Shikamaru spoke first, his lazy tone hiding a hint of curiosity, "Naruto, you're finally here. I haven't seen you all month. Where did you go to train?"
"I went to your house and knocked several times, but no one was there. I asked Iruka-sensei, and he said he didn't know either."
Compared to the preliminaries a month ago, the aura Naruto was exuding now was more restrained and powerful than before. This change was very subtle. Ordinary people might not have noticed it, but Shikamaru did.
Naruto smiled. "I went to the back mountain to train for a month, so I didn't go home."
He walked to Shikamaru's side and asked casually, "What about you? You haven't been slacking off this month, have you?"
Shikamaru said, gesturing with his chin toward Gaara, "So troublesome. I certainly don't want to fight that kind of monster."
Then he glanced at Neji. "Your opponent is a genius of the Hyuga Clan, known as the strongest Taijutsu user among Genin. Your luck really is something else."
Neji turned his head and looked at Naruto coldly, the curve of his lips carrying a condescending certainty. "Hmph, a loser is a loser. Even if you work hard, you are destined to be defeated by me. This is fate."
Naruto glanced at Neji but did not respond. At this point in time, Neji was still trapped by the concept of fate, and arguing with him was meaningless.
Naruto just turned and nodded to Shino. "Good luck today, Shino."
Shino nodded. "Naruto, your Chakra is more powerful than it was a month ago."
Naruto smiled without answering, then turned toward Gaara and his siblings.
He nodded to Gaara.
Gaara's eyes narrowed slightly for a moment, and his fingers, which were crossed over his arms, tightened subconsciously.
Temari and Kankuro saw Naruto greet Gaara and sneered inwardly.
This kid probably didn't know what state Gaara was in today, yet he dared to provoke him.
Naruto then moved his gaze away from the candidates and swept across the surrounding auditorium.
In the spectator stands, Hinata sat upright with her hands folded over her knees, looking at Naruto. The moment their gazes met in mid-air, the tips of her ears quickly turned red.
"Naruto-kun, good luck."
Naruto didn't hear her, but from the movement of her lips, he could roughly guess what she meant.
Kiba and Akamaru were sitting next to Hinata.
"Naruto, if you lose, I'll make fun of you for the rest of my life!"
"Woof woof!" Akamaru barked to cheer him on.
In the row behind Hinata, Sakura and Ino sat side by side. When the two girls saw Naruto looking toward the spectator stands, they raised their hands and waved.
"Naruto, Shikamaru, good luck!"
Ino cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, only to be met with an eye-roll from Sakura.
Naruto continued to scan upwards and saw Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, and some faces he didn't recognize near the high-up VIP seating area.
In the back of the west side of the stands sat a few people wearing dark gray cloaks with their hoods pulled down low, making it impossible to see which ninja village their headbands belonged to.
On the north side, a few people were constantly writing something on their wrists with very subtle movements. They were likely intelligence agents sent by other ninja villages, making records.
In the shadows at the entrance below the stands, several people wearing Anbu masks stood, responsible for maintaining order at the scene.
Lively as it was, Naruto knew better than anyone present what was hidden beneath this liveliness.
Just then, Hiruzen stood up in the VIP area and looked around the entire arena.
The next second, the Kazekage walked over and gave a slight nod to him.
Naruto glanced at the Kazekage, who was actually Orochimaru in disguise.
"Hokage, it seems the Genin from your village, Uchiha Sasuke, has not yet arrived."
Orochimaru spoke in the Kazekage's voice, his tone flat.
"Please be patient, Kazekage. If the contestant has not arrived by the appointed time, it will be considered an automatic forfeit." Hiruzen said.
Then he walked to the front of the VIP area and announced to the entire arena that the third stage of the Chunin Exams was now officially beginning.
After he sat back down, a Jonin stood up from the examiner's bench and used the Body Flicker Technique to land in the center of the arena.
Shiranui Genma.
He had become the interim proctor for the third stage of the exams.
He scanned the few examinees standing in the center of the arena, then raised his right hand. "First match, Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuga Neji."
"The other contestants, please temporarily retreat to the contestant waiting area."
As Shikamaru walked past Naruto, he said with a lazy expression, "That guy from the Hyuga Clan is quite troublesome. Good luck."
After saying that, he put his hands in his pockets and walked toward the passage to the contestant waiting area.
Kankuro and Temari exchanged a look of uncertain meaning, then walked toward the side of the arena with Gaara.
Gaara glanced at Naruto, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes. Through this battle, he wanted to see exactly how much this guy, who claimed to be the same kind of person as him, was worth.
.
In the stands, Kiba took Akamaru down from his head and placed him on his knees, leaning toward Hinata. "Hinata, do you think Naruto can win?"
Hinata held her hands in front of her chest, eyes fixed on the center of the arena, and said firmly, "Naruto-kun will definitely be able to do it."