The Weak! Prey for Everyone!

"He's been dead for a while... His face is gone..."

Even the masked Anbu Ninja couldn't help staring at the horrific scene. Anko frowned, thinking of the candidate with the unusually long tongue.

She touched the Cursed Seal on her neck and felt a chill run down her back.

"Quick, inform Lord Hokage. I'll head to the Forest of Death first. He's here—Orochimaru!"

Meanwhile, deep in the Forest of Death.

Desolate!

Silent!

The sky was gradually growing dark.

Tenten and Rock Lee had already arrived at the meeting point.

"I found traces of enemies nearby. There aren't many, but there are still plenty of safe routes. Let's stick to the original plan and focus on making our way forward."

As she spoke, Tenten took the scroll off her back.

Rock Lee put the food they'd gathered into his backpack and asked, "What about Neji?"

"I don't know."

"Neji's always punctual. He's a loner, but he wouldn't go looking for trouble."

Tenten often complained about Neji, but now she couldn't help feeling uneasy.

"Hey, Tenten, do you remember the white-haired young man we met outside the written exam room?"

"What about him?"

Rock Lee's expression turned grave.

"Neji is the weakest of Konoha's Genin this year. That information must have leaked back then!"

Rock Lee's words made Tenten realize the implications.

"Let's go find him!"

The two immediately sensed something was wrong. They quickly packed up and hurried off in the direction Neji had gone.

Meanwhile, in a clearing elsewhere in the woods.

"Phew... I didn't expect the forest here to be so huge. I haven't seen anyone all night."

Neji thought that if he couldn't cross paths with a strong opponent in the Forest of Death, it would be a shame.

On the trunk of a tree not far ahead stood three Grass Ninja wearing bizarre clothes.

"Heh! I can't believe their team let Hyuga Neji, the dead last, wander around all by himself!"

"That information from Kabuto Yakushi can't be wrong. Neji really is the Hyuga Clan's failure! Let's capture him and trade him for a scroll!"

"We've got our eyes on this prey!"

Before they could say anything else,

the rustling of footsteps sounded nearby.

"Someone else! A Konoha Ninja!"

They ducked back.

"Well, this is awkward!"

A voice came from the other side. The Grass Ninja thought in alarm, "We were careless. Someone as weak as Hyuga Neji was bound to attract more than just us!"

Neji narrowed his eyes slightly and took a step back.

The one coming toward him was none other than Kiba Inuzuka, a fellow Konoha Ninja.

He grinned, his expression as determined as a hound hunting its prey.

Shino and Hinata were behind him.

"Kiba..."

Hinata swallowed, seeming reluctant to do this.

Shino merely said coolly, "Hinata, this is an exam."

"Mm."

All three of them looked united against outsiders. Neji hadn't expected his fellow Konoha Ninja to be the first to attack him.

"This is bad..." Neji suddenly realized how late it was getting.

"Yeah, it sure is! That's what you get for being so weak and wandering off alone instead of sticking with your teammates!"

Kiba stepped forward, apparently planning to handle Neji by himself.

"If your two teammates were here, we might not dare touch you!"

"Hey, wait!"

Neji was at a loss for words. "How about this? Let me go for now. My teammates will worry if I don't return! I'll come find you tomorrow and fight you then, okay?"

He gave an awkward grin. If he didn't get back soon, Tenten and Rock Lee would go looking for him everywhere, and he'd get teased again.

"W-what did you say? Do you think I'm an idiot?" Kiba gritted his teeth and charged straight at him.

"Akamaru!"

Kiba lunged at Neji, and the dog on his shoulder leaped after him.

"Hey, isn't this two against one?"

Neji leaped aside, and Kiba hadn't expected him to react so quickly.

Kiba caught up, and the two began to grapple.

The sound of punches and kicks rang out. Shino and Hinata seemed to have no intention of joining in.

"Heh, I can take care of trash like you all by myself. Having a weakling like you as an opponent makes this exam way too easy!"

Neji couldn't dodge in time. He was about to crash into the tree behind him.

"Byakugan!"

In a hurry, he formed Hand Seals and met Kiba's attack with a palm strike.

"Pfft!"

Kiba was sent flying by the blow. Neji managed to brake in time and stop himself from retreating any farther.

"Well, kid, you've got some skill after all!"

A trace of seriousness appeared in Kiba's eyes.

Once his Byakugan activated, Neji froze. Three figures on nearby trees were poised to move!

"Um..."

Before Neji could speak, Kiba lunged at him again.

"Woof!"

Akamaru hadn't sensed the enemies. He was simply following Kiba's orders.

"I don't have time to play around with you," Neji said quietly.

He slapped Kiba's attack aside, and for a moment, Kiba thought he'd misheard.

Since when had this weakling become so calm in a real fight?

"Gentle Fist!"

With a single palm strike to Kiba's left shoulder, Neji sent him flying.

"Hmph! So you're finally taking this seriously?"

Kiba got back to his feet. Neji's blow and the quiet words he'd spoken moments earlier had completely enraged him.

"Ninja Art..."

"Kiba! Look out!"

"Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin!"

Blue chakra shimmered as Neji spun at tremendous speed. More than a dozen Kunai bounced off the rotation, clanging as they flew away.

When the Rotation ended, several figures leaped down from the trees.

"Hey, kid, Hyuga Neji was our prey first. You should respect who got here first!"

The Grass Ninja were all masked, their faces impossible to see.

"Heh, if you won't back off, we'll take care of you first, then deal with Hyuga Neji!"

"Are all Grass Ninja this sneaky?"

Kiba now realized how serious the situation was. He stopped thinking about Neji and fixed his gaze on the Grass Ninja.

"Ninja Art: Four-Legs Technique!"

"Akamaru!"

"Woof!"

With a poof, Akamaru, who'd been a docile little dog just moments ago, transformed into a red-furred beast that looked like a rabid hound, bristling with aggression.

"Fang Passing Fang!"

"Kusa Shadow Style: Blast Palm!"

The tremendous noise instantly turned the area into a fierce battlefield. Shino naturally couldn't just watch Kiba fight three opponents alone, so he joined in.

Neji frowned and stepped back. It looked like Kiba and Shino could just barely handle the situation without him.

But just as he was about to slip away, he heard a scream.

"Ah!"

At some point, one of the masked Grass Ninja had used Earth Release to sneak behind Hinata and seize her.

He pressed a Kunai to Hinata's throat and grinned maliciously. "Heh! Don't move, or this girl dies!"

"Damn it! You sneaky Grass Ninja!" Kiba shouted furiously.

The two of them didn't know what to do. Suddenly, the sound of something slicing through the air passed beside them.

Almost at the same moment, the Grass Ninja holding Hinata was sent flying by an enormous force. He hurtled several meters before crashing into a tree trunk.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm..."

Everyone turned around in surprise. Neji stood there with his hands lowered from the stance, his gaze resolute.