"...The winner! Hinata Hyuga!"
Even the referee in the arena looked somewhat surprised.
He glanced uncertainly at Zaku, who had fallen to the ground.
What had happened to the boy when he fell just now? It had clearly been the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist, yet he'd reacted as if he'd been shocked!
Kakashi, watching from nearby, quickly lifted his headband.
"Sharingan!"
"This is..."
Kakashi's expression grew grave, as if he'd seen something astonishing.
"What is it?"
Guy asked.
Kurenai Yuhi also came over, looking concerned.
"That child has a trace of Lightning Style chakra in his body. It's a nature transformation..."
"Nature transformation? That doesn't seem like something a Genin could master," Kurenai said, furrowing her brow in surprise.
She was a genjutsu ninja and naturally knew a great deal about chakra nature transformations.
But Kakashi shook his head. "No, that power doesn't belong to him. It looks like this child was injured by someone. But for some reason, the moment that Lightning Style chakra came into contact with the Gentle Fist, the two reacted as if connected, causing the power lingering in his body to spread again..."
At that moment, Neji, standing some distance away, was deeply shaken.
The chakra supplied by the system could actually remain inside a person's body.
Even more terrifying, any Gentle Fist technique could resonate with that chakra!
Neji took a deep breath, his thoughts in disarray.
It seemed that casually using his technique on a Genin was far too dangerous.
He'd already held back, yet the result had still been this serious.
If his identity were accidentally exposed, he'd have more to lose than to gain.
Still, by a stroke of luck, Hinata had won the match and advanced to the next stage!
"That was amazing, Hinata!"
Kiba shouted excitedly from the side, then glanced at Neji with a mischievous grin.
"Well? Hinata's amazing, isn't she? You'd better work hard!"
Tenten shook her head with a sigh and prodded Neji. "Neji, I think you really can't keep up with your little sister anymore!"
"It's fine."
Neji replied with a faint smile.
He couldn't be bothered to argue with them over such pointless things. What mattered now was that he couldn't use that technique in the next match!
If he drew someone easy to deal with, that would be fine.
But if he ran into a Sand Ninja or a Sound Ninja, his current stamina might not be enough.
The Jonin present had probably noticed something. If he used that technique again, it would be hard to keep the blame from falling on him.
After all, Anko hadn't shown up again since the Forest of Death exam ended. She would probably report that she'd encountered a mysterious young Anbu ninja in the Forest of Death...
"Next match: Uzumaki Naruto versus Dosu!"
"Hmph! Finally, it's my turn!"
Naruto immediately jumped into the arena, brimming with excitement.
"Naruto, be careful..."
Sakura called after him. Naruto nodded.
Those three Sound Ninja had been the ones who'd gone after them in the Forest of Death!
"Zaku..."
Dosu murmured, watching as the unconscious Zaku was carried away.
Kin, standing beside him, looked worried. "That was the one we encountered in the forest. Zaku was brought down by his chakra."
Dosu turned back. "Looks like Uchiha Sasuke is out of action for now. I'll make sure to avenge Zaku. Damn Konoha Ninja."
With that, he leaped into the arena.
In the spectators' seats, the three Jonin had gathered together, their expressions serious.
"So you mean... that chakra didn't belong to Hinata?"
Guy asked in surprise.
Kurenai nodded firmly. "Yes. I know Hinata well. She couldn't possibly have mastered such an advanced nature transformation, especially one involving Lightning Style. She isn't capable of that."
Kurenai was always a perceptive teacher. If she said so, Kakashi had no reason to doubt her.
"To be honest, even my Lightning Blade might not be as powerful as the chakra we just saw."
Kakashi's words made Guy even more astonished.
Kurenai sighed. "That's why I'm sure it wasn't Hinata..."
"In any case, she changed after coming out of the Forest of Death. Anko told me she encountered a mysterious young Anbu ninja in the forest. The boy's techniques seemed to involve Lightning Style chakra nature transformation."
"A young Anbu ninja?"
Kakashi's words caught the other two's attention.
"It's peacetime. Are there really people who join the Anbu while they're still young? Kakashi the Second?"
Guy joked. Kakashi shot him a look and replied coolly, "All right, that joke wasn't funny at all. Anko said there's no one like that in the Anbu. The boy had picked up his Anbu mask and uniform."
"Huh?"
While they talked, Naruto and Dosu had already begun fighting below.
After just a few exchanges, Naruto was knocked to the ground.
"Hey, your student's about to lose, Kakashi!"
"It's fine..."
Kakashi replied, noncommittal.
Then Naruto, who'd been knocked down and seemed unable to get back up, struggled to his feet once more.
"I'm... not... done yet!"
"He really is the number one ninja for unexpected surprises! He still won't give up?" Guy said with a laugh.
"...Wait, don't change the subject. This isn't something to joke about. The Chunin Ninja Exams are a sensitive time, and the identity of any mysterious person would draw the attention of the higher-ups."
"Right. Anko said the boy told her that the village should step up its defenses. And their opponent in the Forest of Death... was Orochimaru."
"Orochimaru?"
That name shocked the other two even more.
"Wait, are you saying that mysterious young Anbu ninja fought Orochimaru? Who won?" Guy asked, now even more intrigued.
"Orochimaru fled. In terms of Taijutsu, he was no match for that boy."
"This..."
Kurenai and Guy exchanged baffled looks.
Meanwhile, Kakashi kept an eye on his student's fight as he continued the conversation.
"Actually, Anko gave me a guess. That boy might be from the Hyuga Clan, because his palm techniques were very similar to the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and the Gentle Fist. As for his height... he was about as tall as Neji in your team!"
"Huh?"
Not just Guy—even Kurenai cast a troubled glance at Neji.
Hinata was her student, so she knew something about the Hyuga Clan.
"Neji is considered the Hyuga Clan's most useless ninja. He has no talent at all. How could he know the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms...?"
Guy gave a sheepish laugh. "That's true. It couldn't be Neji. He works hard, but..."
At that, Guy suddenly froze.
He suddenly remembered the determined look in Neji's eyes before the Chunin Ninja Exams.
Even when facing Guy himself, Neji had been determined to take part in the exams. Guy had sensed from the start that Neji had great ambition.
Could it be?
Guy asked himself inwardly.
"Ah, I was just telling you what I'd heard. The village will probably need to tighten security for a while, so we'll be busy too! Of course I know it couldn't possibly be Neji..."
As Kakashi spoke, Might Guy fell silent, lost in thought.
For some reason, Neji, standing over there and watching the match intently, didn't seem much like the useless Neji he used to know.
He'd have to find a chance to test him.
That thought lingered in Might Guy's mind.
Before you continue