Hinata took a deep breath.
Byakugan activated. Veins bulged around her white eyes.
She assumed the starting stance of the Gentle Fist and stepped forward.
Neji moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
In just an instant, he had already appeared in front of Hinata.
He struck a palm toward her shoulder.
Hinata tried to dodge by sidestepping. But that palm was too fast; she couldn't avoid it.
Bang.
The palm's force penetrated her body. A portion of her Chakra was sealed.
Hinata stumbled back.
Neji didn't stop. A second palm, a third, a fourth.
One palm after another, relentless. Each strike accurately hit Hinata's Acupoints, and each one sealed a portion of her Chakra flow.
Hinata was like a butterfly caught in a net, struggling desperately but unable to escape those hands.
"Too slow."
Neji's voice came, as calm as if he were stating a fact:
"Too weak. This is the Main House?"
Hinata gritted her teeth, desperately holding on.
But she knew she couldn't win.
From the very first palm, she knew she couldn't win.
Neji was too strong. So strong that she couldn't even see his movements clearly, let alone have a chance to strike back.
Another palm struck her shoulder.
She fell to one knee.
Most of her Chakra was sealed, and her whole body was in pain.
But she didn't admit defeat.
She thought of her father's face and those disappointed looks.
She thought of the weight the words "Main House" placed on her.
She couldn't lose.
She gritted her teeth, trying to stand up.
Neji's palm wind arrived again.
This time it was aimed at her face.
Hinata closed her eyes.
But that palm didn't fall.
"Stop."
A voice came from the crowd.
It was very calm and faint, yet it made Neji's hand stop in mid-air.
Everyone turned to look.
Shinji walked out from the crowd.
He didn't walk fast. His steps were steady. Step by step, he walked to the center of the clearing, to Hinata's side.
Neji looked at him.
"This is the examination hall; you have no right to interfere."
"I know," Shinji said.
He lowered his head, looking at Hinata kneeling on the ground.
Her face was pale, there was blood at the corner of her mouth, and her whole body was trembling. But those white eyes were still stubbornly open, looking in Neji's direction.
"Hinata," he said.
Hinata raised her head.
She looked at him. She looked at his ordinary face, which showed no expression, and those bottomless eyes.
"Concede," he said.
Hinata was stunned.
"Shinji-kun..."
"Concede."
Shinji said it again:
"You've done well enough. That's enough."
Hinata's tears welled up.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something. But the words were stuck in her throat, unable to come out.
She just looked at him.
Looking at him standing there, shielding her.
Just like in the Forest of Death.
Just like every time he appeared.
"...I concede."
Her voice was very small, almost inaudible.
But Neji heard it.
The proctor heard it too.
"Winner: Hyuga Neji." The proctor raised his hand.
A wave of discussion broke out in the crowd.
Neji looked at Shinji, at the black-haired youth standing in front of Hinata.
"What is your name?"
"Shinji."
Neji nodded.
"I'll remember you," he said.
Then he turned and walked back into the crowd.
Shinji ignored him.
He crouched down and looked at Hinata.
Hinata was still kneeling on the ground, her face covered in tears, her body trembling. Those white eyes looked at him, filled with so many things.
Gratitude, grievance, sadness, and a little something else he couldn't quite name.
"Can you stand up?"
Hinata nodded.
She supported herself on the ground to stand, but her legs went soft and she started to fall again.
Shinji reached out to support her.
"I'll help you."
Hinata's face turned red. It was burning hot.
But she didn't push him away.
She just leaned on him, walking step by step toward the edge of the field.
The crowd automatically made a path.
Everyone was watching them.
...
On the spectator stands.
Mei Terumī's gaze fell on those two figures and Shinji's hand supporting Hinata.
She could no longer smile.
Her eyes narrowed subconsciously. The movement was very slight, but that killing intent was almost uncontrollably radiating out.
"Is that scum protecting another woman? If I had known, I would have secretly killed this Vixen earlier!"
Sensing a slight movement nearby.
The Sandaime turned his head, looking at the woman sitting to his right.
Mei Terumī was withdrawing her gaze, picking up the teacup in front of her and taking a light sip.
Her brownish-auburn long hair was draped over her shoulders, and sunlight fell from the skylight, casting a faint shadow on her face.
"Is the Mizukage-dono paying attention to this Genin?" the Sandaime suddenly asked.
Mei Terumī put down the teacup, her finger pausing for a moment on the rim.
She turned her head and looked at the Sandaime. There was no expression in those emerald eyes, as calm as a pool of deep water.
"What does the Sandaime want to hear?"
The Sandaime smiled and said slowly:
"I was thinking that a young man who can make the Mizukage-dono stare at him throughout the whole match should be more than just 'not bad'."
Mei Terumī's finger paused for a moment.
It was very brief, so brief it was almost imperceptible.
But the Sandaime saw it.
He took a puff of his pipe, the smoke escaping from the corner of his mouth and dispersing in the sunlight.
"Did the Mizukage-dono know him before?"
Mei Terumī did not immediately answer.
She just shifted her gaze back to the edge of the field, to the youth leaning against a pillar.
He had his eyes closed as if resting. The bloodstains on him had already dried, a dark red that glinted in the sunlight.
That face was so ordinary it wouldn't be found if thrown into a crowd, but she had looked at it for fifteen years.
"I don't know him," she said.
Her voice was as calm as a pool of deep water.
But those eyes kept following that back.
"However," Mei Terumī suddenly spoke again, her voice carrying a trace of an indiscernible smile, "I'm a bit interested in him."
The Sandaime's eyebrows twitched.
He looked at the woman beside him. Her expression was calm when she spoke, and her tone was very light, but he always felt something was off.
Those eyes.
Just now when she said "interest," something flashed through those eyes.
It was too fast. So fast he didn't see it clearly.
"What does the Mizukage-dono mean?" the Sandaime asked tentatively.
Mei Terumī gave a small smile.
"Konoha truly is a cradle of geniuses," she said.
Then she stood up.
"Sandaime," her voice returned to that flat official tone, "thank you for Konoha's hospitality. I shall be taking my leave now."
The Sandaime nodded. "Safe travels, Mizukage-dono."
Mei Terumī turned and walked toward the exit of the stands.
After a few steps, she stopped again.
She didn't look back.
"By the way, Sandaime."
"Hmm?"
"That Genin named Shinji," her voice came from ahead, light and airy, with no discernible emotion, "where does he live?"
The Sandaime was stunned for a moment.
"Why does the Mizukage-dono ask this?"
Mei Terumī did not answer.
She just continued walking forward, the sound of her footsteps gradually fading away on the stands.
The Sandaime watched her disappearing back, his brow slightly furrowed.
The "Kazekage" beside him laughed.
"Interesting."
Orochimaru's voice was kept very low, so only the Sandaime could hear:
"This Mizukage-dono seems to be particularly concerned about that brat."
The Sandaime did not speak.
He just looked at the black-haired youth at the edge of the field again.
Shinji was still leaning against the pillar at this moment, his eyes closed, completely unaware of everything happening on the stands.