The preliminaries continued, with one match after another unfolding under Gekko Hayate's supervision, driving the atmosphere inside the tower to one climax after another.
Aburame Shino easily defeated his opponent, showcasing his mysterious and powerful Bug Release. Temari used her enormous fan and Wind Release to defeat Tenten without breaking a sweat, demonstrating Sunagakure's strength. Rock Lee, meanwhile, faced a Sound Ninja and won easily with his dazzling Taijutsu and unwavering resolve, earning cheers from the entire crowd.
In the observation room, Ling watched it all calmly. His gaze occasionally swept over Danzo in the stands. The man sat motionless as a stone statue, but Ling could sense the calculations flickering in his single eye.
At last, the electronic display settled on the next match:
Hyuga Neji vs. Hyuga Hinata
A low murmur instantly rippled through the hall. A clash within the Hyuga Clan! A match between the Main Family and the Branch Family! Without a doubt, this was the most talked-about match of the preliminaries so far.
Neji walked onto the arena with an expressionless face. His pale eyes concealed anger and resentment, suppressed like a volcano ready to erupt. Hinata, by contrast, looked utterly timid. She kept her head down, her small hands clutching the hem of her clothes, and hardly dared to look at Neji.
"Begin!" Gekko Hayate signaled with a wave.
The fight was almost entirely one-sided.
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Neji showed no mercy, unleashing the ultimate technique of the Hyuga Style Gentle Fist from the very start. His figure moved like a phantom, his palms flashing through the air as he struck the vital points all over Hinata's body with ruthless precision!
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"
Hinata had no chance to fight back. Like a tiny boat caught in a storm, she was driven back by Neji's fierce assault, coughing up blood as her chakra pathways were severely blocked. She curled up on the ground in pain.
"Get up, Lady Hinata!" Neji's voice was cold and scornful. "Let everyone see just how pathetically weak you are, even though the Main Family placed such high hopes in you! This is fate! The Branch Family can only ever be a shield for the Main Family. You shouldn't even think of resisting!"
As he attacked, he mercilessly battered Hinata's already fragile spirit with his words. Every palm seemed to strike Hyuga Hiashi in the face—and the hearts of everyone who knew the secret of the Caged Bird.
"Brother Neji... I..." Hinata tried to struggle, but against Neji's overwhelming strength and presence, her resistance was utterly futile.
In the stands, Naruto shouted furiously, "You Byakugan jerk! How can you treat Hinata like that?! Stop it!"
But Neji ignored him. His attacks grew even more brutal, and he was about to leave Hinata gravely injured—perhaps even in mortal danger!
In the observation room, Ling's gaze turned utterly cold. He understood Neji's pain, but he disapproved of taking out one's anger on someone weaker. Besides, Hinata was an important bond in Naruto's future. He couldn't let her suffer an indelible psychological scar or lasting physical injury here.
Just as Neji gathered chakra once more, preparing to deliver the final blow, and Gekko Hayate moved to step in and end the match—
A terrifying killing intent, cold and crushing, as if steeped in oceans of blood and mountains of corpses, slammed down on Hyuga Neji like an invisible mountain!
It wasn't aimed at his life, but precisely at his mind and will! In that instant, Neji seemed to see endless piles of bones and hear the wails of the dead! His movements abruptly froze, and the chakra he had gathered scattered at once. He felt as if he'd been plunged into an ice cellar, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back!
Who was it?! He snapped his head up, sweeping his Byakugan across the entire arena, but couldn't pinpoint the source of the killing intent! The feeling had come and gone in an instant, as if it had been nothing but his imagination.
But that momentary pause gave Gekko Hayate the chance to intervene.
"The match is over! The winner is Hyuga Neji!" Gekko Hayate appeared between them in an instant, preventing Neji from attacking again.
Neji stood where he was, chest heaving. He clenched his fists and scanned the stands and the observation room, his gaze uncertain and wary. That killing intent just now... It couldn't have been his imagination! Was it Uchiha Ling? Or someone else?
The medical team quickly carried Hinata away for treatment. Neji took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart, then silently returned to the stands. As he passed beneath the observation room where Ling stood, he glanced up instinctively, but saw only his own reflection in the one-way glass.
In the observation room, Ling slowly reined in the mental pressure he had deliberately released, a blend of the Nine-Tails Chakra's violent aura and his own killing intent. He had used neither ocular techniques nor ninjutsu. Relying solely on his formidable mental strength and precise control of his killing intent, he had delivered a silent warning.
"Turning your blade on a comrade is no way for a strong person to act. Your enemy is above you." Ling's voice passed through a barely perceptible mental link, going straight into Neji's mind.
Neji's body jolted. He whipped around to look at the observation room, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief! It really was him! Not only could he defeat Neji effortlessly with Taijutsu, he could also transmit his thoughts with such precision?!
Ling paid him no further attention and turned his gaze toward the arena. The next match was Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba.
The fight was full of surprises and laughs. At first, Kiba and his Ninja Dog Akamaru overwhelmed Naruto, leaving him unable to fight back. But in the end, Naruto turned the tables with an accidental fart—one mixed with a trace of Nine-Tails Chakra, making it astonishingly potent—and won with a lucky "Naruto Uzumaki Barrage." Once again, he proved his incredible luck and potential.
Ling's lips curved slightly. That's more like the Naruto I know.
The preliminaries continued match by match, and eventually the list of candidates who had qualified for the third, official exam was finalized: Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Neji, Rock Lee, Nara Shikamaru, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, and the disguised Haku and Kimimaro, who had each defeated an unremarkable opponent to advance.
The Third Hokage stepped forward and announced that the third, official exam would be held in a month, with dignitaries and nobles from various countries invited to attend. That meant the real storm would arrive a month from now.
Everyone dispersed, going their separate ways to prepare for the exam a month later.
Ling walked out of the observation room and came face-to-face with Danzo, who was about to leave.
Danzo's single eye fixed on Ling. "Quite a fine match, wasn't it? Especially that little family feud within the Hyuga Clan. Sometimes, a light that shines too brightly ends up burning itself—or even... setting everything around it ablaze."
It was an outright threat.
Ling met his gaze calmly, refusing to back down. "Thank you for the warning, Elder Danzo. But I've always believed that true fire only burns weeds to ash, while pure gold has nothing to fear from the flames."
Their gazes met, as if invisible sparks were flying between them.
A moment later, Danzo gave a cold snort and turned away, leaning on his cane.
Watching him walk off, Ling knew that a direct confrontation with the leader of Root was drawing ever closer. And the Chunin Ninja Exams' final, a month from now, would undoubtedly become the stage where all their conflicts erupted.
He had to make thorough preparations during the month ahead.
Before you continue