Zaku's body slammed hard into the moss-covered wall.
Smack.
He slid down the wall like a sack of spoiled flour.
His grotesquely twisted arms dangled limply in the muddy water.
Shards of bone and metal pierced his clothes, mingling with the blood.
His forehead rested against the ground. He had completely lost consciousness.
A few mold-speckled flakes of plaster fell from the wall and landed on his head.
A small puff of dust rose.
Inside the hall.
There was a deathly silence.
Every breath seemed to have been forcibly cut off at that moment.
Whether they were the examinees standing below or the Elite Jonin team leaders leaning against the railing.
Even the old men on the raised platform stood frozen like stone statues.
Wind blew in through the main entrance, making the torch flames dance wildly.
They roared in the draft.
"Well, that's it? He's down already?"
Naruto blinked his blue eyes, stuck his hands into his pockets, and scratched hard at his upper thigh.
Plenty of sand had gotten into his pants, and the chafing made him itch.
"Sasuke, did you... see that?"
He turned to look at the black-haired boy beside him.
Sasuke bit his lower lip so hard that a white mark appeared.
A trace of blood seeped from the wound, spreading a metallic sweetness through his mouth.
"No."
Sasuke forced the word through clenched teeth.
His scarlet Two-Tomoe Sharingan trembled violently.
"He was too fast."
"My eyes couldn't even catch his shadow."
Nearby.
Tenten clutched an old handkerchief she used to wipe away sweat.
It had yellowed slightly and gave off the sour smell of stale sweat.
She twisted it tightly between her fingers, her palms slick with cold sweat and slipping against the fabric.
"Neji, what about you?"
Her voice was dry as she