Defeated

The blue bricks cracked apart.

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A powerful, grating screech rang out, like a saw cutting through metal.

Naruto felt as if he'd punched a spinning glass ball. After his fist drove in a few inches, it slid off to the side, sending him stumbling two steps before he regained his footing.

He turned back in delight and saw Neji's arms trembling as he took up a new stance.

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

Neji charged at him, rotating his palms as he struck toward Naruto's chest.

Naruto had a fleeting urge to hold back and let Neji finish the entire sequence, but this was a fight. Giving everything he had was the greatest respect he could show a worthy opponent.

His iron-hard fist roared out again, carrying the scent of gunpowder.

Fierce. Precise.

Neji's palms struck Naruto's fist, sending a wave of soft force seeking to penetrate his flesh and invade his organs. Chakra surged from the vibrations of Naruto's blood vessels and cells, intercepting and destroying it.

Neji's arms flopped upward like a pair of noodles. Blood seeped through them, and his face twisted in agony.

"You've lost." Naruto withdrew his fist and clasped his hands behind his back, standing tall and steady.

Neji couldn't believe it. It was like going into the forest to catch a hare, only for the hare to suddenly transform into a ferocious tiger and knock him flat. He couldn't even struggle free.

Everyone was watching them.

He'd provoked Naruto, only to become the loser—a laughingstock. Some people really were laughing.

Only Lady Hinata was crying.

Was she upset that the Branch Family servant had been beaten?

Neji blinked at Naruto, unable to understand how he could be so strong.

Naruto remained silent, neither humiliating nor belittling him.

A flash of green shot down from the high platform like a bullet. Seeing Neji's shattered, bloodied hands, Might Guy shouted, "Medical team! Get Neji to the hospital, now!"

Two medical ninja in white coats hurried over with a stretcher. They carefully laid Neji on it and carried him out.

Only after the badly injured Neji had disappeared from view did the candidates snap out of it. They stared in alarm at Naruto, who had defeated the strongest prodigy of the Hyuga Clan without a scratch.

Might Guy gave Naruto a grave look, then returned to Kakashi on the platform. "Just as I'd expect from you, Kakashi—my destined rival's student."

Kakashi had his hands in his pockets. "I've barely taught him anything."

Mitaraishi Anko, wearing a coat just like Naruto's, folded her arms. "I didn't expect this kid to be so strong."

As if remembering something, she shook her head vigorously.

On the floor below, Gekko Hayate held a remote control and said, "The elimination round begins now. One-on-one matches. Winners, step forward."

Beep!

Names flashed rapidly across the pixel screen.

Beep! The names stopped.

Uzumaki Naruto; Yamanaka Ino.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Naruto turned to look at the girl from Team Ten in his year. She wore purple, her pale blond hair tied in a ponytail, and had a slender figure.

A girl from a prestigious clan who studied secret techniques.

He was very interested in testing one of those techniques.

Ino remembered Naruto as a short, dim-witted runt. She was a proud girl who cared about looks and strength, and she'd never paid him any attention.

She'd only started noticing his name because Sasuke, the boy she liked, and Haruno Sakura, her childhood friend and rival in love, were on the same team as him.

But now, under Naruto's gaze, she couldn't manage her usual proud smile.

Thud.

Naruto took a step toward her.

Ino shuddered as if shocked. "I give up!"

Gekko Hayate announced, "Uzumaki Naruto wins."

Then he pressed the remote control again.

As pairs of names appeared, the Genin showed off all manner of skills and strange techniques.

Kankuro, the Sunagakure ninja who controlled puppets.

Nara Shikamaru of Team Ten, who mimicked shadows, and Akimichi Choji, who inflated himself into a human cannonball.

Kiba Inuzuka, who openly took military ration pills—stimulants—and even fed them to his dog. It wasn't considered cheating, but rather the use of ninja tools.

Shino Aburame, whose body had been infested with insects since childhood, becoming a living hive.

The Otogakure ninja, who used sound waves and hypnosis.

As one candidate after another advanced, the names of the final pair no longer needed to be selected by remote.

Hinata Hyuga; Haruno Sakura.

Shouting about friendship and bonds, Haruno Sakura charged furiously at Hinata.

Then she threw all her intelligence and resolve into the fight, only to be mercilessly defeated by Hinata's Gentle Fist. Sakura was beaten until she spat blood. Hinata even helped her up with gentle pity and said, "Sorry. It's my fault for being too weak to control my strength."

Haruno Sakura was in agony.

Sasuke and Naruto had both advanced with ease, while she'd been thrashed by her own rival in love.

How was she supposed to catch up to them like this?

She needed strength—strength that could help them at a crucial moment, make them realize how important she was, and make them depend on her, unable to do without her!

On the platform, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a heavy cough, drawing everyone's attention.

"The third exam will be held one month from now. Dignitaries from all the nations will be invited to attend. Winning or losing won't be the only deciding factor. Your performance in battle will determine whether you advance to Chunin."

"In other words, everyone has a chance to advance, and everyone could also fail. Use this time to train hard. Improve your strength and prepare for the final battle."

Naruto felt no excitement at this kind of speech. He only wanted to see more incredible ninjutsu and powerful people so he could grow stronger.

For example, Neji's Eight Trigrams Heavenly Spin. He'd practice it as soon as he got home.

After the crowd dispersed and left the tower, Naruto was walking along when he noticed a red-haired girl standing in the stairwell, staring blankly at him. Even with her glasses on, she was squinting and scrunching up her face. Clearly, the prescription was wrong.

She was the girl who'd been bitten and drained of blood. Now both her teammates were dead, leaving her alone with the Kusagakure Chunin who led their team.

When the girl noticed him looking, she hurriedly looked away and lowered her head.

Naruto hadn't noticed before, but now that he was standing right in front of her, she seemed strangely familiar. "Why are you looking at me?"

The girl lowered her head even further.

The team leader said obsequiously, "Sorry. This child isn't very bright."

Then he roughly grabbed the girl by the arm and pulled her aside to let Naruto pass.

The disparity in strength and status was starkly clear.

Naruto rarely involved himself in other people's family affairs. Once he got involved, he'd have to deal with the entire web of relationships—and the victims in wicked households were often wicked themselves.

Pure flowers rarely grew from rotten soil.

But though the girl kept her head lowered, the corner of her eye remained fixed on him, as if she'd placed some kind of hope in him.

That hope stirred something in Naruto.

He asked plainly, "Are you suffering? Do you want to escape that suffering?"

The girl still said nothing.

The team leader's old face tightened. "Ninja training is naturally painful, but our children in the Land of Grass can endure hardship."

Naruto smiled.

The girl was clever. Until she could be sure he'd rescue her, it was right for her to stay silent and obedient.

He asked no more. Arguing openly in this situation would turn into a diplomatic dispute. He was still growing and didn't have the standing to get involved.

Once they left the village, he'd follow them and kill the man.

All the ninja gathered and left the Forest of Death together. For villages like Taki, Ame, and Kusa that had no contestants left, their leaders would take the surviving candidates who'd been eliminated back to their countries.

Naruto walked behind the girl. He noticed that her fingers kept drawing circles, from large to small, as if it were a signal.

But without any framework or category, he honestly couldn't guess what it meant.

After leaving the forest and saying goodbye to Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, he headed home as if nothing had happened. Only after he'd completely disappeared from the Kusagakure ninja's sight did he quietly double back and watch from a distance to see which gate they would use.

Then he buried his knife, took a wide detour, and left the village ahead of them. He hid in the canopy of a tree along the main road, waiting for his prey.