"The winner is—Kankurō."
On the spectator stands, Shikamaru shook his head. He vaulted down from the railing and helped Ino to her feet.
"That fight ended way too fast."
Hinata murmured softly, "Ino was too impatient."
"If she had used better tactics, she might have won," Shino's calm voice followed. "A puppeteer doesn't have much advantage in this kind of arena. She underestimated her opponent. Danger always comes when people rely on luck. As long as you find—"
Ding—
"Find what?" Hinata asked in confusion, glancing at Shino—only to see him staring toward the opposite side. Following his gaze, she noticed the names on the electronic screen had stopped scrolling.
Akado Yoroi vs. Aburame Shino
"You're the fifth match—huh?"
Hinata stopped mid-sentence. At some point, her teammate had already shoved his hands into his pockets and walked toward the stairs. Looking down at the arena, she saw a man wearing dark glasses—just like Shino—already standing below. He looked far from ordinary.
Now, only Naruto remained beside her.
"Shino should win, right?" Hinata asked worriedly, watching Shino walk up to Hayate Gekkō.
"I think he won't lose," Naruto said with a smile. "There aren't many people left who haven't fought yet. Hinata—are you ready for your match?"
"Eh…?"
Hinata froze, instinctively looking in the direction Naruto had come from earlier. Might Guy and his three students were standing there—Rock Lee was enthusiastically talking to Sakura.
"I hope I don't run into Neji-niisan…"
"And if you do?" Naruto asked, blocking her line of sight. "Would you give up?"
"No!"
Hinata answered firmly, her eyes resolute. "Even if I'm not a match for Neji-niisan, I don't want to disappoint Father or Hanabi."
Naruto nodded. "Good. I wouldn't want you to give up either."
Then his tone shifted. "But if you face the one carrying a gourd—you must surrender."
"The one with the gourd?" Hinata widened her eyes and looked across the arena. "That red-haired Sand ninja?"
"Yes—him."
Naruto leaned closer, his voice grave. "Team 7 was chased by him for a long time in the Forest of Death. That's why we reached the central tower so late. If he hadn't encountered other teams along the way, none of us would have survived."
"And he killed so many people—yet his team still arrived first. What do you think that means?"
"…He's that strong?" Hinata stared at Gaara, who stood with his arms crossed. After a moment, she asked hesitantly, "Naruto-kun… if I really face him, do I have to withdraw?"
"Yes," Naruto said solemnly. "I used hundreds of Shadow Clones and still nearly died. If others hadn't interfered, Team 7 would have been wiped out."
"Do you… not believe me?"
"No!" Hinata shook her head immediately. "But Kurenai-sensei personally recommended me for the exams, and Father and Hanabi—"
"The winner is—Aburame Shino."
Hinata blinked, then broke into a bright smile.
The fifth preliminary match had ended. As Hayate announced the result, the screen began scrolling again.
Ding—
Tenten vs. Hyūga Hinata
"Naruto-kun! It's not the one with the gourd!"
Hinata's voice instantly relaxed.
"Go," Naruto said with a smile. "Just be careful—Tenten has a lot of weapons."
Soon, Hinata and Tenten were fighting in the arena.
Shikamaru returned after escorting Ino to the infirmary. Watching the battle below, he yawned. "Which round is this? Did I already miss my match and get disqualified?"
Naruto chuckled. "If only you were that lucky."
With Might Guy and Rock Lee cheering loudly, Tenten leapt into the air, continuously summoning ninja tools from two scrolls and raining them down on Hinata. Yet every weapon shattered the moment it entered a one-meter radius around her.
"Hinata's gotten that strong?" Shikamaru muttered, leaning on the railing.
"She's always been strong," Shino said calmly as he walked past them toward another exit—apparently going to check on Kiba.
"That defense… it's not Rotation?"
Neji activated his Byakugan. He saw Hinata standing still, arms moving rapidly, chakra forming needle-thin threads from her palms that sliced every approaching weapon into dust.
"She even cut the wires attached to the weapons. Once Tenten lands—she loses."
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Tenten began to descend. Her scrolls were empty. The instant the weapons vanished, Hinata dashed forward.
After landing, Tenten gritted her teeth and threw several shuriken—but they were instantly shredded again.
Moments later, Tenten raised her hand in surrender. She had nothing left to throw, and she knew exactly what would happen if Hinata closed the distance—after all, Neji was her teammate.
"The winner is—Hyūga Hinata."
As Hayate announced the result, the screen rolled again.
"That makes five people left including me," Shikamaru said drowsily. "Naruto, who do you think gets the bye?"
"Relax," Naruto laughed. "It definitely won't be you."
