Hokage: You Call This Guy the Savior?!

Keiichi covered his face, no longer wanting to watch.

What the hell is this!

The girl is trying to reason with you, and you're just playing dumb, aren't you?

Neji was thoroughly enraged. Is this the arrogance of the Main Branch? Do you look down on me, a member of the Branch House, that much?

A burning murderous intent ignited in his heart. At this moment, he truly wanted to strike and kill Hinata.

Yet, just as he struggled to suppress the killing intent within, Hinata actually took the initiative to attack him. Her light, fluttering palm technique only served to make Neji's fury boil over.

Are you not embarrassed enough already?

If this were a real enemy, you would have died eight hundred times over by now!

However, little did he know that Hinata was currently feeling quite good about herself, thinking that she must let Naruto see her hard work so that her existence would have meaning.

The words Neji spoke to her seemed to have never entered her brain from the very beginning.

Thus, Neji was truly incensed. This time, he was playing for real, using much more force than before, striking Hinata until she coughed up blood repeatedly.

Why...

Why do you still refuse to admit defeat?

Must you force me to kill you?

Even while suffering under great injustice, Neji had never thought of harming Hinata; he only hoped that she would concede on her own.

Yet, Hinata, knocked to the ground, relied on an inexplicable willpower to wobble back to her feet.

The only thing is...

I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of Naruto...

Naruto smiled, cheering desperately. The tenacious Hinata before his eyes fit perfectly into his aesthetic of never giving up.

Everyone was moved by Hinata's strong will; her teacher even wiped away tears in secret. Only Neji felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Bullying...

This is just too much bullying...

Neji took a deep breath, deciding to make one final plea.

"Hinata, you are a member of the Main Branch, so you should shoulder the duties of the Main Branch. The path of a ninja does not suit you; you don't have to suffer. Set yourself free."

"Shouldn't the one who needs to be set free be you, Neji-niisan? Compared to my confusion, aren't you more confused by the fate of the Main and Branch Houses?"

Hearing this, Neji froze, then revealed a ferocious expression.

He suddenly understood: Hinata actually understood everything. She was a textbook Main Branch member, and the arrogance of the Main Branch was displayed to the fullest through her.

When listening to someone, don't listen to what they say, but listen to what they leave unsaid.

She was throwing his own words back at him: as long as you stop obsessing over whether you are Main or Branch, and keep to your place, you won't be confused anymore, and you will be free.

Isn't this the very "great logic" that the Main Branch members drill into them, the Branch House, all day long?

Murderous intent surged from Neji, and he suddenly accelerated with all his might, charging toward Hinata.

Even if it means death, I will make you feel the terror of facing death head-on!

Otherwise, more Branch House members will only die in the future because of your willfulness!

Sure enough, just as Neji was about to touch Hinata, all the Leaf Village jonin present instantly appeared before him, blocking him firmly.

Life-and-death decisions on the arena?

That is what you say to ordinary people.

A prestigious ninja clan like the Hyuga is born with privileges.

Among the Leaf Village jonin present, who would dare let the daughter of the Hyuga Clan head die here?

If Hyuga Hiashi were to be provoked, the Leaf Village would fall into great chaos.

"That's enough, Neji."

"Didn't you promise me you wouldn't clash with the Main Branch?" Might Guy frowned deeply.

Neji found he could not move and stopped resisting. After all, how could a "cage" of the body be more unbearable than a "cage" of the mind?

The moment Hinata collapsed, Naruto rushed onto the stage and caught her.

"Bastard, you went way too hard, didn't you?"

"Hey! I'll give you two pieces of advice: first, don't stir up trouble blindly, and second, dead weight is dead weight—that's something you can't change." Neji glanced at Naruto and turned away as he spoke.

There was no malice in his words; he simply saw that Hinata was fighting so desperately because of this kid. Otherwise, she would have had no reason not to concede.

Furthermore, he wanted to tell him that Hinata's personality would only be a burden on the battlefield; it wouldn't matter if she died, but she would drag others down with her.

It was a pity he overestimated Naruto's intelligence; he didn't understand the meaning behind his words at all.

Perhaps only when Neji blocks a fatal blow for him and dies right before his eyes will he gain a glimmer of understanding.

Chapter 48: Preliminaries Concluded

Neji had just stepped off the arena stage when Keiichi took the initiative to walk over.

"Neji-kun, let's get acquainted. My name is Keiichi." He extended a hand, appearing very friendly.

However, Neji was not in a good mood and couldn't be bothered to shake his hand.

"I know who you are. Do you need something?" Neji's tone was cold, his response perfunctory.

Keiichi retracted his hand without a trace and said with a smile, "Actually, I admire you quite a bit. If there is one person among all the examinees here that I most want to befriend, it would certainly be you."

"Oh?" Neji remained expressionless.

There were plenty of people who wanted to befriend him, and he had heard more than enough flattery; after all, the Hyuga name was something people flocked to.

"I only came to greet you this time. When you lose to Naruto, I will come again." With that, Keiichi nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait."

"What is it?"

"You said I would lose to Naruto?" Neji felt this was utterly absurd.

"I have made predictions for every duel so far. Have I been wrong yet?"

"Setting aside the impossibility of me losing to Naruto, how do you know my next opponent is him?"

