"Come on, Ino!"
A rare, gentle smile appeared on Sakura's face.
She opened her arms toward Ino, who was throwing a punch at her.
Smack!
Ino's final punch landed on Sakura's cheek with a soft sound.
At the same time, her entire body, drained of strength, collapsed into Sakura's embrace, who held her close.
"Sigh, when did you become so strong anyway?"
Ino's face pressed against Sakura's chest, gently breathing in Sakura's scent.
"Probably around the time I didn't want you to worry about me anymore!"
Sakura supported Ino's arm, carrying her on her back.
"Well then, from now on, you're the stronger one, Sakura. I'll aim for you!"
Ino's voice grew softer and softer until her head tilted to the side and she fell asleep.
"Mhmm! It's a promise!"
Responding softly, Sakura carried her toward the referee.
Hayate stepped forward to check the situation, confirmed Ino was unconscious, and announced the result: "Winner, Haruno Sakura!"
Carrying Ino, Sakura initially wanted to go to the second floor.
But looking up, she saw that the entire tower hall's suspended walkways seemed to have been completely destroyed by her.
The other participating Ninjas had all retreated to the high platform where the villages' leaders had been earlier.
When Sakura carried Ino up, she received quite a lot of attention.
Ignoring the numerous gazes of envy, caution, and hostility, Sakura carefully laid Ino on the floor.
Down in the arena below, the terrain had been altered… the field transformed into a glacier couldn't be restored.
So Hayate made do and had Naruto and Kiba start their fight.
"Really, you two, was it necessary to fight like that?"
Shikamaru squeezed through the crowd and came to Sakura's side. Seeing that Ino was okay, he let out a sigh of relief.
"If I didn't let Ino see something real, she wouldn't be satisfied, right?"
Sakura, supporting Ino, pulled a blanket out from Leviathan's body and wrapped it around her.
'Having just fought in the extreme cold, her blood flow accelerated and pores opened, she must have absorbed a lot of cold air.'
'Once Ino's body stabilizes, a cold and fever are unavoidable.'
'Should I take her home to care for her then, or go to her house to care for her?'
"Women, so troublesome."
Muttering a complaint, Shikamaru couldn't help but rub his forehead, turning his gaze back to the arena.
Naruto, the number one most unpredictable Ninja, still ended up disrupting Kiba's Four Legs Technique with a fart.
Finally, the preliminary match ended with the Naruto Combo learned from Lee, securing his victory.
As the examinees eagerly awaited, the preliminary matches reached the final group.
Hyuga Neji vs. Hyuga Hinata.
"If it's based on the elite avoidance principle..."
Sitting on the edge of the platform, not worried at all about falling off, Shikamaru pondered.
"Yeah, Hinata is most likely considered the stepping stone."
Sakura, having settled Ino, also came over to watch this Hyuga battle.
"It's cruel, isn't it? For Ino, or for her." Shikamaru supported himself with his hands on the ground, leaning his head back.
"Tch, don't say that. Ino at least has me by her side. What about the young lady down there?"
Sakura's gaze shifted sideways toward behind her, where Hiruzen nodded slightly at her.
Actually, it wasn't impossible to understand this kind of consideration, purely based on political motives.
After all, to display the strength of Konoha's Ninjas, the most direct violence is inevitably the first choice.
However, this treating people as cold numerical values to compare made Sakura feel somewhat displeased.
"Indeed, I'm still more suited to being a pirate..."
The girl took a deep breath and let out a soft sigh.
"Huh? What did you say?"
For a moment, Shikamaru felt like he had heard something incredible.
"Hmm, did I say something?"
Sakura pursed her lips and blinked, a dangerous light seeping from her emerald-green eyes.
"... I must have misheard. Let's watch the match, watch the match."
Choosing to be cautious, Shikamaru turned his attention to the Hyuga cousins below.
He saw them both activate their Byakugan, simultaneously assuming Gentle Fist stances.
This clan, known within Konoha as the [Ancient Noble Family], was going to show its face before everyone today.
Not to mention the Ninjas from outside the village who had long heard of the Byakugan, even the Ninjas from Konoha were eagerly anticipating this.
"Before we start, I want to give you a piece of advice, Hinata-sama. Forfeit. You are not suited to be a Ninja!"
The bulging veins around his Byakugan made Neji look quite ferocious, his words sounding like a threat.
"N-No... I just... want to... change myself..."
Hinata's presence was completely suppressed by Neji's, her voice also very weak.
"It can't be changed!"
Neji retorted sharply and charged directly at Hinata.
"No one can change their own destiny! Background, appearance, power, everything is decided the moment a person is born!"
Neji skillfully unleashed the Gentle Fist, utilizing the Hyuga Clan's body with fully connected Chakra Pathways throughout.
He thrust his fingertips, capable of directly striking internal organs, toward Hinata, who barely managed to assume a blocking posture.
"A dropout is a dropout. The gap between elites and you all cannot be bridged just because you mumble about wanting to change!"
As Hinata blocked again and again, Neji's strikes became increasingly vicious, with several moves aimed at lethal points.
However, under the watchful eyes of the Jonin Instructors, he had to change his moves at the last moment, striking other locations.
"This guy is kind of irritating."
On the high platform, Sakura sat cross-legged, using Observation Haki to carefully observe every exchange between the two.
"The Hyuga Clan's main and branch families..."
Shikamaru stroked his chin, murmuring.
"You know about this too?"
Sakura was somewhat surprised.
"Basically all secret technique clans and Kekkei Genkai Clans know." Shikamaru explained to Sakura, "Many in the Jonin Team also find this enslaving system distasteful, but they can't interfere because it's the Hyuga Clan's internal affair."
"Perhaps a turning point is coming soon."
Sakura's gaze shifted toward Naruto, who was cheering for Hinata nearby. Watching Hinata stand up again and again to fight Neji with his encouragement, she sighed with emotion.
"What, is our future Konoha's strongest planning to make a move?"
Shikamaru half-teased, joking, a glint of gossip in his eyes.
Haruno Sakura, this Ninja almost openly acknowledged as Konoha's future leader, expressing dissatisfaction with an ancient clan's enslaving system.
This was big news, and could possibly be the beginning of future change.
Naturally, Shikamaru was very interested in this.
"God helps those who help themselves… those who stand on their own feet are always established by others."
Sakura's pupils reflected Hinata, covered in blood but still persistently fighting.
"What does that mean?"
Shikamaru was taken aback by Sakura's words, not quite processing it immediately.
"This matter depends on the person involved herself, whether she has the resolve to resist and change!"
Sakura's voice reached Shikamaru's ears, but when he turned his head, the girl beside him had already disappeared.
Inside the arena, the moment Neji intended to strike a lethal blow, Sakura's figure suddenly appeared.
She grabbed his hand, which was pointing toward a death point, and threw him to the ground with a shoulder throw.
Behind her, Kakashi, Kurenai, Guy, and Hayate all entered the field.
"Why have the other Jonins come out as well? Is this special treatment for the main family?"
Neji, embedded in the ice, bit his lip until it bled, blood trickling down his cheek.
Sakura held him down in a reverse grip, sitting cross-legged on his back, pinning him so he couldn't get up.
"Filled with hatred for the main family's restrictions and oppression, yet desperately defending such a rotten order."
"Hyuga Neji, someone like you is truly pitiable."