Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback, then laughed. "The Kazekage is right, but this old man is still in fine shape. I'm planning to keep at it for another five years, haha."
Laughing, he rose and took two steps forward, his gaze falling on the eight people below.
The Kazekage said nothing more and shifted his gaze downward as well.
Inside the Martial Arts Arena, Genma Shiranui, the chief examiner for the third round, announced the matchups. With a wave of his hand, he said, "First match: Uzumaki Naruto versus Neji Hyuga. Prepare to begin. Everyone else, go make your preparations."
"It's finally starting. Didn't expect Naruto to be up first." Kakashi said quietly from the stands.
Sakura clenched her fists. "Go, Naruto!"
Neither of them was worried about whether Naruto could win. Though Neji Hyuga was no weakling and was a year older than Naruto, Naruto's strength was no longer what it had once been. No matter how they looked at it, Naruto had better odds of winning.
Neji Hyuga, huh? I need to end this quickly. But Hinata forfeited against him in the previous match, so his strength and techniques are still unknown. I'll test him out first.
Naruto's expression turned serious. He leaned forward, and at the examiner's shout of "Begin," he shot toward Neji.
"So fast!" Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga's teammate, said quietly from the stands. "I'd long heard of Uzumaki Naruto's reputation. They say he was the top graduate of this class. Looks like Neji has met a real opponent."
Tenten, seated beside him, said, "Don't worry. You and I both know Neji's strength. He won't fall in a place like this."
The fierce battle erupted from the very start. The two figures crossed paths as the sounds of colliding fists rang out without pause.