"…That's not reassuring at all."
Naruto watched Hinata walk back up the stairs. "If you run into Gaara, surrender immediately. I told Hinata the same thing."
Shikamaru looked across the arena. "That bad?"
"Yeah," Naruto said quietly. "Not strong—dangerous."
Shikamaru stiffened. Naruto wasn't joking.
Then the screen flashed again.
Gaara vs. Rock Lee
"Watch closely," Naruto said.
Shikamaru saw Gaara dissolve into sand and reappear instantly on the arena floor.
"Get down here," Gaara said emotionlessly, staring up.
Rock Lee, meanwhile, seemed oblivious—excitedly gesturing and discussing "youth" and "burning passion" with Guy, even pulling out a notebook.
At last, Lee vaulted over the railing and landed below.
As Hayate raised his hand to begin—
A pebble-sized black object shot toward Lee.
啪!
"Don't rush."
Lee caught it. Hayate saw a cork-like stopper hit the ground. Gaara's gourd was already leaking fine sand.
"The seventh match—begin!"
The moment Hayate spoke, Lee charged.
What followed stunned nearly everyone.
Gaara stood still, arms crossed, while Lee circled him at high speed, throwing punch after punch. Every strike was blocked by sand erupting from the gourd.
Even kunai couldn't touch Gaara.
"Is that sand alive?"
"He's not controlling it!"
Sasuke's Sharingan spun. He saw clearly—the sand was moving automatically, defending Gaara on its own.
"He's playing with Lee," Shikamaru said grimly. "Why is Lee only using taijutsu? If that guy starts actively controlling the sand—"
Before he finished the thought, Lee was slammed into the wall by sand.
"Lee only uses taijutsu," Naruto said calmly.
Lee leapt onto the stone hand statue, forming the Ram seal.
"…Weights?" Shikamaru's eyes widened as Guy signaled.
Lee removed two massive weights and dropped them.
BOOM! BOOM!
The entire hall shook.
"Just how heavy were those?!"
Guy roared, "Go! Lee!"
Lee vanished—reappearing instantly before Gaara.
"He's way faster!"
"The sand can't keep up!"
"He hit him!"
Under Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan, Lee's movements were crystal clear.
"He should've opened the Eight Gates already," Sasuke muttered.
As Lee's speed increased further, the sand failed again—and Gaara was sent flying.
Naruto frowned, his consciousness slipping into the seal.
"Kurama, don't do anything stupid."
"Relax," Kurama grinned. "Unless I reach out first, that mangy tanuki won't even know I'm here."
"I'm just enjoying the show. Watching his jinchūriki get beaten like this—priceless."
Naruto hesitated. "Can the others contact Shukaku?"
"No. Without me, they can only contact their own hosts."
Kurama smirked. "Also—good news. Because you blew up a Shadow Clone earlier, Jiraiya went to interrogate the Third Hokage again. He plans to start training you right after the preliminaries."
Naruto smiled. "I can't wait."
"…Lee's bones—"
Naruto returned just in time to see Hinata close her eyes in sympathy. Below, Lee was being carried out on a stretcher, Guy following close behind.
"What kind of monster is he?" Shikamaru whispered, staring at Gaara—who was almost completely unharmed.
"The last matchup's out," Naruto said. "No bye for you."
"Who's lucky, then?"
Shikamaru turned.
Nara Shikamaru vs. Temari
Hyūga Neji received the bye.
"Get down there, Shikamaru!" Asuma said cheerfully. "Chōji and Ino said you'd definitely make the finals."
"…Did they?" Shikamaru sighed.
Asuma lit a cigarette. "As long as you don't quit, you won't lose."
Shikamaru said nothing—just borrowed all of Naruto and Hinata's smoke bombs and kunai.
Five minutes later, he was driven into a corner, clothes in tatters.
As Temari unleashed a gust of wind—
The kunai behind her transformed into Shikamaru, using Shadow Possession Jutsu.
The Shikamaru in the corner was just a normal clone.
He'd copied Naruto's trick.
"The winner is—Nara Shikamaru."
The preliminaries ended at last. After announcing the finals date, the Hokage proceeded to the draw.
Naruto drew 8, Sasuke 1, Kankurō 5, Shino 4, Hinata 7, Gaara 2, Shikamaru 6, and Neji 3.
Naruto glanced at the bracket.
Everything was going far too smoothly.
In one month, once Sasuke and Gaara's opening match began—
Orochimaru could launch the Konoha Crush Plan.
The Next Morning
At sunrise, Naruto was training on the cliffs behind Konoha. As he reached the summit, he saw a tall, white-haired figure sitting with his back to him.
The preliminaries were finally over.
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