The Chunin Ninja Exams.
The third official match.
The crowd was eagerly waiting.
Everyone could hardly wait to see a rising star of the Ninja World.
"Up next is the Hyuga Clan's genius, Neji Hyuga! His opponent's in for a rough time!"
"Really? But I heard Neji Hyuga's opponent is Naruto Uzumaki, the one they call the Demon Fox in Konoha!"
"The Uzumaki Clan? That brings back some painful memories."
The spectators murmured among themselves.
Sakura, however, looked rather down.
"Hey, why do you look so unhappy today? Are you worried about that idiot Naruto?"
Ino said helplessly, "Well, his opponent is Neji Hyuga, the legendary genius ninja!"
"I'm worried about Naruto!"
Sakura furiously pounded her thighs with both hands.
"Damn it!"
"After Naruto said something unforgivable, that idiot disappeared off the face of the earth!"
"Every time I go looking for him, he's not home. Has he been training this whole time? Damn it! Damn it!"
Sakura raged helplessly, so angry she was practically on fire.
Hearing Sakura say that,
Ino couldn't help breaking into a sweat. She never would have imagined that Naruto, who had always doted on Sakura, could say something that would make Haruno Sakura so angry.
"Next up is Naruto. That guy promised ages ago he'd prove himself to me!"
Inuzuka Kiba picked up Akamaru and ruffled his head.
"Neji's an absolute genius. He has the strongest defense, one that can't be broken, and a Taijutsu style that can destroy any ninja's chakra points."
"He's invincible here!"
Tenten had boundless faith in Neji Hyuga.
In fact,
not a single person here thought Naruto could beat Neji Hyuga.
The only one who believed Naruto was certain to win was the Toad Sage, Jiraiya, who wasn't at the arena.
"Naruto-kun will definitely win."
Hinata blushed.
She just felt that even against Neji Hyuga, the strongest of the younger generation, Naruto Uzumaki absolutely wouldn't lose!
"I've prepared the best snacks, so Naruto had better give it his all!"
Choji raised his chubby hand and pumped his fist, cheering Naruto on.
"I haven't seen Naruto since we ate barbecue together after leaving the hospital last time. I wonder how strong he is now?"
If this had been Naruto Uzumaki from before,
Shikamaru would have thought this match was a toss-up. But at the hospital, he'd seen Naruto's lightning-fast speed with his own eyes!
Maybe this time, Naruto really would create an incredible miracle.
"Hmm..."
Aburame Shino murmured something to the little bug on his shoulder, but nobody cared.
The match officially began!
"Competing in this match are Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha's Team 7 and Neji Hyuga of Team 3!"
"Both Genin, please come to the arena! The match is about to begin!"
Every gaze burned with anticipation.
Neji Hyuga was long accustomed to the noise and had always ignored it.
The mark covering his forehead also covered his heart, shutting out the world around him.
Neji stood at one side of the arena.
He looked up at the towering stadium.
It was like a giant cylindrical birdcage.
A ninja's fate—the fate of the Hyuga Clan's branch family—was impossible to defy.
The one approaching from the other side was Naruto.
"Hello, everyone!"
"I am the future strongest Hokage of Konoha! The ninja who will reach the pinnacle of the Ninja World, the immortal sage of the ninja way!"
"Rejoice, Konoha! Your king is about to take the stage!"
Naruto shouted, answering every cheer.
He paid no heed to the boos and jeers, confidence shining just as brightly!
"I feel like Naruto's glowing! Is it just me?"
Choji felt like he could barely hold on to his snacks.
"What's with him? He's as wildly optimistic and confident as ever. Looks like I was worrying for nothing."
Seeing Naruto like this, Shikamaru felt much more at ease.
"God of Shinobi? Strongest Hokage! You might be a Genin for the rest of your life!"
A Genin from Otogakure was actually mocking Naruto.
To them, Naruto was nothing but a useless clown, all bluster and no ability.
"Shh!"
Naruto made a gesture for them to be quiet.
He fixed his gaze on his opponent, Neji Hyuga, and walked toward him step by step!
"Begin!"
At the announcement,
Neji Hyuga could only laugh at Naruto.
A dead-last loser was actually running his mouth like that,
and even dreaming of becoming Hokage!
"Trying to attract attention is foolish. Only an idiot would do it."
Neji stepped forward with the movements of the Eight Trigrams Palm, but in an instant switched to a ninja's sprint, charging straight at Naruto.
Chakra covered his hands, and his Byakugan activated.
He intended to destroy the chakra points Naruto used to channel chakra right away!
"What are you talking about?"
Naruto's figure flashed past, turning into swirling leaves!
Whoosh!
Naruto appeared behind Neji in an instant, astonishing everyone.
"So fast!"
Choji sat up straight, and his snacks fell to the ground.
They all played together, so when had Naruto gotten this fierce?
"Leaf Body Flicker Technique. Looks like Naruto hasn't wasted all this time—he's been training."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was surprised, too.
At the arena,
Neji Hyuga wheeled around like a hungry tiger.
His Byakugan had already seen everything happening behind him.
As long as Naruto didn't stand in the one blind spot in Neji's three-hundred-and-sixty-degree field of vision, there was no escaping the Byakugan!
The fact that a loser had evaded his first attack with the Body Flicker Technique was unacceptable to Neji.
He had to defeat Naruto even faster!
"Fire Style: Great Flame Bullet!"
Naruto leaped into the air and spat out a huge, high-temperature fireball!
Compared with the Flame Bullet, Naruto basically didn't want to use this level of Fire Release.
He was afraid he wouldn't even notice the chakra being drained.
Boom!
The flames surged like a sea, crashing down on Neji Hyuga.
The spectators were dumbfounded, all watching with rapt attention.
"You can use Fire Release?"
Neji had never heard that Naruto could use Fire Release.
If he really could, why hadn't he used it in his fight against Inuzuka Kiba?
Was Naruto Uzumaki hiding his strength?
"Did Jiraiya teach him?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought it all made sense.
He could only say that Jiraiya was a very capable special-training teacher.
"Heavenly Spin!"
Neji hadn't expected to have to spin around like this!
He spun in place, releasing chakra from both hands to form a top with a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree defensive radius!
It was an Absolute Defense often seen in the Ninja World!
The chakra wall stopped the flames.
Naruto landed outside the circle.
"Go ahead and spin. You won't get a peep out of anyone!"
Lightning Release chakra covered his entire body in an instant.
As he stimulated the vitality of his cells, his blond hair floated straight up.
He formed Hand Seals and slapped the ground!
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
The once-solid ground turned into a swamp in an instant.
With Neji spinning at high speed, it was as if he were spinning in the swamp.
Neji had no choice but to stop defending and switch to attacking, striking out with the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!
He lunged straight at Naruto!
In the stands,
the clan head, Hyuga Hiashi, was already stunned by Neji's Heavenly Spin.
Compared with his daughter, this boy was the Hyuga Clan's true natural prodigy!
There was no time for regret.
Neji Hyuga was already attacking Naruto with a barrage of Gentle Fist strikes!
"Lightning Armor: Konoha Dragon God!"
Using the speed of Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Naruto launched the Taijutsu of the Konoha Dragon God.
In an instant, wind and thunder roared together.
He became a whirlwind that swept Neji Hyuga up into its path!
"Are Konoha's Genin all this fierce?"
The ninjas from the smaller villages were dumbfounded.