He Was Watching

P.S.: There was a serious bug. At this point, Kankuro indeed had not modified the Crow Puppet yet... I had planned to ignore this issue raised in the comments, but the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me, so I decided to make this a second update instead... Thanks for the feedback; it has been revised.

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Seeing this result, Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke all exchanged surprised glances.

It seemed that because Kabuto's group was absent, the preliminary matchups had changed drastically.

On the other side, Neji crossed his arms and frowned. His pale eyes swept over there and met Hinata's gaze just as she looked his way. Hinata hurriedly lowered her eyes in fright, while Neji gave a heavy snort.

It seemed he would not have the chance to personally teach this young lady of the Main Family a lesson...

Neji did not believe that timid, weak Hinata could pass these preliminaries.

His Byakugan had already seen through that fact.

The Third Hokage silently watched Neji walk to the center of the arena, considering why that other version of himself had arranged for Neji and Hinata to face one another... There was no doubt that such a dramatic matchup had been deliberately arranged. The Third Hokage knew that perfectly well.

Just as he had done moments ago, pairing certain people in the arena together.

Perhaps... he thought highly of the exceptionally gifted Neji and intended to cultivate him, the Third Hokage thought.

By then, Kankuro had also taken his place across from Neji.

He frowned slightly as he looked at Neji's snow-white eyes. That gaze was as sharp as a blade, as though it could pierce straight through his organs, even into his heart... What troublesome eyes, Kankuro thought.

The other examinees gradually moved up to the viewing platform on the second floor, leaving the arena to the two about to fight.

Kankuro untied the bandages on his back and set the cocoon-like white object on the ground.

"Then..." Gekko Hayate coughed and said through the dark circles under his eyes, "the first preliminary match begins now."

Byakugan!

Neji shifted slightly, easily dodging the two shuriken flying at him. At the same time, Kankuro charged straight in.

Veins bulged around his eyes as Neji's Byakugan turned faintly. Its terrifying perception instantly saw through everything about Kankuro before him... What a boring trick.

Kankuro tried to close in for melee combat, but Neji stepped aside and dodged. He drew a kunai,

and threw it at the white, bandage-wrapped cocoon Kankuro had placed on the ground earlier.

"What is he doing..." Kiba asked in confusion from the stands.

Hinata had already activated her Byakugan. She said in surprise, "That's a puppet. His real body is inside that thing..."

By then, Neji had already closed in on Kankuro's real body. He channeled Chakra to his fingertips, his Byakugan locking onto the acupuncture points all over the body hidden inside the bandages. His Gentle Fist Palm was poised to strike.

Whoosh, whoosh—

The sound of slicing air came from behind Neji. Two mechanical blades shot out from the puppet Kankuro behind him, and the dark sheen on their edges made it obvious that they had been poisoned.

Yet Neji seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He twisted sideways, bent at the waist, and planted both hands on the ground, barely evading the mechanical blades that had come at the back of his head. At the same time, he controlled Chakra to burst from the acupuncture points in the soles of his feet, like short swords cutting through the Chakra threads Kankuro used to control the blades.

As the two blades fell limply to the ground with two clanks, the bandages flew apart. Kankuro's real body appeared, holding a kunai as he charged at the upside-down Neji!

But Neji remained utterly calm. He did not even need to look directly at Kankuro. The Byakugan's vision had already taken in every movement he made, and its outstanding perception instantly found the flaw in Kankuro's attack.

With his arms slightly bent and his legs twisting, he accurately kicked Kankuro's kunai away. Bracing himself with one arm, Neji drove his Gentle Fist Palm fiercely at Kankuro's face!

Kankuro's lips curled slightly as his fingers flicked. The two mechanical blades skimmed past the tip of his nose from below and stabbed toward Neji's striking palm once again.

"Boring..."

Neji's expression did not change as he mocked him coldly.

The Crow Puppet had already reached Neji's back and opened the mechanisms in its chest and abdomen.

"Not good!" Rock Lee clenched his fists for his teammate Neji from the stands.

Streams of Chakra erupted from the acupuncture points throughout his body. Neji spun in place, becoming a blur as the powerful Chakra currents formed a hemispherical field around him!

Bang! Bang! Both the blades and the Crow Puppet behind him were sent flying by the spinning Chakra field. Even Kankuro himself was knocked back several steps, his face full of shock.

"Was that... Rotation?!" Hinata cried out in shock from the stands. She had not expected Neji to be able to use the Main Family's secret technique, the Rotation Palm!

Though it still seemed somewhat inferior and flawed compared to the Rotation her father used, no one should have been able to teach him this technique!

Did Neji... develop this technique himself?

Hinata was deeply shaken, completely awed by Neji's talent. Compared with this cousin of hers, her own aptitude truly amounted to nothing. Not even her younger sister Hanabi would likely be able to compare with Neji. No wonder her father, Hyuga Hiashi, always wore such a complicated expression whenever this cousin was mentioned.

Acupuncture Point Strike.

Neji looked down at his opponent with an indifferent expression. His Byakugan clearly saw that the Chakra within Kankuro's body was already difficult to mobilize. He said coolly, "So, trying such tricks before these eyes... only makes you a joke."

"You..." Kankuro was filthy and disheveled. Though he had known this opponent would be difficult to face, he still burned with anger. Just as he was about to lash out, a cold voice came from the stands:

"Enough. You worthless fool, do you want to disgrace the village any further?"

It was Gaara.

Gekko Hayate watched everything without expression. After confirming it, he finally announced, "First match: Hyuga Neji wins."

That defense... Sasuke silently considered it from the stands. Could his Chidori break through that flawless defense? After thinking it over, he still could not reach a conclusion without trying it himself.

Tsunade also nodded to herself. This Neji truly was exceptionally talented... However, the hatred this child harbored toward the Hyuga Main Family gave her a bit of a headache. It would need to be handled carefully.

Neji deactivated his Byakugan and returned to the stands. Kankuro gathered up the puppet parts and left the arena as well.

The names on the electronic screen began to cycle again—

"Then the next match is..."

Beep. It stopped.

Gekko Hayate glanced at the screen and announced flatly, "Sakura Haruno versus Sakon."

"Tch, so it's not that Sasuke..." Zaku was very displeased at the result. Seeing Sakura begin to prepare nearby, he looked even more disdainful. "And it's a girl... How boring."

He leaped directly down into the arena and stood at its center, saying arrogantly, "Hurry up. Don't waste my time!"

Sakura was slightly nervous. The ninja from the Village Hidden in Sound gave her a very bad, very dangerous feeling.

But this was not the time to be nervous.

Sakura walked to stand opposite Zaku. She did not look back or let herself be distracted, keeping her eyes fixed tightly on the opponent before her.

This battle would be difficult, but Sakura desperately wanted to win.

Because Sasuke was watching me.

This was a rare opportunity, an opportunity for Sasuke to truly set his eyes on her.

I have to win. I have to win. I have to win.

The longing was so intense.