After that brief spell of dejection, no one asked any more questions.
They waited for the next match to begin. The arena had barely suffered any damage, since the fight had only involved taijutsu.
Rather than time for repairs, it was more like a specially allotted rest period.
Tap, tap, tap!
Hinata Hyuga stood in the Competition Arena again, her gaze still fixed on Luo Mang. She could not suppress the tenderness in her eyes. It felt as though she might rush over to embrace him if no one stopped her.
Reality, however, was always harsh. She had no chance.
He opened his eyes to watch the next match. Ready to proceed, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and rose from his seat.
He briefly surveyed the Competition Arena, checking whether anyone wanted to come up and show their skills.
It seemed that the previous match had simply been won too easily. Some of those who had been eager when the reward was first announced had now fallen silent.
Or rather, they had backed down and no longer wanted to try.
"Are you sure no one wants to? You could come up and show us what you can do."
He asked around, looked again, and waited a long time, but no one volunteered.
In the spectator stands.
A chorus of creaks suddenly rang out. Of course, a chorus of creaks suddenly rang out, but this was not anyone volunteering.
Instead, everyone had shifted farther back.
"Who would dare go up there? Those two punches knocked back someone from the Sand Village. I'm not itching for a beating."
Some people muttered quietly. Most of them were from other small villages.
They might have wanted to go up to show off their skills and see whether they could get their hands on a C-rank ninjutsu.