The Weak! Everyone's Prey!

"He's been dead for a while; his face is completely gone..."

Several masked Anbu ninjas couldn't help but look away from the gruesome sight. Anko frowned, her mind flashing back to that examinee with the long tongue.

She touched the Cursed Seal on her neck, a chill running down her spine.

"Go notify the Hokage immediately. I'm heading to the Forest of Death. It's him—Orochimaru!"

Meanwhile, inside the Forest of Death.

Desolate!

Silent!

The sky was gradually darkening.

At the rendezvous point, Tenten and Rock Lee had already arrived.

"I found some traces of enemies nearby, but there are still plenty of safe paths. Let's stick to the original plan and focus on making progress."

Tenten finished speaking and unslung the scroll from her back.

Rock Lee placed the gathered food into his pack and asked, "Where is Neji?"

"I don't know."

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

Tenten, who usually complained about Neji, couldn't help but feel a sense of panic now.

"Tell me, Tenten, do you remember that white-haired youth we ran into outside the written exam classroom?"

"What about him?"

Rock Lee's expression turned serious.

"Neji is the weakest among our generation of Konoha genin. That kind of information must have been leaked back then!"

Rock Lee's words made Tenten realize the situation belatedly.

"We have to find him!"

The two immediately sensed something was wrong, quickly packed their gear, and rushed off in the direction Neji had left earlier to search for him.

Meanwhile, in an open patch of woods on the other side.

Whew... I didn't expect this forest to be so vast. I haven't seen a soul all night.

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

Not far ahead, on the trunk of a large tree:

Three Kusagakure ninjas dressed in bizarre clothing were perched.

"Heh heh! Hyuga Neji. I never expected his team would dare let a loser like him move alone!"

"That intel from Kabuto Yakushi can't be wrong; this Neji really is the trash of the Hyuga clan! Let's grab him and trade him for a scroll!"

"This prey has been marked by us!"

Before the words had even faded.

Rustling footsteps emerged.

"There's someone else! It's a Konoha ninja!"

The group shrank back into the shadows.

"Yo! How unfortunate!"

A voice drifted over from that direction, and the Kusagakure ninjas were secretly shocked: We were careless. Someone as weak as Hyuga Neji is bound to be targeted by more than just us!

Neji narrowed his eyes slightly and took a step back.

The one pressing forward was none other than his fellow Konoha ninja, Kiba Inuzuka.

He grinned, his smile filled with the determination of a hunting dog tracking its prey.

Behind him stood Shino and Hinata.

"Kiba..."

Hinata swallowed hard, appearing somewhat reluctant.

Shino, however, said indifferently, "Hinata, this is an exam."

"Right."

All three wore expressions of unified hostility. Neji hadn't expected that the first ones to attack him would be his own comrades from Konoha.

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

"Yeah, it really is bad! Who told you to wander off alone when you're clearly so weak?"

Kiba had already stepped forward, seemingly intending to handle this by himself.

"If those two teammates of yours were here, we might not have dared to make a move on you!"

"Hey, wait!"

Neji was momentarily speechless, saying, "How about this: you let me go first. If I don't go back, my teammates will worry! How about I come back to fight you tomorrow, okay?"

He gave a goofy smile, knowing that if he didn't return soon, Tenten and Rock Lee would be searching everywhere for him, and he would be lectured again.

"You—what did you say? Do you take me for a fool?" Kiba gritted his teeth and charged straight at him.

"Akamaru!"

Kiba lunged forward, and the dog on his shoulder pounced along with him.

"Hey now, isn't this two-on-one?"

Neji leaped back to dodge, and Kiba was surprised by how fast Neji's reaction was.

After catching up, the two became locked in a scuffle.

The sounds of fists and kicks echoed, while Shino and Hinata seemed to have no intention of joining the fray.

"Heh, dealing with a guy like you, I can finish it in an instant. Having a weakling like you as an opponent for this exam is just too easy!"

Neji couldn't dodge in time and looked like he was about to crash into the tree behind him.

"Byakugan!"

In his haste, he formed the hand seals and met Kiba's attack with a palm strike.

"Pfft!"

Kiba was sent flying by the single blow, while Neji managed to brake just in time, stopping his retreat.

"Yo, kid, you've got some skills, huh?"

A hint of seriousness appeared in Kiba's eyes.

After activating his Byakugan, Neji froze; in the trees nearby, the figures of three ninjas were stirring!

"Look..."

Before Neji could finish, Kiba had already pounced again.

"Woof!"

Akamaru hadn't sensed the presence of the enemies; he only knew to follow Kiba's commands.

"No time to play house with you." Neji whispered.

He immediately swatted away Kiba's attack with a palm, and for a split second, Kiba thought he had misheard.

Since when was this weakling so calm in actual combat?

"Gentle Fist!"

With just one palm strike to his left shoulder, Kiba was sent flying through the air.

"Hmph! Finally getting serious, are you?"

Kiba stood up; that strike and Neji's earlier whisper had thoroughly enraged him.

"Ninja Art..."

"Kiba! Watch out!"

"Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin!"

Deep blue chakra flickered and swirled with ferocious speed, deflecting a dozen kunai with a series of metallic "clangs."

As the Heavenly Spin ended, several figures leaped down from the trees in unison.

"Hey, kid, Hyuga Neji is the prey we marked first. You need to respect the order of arrival!"

The few Kusagakure ninjas were all masked, their faces obscured.

"Heh heh, if you don't back off, we'll just finish you lot first, then deal with Hyuga Neji!"

"Are all ninjas from Kusagakure this underhanded?"

Kiba realized the gravity of the situation and no longer had the heart to focus on Neji, instead fixing a sharp gaze on the Kusagakure ninjas.

"Ninja Art: Four-Legs Technique!"

"Akamaru!"

"Woof!"

With a "poof," Akamaru, who had been a cute little dog moments ago, transformed into a red, feral-looking beast that radiated pure aggression.

"Fang Passing Fang!"

"Kusa Shadow Style: Blast Palm!"

A massive explosion instantly turned the surroundings into a fierce battlefield, and Shino, naturally, would not watch Kiba fight three-on-one, so he joined the fray.

Neji frowned and took a step back; looking at the scene, it seemed like a situation Kiba and Shino could barely manage, so there was no need for him to intervene.

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

"Ah!"

He saw that, at some point, one of the masked Kusagakure ninjas had used Earth Release to sneak behind Hinata and had taken her hostage.

A kunai pressed against Hinata's throat as he sneered, "Heh heh! Don't move, or this girl is dead!"

"Damn it, you Kusagakure bastards!" Kiba cursed furiously.

Before the two could react, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air beside them.

Almost simultaneously, the Kusagakure ninja holding Hinata was sent flying by a massive force, soaring several meters away before slamming into a tree trunk.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm..."

Everyone turned in astonishment to see Neji retracting his stance, his gaze cold and stern.