The Fight Had Already Begun

The next day, at the Chunin Ninja Exams venue.

Hinata's cheeks were still a little hot.

When she woke up that morning, she realized she had been sleeping sprawled on top of Kanami. In other words, they had spent the entire night asleep in each other's arms.

Her heart had been pounding ever since she woke up.

It was even harder to suppress than the nervousness brought on by the exam.

Especially when she remembered that she seemed to have dreamed of eating rice dumplings last night...

Thinking about it now, it seemed like she had been nibbling on Kanami's cheek.

"Should be starting soon, right?"

Kanami took Hinata's little hand and led her into the hallway.

Hinata, whose face had turned red from having her hand held, asked, "Kanami, what's going on?"

Kanami leaned close to her ear and whispered, "There's going to be a confession scene here in a bit."

A confession?

Hinata's breathing quickened, her eyes widening.

She muttered quietly, "N-No... There are too many people here. You can't confess here..."

Just then, the surroundings grew noisy.

A youthful guy in a green jumpsuit flashed his white teeth and gave Haruno Sakura, who stood before him with pink hair, his most confident smile. "My name is Rock Lee! Please go out with me!"

Haruno Sakura's face darkened. "Absolutely not! Your eyebrows are too thick!"

"No!" Rock Lee, dressed in his green jumpsuit, looked utterly heartbroken. He braced himself against the wall, supporting his body as though he were about to collapse.

"So it wasn't Kanami who was going to confess..."

Hinata realized she had misunderstood, and her face turned even redder.

She covered her cheeks, not daring to look up at Kanami.

Just then, a man and a woman approached from the distance.

They were Neji Hyuga and Tenten, members of Might Guy's Team 3.

Seeing Rock Lee looking as though his soul had been sucked out of him, Tenten asked curiously, "Lee, what are you doing?"

"I..."

Before Rock Lee could cry out his grievances, Neji Hyuga's question drew both his and Tenten's attention.

"Hey, what's your name?" Sasuke walked slowly toward him with his hands in his pockets.

He said coldly, "Before asking someone else's name, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"

After exchanging a glance, the two went their separate ways.

Kanami rubbed Hinata's head.

"Let's go. The confession's already over."

"Mm."

Hinata nodded and followed behind Kanami.

As she left with her head lowered, Neji Hyuga noticed her.

Lady Hinata?

But he did not go over to greet Hinata.

Following his gaze, Tenten noticed Hinata's retreating figure.

"She's the little sister Hinata you mentioned, right?"

Neji Hyuga did not answer Tenten's question. He merely said flatly, "Let's go."

Before long, Kanami spotted Kabuto Yakushi, the Jackie Chan lookalike, in the classroom again.

Watching Kabuto Yakushi sell intelligence with that harmless-looking face, he could only shake his head.

He was too good at hiding himself.

If Kanami had not read the script, he never would have guessed that Kabuto Yakushi was a subordinate planted by Orochimaru.

As Kanami stared at him, Kabuto Yakushi noticed him as well.

Kabuto Yakushi walked over to Kanami.

Smiling amiably, he said, "Hello. Do you need to buy some information?" Kanami returned a friendly smile. "No need. I don't have any money."

"I see. What a shame."

Kabuto Yakushi put on a regretful expression before walking away.

"Kanami, Hinata."

Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Yuzuki, and Fūka had also arrived at Classroom 301 together.

Seeing Kanami and Hinata holding hands, Fūka rolled her eyes at them.

"Careful, sweat from your hands might be contagious."

Kanami chuckled. "Someone's jealous, but I won't say who."

"Hmph, I'm jealous?"

Fūka's eyes darted about. With a mischievous grin, she grabbed the two soft mounds on Yuzuki's chest.

Though Yuzuki was not especially well-endowed, the action still drew everyone's attention.

"Now, it's hard to say who's jealous."

Startled by the sudden move, Yuzuki let out a soft cry and immediately grabbed Fūka's ear in embarrassment and anger.

"You're making fun of your big sister?"

Fūka hurriedly begged for mercy. "It hurts! I know I was wrong, Sis."

Hinata also noticed Kanami's widened eyes.

She looked at Yuzuki, then lowered her gaze to look at herself.

Her eyes dimmed as she muttered, "Does Kanami like them smaller...?"

Though her voice was soft, Kanami was standing very close to Hinata.

Every word she said fell clearly into his ears.

He immediately sensed trouble.

If he did not clear this up, she might go down the road to becoming completely flat in the future.

He could not let Hinata hold such a dangerous idea.

He quickly leaned close to Hinata's ear and whispered, "I like them big. You absolutely must not follow Sakura down the path of being completely flat."

Hinata hurriedly covered her burning face and nodded rapidly like a pecking chick.

Waaah, he heard me.

At that moment, she felt both happy and ashamed.

Seeing Hinata nod, Kanami felt much more at ease.

Then he shot Fūka a fierce glare.

It was all her fault. She had nearly cost him half of his happiness for the rest of his life.

Just then, a ninja who had been watching from the side walked up to Yuzuki.

With a lewd grin, he said, "Little sister, want to work with your big brother? Big brother will make you soar!"

"You soar by yourself!"

Fūka kicked him in the butt from the side.

The ninja who had been kicked did not get angry.

He chuckled. "I nearly forgot there's another little sister."

"How about this? You two can both work with me. We big brothers will make you two soar in the team matches!"

Fūka angrily kicked at him again.

This time, however, he saw through it and grabbed her kicking leg.

"Let go."

Yuzuki swiftly pulled out a kunai and stabbed it toward the ninja.

The kunai went straight for his vital spot. He quickly released Fūka and took a step back to avoid the attack.

Just then, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his rear.

Grimacing, he reached behind himself.

Only after grabbing it did he realize that a white dog had bitten him on the butt.

That dog was Akamaru.

He immediately flew into a rage, grabbed Akamaru by the neck, and held him high in the air as he demanded, "Whose dog is this?!"

"Akamaru, catch!"

Kiba Inuzuka threw a Military Ration Pill toward Akamaru.

After swallowing it in one bite, Akamaru's body immediately grew several times larger, and his white fur turned red.

Akamaru turned his head fiercely and lunged at the ninja like a wild beast.

He was no longer as composed as before. Just as Akamaru was about to bite him—

He shouted in panic, "Big Brother, Second Brother, save me!"

In an instant, two men wielding kunai leaped over from the back row.

"Don't be afraid, Third Brother! Your brothers will protect you!"

The two men's sudden appearance caught Akamaru off guard, and he was stabbed by them.

"Akamaru!"

Kiba Inuzuka was enraged. Using the Beast Human Ninja Technique: Four Legs Technique, he charged at the two men, determined to tear them apart.

Seeing Kiba Inuzuka rush over, the three seemed to have anticipated it all along.

"You're the third teammate with those girls, right? If we cripple you, they'll naturally have no choice but to work with us! Hehehe!"

The three of them immediately threw kunai at Kiba Inuzuka at the same time. Explosive Tags were clearly tied to the ends of the kunai!

Kiba Inuzuka was in midair and had no way to dodge.

Fūka and the others shouted, "Kiba!"

The people who had been watching coldly from the side merely shook their heads.

"That brat is too young. Doesn't he know that fighting at a time like this already means the exam has begun?"

"He'll become the first one to die."