Lone Wolf, Gaara of the Hidden Sand Village

Three seconds after Naruto finished speaking, the entire arena fell deathly silent.

Then, with a boom, the place exploded into an uproar.

"Holy shit! You can insult people like that? Holy shit, I learned something today. But honestly, Naruto really is arrogant enough. Does it feel that good to roast someone? How can he be this overbearing?!"

"I get it now! So this is the highest realm of showing off!"

"Write it down, write it down! 'You can smile and call me Naruto-kun, but I can only glare coldly and call you a filthy mutt.' That line needs to be highlighted! I'm using it next time I roast someone!"

A frenzy of note-taking instantly swept through the stands.

Some newly graduated Genin pulled out the mission notebooks they carried with them and scribbled furiously. The title written across the top was: <On the Self-Cultivation of a Show-Off: The Naruto Godfather Edition>.

Some Chunin who were usually stern and taciturn pretended to adjust their forehead protectors while secretly writing in their palms with their fingertips, muttering under their breaths.

Even several ANBU hiding behind pillars could not help exchanging coded signals, all about Naruto's classic lines from moments ago.

Only a few Jonin twitched at the corners of their mouths and silently complained:

"You idiots, what the hell is the point of memorizing the lines alone?!"

"Showing off was never about words. It's about strength!"

"If you've got the skill, go kick apart Rotation and slam a Hyūga genius into a wall so hard nobody can pry him out!"

At the edge of the arena.

Two Hyūga Jonin sent to clean up the mess stopped in their tracks and exchanged looks.

They had come here holding back their anger.

Neji was a once-in-a-century genius of the Hyuga Clan. Having his face kicked in public was practically a slap across the entire clan's face.

They had originally intended to give Naruto a show of force before taking Neji away with dignity.

But now.

Looking into Naruto's icy eyes, at the stone slabs still cracking beneath his feet, then at the human-shaped crater firmly embedded in the wall.

The two Jonin swallowed at the same time.

Only one thought remained in their minds:

They could not afford to provoke him.

This blond brat really dared to kill.

They cautiously skirted around Naruto and hurried to the base of the wall, working together to dig the half-conscious Neji out of the rubble.

As they passed Hinata, both of them stopped without prompting and gave the eldest daughter of the main family a deep bow.

"Lady Hinata, are you all right?"

Their tone could not have been more respectful.

What a joke.

Hinata had just exchanged Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms with Neji and had not fallen behind in the slightest.

That level of strength was not merely among the best of the younger generation in the main family. Even among all shinobi her age in Konoha, she stood at the very top.

Everyone had once thought Hinata was a weak and timid failure, unworthy of being the main family's heir.

But now, it seemed—

She had merely been playing the pig to eat the tiger.

If she truly got serious, it was not certain whether Neji could even defeat her.

The two men quietly counted themselves lucky.

Fortunately, they had not put on airs as senior Jonin in front of Hinata earlier.

Otherwise, the ones embedded in the wall now might have been the two of them.

Naruto glanced at them but said nothing.

After confirming that Neji had been taken away, he turned and grabbed Hinata by the wrist, about to head toward the stands.

Hinata's face instantly turned crimson. She lowered her head and obediently followed behind him, her fingertips still faintly burning.

Just then.

The referee's voice, carrying a barely noticeable tremor, rang throughout the entire arena:

"Next match! Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha—versus! Gaara of the Hidden Sand Village!"

Naruto halted.

His heart skipped a beat.

This kid is... the One-Tail Jinchuriki.

He frowned slightly and grumbled inwardly, Winning without revealing at least some of my trump cards will be difficult.

Deep within his consciousness.

The Nine-Tails, which had been lazily dozing, suddenly opened its scarlet eyes.

"The One-Tail?!"

The Nine-Tails' voice carried barely concealed excitement and savagery. "Hahahaha! Excellent! I can finally beat up that stinking raccoon! Kid! Don't hold back! Beat it half to death! Then we'll devour its chakra and let it know who the true king of the Tailed Beasts is!"

