Sibling Showdown

Kankuro let out a roar. At that moment, he forgot all fear and rushed in front of Temari, glaring at Gaara!

"Kankuro!"

"Move aside!"

"I want to see whether he really intends to kill his own sister today!"

Temari was getting angry too. She had been trying to reason with him all along—who had she offended?

"Temari..."

"He really will kill you!"

Kankuro was frantic. With one being a terrifying monster and the other as stubborn as a mule, something could really go wrong!

As the two faced Gaara, neither of them noticed that three figures had appeared at the entrance to the Central Tower!

Gaara stopped attacking precisely because of those three figures!

The ones who had arrived were Team 7. After Tian Ge took Karin away, Naruto and the others had headed straight for the Central Tower!

Seeing the three of them, Gaara's lips curled faintly. He withdrew his attack, turned around, and headed back to his room!

"K-Kankuro!"

"Gaara... he smiled just now, right?"

"Y-Yeah, he... smiled, didn't he?"

The two stood there blankly, not even noticing when Gaara had walked far away.

After Team 7 entered the Central Tower, the second stage of the Chunin Ninja Exams officially ended!

The Third Hokage appeared and announced that the third-stage finals would officially be held one month later!

Before that, there would first be preliminary matches, with the winners advancing!

The preliminaries began immediately, and the contestants drew lots to face off in pairs!

The first match was Sasuke versus Akado Yoroi!

In the original story, Sasuke had struggled greatly because the Curse Mark was eating away at him!

Now, there was no suspense at all. Sasuke did not even activate his Sharingan!

He did not use any ninjutsu either. With taijutsu alone, he defeated Akado Yoroi!

Akado Yoroi's chakra-absorbing device was completely useless!

The following matchups were exactly the same as in the original story. Was it coincidence, or had someone rigged the draws?

The second match was Zaku Abumi versus Shino!

Although Zaku had not been injured this time, he still lost to Konoha's undefeated war god, Shino!

The third match was Misumi Tsurugi versus Kankuro!

Kankuro won. One of the Sound ninja trio was eliminated, and so was the second of the three spies!

The fourth match was Sakura Haruno versus Ino Yamanaka!

The two sisters still met in the preliminaries, but unlike in the original story, their fight was not boring enough to put people to sleep!

Ino immediately raised her hand and conceded. During the first round a few days ago, she had seen Sakura's domineering figure!

Ino knew that Sakura had already begun to blossom, and that she was definitely no match for her now!

"Ino!"

"Why?"

Sakura was utterly confused. Ino, who had always been strong-willed and acted like the big sister, had actually surrendered!

Ino smiled faintly and ran over to take Sakura's hand.

"Sakura, you've already begun to blossom!"

"There's no need for us sisters to fight each other. Besides, I know very well that I'm no match for you right now!"

"Keep going all the way. Since you've blossomed, then blossom as beautifully as you can!"

"This time, carry my share with you too. I'll catch up!"

"Okay!"

Sakura nodded fiercely. Then the two smiled at each other, everything understood without a word!

The fifth match was Tenten versus Temari!

Tenten was completely countered by Temari. She had already lost when Temari's Three-Star Fan was only opened to its second star!

The sixth match was Shikamaru Nara versus Kin Tsuchi!

Shikamaru still relied on his sharp mind to defeat Kin Tsuchi!

The seventh match was Naruto Uzumaki versus Kiba Inuzuka!

Kiba used every one of his clan's secret techniques, yet he still could not do anything to Naruto!

With a Rasengan in one hand and the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, Naruto had turned forming Rasengans into an art!

And when it came to taijutsu against Naruto, even with his clan's secret techniques, Kiba could only manage an even fight!

Naruto's strength made everyone realize just how much Team 7 had changed!

Up in the stands, Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi watched the match!

They finally understood. No wonder they were not worried in the slightest. If their own students were this strong, why the hell would they worry?

The eighth match was Hinata Hyuga versus Neji Hyuga!

The sibling showdown drew everyone's interest, and it was also a clash of Gentle Fist. That was sure to be worth watching!

"Hinata, do you want to fight?"

Neji looked at Hinata with a gentle expression and asked softly.

"Brother Neji, I want to try!"

Hinata looked at Neji, her large eyes filled with eagerness!

She had become much more confident lately. Even knowing that she was no match for Neji, she still wanted to try!

"Alright, then come on!"

"Okay, Brother Neji. I know I'm not your match, but I want everyone to see how much I've improved!"

"Alright, then fight without holding back!"

"The eighth preliminary match: Hinata Hyuga versus Neji Hyuga!"

"The match begins!"

"Byakugan!"

Hinata gave a clear cry, instantly activating her Byakugan as she rushed at Neji!

Neji activated his Byakugan as well and met her attacks calmly!

It was rare for little sister Hinata to want to get serious, so naturally Neji had to indulge her!

"Bang, bang, bang, bang..."

A Gentle Fist exchange did not look as flashy or destructively powerful as ninjutsu!

But... every move contained dangers even greater than those of ninjutsu!

The Byakugan could see through the body's meridians and chakra pathways!

Once struck, one's meridians and internal organs would be injured!

That was far harder to treat than external wounds!

Neji never attacked first, constantly feeding Hinata moves!

Hinata attacked again and again while Neji continuously blocked!

The two stepped through strange footwork, palms colliding one after another. Neji held back with every strike, afraid of hurting Hinata!

Bang!

After another palm collision, the two separated. Hinata panted lightly as she looked at Neji!

"Brother Neji, be careful!"

"Mm!"

From Hinata's perspective, Neji was within the attack range of her Bagua Palm. An Eight Trigrams formation lit up beneath her feet!

"Eight Trigrams One Palm!"

"Two Palms!"

"Four Palms!"

"Eight Palms!"

"Sixteen Palms!"

"Thirty-Two Palms!"

Neji looked at Hinata. In the past, this was as far as she could get!

"Hinata, keep going!"

"You can do it!"

Neji encouraged her. Even after Hinata used the Thirty-Two Palms, he remained calm enough to encourage her!

Hinata's face was resolute as she cried out!

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

The force behind Hinata's palms instantly surged. Neji was no longer as relaxed as before and used the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms as well to counter her!

Neji discovered in surprise that Hinata's strikes were incredibly powerful. Though it was Gentle Fist, each palm carried a trace of the fierceness of a hard fist!

The sixty-four palms ended!

Fine sweat covered Hinata's forehead, but her expression remained resolute!

Neji smiled at her, his eyes full of praise. This was the first time he had ever seen Hinata so determined!

"Hinata, can you still continue?"

"Brother Neji, I... I can!"

"Be careful!"

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

Neji was slightly startled. Hinata had actually mastered the Vacuum Palm, and even he had not known about it.

Watching the incoming blast of air, Neji circulated his chakra and struck it with his palm!

The air blast instantly exploded apart!