Chunin Exams (2)

"Sakura, how are you holding up? You should have been the first to notice, right?" Sasuke also sensed Sakura's dejection and knew he had to snap her out of it, so he approached the situation by addressing the genjutsu to help her regain her composure.

Sakura was stunned for a moment after hearing this. "Your analytical skills and your knowledge of genjutsu are the best in our class," Sasuke added.

"Sasuke... thank you..." Sakura realized what he was doing—he was trying to cheer her up. She whispered the words, then immediately pulled herself together. "Of course, I noticed it a long time ago. Because this place... is the second floor."

"Yeah!" Naruto chimed in from the side, nodding in agreement as the "301" on the classroom door shifted back to "201."

"Not bad at all. But just seeing through it isn't enough... right?" The ninja standing at the entrance finished his sentence, then flipped forward to strike at Sasuke. Sasuke, naturally, didn't back down and kicked out to meet him.

Just as their feet were about to collide, Rock Lee moved, instantly appearing to grab both of their ankles.

This guy is fast! He's like a completely different person compared to when he was getting beaten up earlier! Sakura thought, her eyes wide.

"He blocked my kick? What? The chakra in this guy's hands..." Sasuke was also shocked. There was clearly no chakra in the man's hands, yet he had managed to block his strike.

"Hey, this isn't what we agreed on," Neji and Tenten walked up. "Didn't you say you didn't want to attract attention and end up being guarded against?"

"But..." Rock Lee looked at Sakura, clenching his fists as his face suddenly turned bright red.

"This guy." Namikaze Yin Xiang chuckled and shook his head.

"Ah... here we go again..." Tenten also shook her head from the side; their plan had failed once more.

Rock Lee walked step by step until he stood in front of Sakura. "My name is Rock Lee. You're Sakura, right? Please go out with me! I will protect you until I die!" Rock Lee said, giving her a thumbs-up.

"Absolutely not..." Sakura said, her head covered in black lines, enunciating every word.

"What?" Rock Lee was instantly devastated.

"Your eyebrows are too thick," Sakura continued.

"So hurt..." Rock Lee hung his head.

"Hahaha, Lee, what are you doing? You're even hitting on the underclassmen now." Namikaze Yin Xiang walked out from the crowd, laughing. Only then did everyone notice the man in black.

"Yin Xiang." When Tenten saw him, she walked to his side, and Neji followed.

"Hey, you over there, state your name," Neji said to Sasuke.

"Shouldn't you state your own name before asking someone else's?" Sasuke said, hands in his pockets, looking back at Neji.

"Hey, hey, don't be so depressed." Namikaze Yin Xiang patted the dejected Rock Lee on the shoulder.

"You're a newcomer, aren't you? How old are you this year?" Neji asked, ignoring the question while keeping his hands in his pockets.

"I have no obligation to answer you," Sasuke replied.

"What?" Neji had never been rebuffed like that before, and to make matters worse, Sasuke turned and walked away.

Naruto and Rock Lee stood by the wall, leaning against it, both feeling dejected. "Ah, are my eyebrows really too thick?" Rock Lee asked.

"Ah, I'm just so unremarkable," Naruto said. Earlier, someone had asked for Sasuke's name, but no one had asked for his.

"You two..." Namikaze Yin Xiang raised an eyebrow from the side.

"Alright, Sasuke, Naruto, let's go!" Sakura had regained her spirit and spoke to them. They then headed up to the third floor.

In Sasuke's mind, the figures of four people appeared: Namikaze Yin Xiang, Neji, Rock Lee, and Gaara. These were the formidable opponents he had identified.

"Are you very concerned about that kid?" Tenten asked Neji, referring to Sasuke.

"Hmph." Neji let out a cold snort and walked forward. Tenten pulled Namikaze Yin Xiang along, preparing to head to the third floor as well. Although he was being dragged by Tenten, Namikaze Yin Xiang didn't resist at all.

"Lee, we're leaving. What are you doing?" Tenten looked back to see Rock Lee still standing in place.

"You guys go ahead, there's something I still need to confirm," Rock Lee told Tenten before turning and walking away.

"What is it?" Tenten asked Namikaze Yin Xiang, looking curious.

"Probably challenging someone," Namikaze Yin Xiang said with a shrug. The three of them then headed toward the third floor together.

"I'm telling you, Yin Xiang, you're in a team by yourself. Won't that be dangerous? Why don't the four of us team up?" Tenten asked as they walked.

"I'll pass. Since the teacher decided I should be in a team of one from the start, it proves my strength is enough to handle a squad on my own. Don't worry, I might even be the one looking after you guys," Namikaze Yin Xiang said with a smile.

"Seriously, don't look down on people like that." Neji was, after all, known as a genius, and hearing Namikaze Yin Xiang say that made him quite unhappy.

"Haha, just kidding," Namikaze Yin Xiang said, waving his hand. "That guy Lee must have gone to crush Sasuke's spirit."

"Eh?" Tenten didn't understand what he meant. "But if he does that, Guy-sensei will scold him."

"Lee has always wanted to challenge geniuses. If Yin Xiang says that, then he definitely went to challenge Sasuke," Neji nodded and added.

Just as Namikaze Yin Xiang had predicted, Rock Lee did indeed challenge Sasuke. Even with his Sharingan activated, Sasuke couldn't dodge Rock Lee's attacks; he couldn't keep up with his movements at all. He was thoroughly beaten, and just as Rock Lee was about to finish him off with the Shadow Leaf Dance, Guy intervened and stopped him.

At the same time, Rock Lee told him that the strongest genin in Konoha was Namikaze Yin Xiang, and that he had come specifically to challenge him. This made Sasuke feel even more annoyed with Namikaze Yin Xiang, and even more so with Rock Lee.

By the time Namikaze Yin Xiang and the others reached the classroom door, Guy and Rock Lee were already waiting there. The rules of this exam actually required the entire team to arrive together to qualify. Afterward, Namikaze Yin Xiang and the others entered the classroom.

It was already packed with people. Namikaze Yin Xiang found a seat for himself; there were ninjas from every village present. He sat by the window, and soon Naruto and the others arrived. The nine Konoha rookies gathered at the entrance.

"Where's Yin Xiang? Where is that genin Yin Xiang who's supposed to be so strong?" Kiba walked over, looking around, trying to find him.

"He's not with us," Naruto shook his head. "Is that Yin Xiang really that strong?" Sasuke asked Kiba.

"You don't know? Yin Xiang is a genin who has completed an S-rank mission. He's already quite famous in Konoha. He's the Third Hokage's student, the Fourth Hokage's son, Kakashi's younger brother, and Konoha's number one genius—Namikaze Yin Xiang," Kiba explained to everyone.

This record shocked everyone present. They finally had a slight understanding of who Namikaze Yin Xiang was.