The Loser of Supreme Glory

Naruto's surging chakra and his determined gaze made me feel a little threatened! This was bad. I was going to have to use Azure Water Release to defend myself!

I secretly glanced down. The Senbon I had fired earlier had all melted, forming a thin layer of water on the ground.

Naruto keenly sensed my momentary distraction and charged at me in that instant!

His speed... so fast! But my ninjutsu was faster!

I suddenly froze a puddle in Naruto's path into a smooth sheet of ice! Naruto couldn't stop in time and stepped onto it, but his body only swayed slightly before he steadied himself. The Nine-Tails' chakra had instantly melted the ice back into water!

The ice hadn't made Naruto fall, but it was enough! Taking advantage of Naruto's pause, I quickly formed hand seals-

"Water Release: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"

The water beneath Naruto's feet froze into ice Senbon and shot explosively toward him!

Whoosh! The ice Senbon struck nothing but air!

Naruto had already leaped onto the wall at the edge of the arena. He kicked off hard and charged at me at tremendous speed!

Though the Nine-Tails' chakra was powerful, Naruto was exhausted. This would be his final strike! And he had concentrated all his chakra into this punch, making it his strongest strike as well!

But Naruto was moving too fast. There was... no time to dodge! I quickly formed hand seals-

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

Boom! The Water Formation Wall completely failed to stop Naruto's fist and burst apart into a spray of water!

At the last moment, I instinctively used Azure Water Release! A water shield appeared in front of me, completely blocking Naruto's attack. His fist slid across its surface and slammed hard into the ground! In an instant, dust filled the air and stones flew in every direction!

As the dust settled... Naruto knelt limply on the ground, supported in my arms. He had already passed out...

The match... was decided.

"In the end, I had to use that move to beat you... You were amazing, Naruto!" I gently laid him on the ground. Even though I knew he couldn't hear me, I looked at his unconscious face and said, "I really do see you in a new light now!"

"I admit it... you really are a ninja I can rely on!"

I turned to look at the proctor, Genma Shiranui.

Genma Shiranui smiled faintly, then announced loudly-

"The first match is over... the winner is Sakura Haruno!"

Applause gradually rose from the stands, scattered at first, then growing louder until it rang out as one. The applause praised the brilliant match, but even more, it praised Naruto's spirit in gathering the last of his strength for a final charge, even when the odds were hopeless...!

The medical team's ninja had just lifted Naruto onto a stretcher when he woke up.

"Sakura... did I lose?" Naruto asked me dejectedly.

"Yeah..." I nodded gently.

"Just as I thought, I failed again..." Naruto looked into the air. "Even though I wanted to beat you, I... knew in my heart that I was just putting on a brave face..."

"That's how I am. I keep failing, but I can never accept it... I'm too weak..."

"That's not true, Naruto!" I said loudly. "I know you better than anyone... You may always fail, but every time, you get back up without giving in! I think that makes you strong!"

"Nobody's perfect! Everyone suffers failures... But it's only after failing that you can gain the strength to get back up. That's real strength! So I think you're incredibly strong, Naruto, because you never give up!"

"You might always fail, but... you're a loser with supreme glory!"

"Is that so..." Naruto murmured, then suddenly turned to me. "Sakura, I'll keep challenging you! Next time, I'll definitely be stronger!"

"Is that so... Then I'll be waiting!"

After an examination showed that Naruto was all right, he returned to the viewing platform and joined us.

Sasuke still hadn't shown up. Nine times out of ten, Kakashi had forgotten when the matches started. Otherwise, I really couldn't think of any other reason... I silently added another mark against Kakashi in my heart.

After Naruto and I fought, everyone else looked at us differently. At the very least, Shikamaru had promoted Naruto from dead last to a powerful ninja, while I had gone from a Ninja Academy bookworm to a powerful Water Release ninja.

"Come to think of it, after Sasuke and Gaara fight, the winner faces you, Sakura! I really want to see who's stronger! Everyone in your half of the bracket is so strong!" Shikamaru said to me.

"That's true, but Sasuke still isn't here!"

"He hasn't forfeited, has he?" Shikamaru said with a shrug.

"A wise man doesn't stand beneath a crumbling wall..." Shino chimed in from beside us. "Sasuke is being very sensible!"

"No way!" Naruto leaned over the railing and said confidently, "Sasuke... he'll definitely come!"

"Naruto, you're too optimistic... If Sasuke were coming alone, he'd definitely have been here already. He must be coming with Kakashi-sensei, and knowing Kakashi-sensei, do you think Sasuke can make it on time?"

"Uh!" Naruto was suddenly at a loss for words.