"I guessed. Of course, there might be surprises. I am simply certain that if your opponent is Naruto, the final result will be your defeat." Keiichi smiled slightly.

"How ridiculous!" Neji was unconvinced.

"Shall we make a wager? If you lose to Naruto, you cannot refuse me when I come to find you."

"And if I don't lose to Naruto?"

"I will vanish from your sight and never come to bother you again."

"Very well, it's a deal."

"It's a deal."

Watching Keiichi's retreating figure, Neji couldn't help but frown. He suddenly had a premonition that his next opponent might truly be Naruto.

What kind of background did this guy have, anyway?

Back in the stands, Gaara and Rock Lee were already fighting. In the blink of an eye, Rock Lee had been forced to open the Eight Inner Gates, entering a berserk mode.

"Hey, hey, is this really a fight between Genin?" someone muttered, their eyes fixed in shock at the intensity of the battle on the field.

This sentiment actually expressed the inner thoughts of most people present.

The shock was felt most intensely by Sasuke.

He had thought that since he had learned Rock Lee's Front Lotus, he would surely be able to wash away his humiliation the next time they met and show that brat what a true genius was.

Yet, the Rock Lee before him now felt like a stranger. Even putting himself in that position, let alone fighting back, he wondered if he could even last a minute.

The pride that had just begun to sprout was extinguished by a bucket of cold water, but at the same time, a fierce sense of unwillingness buried deep in his heart began to grow wildly like a seedling.

Whether it is Rock Lee or Gaara, I must defeat you both!

As long as I am given time!

Rock Lee, having opened the fifth gate, erupted completely. He beat Gaara until he had no power to fight back, a scene that even stunned Kankuro and Temari, who were watching from the sidelines.

When had they ever seen Gaara in such a pathetic state?

Was this the foundation of the Leaf Village?

Could it be that anyone they happened to run into possessed such strength?

What they did not know was that the Eight Inner Gates, as the last hope for civilian ninjas, required a level of grueling training that few could endure.

The critical issue was that this ninjutsu had a fatal flaw; after just a single moment of eruption, Rock Lee was beaten back to his original state.

He had failed to seize the opportunity to defeat Gaara, not even breaking through the Shield of Sand. Now, with his limbs powerless, he had become a living target.

Fortunately, Might Guy saved him in time, though he was severely injured, and Gaara successfully advanced.

"[Mummy] Dosu vs. [Hellhound] Inuzuka Kiba!"

This was also a battle that had never occurred before, but it ended as the fastest of all the matches. Inuzuka Kiba never even got to display his true strength before collapsing on the arena floor.

A dog's hearing is sixteen times that of a human's; sometimes, having hearing that is too good is a disadvantage.

Dosu won easily!

With that, the third round of the preliminaries concluded, and the list of the ten people entering the third round was fresh out of the oven.

Shikamaru Nara, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Neji Hyuga, Dosu, Shino Aburame, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, and Keiichi.

Seeing this list, the crowd was in an uproar.

The Leaf Village's strength remained formidable, occupying six of the ten spots, while the Sand Ninja took three, and the Sound Ninja only one.

This aligned perfectly with everyone's perception of the current power structure among the five great ninja villages.

The key was that, aside from Dosu and Keiichi, the other eight were, without exception, in the SSR category.

Even for the eliminated Rock Lee, everyone felt that his strength would not have lost to any other opponent; it was just his misfortune to have encountered the strongest, Gaara.

Furthermore, the critiques Keiichi had provided for every single duel were so precise they were beyond reproach.

Reflecting on it carefully, one could not help but gasp; the intelligence-gathering capabilities of this person were terrifying to such an extent!

What was even more baffling was that, despite Keiichi hardly ever making a move, how did he manage to drift his way into the final round?

Was Ken-8 truly that formidable?

At this moment, Hiruzen, in his capacity as Hokage, arrived at the tower. He was quite satisfied with the results delivered by the Leaf Village examinees; they had, at the very least, not caused him to lose face.

He then personally announced that the third round of the examination would be held in one month, at which time a 1v1 duel format would be adopted to test everyone's practical combat ability.

This point did not exceed anyone's expectations.

Of course, more importantly, this duel would be showcased on an unprecedented stage. When the time came, elites from all walks of life, as well as political and business dignitaries, would be in attendance to observe. As long as they remembered one's name, whether or not one actually promoted to Chunin was, in truth, not all that important.

The ninja profession was a trade that relied on commissions; one had to have fame first to gain profit. Otherwise, why would a mere title cause countless heroes to bend their backs in pursuit of it?

In a corner outside the tower, Kabuto Yakushi knelt before Orochimaru, though it was unclear what he was saying.

After a long while, Orochimaru chuckled softly, "It does not matter. Before the plan is set in motion, we still have opportunities."

"With Kakashi protecting him, it is difficult for us to approach Sasuke."

"Do you think I fear Kakashi?" Orochimaru lowered his eyelids, his gaze sharp.

"This subordinate was arrogant." Kabuto Yakushi hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to look again.

"The darkness within Sasuke's heart will drive him to seek me out on his own. Just wait; sooner or later, he will deliver himself to my doorstep."

"My Lord is wise."

"Kabuto, I am curious—why did you provoke a Genin outside the tower?"

"That person gives me a very peculiar feeling. I felt he might be detrimental to your plan, my Lord, so I wanted to test him."