Ryusuke was genuinely astonished.
One second ago, he had been wondering whether Hinata versus Hyuga Neji in the original story was a coincidence. The next second, he had been matched against Hyuga Neji.
There was no doubt that Ryusuke had guessed right. The original matchups had indeed been rigged behind the scenes, and this one was no different.
It was just that Sarutobi Hiruzen no longer wanted to see a showdown between the main and branch family heirs of the Hyuga Clan. Instead, he wanted to see the Top Students face off.
So Ryusuke calmed himself, nodded to Team 8 as they cheered him on, then used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in the hall.
"Ryusuke, go get him! Don't hold back just because he's Hinata's clansman—beat the hell out of him!"
Ino's shout rang through the entire venue, completely unconcerned with the looks directed her way.
Sakura and Hinata envied her for that.
The shy Hinata and ladylike Sakura simply did not have the courage to do something like that. They could only cheer Ryusuke on in their hearts.
"This kid really has incredible luck with women!"
Sarutobi Asuma lit a cigarette and muttered enviously, "Can being handsome really let you do whatever you want?"
From the Ninja Academy until now, he had not even managed to win over Yuhi Kurenai.
Yet Ryusuke was surrounded by three pretty, adorable girls, and the three of them even got along unbelievably well.
If it had been anyone else, Sarutobi Asuma would have absolutely suspected that their friendliness was fake.
But Ino was his student. Sarutobi Asuma understood her personality well enough to know she was not pretending.
Just how did that Ryusuke make it look so effortless?
"Byakugan—activate!"
Hyuga Neji, who had come down from the stands, suddenly activated his