Powerful! Sunagakure

"The winner is Uzumaki Naruto!"

Cheers erupted across the arena. Naruto had pulled off a comeback, winning by sheer determination against Dosu, who had run out of strength.

Neji, with his Byakugan activated, had seen everything clearly.

Dosu's chakra was limited. In the end, he had simply run out of stamina.

Sound-based attacks were already barely effective against Naruto, who had the Nine-Tails inside him. And as a member of the Uzumaki Clan, Naruto had a truly immense amount of chakra.

"Nice, Naruto!"

Kiba, standing nearby, cheered whenever something exciting happened. Naturally, he was thrilled to see Naruto win.

Tenten cupped her chin. "That's great. Konoha's rookies this year all seem pretty good. Three wins in a row!"

"Hey, you're both dead-last types, but Naruto's getting stronger and stronger!"

As he spoke, Kiba glanced toward Neji, seemingly on purpose.

Neji only smiled faintly. "Don't worry. I'll do my best."

Tenten looked worried. "Neji! You can't think like that. Just trying your best isn't enough! I know you work hard, but..."

"Enough. Just watch the match."

At that moment, someone appeared beside them. It was their teacher, Might Guy.

"Guy-sensei."

Rock Lee walked over.

"What happened?"

After Dosu left the arena with his injuries, Kin came over to ask.

"These Konoha guys are all hiding their strength. Orochimaru must have sent us here to die!"

Things had gone wrong ever since they encountered that Anbu boy in the forest.

It was only during the earlier matches that they had discovered Sasuke had been given a Cursed Seal. Now this boy, who was in the same class as Sasuke, also had an extraordinary amount of chakra, and his stamina recovered in a way that was far from normal...

"Kin, I'm going to check on Zaku. Come find me as soon as you're done." With that, Dosu left the arena.

The names on the big screen began to cycle again.

"Next up—cough—the next match!"

The referee, Gekko Hayate, stepped forward and swept his gloomy gaze over everyone.

After watching Naruto's match, everyone seemed fired up and eager to fight. Only the boy with the Byakugan looked calm.

"Is that... the dead-last of the Hyuga Clan?" Hayate narrowed his eyes, glanced at Neji, then casually looked away.

There seemed to be someone else, too, with an expressionless face and not a hint of emotion...

"Is that... one of the Sand Ninja?"

The person had red hair and dark circles around his eyes. His outfit was different from those of the other two Sand Ninja, and he carried a gourd made of sand on his back.

Then two names appeared on the big screen.

"Kin versus Yamanaka Ino!"

"Cough. The two competitors, please come down to the arena!"

"Here I go!"

After greeting her two teammates, Ino immediately headed down with determination.

Her ninjutsu wasn't suited for combat, so she had made up her mind to give it everything she had.

But Kin had watched Dosu leave, and her heart was no longer in the match. As a Sound Ninja, she didn't care in the slightest about the outcome of the Chunin Ninja Exams.

"I... forfeit!"

She raised a hand, drawing everyone's attention.

Everyone looked at one another in confusion.

"Referee, is that allowed?"

Hayate, who had been staring blankly, noticed Kin looking at her.

"Mm."

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded reluctantly.

"The winner is Yamanaka Ino!"

Kin didn't hesitate either. She left the arena, heading in the same direction Dosu had gone.

"Huh? I... I won?" Ino accepted the fact with a helpless look, then realized a moment later that it was probably a good thing.

"Next match: Rock Lee versus Haruno Sakura!"

"Lee?"

Tenten stared at Lee in surprise, her eyes full of worry.

But Lee himself was staring blankly at the screen. Guy and Neji both sighed.

"I feel like I already know how this match will end," Neji murmured. Kiba leaned closer.

"What ending?"

"Just watch," Neji said with a faint smile.

Nearby, Tenten pressed a hand to her forehead, looking exasperated.

"Both competitors, please come down to the arena!"

Haruno Sakura: "Lee, let's have a proper match!"

Rock Lee: "Sakura, I..."

Haruno Sakura: "Referee, can we begin?"

Hayate: "Yes."

Rock Lee: "Wait! I forfeit!"

Hayate: "..."

"The winner is Haruno Sakura!"

Ino, watching from the stands, was completely dumbfounded. "What is going on? Sakura and I both won like this?"

"Awesome, Sakura! You advanced!" Naruto cheered excitedly from the stands.

Sakura merely glared at him impatiently, her heart full of frustration.

Back in the viewing area, Guy grabbed Lee, weeping as he shouted, "Lee! You little rascal! After working so hard for so long, how could you make a choice like that just because of a girl?"

Lee wept as well. "Guy-sensei! I didn't want to, but I just couldn't bring myself to hit her!"

"My good student, I understand! You really are such a thoughtful, kind boy!"

"Guy-sensei!"

Neji smiled awkwardly, while Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Ah, there they go again. How did I end up with two idiots like them as teacher and student? Compared to you, Neji, they make you seem so normal."

"Then let's go straight to the next match... cough!" Hayate waved a hand, and the names on the screen began to cycle again. Everyone in the arena could only turn their attention to the next match.

"Kankuro versus Kiba Inuzuka!"

When the names appeared, Kiba grinned.

"Finally, it's my turn, huh?"

Neji nodded and warned him, "Kiba, the Genin from Sunagakure are all strong this year. Be careful."

But Kiba only snorted. "That's only true for weak ninja like you. I'm not going to lose to him!"

With that, he confidently headed down to the arena.

Kankuro, dressed in black, waited impatiently for the match to begin.

"Begin!"

As soon as the match started, Kiba seized the initiative and charged at Kankuro with his Ninja Dog.

"Four-Legs Technique!"

"Hmph!"

Kankuro snorted and leaped into the air.

Kiba seized the opening and lunged at him midair.

But Kankuro only twitched a finger. Kiba's ankle jerked as though something had tugged on it, throwing his whole body off balance. He missed his target.

Kankuro landed first and quickly threw a shuriken.

Kiba tried to dodge, but he was too late. It sliced through his sleeve and flesh, leaving a wound on his arm.

Kankuro smirked and lifted a hand, pulling back the long object strapped to his back. "Looks like I don't even need to use Crow against the likes of you!"

Kiba glared angrily from the ground.

Neji then deactivated his Byakugan.

"It's over."

Tenten turned to Neji and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? What did you see?"

Neji only said quietly, "Kiba's covered in puppet strings. And that shuriken he was hit with was poisoned."

In the arena, Kiba once again charged at Kankuro, relying on his confident movements to launch a fierce attack.

But each time, something went wrong, allowing Kankuro to dodge with ease.

In the end, the poison took effect, and Kiba lost the ability to move. He remained conscious, but his body was paralyzed.

"The Genin from Konoha are way too weak," Kankuro said with a faint smile.

"The winner is Kankuro!"

In the previous round, Kiba had reached the finish line before Kankuro's team. And yet Kankuro had defeated him just like that.

Easily. Quickly.

"So this is Sunagakure? They're strong."

Tenten frowned, feeling the pressure mount.

"Then... the next match!"

"Tenten of Konoha versus Temari of Sunagakure!"