Can I... use my full strength? This little girl—was she truly naive...
Or did she really not know what could be said and what could not? Or perhaps this little girl's true nature was not what she appeared to be...
As everyone present sucked in a breath, roughly the same thought surfaced in their minds.
Their gazes scattered. Some looked toward Ikeda Ichiro in the arena, some toward Hada Ichiba on the second floor, while a very small number looked toward the last remaining person from Hidden Rain.
At this moment, the words had come from the little girl's innocent expression, in a tone no different from the questioning one she had used earlier.
But in terms of content, they were not words a qualified ninja—one fit to participate in these Chunin Exams—should have said.
In this situation, those words truly should not have been spoken.
Even if they had been unintentional.
First of all, the ninjas here were basically the elite Genin of their respective villages, all elite-level ninjas, all carefully selected. Though they were Genin now, that did not mean they would remain Genin forever. Precisely because they had been carefully chosen by their villages, even after becoming Chunin, they could still become Elite Chunin or even Elite Jonin. Their talent and strength had been recognized and tested.
In the future, they would certainly become the elites of their respective villages.
And elites naturally had the pride of elites. Even if they were still Genin now, that pride might not yet be very strong.
But it was still there.
At the very least, upon hearing those words, they felt inexplicably—almost instinctively—a little displeased.
As though they had all been mocked at once.
For these Chunin Exams, they could be said to have given their all. Even if they