What, Got a Thing for Younger Guys?

Hinata wanted to say more, but Neji cut her off coldly. "No buts! I'm stronger than you. That's a fact! Some things were decided long ago-you belong to the Main Family, and I belong to the branch family. The gap in our strength was predetermined too, and it'll never change. You can't beat me, even if you are the Main Family's young lady."

Watching him made Uchiha Yi furious. Where did this idiot get that ridiculous sense of superiority?

Uchiha Yi rolled his eyes on the spot at Neji's arrogant expression and called out to Hinata, "Hinata, ignore his nonsense, and stop wasting your sympathy on him. Show him what you can really do and let him see who can actually fight!"

Hinata had been a little hesitant, but her eyes lit up at Uchiha Yi's words.

Already fuming over Uchiha Yi's meddling, Neji had now been hit right where it hurt by Hinata's words. He was so angry his eyes nearly rolled into the top of his skull.

Without another word, he activated his Byakugan and raised a hand to unleash an Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, only for Hinata to dodge it nimbly.

Neji actually smiled at that, convinced she had simply gotten lucky. His figure flickered, moving as fast as the wind as he shouted, "Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

But barely had he finished shouting when he heard Hinata call out the exact same technique. Her voice rang clear, without the slightest hint of bluffing.

Neji's mind reeled. He simply couldn't believe it. Gritting his teeth, he tried to press his attack, but Hinata had already begun striking in time with him.

Two palms, four palms, eight palms... Every strike was precise. The longer Neji fought, the more panicked he became. Has she really learned it?

Seizing the opening as Neji wavered, Hinata suddenly shouted, "Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

Neji nearly jumped out of his skin. He hurried to defend himself, but it was already too late. Instinctively, he shouted, "Rotation!"

Rotation was the Hyuga Clan's absolute defense, but Uchiha Yi had already taught Hinata how to break it.

Hinata pulled with both hands, wrapping several strands of chakra around Neji's Rotation and forcibly halting the spinning chakra. Neji was blasted straight back.

Up on the viewing platform, Kakashi stared in disbelief. He had seen how powerful Rotation was and knew it was a defense that even his Sharingan struggled to overcome. How had she broken it so easily?

Beside him, Kurenai Yuhi's jaw dropped in astonishment. She had been teaching Hinata for so long, yet she had never seen the girl train this fiercely.

Kakashi stared at Uchiha Yi by the edge of the arena, suddenly recalling the boy's bold claims in the Hokage's office not long ago. Had he actually made good on them?

Meanwhile, by the time Neji got back to his feet, he had little fight left in him. Yet to everyone's surprise, Hinata voluntarily forfeited.

One look at Hinata's guilty expression told Uchiha Yi everything. She was still thinking about the branch family's situation and felt she had wronged Neji.

She was still such a softhearted girl, but that was precisely what made Hinata so adorable.

Next came Rock Lee's fight against Gaara. It was just as thrilling as in the original story, and Uchiha Yi watched with genuine admiration. Unlike the original, however, Rock Lee wasn't hurt as badly this time. At least his legs were spared.

The preliminaries ended with Choji losing to Dosu. Nine people advanced to the third exam: five from Konoha, three from Sunagakure, and one from the Sound Ninja. The draw turned out much the same as in the original story.

As soon as the matches ended, Naruto grabbed Uchiha Yi and tried to drag him off to celebrate, but Kakashi caught Naruto and told him he was injured too and needed a hospital checkup.

Uchiha Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Now he could go eat ramen and stroll around with Hinata. He had finally gotten a chance, and he couldn't waste this opportunity to win her over.

He had planned to slack off for a few days, but his easy life didn't even last half a day before a summons from the Third Hokage called him to the office.

Since his promotion to Chunin had already been settled, he had been hoping to land an easy mission. Instead, he was dumbfounded the moment he walked in.

"What? My Chunin promotion mission is protecting a film crew while they shoot a movie?" He stared at the Third Hokage in disbelief.

Isn't this promotion mission a little too much of a joke? Even guarding a minister from the Land of Fire would make more sense. What's this about being a film crew's bodyguard? Uchiha Yi grumbled inwardly, but one look at the old fox's smiling face told him something was up.

"Grandpa Third, there's a catch to this mission, isn't there?"

"Heh-heh, nothing gets past you." The Third Hokage smiled and called toward the door, "Come in!"

The door opened, and in walked none other than Kakashi.

Uchiha Yi paused. Was Kakashi supposed to team up with him? But the Chunin Ninja Exams would resume in a month, and Kakashi would definitely be busy with Sasuke then. How would he have time for a mission?

While he was puzzling over it, the Third Hokage spoke. "Kakashi, hand it over to him."

Kakashi took out a scroll and passed it over, his voice lazy. "Well, it's a bit of a hassle, but with your current strength, you should be fine." Then he turned and left.

Holding the scroll, Uchiha Yi felt his questions piling into a mountain.

Seeing his expression, the Third Hokage offered an explanation. "Read the mission details, and you'll understand."

Uchiha Yi took the scroll and skimmed it, nearly dropping his jaw-the client was Asama Sandayu? And Kazahana Koyuki was involved too? Wasn't she the one from the Naruto movie Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow?

