After Kimimaro quickly ended his fight with Yoroi Akado, Yu had practically been drooping his eyelids through the next several matches.
Whether it was the comical battle between Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba that ended with a fart, or Sasuke's fight, where he was suppressed by Orochimaru's Heaven Curse Mark and took ages to deal with some nobody, neither stirred the slightest interest in him.
The only match that managed to rouse Yu was the Gentle Fist battle between Neji and Hinata, the Hyuga Clan cousins. In the end, Neji proved to everyone through his talent and hard work that a genius from the branch family could defeat someone from the main family.
Finally, the electronic display board in the arena began changing again for the next round—Gaara of Sunagakure VS Haku of Hoshigakure.
"Haku against Gaara? Now that's interesting..."
Seeing Haku use the Body Flicker Technique to appear in the center of the arena, Yu immediately perked up from his boredom. "If things followed the original plot, this should have been Rock Lee, with the Eight Inner Gates open, fighting Gaara..."
"Look! Haku's up!!"
The moment Naruto spotted Haku in the arena, he cried out excitedly from the contestants' seats around the field. Unlike the cold and aloof Kimimaro, the gentle and beautiful Haku had always been well liked by Naruto and the others.
"I can't believe Haku's opponent is that terrifying guy..."
"I hope nothing happens..."
Seeing that Haku's next opponent was the frightening monster Gaara, Sakura could not help voicing her concern. After all, Haku had taught the three of them the chakra tree-climbing technique back in the Land of Waves.
"Hmph, you two should worry about how you'll handle your own upcoming opponents first."
"That guy's subordinate has probably surpassed the level of this exam long ago."