By then, the spectators were growing increasingly impatient, and the proctor finally announced that Sasuke's match would be postponed while the other matches went ahead first.

I glanced over at the three Sand shinobi. The moment Kankuro's eyes met mine, he hurriedly looked away. Apparently, what I had done to him in the preliminaries had left quite an impression.

The puppet on his back probably couldn't withstand a shot from the Water Gun Technique, could it? I intended to try one on it if I got the chance. The Water Gun Technique hadn't sliced through anything worthwhile in a month!

When Kankuro forfeited, Shino won without a fight. Next, it was Shikamaru's turn.

Temari went straight down to the arena, but Shikamaru still looked hesitant to me.

"Shikamaru, you're not getting stage fright, are you?" I put on a cute act and spoke in a sweet voice. "Are you too scared to fight? Want me to call out your forfeit for you?"

"Who, who said I can't do it? A man can't let a woman say he can't do it!" Shikamaru shouted at me.

"Then what are you still dawdling here for? Get down there!" I put on a stern face and shoved Shikamaru's shoulder, sending him stumbling headfirst into the arena.

"Shikamaru, you can do it! Show them how strong Konoha Ninja are!" "Go, Shikamaru!" Naruto and I cheered loudly for Shikamaru down below.

Shikamaru lay in the arena with a helpless look on his face and didn't want to get up. He really had no motivation at all!

With the proctor's announcement, the fight between the two officially began. Temari's weapon was a rare chakra fan. All she had to do was channel chakra into it and give it a swing to whip up a gale like Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough. It was quick to use and didn't consume much chakra, and before long she had pinned Shikamaru down in the trees, leaving him unable to attack at all.

"Naruto, that fan the girl named Temari has is amazing! Did you notice? She can use Wind Release with a light swing, without even forming hand seals!" Resting my hands and chin on the railing, I turned to Naruto.

Naruto looked depressed. "It must be really expensive. I couldn't afford it even if I saved up for ages! A fan like that has Shikamaru completely pinned down. Huh? What's Shikamaru doing? Is he forming hand seals?"

Down below, Shikamaru, who had been forced onto the defensive, spread his thumbs and index fingers to form a circle with his hands. He closed his eyes, seemingly thinking about something.

"There's no sign of chakra, so it doesn't look like he's forming hand seals... I think Shikamaru's thinking!"

"Thinking?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Yeah! Naruto, do you remember? Shikamaru's super smart! I've seen him make that pose before when he ran into a difficult problem, and then he quickly figured out a solution! So I think it's the same this time. He's working out his next strategy!"

I carefully studied the terrain in the arena. This time, there weren't any holes Naruto had dug underground for Shikamaru to use, but there were still other features to his advantage. The most important were the trees blown down by the Wind Release just now and the deep crater Naruto had made. Their shadows could be connected into a line...

It was relatively easy to work backward when I knew the outcome. If it were me, I would use a shadow attack from the front to lure Temari into that particular spot, then send my shadow around behind her along that line. That way, Temari would very likely fall for it after dodging the frontal attack! The key was how to use the frontal attack to trick Temari into going there...

Down below, Shikamaru finished thinking and began putting on an impressive tactical display. Temari's Wind Release could keep Shikamaru pinned down, but it couldn't blow away his shadow, so she had to proceed cautiously as well.

Shikamaru extended his shadow twice, using the changing angle of the sun and a piece of clothing floating in the air, but still failed to catch Temari. Naruto sighed loudly at the sight. "No way! That woman's way too cautious! Shikamaru's going to lose, isn't he?"

"No! Shikamaru's already won!"

Temari, thinking she had evaded all of Shikamaru's tactics, was about to attack when she discovered she couldn't move.

"Shadow Imitation Technique, success!" Shikamaru looked at Temari with a triumphant smile!

"What?!" Temari struggled to move, only to find her body copying Shikamaru's pose! "I dodged it! Your shadow shouldn't be able to reach this far!"

"I took a big detour... See for yourself!" Shikamaru made Temari turn around.

"Just as you can see... I used the shadows of those trees and that crater to go around behind you and complete the Shadow Possession Jutsu! My attacks just now were only meant to trick you into coming here!"

But just as everyone thought Shikamaru had won, he made Temari walk toward him until they stood face-to-face, then raised his hand-

"I forfeit!"

Everyone was stunned.

"I give up... After using the Shadow Imitation Technique over and over, I'm out of chakra. I can't even hold it for ten more seconds... I thought of more than two hundred more countermeasures, but there isn't enough time! So I give up!"