He had thought the movie plots were long out of the picture. Even if one did show up, he had expected some of that Ōtsutsuki nonsense. Who would have thought Kazahana Koyuki would appear? Oh, right-she went by Fujikaze Yukie now, a famous actress with incredible acting skills.

Although the scroll only described the Land of Snow's customs and Kazahana Koyuki's background, he knew all of that inside out. He couldn't even be bothered to worry about something as minor as the timeline being a little jumbled.

He simply tucked the scroll away. He could treat it as a trip to the Land of Snow to unwind. He even considered bringing Hinata along and making it a vacation on the village's dime.

Before long, the client, Asama Sandayu, came looking for him. The old man didn't look down on Uchiha Yi for his age; clearly, the Third Hokage had spoken to him beforehand.

The mission could be difficult or easy, depending on how you looked at it. He had to keep the entire film crew safe, with special attention to Kazahana Koyuki. Once he escorted her safely back to the Land of Snow and stayed for seven days, he could leave.

Uchiha Yi shook his head. Did Asama and his people really think they could defeat Kazahana Dōtō with their meager resources? They had to be dreaming.

A day later, Uchiha Yi arrived at the film crew with Asama Sandayu. He had barely set foot there when a middle-aged man in sunglasses approached.

"Is this our bodyguard?"

Asama Sandayu hurried to introduce him. "Yes, Director. This is Uchiha Yi, personally recommended by Konoha's Third Hokage. You can absolutely count on his strength!"

The director looked Uchiha Yi up and down, then nodded. "All right. If Sandayu says so, that's good enough for me. Sorry for the trouble we'll be putting you through."

"It's my job. No trouble at all." Uchiha Yi had barely finished speaking when a shriek rang out from the crew, bringing everyone's work to a halt.

"Bad news! Miss Fujikaze Yukie is missing!"

The corner of Uchiha Yi's mouth twitched. His mission target had vanished just like that? What a lousy start.

He soon found Fujikaze Yukie on a street. She had disguised herself, but she still couldn't fool his eyes.

"Tsk, you're pretty good at hiding. That outfit does look nice, though." Uchiha Yi sauntered up to her and spoke directly. "Hey, you're Miss Fujikaze Yukie, right? Please come back to the crew with me."

Kazahana Koyuki glared at him warily. "Who are you?"

Although Uchiha Yi hadn't wanted to waste words on this troublesome woman, it was his mission, so he introduced himself anyway. "My name is Uchiha Yi. I'm the bodyguard hired by your film crew, responsible for keeping everyone safe during this filming trip to the Land of Snow."

Kazahana Koyuki's expression changed instantly, and she immediately protested. "I don't know you. You've got the wrong person!"

But he wasn't about to fall for that. He had already memorized the mission documents, after all, so he smiled and said, "Uh, your real name should be Kazahana Koyuki, shouldn't it?"

Kazahana Koyuki panicked completely, clutching the hem of her clothes. "Who are you, really?"

Uchiha Yi rolled his eyes. He had already made it perfectly clear. Raising his voice a little, he said, "I'll say it again. I'm the bodyguard responsible for your safety. I'm a ninja from Konoha!"

Kazahana Koyuki looked him up and down and scoffed. "A Konoha ninja? A little brat like you?"

As much as he hated to admit it, his age really was a drawback. Still, he quickly stopped caring. His Eight Gates had already been enhanced to perfection. He might have been only thirteen, but he was already 170 centimeters tall. Only his face still looked young, making him appear fifteen or sixteen at most.

This woman was too much trouble. He couldn't be bothered to argue, so he flashed behind her, knocked her unconscious, and carried her away.

Over the next few days, Kazahana Koyuki ran away at least five or six times, only to be caught and knocked out by him every time. Gradually, she realized that this brat, who looked five or six years younger than her, was absurdly strong. An ordinary person like her had no chance of escaping.

One evening at a tavern, Kazahana Koyuki wandered over to him with a glass in hand and smiled. "Hey, brat. Want a drink?"

Uchiha Yi glanced at her without speaking. He wasn't old enough to drink, and he had no interest in such cheap liquor anyway. I'm not touching that swill.

Kazahana Koyuki suddenly stopped smiling, her expression turning serious. "Brat, you know exactly who I am, don't you?"

"Well, I know a little. Your real name is Kazahana Koyuki, and you're the daughter of the former daimyo of the Land of Snow." Although he hadn't gone into detail before, he held nothing back now and continued, "Over a decade ago, during the Land of Snow coup, your father, Kazahana Sōsetsu, was killed by his younger brother, Kazahana Dōtō, who seized power. That guy is the Land of Snow's current daimyo."

At the mention of her father, Kazahana Koyuki's eyes dimmed briefly, but she soon regained her composure and raised an eyebrow. "You know all that, and you call it knowing a little?"

"Really, just a little. I haven't figured out your measurements yet, after all."

Kazahana Koyuki blushed and snapped angrily, "You really are an awful little brat!"

But she quickly calmed down again and spoke earnestly. "Brat, I know you're pretty strong. But if you know about the Land of Snow and Kazahana Dōtō, you should know just how powerful he is. If you go into the Land of Snow, you'll definitely die."

"Oh? I wouldn't have guessed. Are you worried about me? What, got a thing for younger guys?"