The others finished drawing lots in turn, and the match table, recorded by the proctor, was handed to Hiruzen.
The match table was unfolded and displayed before all the candidates.
First match, Number One versus Number Two, Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuga Neji.
Second match, Uchiha Sasuke versus Gaara.
Third match, Kankuro versus Aburame Shino.
Fourth match, Nara Shikamaru versus Temari.
Otogakure's Dosu gets a bye.
Naruto glanced at the names Naruto and Neji written side by side on the match table, then turned his head to look at Neji, who was standing not far away.
Neji happened to be looking at him too and their gazes collided right in front of the bulletin board.
Neji's white eyes narrowed slightly, and his lips curled.
The corners of Naruto's lips also curved upward.
After Hiruzen announced the dismissal, the candidates who had passed the preliminaries dispersed.
Naruto gave a slight nod in the direction of Hiruzen with a polite smile on his face, then followed the crowd as they walked out.
...
When Naruto pushed open the door to the infirmary, he found that the bed where Hinata had been lying was already empty.
He stood by the bed for a moment and reached out to touch the pillow. It was cold, she had been gone for a while.
He guessed that perhaps members of the Hyuga Clan had arrived shortly after he left to take Hinata back.
The Young Miss of the Hyuga main family had been injured in public. Hiashi would never allow his daughter to continue lying in the temporary infirmary at the exam site.
Naruto didn't think much of it. He readjusted his white windbreaker and turned to walk toward Sakura's bed.
Sakura's bed was in an inner compartment of the infirmary, separated from the one Hinata had just occupied by a translucent curtain.
When Naruto lifted the curtain and walked in, Sakura was sitting halfway up, staring blankly at the ceiling.
She still had two adhesive bandages on her cheeks ans her fingers were wrapped in bandages. She looked much more energetic than when she had first been carried out of the Forest of Death.
"Naruto, you're here."
Hearing footsteps, Sakura turned her head and saw Naruto, offering a forced smile. "How did the preliminaries go?"
"The preliminaries are all over. Sasuke and I both passed, and we'll be participating in the third official exam in a month." Naruto walked to the bedside.
"Sasuke is fine too. Kakashi-sensei took him to the sealing room to deal with the Cursed Seal, and he's stable now."
Listening to Naruto recount the results of the preliminaries in his usual tone, Sakura suddenly felt a strange sensation in her heart.
In the past, she was always the one reporting various things to Naruto—what the homework was, that the mission meeting time had changed, or that Kakashi-sensei was late again.
Now, the person sitting on the bed listening to others' reports had become herself.
Sakura pursed her lips, trying hard to curve the corners of her lips upward.
"Congratulations to you both."
"Sakura, I need to focus on my training for the next month. I probably won't have time to come visit you during this period, so take care and recover well."
After saying this, Naruto nodded slightly to Sakura and then turned to walk toward the door.
Sakura watched Naruto's back and suddenly felt that this figure had nothing to do with the Naruto from before—the one who was always sticking behind her, blushing at the drop of a hat, and shouting "Sakura-chan, I like you" every other day.
The current Naruto had become calm and confident, no longer revolving around anyone.
Yet since the Land of Waves mission, her own strength had barely grown. All she thought about all day was either acting temperamental in front of Sasuke or bickering with Ino.
When fighting Ino, she had given it her all, only to end up with a mutual knockout and both being eliminated.
Yet in the Forest of Death, Naruto dared to stand alone in front of Sasuke, facing a powerful ninja that even Sasuke didn't dare move against, and still managed to retreat unscathed.
She could do nothing but wait for Sasuke and Naruto to protect her.
"Naruto!" Sakura's voice came from behind the curtain, a little higher than before.
Naruto stopped his footsteps and turned his head to look at Sakura over his shoulder.
"Thank you. For standing in front of us in the Forest of Death, and for what you said during training before—thank you for everything. I've been thinking about it for a while, and it seems I was a bit too harsh on you in the past."
"We're teammates, Sakura." Naruto waved his hand.
Then he pulled open the infirmary door and walked out.
"Teammates, huh?"
Sakura lowered her head and spread out her bandaged hands.
Before this, these two hands had done nothing but hand ninja tools to Sasuke and shake fists at Naruto.
Sakura clenched her fingers into a fist and took a deep breath.
...
Naruto walked out of the infirmary and headed down the corridor. The end of the corridor led to the exam site's public rest area, and two people were walking toward him.
Kakashi walked in front, with Sasuke a step behind him.
The Cursed Seal on Sasuke's neck was surrounded by a circle of intricate Fuinjutsu. Sasuke's face was still a little pale, but his expression had returned to its usual state.
"Yo, Naruto. Are you here to see Sakura too?" Kakashi asked.
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei. Sakura has woken up and is doing fine." Naruto nodded.
Then he glanced at Sasuke. Sasuke gave a slight nod in return, acknowledging him.
Naruto turned his gaze back to Kakashi.
"Sorry, Naruto."
Kakashi put down the Icha Icha Paradise in his hand, his tone shifting from its usual laziness to a hint of seriousness. "For the next month, I probably won't be able to accompany you."
"You saw Sasuke's situation during the preliminaries. If we don't step up the seal training, that Cursed Seal could backfire at any moment. Besides, he has to face Gaara in a month, which requires specialized training."
Kakashi had optimally allocated his limited time and energy. Naruto had visibly grown stronger, his combat awareness and use of Ninjutsu growing at a rate that exceeded his expectations. But Sasuke was still in a state where the Cursed Seal could go out of control at any time. Any Jonin team leader would make the same decision in this situation.
Naruto nodded, his tone calm. "Alright, Kakashi-sensei. Then, Sasuke, see you at the Chunin Exams in a month."
Sasuke he nodded, his voice slightly hoarse. "See you in a month."
Naruto walked out along the corridor, his figure disappearing around the corner.