Winds Rise

Asuma's face went black as ink.

After apologizing, Neji left directly. He had already apologized, so what more did they want?

Hinata was swiftly sent to the hospital. If they delayed any longer, her injuries would practically heal on their own.

Neji had not been especially vicious to begin with. Hinata only looked pitifully battered on the surface, but she was the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Main House. At that level, it already counted as a serious injury.

The matches continued, but there was not much to see. Simple fighting was not as interesting as watching people tear into each other; the audience preferred melodramatic drama.

Gaara defeated Rock Lee in seconds, but he did not deliberately snap his ankle. Sakura also barely passed the exam.

Kakashi halfheartedly congratulated Naruto and Sakura before being summoned alone by the Hokage. After that, he set off for the Uchiha Compound.

"The Third sent me to ask why you withdrew from the match. Come up with a reason," Kakashi asked Sasuke with his dead-fish eyes.

As a ninja who had once worked alongside several Uchiha, Kakashi understood the Uchiha Clan's temperament fairly well. Other than Obito, most Uchiha were arrogant.

--Perhaps Obito had been arrogant too. Although he had been a dead last, he had always possessed inexplicable confidence. As long as he awakened the Sharingan, he could crush every genius.

It was hard to imagine something like withdrawing from a match happening to an Uchiha. Should they not be the sort to stubbornly talk big even after being defeated?

"Oh, probably because it was boring. Everyone competing is trash, and I couldn't be bothered to make a move." Sasuke's attitude was exceptionally perfunctory.

Kakashi sighed helplessly. "Don't you have a more reasonable excuse? You're making it hard for me to explain this to the Hokage."

Sasuke shot Kakashi a sidelong glance, and Kakashi understood instantly. As his teacher, it was time to shoulder his responsibility and make up an excuse for his student.

Kakashi flicked his sleeve and left.

Once Kakashi disappeared from sight, Sasuke slipped back into the underground chamber, leaving only a Shadow Clone at home.

In truth, this place could no longer be called "home." The desolate, dilapidated compound was stifling and oppressive. Standing on the land his Uchiha ancestors had built, he still had to wear a mask and hide his true emotions at every moment.

"Thank you for this heavy love, my dearest brother. Just wait. It won't be long before we meet again. When that time comes, don't be too shocked. I promise that I'll love you as deeply and unforgivably as you loved me..." Sasuke muttered to himself, crazed as a madman.

The day after the preliminaries ended, Hiruzen Sarutobi personally summoned Sasuke.

"Sasuke Uchiha, the Third wants to see you." Kakashi made another trip to the Uchiha Compound.

Sasuke and Kakashi walked toward the Hokage Building, arriving at the Hokage's Office without obstruction. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat kindly in his seat, seriously reviewing documents.

"Third, Sasuke is here," Kakashi said.

Only then did Hiruzen Sarutobi look up. He gave a soft cough and went straight to the point. "Sasuke, do you want to rebuild the Uchiha Clan?"

"Hm?" Sasuke was genuinely confused. Why had Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly brought up such a topic?

"Sasuke, I want to emphasize the importance of the Joint Chunin Exams. This is not only a platform to display the village's overall strength, but also the best stage to display yourself."

The moment Sasuke heard Hiruzen Sarutobi say this, he understood. Next, Hiruzen Sarutobi acted as though he had the Uchiha Clan's and Sasuke's best interests at heart. In short, it all came down to one sentence: "Young man, for your clan's prosperity, hurry and participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams."

"I remember that I publicly forfeited," Sasuke said.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze grew slightly uncomfortable. He only said that all the problems had been resolved and that Sasuke merely needed to appear on time.

Forcing Sasuke to compete was mainly a matter of public opinion. The truth about the Night of the Massacre had nearly spread throughout the Shinobi World, but Konoha could never admit it. They could only insist that it was a slanderous rumor.

What could be more effective than having Sasuke, an Uchiha survivor, personally clarify things in public?

At the same time, they could show the Shinobi World how well Konoha had taken care of Sasuke and how outstandingly he had grown. (Perhaps it was mainly for Itachi to see.)

Sasuke had thought of some of those reasons, while others had not occurred to him. But he did not want to keep listening to Hiruzen Sarutobi's nonsense, so he nodded and agreed.

--It was only a verbal agreement anyway. If he did not show up on the day of the finals, what could anyone do to him?

Hiruzen Sarutobi had thought he would need to persuade Sasuke for a long time before he agreed to help clarify the "rumors" during the finals. He had not expected Sasuke to agree so easily, and he could not help feeling delighted. In an instant, he felt that Konoha's secrecy work had been excellent; Sasuke surely had never heard those "rumors."

Afterward, Sasuke left the Hokage Building. On his way back to the compound, a strange emotion filled his heart. Hiruzen Sarutobi was treating him like an idiot, and he was deeply displeased. There was an obvious difference between him and Second Pillar, so why did everyone still treat him like a fool?

There was a period of rest after the preliminaries. Naruto Uzumaki and Jiraiya made full use of the time to train. Jiraiya had met Naruto not long after returning to the village, and Naruto had learned the Rasengan ahead of time, able to use it back in the Forest of Death.

The Curse Mark Orochimaru had bestowed upon him had also become part of Naruto's strength. Jiraiya had initially worried that the Curse Mark might have hidden dangers, but Naruto seemed to have enjoyed only its benefits and was completely immune to its negative effects. Orochimaru's spiritual corrosion had no effect on him whatsoever.

Recently, Naruto had constantly pestered Jiraiya about Orochimaru because he had a special feeling about him.

Jiraiya was quite willing to talk about Orochimaru, but Naruto's excessive attention toward him still caught his notice.

Naruto could not explain why he cared about Orochimaru. That feeling itself was impossible to describe clearly.

Could this Curse Mark be making Naruto develop favorable feelings toward Orochimaru? How insidious! Jiraiya thought bitterly. He assumed it was all Orochimaru's scheme and that he had to put an end to it!

Elsewhere, Neji Hyuga sorted through his possessions, secretly moved his parents' remains, and then temporarily moved into Sasuke's home. Because of his shocking actions during the preliminaries, Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma put pressure on the Hyuga Clan, and the Hyuga Main House was now looking for trouble with Neji. Although the Main House had few people, there were too many dogs. Some branch family members had knelt for so long that they could no longer stand, nor did they want anyone else to stand.

For branch family members like that, even if the Caged Bird on their heads were removed one day, they probably still would not be able to walk out of their cage.

True freedom was not merely freedom of the body, but freedom of the soul as well.

"Can something like freedom truly be obtained through another person's charity?" Neji Hyuga sometimes fell into such confusion as well.