The Sorrow of the Byakugan and a Silent Warning

The preliminary rounds continued, with each duel unfolding under the supervision of Gekko Hayate, pushing the atmosphere within the tower to one climax after another.

Aburame Shino easily defeated his opponent, showcasing his mysterious and powerful Bug Release. Temari utilized her giant fan and Wind Release to defeat Tenten without drawing blood, demonstrating the formidable strength of Sunagakure. Rock Lee, meanwhile, faced a Sound Ninja and secured an easy victory with his flamboyant taijutsu and indomitable will, earning cheers from the entire arena.

Ling watched all of this calmly from the observation room. His gaze occasionally swept over Danzo in the stands; the latter remained as motionless as a stone statue, yet Ling could sense the calculations flickering deep within that single eye.

Finally, the electronic screen froze once more, displaying the list for the next duel:

Hyuga Neji vs. Hyuga Hinata

A low murmur of discussion instantly erupted throughout the hall. An internal conflict within the Hyuga clan! A duel between the main house and the branch house! This was undoubtedly the most talked-about match of the preliminaries so far.

Neji walked onto the arena floor expressionless, his pure white eyes suppressing anger and resentment that burned like a volcano. Hinata, conversely, appeared incredibly timid; she kept her head down, her small hands clutching the hem of her clothes, barely daring to look at Neji.

"Begin!" Gekko Hayate signaled with a wave of his hand.

The battle was an almost one-sided crushing.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

Neji showed no mercy, unleashing the ultimate technique of the Hyuga Style Gentle Fist right from the start. His figure moved like a phantom, his palms flying as he struck Hinata's major acupoints with precision and cruelty!

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Hinata had no power to fight back; like a small boat in a storm, she was driven back by Neji's fierce offensive, vomiting blood as her chakra pathways were severely sealed, leaving her curled up on the ground in agony.

"Get up! Lady Hinata!" Neji's voice was cold and laced with sarcasm. "Let everyone see how pathetic you are, despite the high hopes the main house has placed in you! This is fate! The branch house can only ever serve as a shield for the main house; you shouldn't even harbor the thought of resistance!"

As he attacked, he used his words to ruthlessly shatter Hinata's already fragile heart. Every palm strike felt as if it were landing on the face of Hyuga Hiashi in the stands, and on the hearts of everyone who knew the secret of the "Caged Bird."

"Neji... brother... I..." Hinata tried to struggle, but under the weight of Neji's absolute strength and aura, her resistance appeared pale and powerless.

In the stands, Naruto shouted in anger, "That guy with the white eyes! How can you treat Hinata like this! Stop it!"

But Neji turned a deaf ear. His attacks grew increasingly fierce, and it looked as though he was about to inflict a devastating injury on Hinata, perhaps even endangering her life!

In the observation room, Ling's eyes turned completely cold. He understood Neji's pain, but he despised this behavior of venting one's rage on the weak. Furthermore, Hyuga Hinata was an important bond for Naruto's future; she could not be left with an indelible psychological shadow or physical trauma here.

Just as Neji gathered his chakra again, preparing to deliver the final blow to Hinata, and just as Gekko Hayate prepared to intervene to stop the match—

A cold, heavy, and terrifying killing intent, seemingly carrying the scent of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, crashed down upon Hyuga Neji like an invisible giant mountain!

This killing intent was not aimed at his life, but precisely at his spirit, his will! In that instant, Neji felt as if he saw endless skeletons and heard the wailing of ghosts! His movements stiffened abruptly, his gathered chakra dissipated instantly, and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, cold sweat soaking his back in a heartbeat!

Who?! He jerked his head up, his Byakugan scanning the entire arena, yet he could not lock onto the source of the killing intent! The sensation came and went as quickly as it had arrived, as if it were merely a hallucination.

But that momentary stagnation gave Gekko Hayate the chance to intervene.

"The match is decided! The winner is Hyuga Neji!" Gekko Hayate appeared between the two in an instant, preventing Neji from taking further action.

Neji stood where he was, his chest heaving violently. He gripped his fists tightly, his gaze scanning the stands and the direction of the observation room with suspicion and unease. That killing intent just now... it definitely wasn't a hallucination! Was it that Uchiha Ling? Or someone else?

Hinata was quickly carried away by the medical team for treatment. Neji took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turbulent waves in his heart, and walked back to the stands in silence. As he passed beneath the observation room where Ling was, he instinctively looked up, but saw only his own reflection in the one-way glass.

Inside the observation room, Ling slowly withdrew the mental pressure he had deliberately released, which had fused the tyrannical aura of the Nine-Tails' chakra with his own killing intent. He had not used any ocular or ninja techniques; he had merely performed a silent warning through his own powerful mental strength and precise control over his killing intent.

"Drawing your blade against a comrade is not the act of the strong. Your enemy is above." Ling's voice, carried through an imperceptible mental connection, went directly into Neji's mind.

Neji's body jolted, and he turned his head sharply toward the observation room, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief! It really was him! Not only could he easily defeat him with taijutsu, but he could also perform such precise telepathic communication?!

Ling ignored him further and turned his gaze toward the arena. The next match was Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba.

This battle was full of surprises and comedy. Naruto was initially beaten into a corner by Kiba and his ninja dog, Akamaru, but in the end, he used an accidentally released fart (mixed with a trace amount of Nine-Tails chakra, with astonishing results) to turn the tide, and secured victory with a lucky "Naruto Uzumaki Barrage," once again proving his incredible luck and potential.

The corners of Ling's mouth curled up slightly; this was how Naruto should be.

The preliminaries proceeded match by match, and finally, the list of those advancing to the third official exam was confirmed: Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Neji, Rock Lee, Nara Shikamaru, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, as well as the disguised Haku and Kimimaro (who had each defeated unremarkable opponents to successfully advance).

The Third Hokage stepped forward and announced that the third official exam would be held in one month, at which time the lords and dignitaries of various nations would be invited to observe. This meant that the true storm would descend in one month's time.

The crowd dispersed, each going their separate ways to prepare for the exam a month later.

Ling walked out of the observation room and happened to run into Danzo, who was preparing to leave.

Danzo's single eye looked at Ling deeply, his voice low: "A brilliant match, isn't it? Especially that internal strife of the Hyuga clan. Sometimes, light that is too dazzling will only scorch oneself, or even... invite disaster."

This was a naked threat.

Ling met his gaze calmly, not yielding in the slightest: "Thank you for the reminder, Elder Danzo. However, I have always believed that true fire will only burn the weeds to ashes, while true gold fears no fire."

Their gazes met in the air, as if invisible sparks were flying.

A moment later, Danzo snorted coldly, leaned on his cane, and turned to leave.

Ling watched his retreating figure, knowing that a direct confrontation with this leader of "Root" was drawing ever closer. And the Chunin Exams finals in a month would undoubtedly be the stage where all contradictions would erupt.

He had to be fully prepared within this month.