"I never would've thought! Naruto actually managed to beat Neji." Even after Sasuke's match, Kiba was still captivated by the fight between Neji and Naruto.
Who was Neji? He had long heard of him as the Hyuga clan's super genius! Terrifyingly strong. Yet, who would've thought Naruto was even more terrifying. Just by using the Gentle Fist he'd learned on the fly, he managed to defeat Neji, who had trained in it for ten years? It truly opened his eyes. The phrase "Genius is merely my threshold" seemed to describe Naruto more accurately the more he thought about it.
Hinata, hands clasped, secretly glanced at Naruto. "Naruto-kun always works very hard; he's just always been silently diligent." Her voice was soft but exceptionally firm. During their time at the Ninja Academy, every day after school, Naruto would practice for three additional hours at Training Ground Three (a daily task for his Scholar title). She had witnessed it every time.
"Naruto-kun's sweat-watered seed has finally bloomed," she thought, a blush spreading across her face. She secretly glanced at Naruto again, only to find him looking back at her, making her face turn even redder.
"Hey, Hinata! Hinata!" Kiba called out, pointing frantically at the electronic scoreboard.
Hinata followed his gaze.
[Hyuga Hinata VS Gaara]
The two prominent names shone brightly on the board. Her pupils suddenly contracted, then uncontrollably widened, her eyes churning with waves of disbelief.
"Hey, Hinata." Kiba felt his throat go dry, his voice trembling slightly. "You should just forfeit. You've seen his methods before." He recalled how Gaara had cleanly eliminated three opponents, leaving their bodies utterly disintegrated, a scene that had scared Team 8 into immediately turning tail and fleeing. "That kind of monster is not someone we can deal with."
At the mere thought of that disintegrated scene, Hinata's blood drained, her face turning pale, and her body began to stiffen, becoming somewhat unresponsive.
"Hinata, I agree with Kiba," the usually most reserved Shino awkwardly suggested. "My bugs tell me that fighting a monster like that won't end well. If anyone can be his opponent, it's only Naruto."
Naruto-kun...
"Whew~~~~"
Hearing that name, Hinata took two deep breaths, letting air re-enter her lungs. Her stiff body seemed to relax, and she regained sensation. The distance between her and Naruto-kun seemed to be growing... further and further, so far that she could no longer see his back, especially after graduation. This time, she wanted to try for herself and see the gap between them. She didn't want to be left behind by anyone.
In the arena, under Kurenai's watchful eye, and despite Kiba and Shino's dissuasion, Hinata stepped forward.
"Hinata actually has to face him." Sakura frowned slightly, looking at the red-haired Sand Village ninja. She recalled Naruto's commentary on all the examinees the night after the written exam. The little redhead below was clearly among the strong, but Hinata's strength? Sakura knew it was average.
At this thought, Sakura couldn't help but feel sorry for Hinata, but she still asked Naruto with a hint of expectation, "Will she win?"
"Chances are 0%."
Naruto's gaze was fixed on the small figure in the arena. He silently sighed, stating the unavoidable truth.
The match began. Gaara's gourd was uncorked. His gourd didn't contain medicine; it was apparently modified to hold sand. Red hair + 'love' tattoo + self-supplied cement-like sand. The more Naruto looked, the more familiar it seemed. Was this guy from the Goth/Emo family? Countless grains of sand flew out of the gourd, automatically swirling around him.
Hinata began her probing attacks. Gaara seemed to have no intention of making the first move, instead standing still and allowing Hinata to test him freely. But Gaara's sand possessed an innate guardian function; all of Hinata's attacks were defended, not harming the little redhead in the slightest.
Suddenly, the situation in the arena took an abrupt turn, and Gaara began to attack proactively.
Bang bang bang~~~
Hinata desperately batted away the incoming sand. According to Kakashi, Hinata's Byakugan had a 360° field of vision. While she could see the attacks, she couldn't defend against them all, as the sand was attacking from all directions simultaneously.
Thud~
With one misstep, Hinata was violently slammed against the wall by the sand. The one-sided beatdown made Naruto unable to bear watching further. He murmured under his breath, "That's enough, Hinata, just give up."
But Hinata did not grant Naruto's wish. Although blood stained her clothes, she stubbornly stood up again. She was tenacious, but Gaara had no heart.
Thud~
No sooner had she stood up than Hinata was slammed against the wall again by even more sand. Even from that far away, Naruto could feel the tremor.
Tight. My fists are tight.
Hinata, covered in blood, tried to get up again, but her small body was enveloped by an increasing amount of sand.
This jutsu!
Kiba, who had seen it before, instantly turned pale with fright. "Hinata!!!"
Gaara, his expression turning bloodthirsty and insane, extended his palm as if to crush Hinata, and squeezed his hand. "Die! Sand Coffin!"