Naruto's mouth twitched as he silently replied, Shut up. Keep talking, and I'll seal your mouth shut with a sealing technique today.

"Hmph. I don't even want to talk to you," the Nine-Tails snorted, then immediately fell silent.

But the spectators had already gone completely mad.

"Gaara! It's Gaara!"

"Other than Naruto's team, he's the only monster who passed the second trial with ninety-eight points! And he did it all alone!"

"Widow's Blade killer god Naruto Uzumaki versus the Hidden Sand Village's Asura, Gaara! What kind of heavenly matchup is this?!"

"I'm betting on Gaara! In the forest last time, he killed more than twenty shinobi by himself without even blinking!"

"Bullshit! I'm betting on Naruto! He can kick Rotation to pieces with one kick. What the hell is Gaara compared to that?!"

Cheers, arguments, and the cries of gamblers merged into a massive wave of sound that nearly blew the roof off the arena.

In the stands.

Temari suddenly clenched her Three-Star Fan so hard her knuckles turned white.

As she looked at the blond boy below, an inexplicable unease rose within her.

"Kankuro."

She said softly, "Gaara, he..."

"Don't worry."

Kankuro's voice was somewhat hoarse as well. "Gaara won't lose."

Yet his hand uncontrollably pressed against the Crow Puppet on his back.

Kakashi took out Icha Icha Paradise again, but after flipping through it for a while, he did not read a single word.

His Sharingan remained fixed on the Hidden Sand Village's seating area.

"Might Guy."

He said gravely, "Once the match starts, be ready to intervene at any time."

The smile vanished from Might Guy's face as well. He nodded heavily. "Understood."

In the shadows.

A vicious glint flashed through Danzo's one eye.

When two tigers fight, one is bound to be injured.

He sneered inwardly, It would be best if they killed each other. Then both the Nine-Tails and the One-Tail would belong to Konoha.

Not far away.

Rock Lee suddenly sprang to his feet, flashing Naruto a set of gleaming white teeth.

"Wonderful! I can see youth!"

He clenched his fists, green flames seeming to burn all around him. "Neji, the opponent I value most, was actually defeated by you, Naruto! It seems my youth needs an even stronger target!"

"I've decided! It's you! Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto's mouth twitched even harder.

Looking at Rock Lee's fired-up expression, he felt uncomfortable all over.

Fine.

As long as you were not embarrassed, then everyone else was.

Still, a trace of warmth rose in his heart.

In the original story.

This hot-blooded fool had been willing to risk breaking a leg just to fight Gaara to the death.

Now.

The one facing Gaara had become him.

Rock Lee's fate should be rewritten as well.

Just then.

A bone-piercing chill suddenly swept across the entire arena.

The once-noisy crowd instantly fell silent.

Everyone shuddered instinctively.

The air filled with a faint scent of blood and sand.

"Rustle... rustle..."

The faint sound of sand scraping together came from the arena entrance.

It grew closer and clearer.

Everyone's gaze turned toward it in unison.

Amid the swirling yellow sand, a red-haired boy carrying a gourd slowly emerged.

His footsteps were light, as light as feathers.

Yet with every step he took, a deep footprint was pressed into the stone beneath him.

He did not take the stairs.

Instead, the sand beneath his feet suddenly surged upward, carrying his body as he slowly flew toward the center of the arena.

Yellow sand filled the sky.

He floated in midair with his head lowered, the red hair over his forehead concealing his eyes.

That appearance.

Made him seem like an Asura crawling out of hell.

His entrance could not have been more imposing.

At last, he raised his head.

He revealed a pair of emotionless, golden-sand eyes.

Those eyes passed over everyone else and settled directly on Naruto.

Then he grinned, revealing a strange, cold smile.

"Blond brat."

His voice was hoarse and low, like sandpaper scraping across wood, carrying a chilling indifference.

"If you fight me, be prepared to die."

"I don't care how famous Naruto Uzumaki is."

"I only have one question—"

"Are you ready to become my toy?"