Facing Naruto's bottomless blue eyes, Tenten felt as if her heart were about to leap out of her throat.
She instinctively backed away again and again until her back hit the cold wall with a thud, leaving her nowhere to retreat.
Her beautiful wide eyes were filled with terror, confusion, and a trace of curiosity she had not even noticed herself.
What was this man... this man who had just kicked the Hyuga Clan's genius into a trash can... going to do to her?
Silence her?
Or...
A hundred and eighty possibilities flashed through Tenten's mind in an instant, each one making her scalp tingle.
Yet Naruto did not reveal the ferocious expression she had imagined.
He merely walked toward her at an unhurried pace.
That powerful scent of sweat and sunshine wrapped around her as though it had substance.
I'm done for... Tenten closed her eyes in despair.
But the attack she expected never came.
After a soft rustling sound, she cautiously opened one eye.
Naruto had actually bent down and was leisurely picking up the medical scissors and bandages scattered across the floor, then gently placing them back into her hands as if he were handing over some precious gift.
The warmth from his palm passed through the roll of bandages, making Tenten shudder.
"Next time, hold them steady."
Naruto's slightly magnetic voice echoed through the hallway. It was clearly an ordinary reminder, yet Tenten's heart suddenly skipped half a beat, and her cheeks flushed red like apples.
Wh-what was going on?
This was not how the script was supposed to go!
She stared blankly at the blond boy before her. At such close range, she could clearly see the distinctive whisker marks on his face and those deep blue eyes that seemed capable of swallowing everything.
How was he some dead last?
Tenten felt as though she were about to stop breathing!
The utterly domineering aura around him, like that of a ruler standing above the world, was like a tyrannosaur that had just awakened from an ancient slumber!
It brimmed with primal, wild, shudder-inducing power!
Compared to that aura, Might Guy's so-called "passion of youth" was practically children playing house!
She did not even dare take a deep breath, afraid she might disturb the "humanoid beast" before her.
Just as Tenten's brain crashed and a storm of thoughts raged through her mind, Naruto suddenly stepped closer, his warm breath nearly brushing against her ear.
"Stop staring."
He chuckled softly, lowering his voice with a teasing hint of amusement.
"Your genius teammate is contemplating life in a trash can. He won't be getting out anytime soon."
"If you have time, look at me more. Am I not more handsome than that weakling from the branch family?"
Boom—!
The words surged through Tenten's limbs like an electric current, freezing her whole body.
Her ears were so itchy...
Her heart was beating so fast...
[Ding! Detected severe emotional fluctuations in bond target 'Tenten.' Heart rate has exceeded 150/min, adrenaline secretion is rapidly increasing... Comprehensive assessment: Favorability +30!] [Current Favorability: 30 (Love at First Sight)]
Hearing the system notification in his mind, the curve of Naruto's lips widened further.
Piece of cake!
Wasn't a lovestruck girl easy to handle?
He straightened up and took a step back, widening the distance between them again as he coolly slipped both hands back into his pockets.
The entire motion was smooth and effortless, exuding an air of carefree swagger.
Tenten watched helplessly as he turned around, humming an unknown tune and swaggering away as if nothing had happened, his shadow stretching long beneath the sunlight at the end of the hall.
Her mind was still completely blank.
Only after half a minute did she stiffly turn her head and look toward the other end of the hallway.
Inside the enormous metal trash can, Neji Hyuga's legs were still sticking out, twitching nervously from time to time. His head was buried deep in a pile of waste paper and medical cotton, and his Byakugan had completely rolled back.
On one side was a mysterious man who had left in style, absurdly powerful beyond measure.
On the other was her genius teammate stuck in a trash can, practically merged with the garbage.
Crack—
Tenten seemed to hear the worldview she had upheld for over a decade shatter all over the floor.
She violently shook her head, trying to throw those chaotic images out of her mind.
What dead last?
What perennial bottom-ranked student?
Those rumors at the academy were simply the funniest joke in the world!
Tenten recalled how her classmates, even herself, had once privately mocked Naruto as an idiot who only knew how to cause trouble.
But now?
One kick!
Just one casual kick!
It had utterly crippled Neji Hyuga, the publicly recognized strongest genius of their generation, praised even by Jonin!
That terrifying Monster Strength that made no sense...
That calm yet domineering presence in the face of powerful foes...
An incredibly primal and intense admiration for strength began growing wildly in her heart like weeds!
This man was way too wild!
So... so handsome!
Meanwhile.
Inside the Hokage's Office.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was puffing away on his beloved pipe, clouds of smoke billowing around his kindly, benevolent face.
Standing before him was Iruka, whose face was full of conflict and anxiety.
"Lord Hokage, th-the situation is like this..." Iruka wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling slightly. "Naruto... he's like a completely different person today."
"Oh? How so?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a smoke ring, his cloudy old eyes narrowing into slits.
"First, in the classroom, he sent Neji Hyuga flying with one slap. Neji's face swelled up like a pig's head! Then, during the graduation taijutsu test on the training ground, he instantly defeated Kiba Inuzuka in one move. Kiba is still lying in the medical ward! And that wasn't even the end of it. The medical ward just sent word that Neji Hyuga intercepted Naruto in the hallway again, only to have more than a dozen ribs broken by one kick and get thrown headfirst into a trash can!"
"Hm?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi paused.
Though Kiba Inuzuka was reckless, he was still a direct descendant of the Inuzuka Clan. He was not weak among the Genin, yet Naruto had instantly defeated him with a single slap?
Interesting.
Seeing that the Hokage did not seem to take it too seriously, Iruka anxiously stepped forward again. "And that's not all! The medical ward just sent word that Neji Hyuga... was beaten by Naruto too!"
"Neji?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was truly a little surprised this time. "Why would Neji clash with Naruto? How badly is he injured?"
Iruka swallowed, his expression becoming extremely strange. "He's... badly injured. Apparently, Naruto kicked him and... broke more than a dozen ribs. He was sent flying and crashed headfirst into a trash can in the hospital hallway. He still hasn't woken up..."
"Pff—cough, cough, cough!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi failed to hold back a mouthful of smoke, choking on it so badly that he sprang up from his chair. His pipe even fell to the floor.
His weathered old eyes widened like bells, his face full of disbelief.
"What did you say?! Naruto kicked... crippled Neji?!"
That genius of the Hyuga Clan?
That Neji Hyuga who was called the strongest of this generation, whom even he considered a promising talent?
The Naruto he remembered as nothing but a prankster had kicked him into a trash can?!
What kind of absurd hellish joke was this?!
"It's absolutely true, Lord Hokage!"
Iruka was practically about to cry.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face instantly became incomparably grave. Without wasting another moment, he pulled a crystal-clear crystal ball from a drawer.
"Telescope Technique!"
He formed hand seals and poured chakra into the crystal ball.
He had to confirm it immediately!
What earth-shattering change had happened to Naruto?!
Could it be... that something had gone wrong with the Nine-Tails' seal?!
At the thought of that possibility, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart sank to the bottom.
That was the peace the Fourth Hokage had exchanged with his life!
There could be no room for error!
Soon, the image within the crystal ball rippled, clearly revealing Naruto's figure.
At this critical moment that had the entire Hidden Leaf leadership on edge, Naruto was walking leisurely home with his hands in his pockets, humming a horribly off-key tune.
His vitality was outrageously robust, his steps steady and powerful. The vast life force within him nearly seemed ready to overflow through the crystal ball's image, and faintly, Hiruzen Sarutobi even thought he heard the roar of tigers and the cry of dragons!
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