Sibling Showdown

Kankuro let out a roar. In that instant, he forgot his fear, charged in front of Temari, and glared at Gaara!

"Kankuro!"

"Move aside!"

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

Temari was getting angry too. She had been speaking nicely all along—who had she offended?

"Temari..."

"He really will kill you!"

Kankuro was frantic. If that monster got stubborn, something could really go wrong!

As the two faced Gaara, they failed to notice that, at the entrance to the Central Tower—

Three figures appeared. Gaara stopped his attack because of those three figures!

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

Seeing the three of them appear, Gaara's lips curled slightly. He withdrew his attack, turned, and headed back toward his room!

"K-Kankuro!"

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

"Y-yeah, he... smiled... right?"

The two stood there in a daze, not even noticing Gaara had walked away.

After the three members of 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, a preliminary round would be held, with the winners advancing!

The preliminaries began immediately. The contestants drew lots and faced off in pairs!

The first match: Sasuke versus Akado Yoroi!

In the original story, Sasuke had struggled terribly 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, defeating Akado Yoroi with taijutsu alone!

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

The following matchups were exactly the same as in the original story. Was it rigged, or merely a coincidence?

The second match: Zaku versus Shino Aburame!

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

The third match: Misumi Tsurugi versus Kankuro!

Kankuro won. One of the three Sound ninja was eliminated, and two of the three spies were gone!

The fourth match: Sakura Haruno versus Ino Yamanaka!

The two girls still met in the preliminaries, but unlike in the original story, their fight was not a sleep-inducing one!

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

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

"Ino!"

"Why?"

Sakura was baffled. Ino, who had always been strong-willed and carried herself like the big sister, had actually surrendered!

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

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

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

"Keep going forward. Since you've bloomed, bloom as beautifully as you can!"

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

"Okay!"

Sakura nodded hard. Then the two exchanged a smile; everything was understood without words!

The fifth match: Tenten versus Temari!

Tenten was completely countered by Temari, losing when Temari's Three-Star Fan had only been opened to its second star!

The sixth match: Shikamaru Nara versus Kin Tsuchi!

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

The seventh match: Naruto Uzumaki versus Kiba Inuzuka!

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

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

And against Naruto's taijutsu, even using his clan's secret techniques, Kiba could only fight him evenly!

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

In the arena stands, Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi watched the match to its end!

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

The eighth match: Hinata Hyuga versus Neji Hyuga!

The showdown between the two siblings drew everyone's interest. It was also a clash of Gentle Fist—now this was worth watching!

"Hinata, do you want to fight?"

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

"Brother Neji, I want to try!"

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

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

"Alright, then come on!"

"Mm, Brother Neji, I know I'm not your match, but I want everyone to see my progress!"

"Alright, then fight without holding back!"

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

"Begin!"

"Byakugan!"

Hinata gave a sharp cry, instantly activating her Byakugan and attacking Neji!

Neji activated his Byakugan as well and dealt with her calmly!

It was rare for little Hinata to want to be serious. Naturally, Neji had to indulge her!

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

A Gentle Fist exchange did not have the dazzling, devastating spectacle of ninjutsu!

But... every move carried dangers even greater than ninjutsu!

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

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

That was far harder to treat than external wounds!

Neji never attacked proactively, continually feeding Hinata moves!

Hinata attacked again and again, while Neji kept blocking!

The two moved in strange footwork, palms clashing one after another. Neji held back every strike, afraid of hurting Hinata!

Bang!

After another palm clash, the two separated. Hinata breathed slightly harder as she looked at Neji!

"Brother Neji, be careful!"

"Mm!"

From Hinata's perspective, Neji was within the attack range of her Bagua Palm. A Bagua 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 go!

"Hinata, keep going!"

"You can do it!"

Neji encouraged her. Even when Hinata used the Thirty-Two Palms, he remained calm, still finding time to encourage her!

Hinata's face was filled with determination as she cried out!

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

The force behind Hinata's palm strikes surged instantly. Neji was no longer as relaxed as before and used Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms as well to respond!

Neji discovered in surprise that Hinata's strength was immense. Though it was Gentle Fist, each of her palm strikes carried a trace of the Hard Fist's force!

The sixty-four palms ended!

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

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

"Hinata, can you still continue?"

"Brother Neji, I... can still do it!"

"Be careful!"

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

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

Watching the airflow rush toward him, Neji circulated his chakra and struck the airflow with his palm!

The airflow instantly exploded apart!