokage. I hope he can fight as hard as he shouts. I hear his father has fallen on hard times, yet the son still has the guts to shout like that. He really needs to be taught a lesson."

Temari, his sister, crossed her arms, her expression cool and calculating. "You won't have to. Someone's already making a move. Let's just watch the show."

Swish!

Three shadowy figures moved like ghosts through the crowd. The next moment, four kunai shot out from nowhere, aimed directly at Naruto Uzumaki.

"Look out!" Sai reacted instantly, his danger sense honed by years of brutal training. He drew the short sword from his back, a blur of motion as he deflected the incoming projectiles.

"Who was that?! Who did it?!" Naruto roared, his head whipping around frantically.

Sai's voice was a low warning. "Naruto, be careful. The attacker is skilled."

"Hehehe… you've got sharp eyes, kid." Two men and one woman suddenly appeared before them. They were the Genin from the Hidden Sound Village: Dosu, Zaku, and Kin.

"Damn it! You dare sneak attack me? I'm gonna beat you down with the new jutsu I learned!" Naruto immediately brought his hands together, but before he could even form a seal, Dosu lunged forward, swinging his armored right arm toward Naruto's face.

"Tsk! Too slow!" Naruto dodged the attack with ease, but a wave of intense dizziness suddenly washed over him, a high-pitched ringing filling his ears. The world began to spin, his limbs growing weak and heavy.

"Ghh!" Naruto staggered back, and Sakura quickly caught him. "What are you doing?!" she shouted at the three Sound ninja.

Zaku sneered. "What are we doing? He was being arrogant, so we're teaching him a lesson."

Kin followed up, her own voice dripping with scorn. "The Hokage's son is nothing special. He's just like his father, a washed-up loser."

Dosu added, his voice muffled by his bandages, "You have no strength. We thought you'd be a challenge. Next time you see a ninja from our village, remember to stay quiet and take a detour."

"What did you say?!" Naruto, having shaken off the disorientation, was now consumed by a pure, unadulterated rage. He hated it, more than anything, when people insulted his father. Breaking free from Sakura's grasp, he pointed a trembling finger at them. "Say that to my face again!"

Poof!

As soon as he finished speaking, two identical clones appeared beside him.

"Oh?" Dosu was taken aback. These weren't ordinary illusionary clones; they were solid. "Haha, Shadow Clones? I didn't expect you to know a technique like that," he said, his praise laced with sarcasm.

Naruto sneered. "You think this is all I've got? Let me show you something really special!"

Naruto's two clones surrounded him, their hands cupped over his own. They began to compress and rotate the chakra in his palm, their movements frantic and desperate. A few seconds later, a wildly spinning sphere of high-density chakra materialized in his hand, its hum filling the silent room.

"Wh-what is that…?"

The moment the chakra sphere appeared, everyone present—from Konoha, from the Sand, from every other village—was stunned into silence. Everyone, that is, except for Shiro. That jutsu… it looked powerful, unlike anything a normal Genin should be able to perform.