But Sand #1 simply smiled and patted Rock Lee on the back, showing no intention of blaming him.
"It's fine. I was saved by the examiner—Gekkō Hayate."
"And even if Examiner Hayate hadn't stepped in, I believe Mr. Guy would have rescued me."
Guy scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed.
"Hahaha, yes, that's right."
And it was true—that was why he had appeared in the arena in the first place.
He'd planned to step in, but just as he was about to move, he saw the other proctor, react at the same time. So, he held back.
Then, to avoid the awkwardness of having already stepped forward, he simply went through with his act anyway.
Sand #1 looked at Guy sincerely.
"It's a shame I never had a taijutsu teacher like you. If I did, my strength would probably be far greater by now."
Guy looked at the Sand Village ninja with admiration in his eyes.
"Don't worry! Konoha and Sunagakure are close allies. After the Chūnin Exams, if you're willing to stay in the village a while, I'll train you alongside Lee!"
Before Guy could say another word, Lee suddenly whipped out a spare set of green spandex from who-knows-where and stuffed it into Sand #1's hands.
"Sand #1! It's decided! You'll join me for the passionate and youthful training of Guy-sensei!"
"This green jumpsuit doesn't just represent youth and energy—it wraps snugly around the body, perfect for maximizing movement in training!"
"It's breathable and super comfy! Perfect for a taijutsu user like you!"
Gekkō Hayate, standing nearby, coughed awkwardly.
"The crew fixing the arena floor is coming in. If you want to keep chatting, please step aside."
Lee, Guy, and Sand #1 hurried out of the hallway, flustered.
Sand #1 stared at the green tights in his hand, brows furrowed.
Do I really have to wear this ridiculous thing to train...?
But then he saw the burning passion in Lee and Guy's eyes. In the end, his yearning to improve in taijutsu outweighed his shame.
He put it on.
Meanwhile, Yamato entered the arena with a miserable expression. Hayate looked at him apologetically.
Yamato just sighed, waving his hands.
He popped another Soldier Pill into his mouth and used Earth Style to repair the entire arena.
This time, he even added Water Style chakra to the mix to increase the floor's durability, so the little brats wouldn't wreck it again.
As for minor cracks or potholes—he wasn't going to bother with those.
"Now maybe... I can finally get some rest..."
He sighed and returned backstage, collapsed onto the couch, and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Next was the match between Sand #2 and Fū.
As the two girls entered the arena, a wave of excited howling erupted from the audience.
It was the first time two female genin had gone head-to-head in the tournament!
Although neither was especially well-known, Fū's cute face and dangerous, confident aura earned her the crowd's wild admiration.
Unfortunately for Sand #2, the strength gap was far too large. Fū quickly forced her out of the ring with her Scaled Powder Explosion, securing an easy victory.
At that moment, the audience realized just how terrifying this seemingly sweet girl truly was.
Sand #2 brushed herself off and exited through the passageway.
"There's no way I could beat a monster like that… that chakra reserve was insane..."
In the infirmary near the passage, her teammate—Sand #1—was recovering.
A Konoha medical jōnin was healing both ##1 and Rock Lee, who were still chatting enthusiastically about their taijutsu training.
Sand #2 approached quietly but left without disturbing them. She had originally wanted to check on #1 injuries, but clearly the medical ninja—one trained under Lady Tsunade herself—had done a thorough job.
"I won't interrupt those two training maniacs."
She sighed.
"Poor Sand #3, though… how could she fall for such a musclehead who only thinks about working out…"
Then came the match between Utakata and Hydrangea.
Apparently, Utakata had no intention of going easy on a girl. The moment the match began, he calmly retreated to the edge of the arena, pulled out a bamboo pipe, and began blowing bubbles across the field.
At first, Hydrangea used kunai and explosive tags to pop the bubbles.
But Utakata just pulled out another pipe.
Hydrangea stared at him in disbelief.
"Wait, that's not a ninja tool? It's just a regular bamboo stick?"
Soon, the entire arena was covered in bubbles. If she tried to pop them now, it would trigger a chain explosion.
Backstage, Yamato woke with a jolt.
He looked at the screen, eyes full of dread, and tears streaming down his face.
"Please, I'm begging you, no explosions… I can't take it anymore, I've got zero chakra left...!"
｡･ﾟﾟ*(>д<)*ﾟﾟ･｡
Fortunately, Hydrangea jumped off the ring and forfeited.
Yamato let out a breath of relief.
Only then did his heart, which had nearly stopped, begin to beat again.
Hydrangea walked over to the waiting area and slumped down beside Konan.
She looked up at her with teary eyes.
"Angel-sama... Gu-mei-naa~ I lost, boohoo~"
Konan gently stroked her head and embraced her.
"I told you not to call me 'Angel' in Konoha..."
But even as she said it, she kept patting her back softly, comforting the little one.
Next came the ninth match: Sand #3 versus Uchiha Saya.
After they exchanged the Seal of Confrontation, Sand #3 raised her hand seriously—then suddenly turned around and trotted to the edge of the arena.
She stuck out her tongue at Saya and struck a cute pose.
"Tehe~♡"
The crowd booed. They thought the match was rigged and blamed her for making them lose their bets.
But when they looked at her adorably harmless face, they couldn't stay mad.
She's just a little girl—who could stay angry at that?
Meanwhile, Sand #3 had snuck off to the infirmary.
There, she tiptoed to the glass and peeked in, drooling as she stared at Sand #1's muscular upper body, powerful biceps, and perfect eight-pack.
Sand #2, who had been sitting nearby, snuck up behind her and clapped his hands on her shoulders.
"AHHH!!!"
Her shriek startled everyone in the room—Rock Lee, Sand #1, even the medical ninjas.
Sand #2 smirked and shoved her through the door.
"This one's brain might be overheated. Please check her."
Medical ninja: (￣△￣;)
Rock Lee: ????
Sand #1: (╯▽╰)…
Sand #3: o(////▽////)q
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