A Twist! An Unexpected Ninja

"What exactly is going on?"

Neji took a step forward, wanting to see what was troubling this stunning girl so much.

"Don't come any closer!"

Ino held out both hands to stop him. At that moment, she seemed to be shielding herself from the light before her.

So dreamlike, so wonderful.

The "good-for-nothing" ninja of legend had so effortlessly countered the attack she had worked so hard to learn. And behind that enormous secret, there seemed to be something even deeper!

Ino's heart stirred!

"Uh."

Neji's mouth twitched, and he stayed where he was.

How could he know how fast Ino's heart was beating right now?

How could he know that his seemingly lecherous behavior just now, and the restraint he had shown in battle, had completely touched the girl's heart?

"I'll get stronger. Once I do, I'll come challenge you."

Ino got to her feet, pretending she was only drawn to his strength.

Only then did Neji breathe a sigh of relief. "Sure. I'll be waiting."

He certainly didn't want some girl to be left with a lifelong emotional scar because of him, when he had spent his life charming people and would one day become a Hokage hero.

Back on the grass, Tenten had already defeated Choji and was fighting Shikamaru.

Asuma chuckled derisively. "Don't think you can run away. If you really didn't want to train, why accept the challenge of the Chunin Ninja Exams in the first place?"

"Ninjas have to work hard!"

Thinking of Neji's every determined stride, Tenten naturally couldn't stand to see a man shirk like this. She unfurled a scroll and formed Hand Seals!

"Try this!"

"Manipulated Tools: Heaven Sky Chain!"

"Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack!"

A powerful mechanized chain shot out of the scroll. Its links rapidly extended, shooting toward Shikamaru.

Shikamaru was startled, his eyes going wide. "Again!?"

"Once this catches you, you won't be able to escape!" Tenten gritted her teeth and formed Hand Seals even faster.

"Clack!"

As Shikamaru leaped away, the mechanized chain pursued him on its own, moving with incredible speed.

"It can turn, too?"

Shikamaru had barely landed when the chain caught up with him. He immediately jumped to the side.

"I give up! I give up!"

"Nope." Tenten controlled the Heaven Sky Chain and kept chasing Shikamaru.

Shikamaru kept leaping from side to side, then realized it was never going to end. He jumped into a dead end and used the few seconds of respite to pull out a Kunai.

"Damn it..." He glanced at Tenten where she stood, thoroughly exasperated, then found an angle and threw the Kunai.

"Whoosh!"

Tenten simply tilted her head aside, quick and precise.

"Naive."

He had barely finished speaking when he suddenly heard a sound.

"Zzzzt..."

"An Explosive Tag?"

Only then did Tenten notice the Explosive Tag attached to the Kunai, already igniting.

She immediately grabbed the chain and leaped away.

"Pff!"~

But the Explosive Tag was a dud. A dense cloud of dust and smoke still billowed out from it.

"Tch, trying to scare me?" Tenten scoffed. Suddenly, Shikamaru appeared alongside his voice.

"That should do it, right? Shadow Possession Jutsu—success!"

As the thick smoke gradually cleared, Shikamaru was only three or four meters away from her. A dark shadow stretched from beneath his feet to hers.

"From this close..."

Tenten swallowed.

In their earlier exchanges, Tenten's keen perception had left Shikamaru with no opening, and he had failed several times.

Once Tenten had taken control of the fight, Shikamaru had even fewer chances to break through.

"The closer the range, the faster the technique takes effect?"

Tenten's entire body was immobilized, completely under Shikamaru's control.

Such a powerful restraint settled the outcome.

"That was a great fight. Tenten's strong, too." Asuma clapped as he walked over.

"Next, I'll test you all myself!"

"Huh?"

Asuma's words left everyone startled.

The dank underground.

"Hiss..."

The sound of venomous snakes slithered through the tunnels, making the place all the more unsettling.

Footsteps sounded softly.

"Squeak!"

A rat darted past, moving with incredible speed.

The young man walking through the tunnels wasn't in a hurry. Yet each step he took was measured, as though he knew the winding passageways underground inside out.

As though he had them memorized.

Torches cast a broad glow over the dark passage.

But the young man seemed so familiar with the route that he hardly needed the light to see. His senses were incredibly sharp.

In the firelight, his white hair and glasses came into view.

Kabuto Yakushi.

"Squeak!"

The rat seemed to be following Kabuto. He paused, then the corner of his mouth curled up.

"Meow~"

A small, frail kitten appeared. It was only about twice the size of the rat.

Kabuto paused and looked back.

He hesitantly watched the kitten crouching behind him. It was a black cat, apparently chasing after the rat.

He stared at the kitten for a long time, seemingly deep in thought.

Then he crouched down.

He reached out and stroked the kitten. It rubbed affectionately against his palm.

"Don't follow me anymore, okay?"

With that, he stood and continued on. The cat stayed quietly where it was, watching his retreating figure grow smaller and smaller.

The room farther inside was steeped in an endless, sinister darkness.

The burning candlelight flickered now and then.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

"It's Kabuto, isn't it? Come in."

The deep, hoarse voice suited the strange atmosphere perfectly.

With a creak, the door opened. Kabuto's expression was calm and unreadable.

"How's the plan going?" Orochimaru sat in a chair, smiling at Kabuto.

Kabuto walked in without closing the door and hung the torch on the wall.

"No problems. Everything is proceeding as planned. Sasuke-kun's team also made it through the Chunin Ninja Exams without a hitch. I took out many of the examinees inside the Forest of Death, but... there's one variable."

"A variable? That Anbu boy?"

Orochimaru furrowed his brow slightly. The corner of his mouth twitched, and his smile gradually vanished.

"Yes. Not just in the Forest of Death, either. During our negotiations with the Sand Ninja, people from Konoha spotted us. That boy is a ninja I never expected! It's fortunate you were there to take care of Gekko Hayate, but that Anbu boy..."

"Don't worry."

Orochimaru pondered for a moment, then smiled with delight.

His eyes were alight with cunning fervor.

"Hyuga Neji. I know his name now."

"Hyuga Neji?"

Kabuto's eyes widened in surprise at the name.

"Yes. I never expected the Hyuga Clan to still have such a powerful bloodline. I spent a long time searching for it—the bloodline passed down through Hyuga Tenin's line. At last, I've found it. But now that I have Sasuke-kun, that bloodline doesn't seem so important anymore." Orochimaru smiled, his eyes seeming to wander through memories from many years ago.

"The Uchiha Clan's body is the perfect fit for you, Lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto bowed in submission.

Orochimaru gave a cold laugh. "Yes. Still, we must be extremely careful. The Hyuga boy seems to be growing even faster than Sasuke-kun! We'll have to keep a close eye on him..."

"Yes!" Kabuto replied.

"Squeak, squeak..."

The rat's squeaking abruptly stopped, replaced by the sound of a snake slithering along the ground.

A pool of blood lay on the floor, with only a severed tail remaining. The snake slithered over it, a small lump bulging beneath its belly.