Powerful! The Hidden Sand Village

"Winner! Uzumaki Naruto!"

The entire arena erupted in cheers. This comeback victory for Naruto had been a narrow win, relying on sheer willpower to overcome a physically exhausted Dosu.

Yet, under the state of his Byakugan, Neji saw everything with perfect clarity.

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

Furthermore, sound-based attacks had minimal effect on Naruto, who possessed the Nine-Tails within him, and as a member of the Uzumaki Clan, Naruto's own chakra reserves were terrifyingly vast.

"Nice one, Naruto!"

Standing to the side, Kiba cheered and hollered whenever the action got exciting; naturally, he was thrilled to see Naruto win.

Tenten rested her chin in her hands. "It's great, isn't it? The rookies from Konoha this year all seem pretty good. Three wins in a row!"

"Hey, even though they were both dead-last, Naruto's strength is getting more and more formidable!"

As Kiba spoke, he glanced toward Neji, whether intentionally or not.

Neji merely chuckled. "Don't worry, I will work hard."

Tenten said worriedly from the side, "Neji! That mindset won't do. Just working hard isn't enough! I know you're working hard, but..."

"Alright, let's watch the match."

At that moment, a figure appeared beside them—it was their teacher, Might Guy.

"Guy-sensei."

Rock Lee walked over.

"What happened?"

Dosu, nursing his injuries, left the arena of his own accord, and Kin walked over to ask.

"These guys from Konoha are all hiding more than they let on. Orochimaru probably sent us here just to die!"

Things had felt wrong ever since they encountered that Anbu youth in the forest.

During the previous matches, they had discovered that Sasuke had been branded with a Cursed Seal, and now this boy, who was in the same class as Sasuke, possessed an extraordinary amount of chakra; his physical recovery didn't seem like that of an ordinary person...

"Kin, I'm going to check on Zaku first. Finish up quickly and come find me." After saying this, Dosu left the arena.

Following that, the large screen continued to scroll.

"Next, cough, the next match!"

In the center of the arena, the referee Hayate Gekko stepped forward, his gloomy eyes sweeping over everyone.

Because they had watched Naruto's match, everyone was as fired up as if they had been injected with adrenaline, eager to jump into the fray—everyone, that is, except for one Byakugan-wielding boy who remained calm.

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

There seemed to be another person as well, with an indifferent expression, showing absolutely no emotion...

"Is that... someone from the Sand Ninja?"

The person had red hair, dark circles under his eyes, and attire different from the other two Sand Ninja, with a gourd made of sand strapped to his back.

Shortly after, two names appeared on the large screen.

"Kin vs Yamanaka Ino!"

"Cough, will both contestants please come down to the arena!"

"I'm going!"

After greeting her two teammates, Ino headed down to the arena, filled with fighting spirit.

Her ninjutsu wasn't well-suited for combat, so she had made a firm resolution to give it her all.

However, as Kin watched Dosu leave, her heart was no longer on the battlefield; as a Sound Ninja, she didn't care at all about the outcome of the Chunin Exams.

"I... forfeit!"

She raised her hand, and that single sentence drew the gaze of everyone in the arena.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

"Referee, is that allowed?"

Hayate, who had been momentarily stunned, noticed Kin looking at him.

"Yes."

He hesitated for a moment before nodding helplessly.

"Winner, Yamanaka Ino!"

Without hesitation, Kin left the arena, heading in the direction Dosu had gone.

"Huh? This... I just won like that?" Ino accepted the fact with resignation, though she realized belatedly that this was probably a good thing.

"Next match, Rock Lee vs Haruno Sakura!"

"Lee?"

Tenten looked at Rock Lee in surprise, her eyes filled with worry.

But Rock Lee himself just stared blankly at the screen, while Guy and Neji both sighed.

"I think I see how this match ends," Neji muttered to himself, and Kiba Inuzuka leaned in from the side.

"What ending?"

"You'll see soon enough," Neji chuckled.

Beside them, Tenten held her forehead, looking troubled.

"Now, will both contestants please come down to the arena!"

Haruno Sakura: "Lee, let's have a serious fight!"

Rock Lee: "Sakura, I..."

Haruno Sakura: "Referee, can we begin?"

Hayate: "Yes."

Rock Lee: "Wait! I forfeit!"

Hayate: "..."

"Winner, Haruno Sakura!"

Up in the stands, Ino was completely dumbfounded: "What on earth is going on? Is this how both Sakura and I won?"

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

Sakura just glared at him impatiently, feeling thoroughly depressed.

Back in the spectator area, Guy grabbed Rock Lee, weeping and wailing: "Lee! You brat! After working so hard for so long, how could you make such a choice just for a woman?"

Rock Lee also wept bitterly: "Guy-sensei! I didn't want to, but I just couldn't bring myself to strike!"

"My good student, I understand you now! You truly are a kind-hearted boy who understands others!"

"Guy-sensei!"

Neji gave a sheepish smile, while Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Ah, here we go again. How did I end up with two such idiots for a master and student? Neji, compared to them, you're much more normal."

"Then, let's start the next match immediately... cough!" Hayate waved his hand, and the names on the screen began to spin again, forcing everyone in the arena to turn their attention to the next match.

"Kankuro vs. Kiba Inuzuka!"

As soon as the names appeared, Kiba curled his lips into a smirk.

"Finally my turn, huh?"

Neji nodded, reminding him: "Kiba, the genin from Sunagakure this year are all very strong! Be careful."

But Kiba just snorted: "That might be true for weak ninjas like you, but I won't lose to him!"

With that, he confidently headed down to the arena.

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

"Match, start!"

As soon as the match began, Kiba took the initiative, charging toward Kankuro with his ninja dog.

"Ninja Art: Four-Legs Technique!"

"Hmph!"

Kankuro let out a cold snort and leaped into the air.

Seizing the opening, Kiba lunged at him while he was in mid-air.

But Kankuro merely flicked his fingers, and Kiba's ankle was yanked as if by something, causing him to lose control of his body and miss his target.

Kankuro landed first and quickly threw a shuriken.

Kiba tried to dodge, but it was too late; the blade sliced through his sleeve and flesh, leaving a wound.

Kankuro smirked and raised his hand, pulling on the long object strapped to his back, and said: "It seems that to deal with someone of your caliber, I don't even need to use Crow!"

On the ground, Kiba's eyes burned with anger.

Neji then deactivated his Byakugan.

"It's over."

Tenten looked at Neji and asked hurriedly: "What is it? Neji, what did you see?"

Neji only said softly: "Kiba's body is covered in chakra threads, and that shuriken from earlier was poisoned."

In the arena, Kiba continued to launch fierce attacks at Kankuro, relying on his confident movement techniques.

But every single time, he made different mistakes, allowing Kankuro to dodge with ease.

In the end, due to the effects of the poison, Kiba lost his mobility; though his mind remained clear, his body was paralyzed.

"Are the genin of Konoha really this weak?" Kankuro chuckled.

"The winner is Kankuro!"

In the previous round of the exam, Kiba, who had reached the finish line even earlier than them, had been defeated by his opponent just like that.

Effortless and swift.

"Is this the power of Sunagakure? They're so strong."

Tenten frowned, the pressure in her heart mounting.

"And now... for the next match!"

"Tenten of Konoha versus... Temari of Sunagakure!"