As medical ninja helped a staggering Choji off the field, the bloodstains on his back looked especially glaring in the sunlight.
Yet his grip on his bag of chips never loosened—
He had secretly etched the sight of Karui's reddened ears as she turned away into his heart. Why was his heart pounding so hard?
Maybe I should ask her out for a meal sometime?! Barbecue or grilled fish? Choji quietly weighed his options. As for his injuries, those hardly mattered, okay? His mouth never stopped working, either. Crunch, crunch...
Qingwu saw this and gave a knowing smile. Tsk, tsk, tsk~ These "ungrateful sons" have grown up, too. They're starting to fall in love. Daddy is very pleased.
Shikamaru's lips curved upward as well. "Women are such a pain," he said. Yet the teasing look he gave Choji as he went down to have his wounds treated made Choji squirm.
Ino and Hinata were all smiles, too. After spending so long around Qingwu, his influence had long since rubbed off on them.
These friends knew one another far too well.
A single gesture was enough to tell them what someone was thinking.
Before the cheers and sighs from the stands had fully faded, Gekko Hayate covered his mouth and coughed twice more. His bloodstained fingertips brushed his lips, and he casually took out a handkerchief to wipe them.
It made everyone wonder whether this fellow might actually...
Cough himself to death in the ring.
The looks many people gave Sarutobi Hiruzen grew strange. Was your—our—Konoha really that short on people?!
The man was already seriously ill.
And you still sent him on a mission to serve as an examiner? You're squeezing your subordinates far too hard. Even the nobles aren't as ruthless as you.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was helpless, too.
*He