"Hmph!" Temari glared fiercely at Shikamaru. "Are you doing me a favor? I won't thank you for it!"

"Then the winner is-" Genma Shiranui looked at Shikamaru with some appreciation as he spoke.

"-Temari!"

"Damn it! How could he forfeit after taking it that far?!" Naruto complained indignantly as he climbed over the railing. "I'm going down there to give him a piece of my mind!"

"Huh? Naruto, wait!" Before I could stop him, Naruto jumped down.

I had no choice but to give Shino an awkward smile. "That idiot never thinks before he acts, haha... I'll go drag him back!"

"Looks to me like you want to go down there too..." Shino remarked in a voice I could hear. My expression changed, but I pretended I hadn't heard anything and hurriedly jumped down after Naruto.

"Idiot!" Naruto was already arguing with Shikamaru. "How could you just forfeit like that?!"

"That's right! When Naruto fought me earlier, he could barely stand, but he still kept attacking. You don't have any fighting spirit at all!"

"You two..." Shikamaru looked at Naruto and me helplessly. "Didn't I already tell you? I'm out of chakra! There's no point fighting when I have no chance of winning!"

"Besides, that doesn't matter at all, does it?"

"What we need to do is watch the next match carefully: Sasuke versus Gaara!"

Outside the arena.

Two figures suddenly appeared at the entrance to the venue.

"Ah! It's you two!" The two ninja guarding the entrance came forward to meet them.

"You two came just in time. Hurry inside!"

"But he still hasn't shown up!"

Naruto had just finished speaking when countless leaves suddenly came drifting down. With a spectacular Body Flicker Technique, two figures appeared in the arena!

"Who goes there...? State your name!" Genma Shiranui asked with a Senbon between his teeth!

The shorter figure answered calmly-

"Sasuke... Uchiha!"

Sasuke and Kakashi had finally arrived at the arena!

"Sasuke, you idiot! Why are you so late?!" Naruto shouted at Sasuke.

"Hmph, idiot, it's not my fault!" Sasuke sneered. "What about your match with Sakura? Who won?"

"Tch, well... of course it was-"

I rested my right elbow on Naruto's left shoulder and smiled. "Of course I won! But the move Naruto just learned was really strong too. He almost beat me!"

"Is that so... Just what I thought!"

"Hey, Sasuke! After you beat Gaara, it'll be time for our match!" I stared into Sasuke's eyes. "Don't you lose to him! I'll be waiting for you up ahead!"

Though I had said that, I knew very well that if the exam proceeded smoothly, Sasuke and I really would have to fight. But after this match, the Konoha Crush would begin, and our fight would probably have to be postponed...

I would be waiting for him up ahead, but that "ahead" was still a long way off, wasn't it...?

Kakashi suddenly raised his head and looked toward the stands. Noticing his gaze, we all looked up at the same time.

Gaara stood in the stands with his arms crossed, staring at us expressionlessly. No, he wasn't expressionless. The killing intent in his eyes was already too intense to conceal, and his bloodthirsty desire was laid bare!

"Sasuke, that guy... is strong!" Naruto said gravely. "You'd better be careful!"

"Don't worry. I still have to fight Sakura. How could I fall here?" Sasuke said in a low voice. "And Naruto, you're someone I want to fight too...!"

Naruto froze for a moment, then the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile!

"Then... Gaara, come down!" Genma Shiranui called toward the stands.

"Naruto, Sakura! Let's go back up too!" Shikamaru turned to us. "Let's just take the stairs this time!"

"You're blaming us for pushing you down, aren't you?!" Naruto said unhappily.

I stepped forward and grabbed Shikamaru's shoulder. "Shikamaru... let's not take the stairs! I'll take you straight up, so we don't run into that guy on the stairs!"

"Did you see the look in his eyes? He already... wants to kill someone!"

Gaara's killing intent was boiling over. I couldn't be sure whether he would attack us if we ran into him on the stairs...

And if that happened, I couldn't guarantee I wouldn't kill him first...!

The chatter and clamor of the spectators in the stands grew louder and louder-

"Look! The Uchiha's match is about to start!" "Is that kid from the Uchiha Clan?" "We finally get to see the Sharingan in action. I wonder how strong it is?"...

Gaara walked down into the arena step by step. From our place in the stands, where we had already jumped back up, we noticed spots of blood on his clothes!

"Did you see that? The blood on his clothes..." Shikamaru said to us in a low voice.

"He really did kill someone!" Naruto frowned. "Sasuke... might be in danger!"

Down in the arena, Genma Shiranui waved his hand-

"Match... begin!"

The Uchiha's much-anticipated match began!