Sasuke Withdraws

"Lord Third!" A young man dropped to one knee before Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Please leave the rest to me. After all, I'm the referee for the preliminaries."

The young man had heavy dark circles under his eyes and looked extremely frail, coughing twice from time to time. He was Gekko Hayate, an unfortunate ninja from the manga.

He had been killed by Sunagakure Jonin Baki and Kabuto Yakushi. Sadly, he had died for nothing. Konoha never sought justice for him. By the end of the story, Kabuto Yakushi had even been recruited by Konoha and became the director of an orphanage, living a glamorous life. Konoha had also established friendly relations with Sunagakure, and Baki was living a glamorous life as well.

Poor Gekko Hayate's fiancée did not even know whom to seek revenge against. For the sake of the so-called greater good, she could only endure all this injustice.

"Because too many people passed the second round, we've decided to hold preliminaries to eliminate some contestants. If anyone feels unwell or believes their abilities are limited and does not wish to continue, raise your hand now to withdraw. I'll begin the preliminary draw shortly," Gekko Hayate announced loudly.

Very soon, someone raised a hand. "I withdraw!"

Everyone looked at the people with their hands raised, then their eyes widened in shock. "Senior Kabuto, Sasuke, why are you withdrawing?"

Naruto looked utterly stunned. The Sasuke he knew might have been harsh, but he was strong. How could he leave in such a manner?

Kabuto Yakushi smiled as he offered a few explanations, putting on a helpless expression. Sasuke, however, could not be bothered to respond to anyone. He seemed to be merely informing them that he would not participate in the remaining exams, his attitude perfunctory, as though it were some insignificant matter.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, seated above, was deeply displeased. Sasuke was Konoha's last Uchiha, yet he could not even reach the Chunin Ninja Exams finals. Had he considered the negative impact this would have?

And hadn't the Uchiha Clan always cared greatly about pride? Did Sasuke know how humiliating it was to withdraw midway without cause?

—As someone who had peeked at the script, Sasuke himself did not care much about saving face. Besides, even if he failed the exam and did not earn Chunin qualifications, did that mean he lacked Chunin-level combat ability?

He had been forced to take the exam earlier because the team was bound together. If one person did not participate, it would drag down the entire team. Sasuke had needed to ensure that Naruto encountered Orochimaru.

Now that he had the chance to withdraw, Sasuke had no need to hesitate at all.

After withdrawing, Sasuke left immediately without staying to watch the matches. He had important things to do.

Neji glanced at Sasuke's retreating back and smiled silently. Soon. The knot in his heart, the mountain weighing down on him, would soon be destroyed!

Watching those hot-blooded Genin battle one another, Neji hypocritically felt sorrow for them.

Fate truly was full of malice. Especially when he saw Kiba Inuzuka collapse because of one of Naruto's farts, the grief in Neji's eyes became even more apparent.

Kiba Inuzuka might not have been among the most outstanding students at the Ninja Academy, but he had certainly been above average. His excellent taijutsu, combined with the Inuzuka Clan's secret techniques involving ninja dogs, made him exceptionally strong among Genin.

Yet Kiba Inuzuka had fallen because of Naruto's fart. It was more absurd than the ridiculous plot of some trashy novel.

Not long ago, Naruto had still been a dead last. He had failed both academics and moral conduct, and during the graduation exam, he could not even produce a proper clone. That was why people called him a dead last.

Perhaps some would say Naruto worked very hard. Honestly, that was like idol fans claiming their beloved oppa worked very hard.

"Hardworking" Naruto had surpassed the results of Kiba Inuzuka's years of effort in only a short time after graduation.

The words "hard work" really were... marvelous~

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Kiba Inuzuka would use his newly developed Three-Headed Wolf Clone Technique. Yet for Naruto, the more advanced clone technique, the Multiple Shadow Clone, had been learned on the very night he failed his graduation exam, through stealing the Scroll of Seals.

"I wonder how Kiba feels right now. Being taken out by a fart will probably become a stain on his life, won't it?" Neji sneered. Rather than calling it the strongest "unpredictability," it would be more accurate to call it the strongest "inevitability." Starting behind others in life was not frightening. What was frightening was that everyone's ending had already been arranged in advance. No matter how they struggled along the way, they could not change the future's outcome.

Just like Neji himself. No matter how hard he worked or how powerful he became in the future, if the Main House wanted him dead, all they had to do was lightly activate the Curse Mark.

That was why, even though he knew the mysterious "Hyuga ancestor" had serious problems, he had still pledged himself to him without hesitation. At the very least, he could help Neji escape the Caged Bird.

In the ninja world, avenues for advancement were pitifully scarce. For ordinary people without Otsutsuki blood, it seemed as though their upper limit had already been sealed shut.

The strongest among ordinary people could probably only reach the level of Jiraiya or the Third Raikage, or be like Might Guy, trading their lives for a moment of brilliance.

As an ordinary person in the Shinobi World, regardless of one's starting point, as long as one had nothing to do with the Otsutsuki, no matter how desperately one ran, the finish line could only be here.

Neji had once believed he was a bird trapped in a cage, and that the Curse Mark was the cage imprisoning him. Sasuke was also a caged bird, bound by the village and family ties. Later, after he peeked at the script, he suddenly realized that everyone in the world was a caged bird. This world itself was one enormous birdcage.

Some people merely occupied a relatively larger area within that birdcage, then built smaller cages of their own within it to imprison others, believing they had turned the tables and become masters of their own fate.

Little did they know, this birdcage had only one exit, and it was locked.

"Neji, it's your turn." Tenten nudged Neji, who had been lost in thought.

At that moment, two names appeared on the electronic draw screen—Neji Hyuga VS Hinata Hyuga.

This probably was not fate's malice. Someone was manipulating things behind the scenes. Neji's expression remained blank. Since that was the case, then he would take it head-on!

Neji leaped into the arena, while Hinata timidly walked in as well.

Neji quickly assumed a fighting stance, unwilling to exchange even a single word with Hinata.

Certainly, Hinata was a good girl, but to Neji, there was a class conflict between them. Only when Hinata was willing was he "Brother Neji."

"Are those two siblings?" Naruto climbed up to the second-floor viewing platform, looking puzzled.

"They're from the Hyuga Main House and branch house. But I heard there's always been some estrangement between the branch house and the Main House," Rock Lee casually explained.

Perhaps simple, hot-blooded people could resonate with one another and even come to admire each other, which was why Rock Lee was so friendly toward Naruto Uzumaki.