Whoosh~ Bang~
As the sand-formed coffin was about to pulverize Hinata, Naruto suddenly flashed forward, swatting away the swirling sand with a single palm. Behind him, several Jonin sensei also appeared around Hinata. Such a display was indeed befitting of the Hyuga clan princess.
"Tch~"
In this situation, Gaara felt as if his toy had been snatched away, but he knew that further attack was hopeless. His eyes, beneath his heavy dark circles, returned to their calm state. He was expressionless, his voice cold: "Why did you save her?"
Life, in his eyes, seemed less valuable than a number, but rather like an ant to be crushed.
"Why? Because I feel like it, dammit!"
He glanced back at Hinata, who was covered in blood, lying on the ground, only able to gasp for breath. She was such a tiny figure, looking exceptionally pitiable. Naruto sighed softly; she had given it her all, fighting to this point.
He took a majestic step forward, surging chakra swirling around him, and declared with conviction: "This battle ends here. If you wish to continue, I'll be your opponent next."
"You?"
Gaara felt an impulse. Naruto's previous fight with Neji had already set his blood boiling. However, with so many Jonin around, he suppressed this impulse. "There will be a chance!" He walked away indifferently, his gourd on his back.
Watching his retreating figure, and then looking at the unconscious Hinata, covered in blood, Naruto felt an uncharacteristic anger.
Rokuto, arrange it for me. Next match, I want to fight Gaara!
After the battle, Hinata was taken away by the medical team. Naruto followed to check; thankfully, they were all external injuries. After taking the Leisure Pill, she'd be a good man—no, woman—again in five minutes.
Returning to the second floor, Naruto found Sakura wasn't there. He looked down at the arena and saw Sakura was in a match. Her opponent was that Sound Village ninja, the 'chicken' Naruto had instantly taken down with genjutsu—Zaku Abumi. Sakura had plenty of chakra and good taijutsu, so she defeated him after three rounds of intense fighting.
Next, one after another, the matches continued.
As Naruto focused on observing his opponents, a voice spoke beside him. "Naruto-kun... Thank you." Hinata lowered her head, her face flushed with shyness, her voice timid and hesitant. It was as if the incredibly tenacious and persistent person, covered in blood and determined to see the fight through, hadn't been her.
However, seeing her bouncing around lively, Naruto broke into a bright smile. "No need to thank me. How are you feeling?"
"Much... much better."
This little girl was like a completely different person from before. But Naruto noticed that Hinata truly seemed to have changed. The formerly gentle, timid, and easily bullied girl was beginning to grow stronger internally. As the aspiring sun of the ninja world, Naruto generously radiated his light: "You were amazing today, I'm even a little impressed with you."
Hinata looked up in surprise, meeting Naruto's gentle gaze directly. Her eyes sparkled with expectation as she stared at Naruto and asked, "Really?"
"Fakey~"
The light that had just ignited in Hinata's eyes instantly extinguished. Seeing her sad, downcast look, Sakura couldn't help but slap Naruto hard. "Hey, Naruto!"
"Hahaha! Did I fool you?"
Naruto mischievously winked at Hinata, intending to make a joke to help her forget her recent defeat. But seeing the pure expectation in her sparkling eyes, he instantly scratched the back of his head, his voice unconsciously softening. "But seriously, today's Hinata was super tenacious! So cool! Uh... no, she was so beautiful!"
Tenacious, cool, beautiful—these words exploded like bombs in Hinata's ears. She suddenly looked up at him, their gazes meeting for only half a second before darting away as if shocked. A blush, like the softest rouge, spread across her face in layers. Hands clasped in front of her, her fingertips tightened slightly, and her head lowered even further. She squeezed out a few words, trying to make them clear: "Naruto-kun encouraged me... I'm... very grateful..." Every word seemed to carry a burning warmth.
Hahaha... Naruto laughed brightly.
Shy little girls were indeed fun, but... Hinata had truly grown. This kind of growth could only be glimpsed in snippets during occasions like today. From today's matches, not just Hinata, but every student of their generation was rapidly growing.
And not just people, but from the information gathered by his various clones, the entire ninja world was undergoing changes. The Great Nations, besides Konoha, were all expanding their armies, preparing for war, and flexing their muscles. A new war was clearly on the horizon.
In the past, Naruto disliked war entirely because he couldn't extract the maximum profit from it. But times were different now. He, Naruto, now had numerous clones, a vast and overwhelming force, more than enough to even challenge the Five Great Nations single-handedly. With his current strength, he could completely fish in troubled waters and achieve his strategic objectives.
Since that's the case, let them offer a salute to the birth of the sun!
Ninja world, your good days are coming!