Toru Kujyo's gaze, however, rested calmly on the slender figure walking toward the arena.
Hinata wore a fitted, pale-purple training outfit that allowed her to move freely. Toru Kujyo had chosen it especially for her, and it perfectly outlined her developing curves, already far more pronounced than those of her peers. Her stride still held a trace of the quiet grace of a well-bred young lady, but every step was exceptionally steady, without the slightest hesitation or retreat.
On the other side, Temari strode boldly into the arena with her enormous Three-Star Iron Fan slung over her shoulder. Her four blond pigtails swung in the wind, and her green eyes held the defiance and sharpness characteristic of Sunagakure ninja. When her gaze fell on Hinata, a more complicated emotion inevitably crept into that sharpness.
Jealousy.
Temari had to admit that the Konoha girl before her was stunningly beautiful.
Snow-white skin, silky black hair, features as delicate as a doll's, and that... unfair figure. What annoyed her even more was that Hinata came from the Hyuga Clan, one of Konoha's most prestigious families. She was a true young lady of noble birth.
And according to the information Temari had gathered, this perfect girl also seemed unusually close to the mysterious and powerful Toru Kujyo, who had caused such an uproar during the preliminaries...
Her eyes instinctively flicked toward Toru Kujyo in the contestants' section, only to find his gaze fixed unwaveringly... on this Hinata Hyuga.
A sudden, unaccountable anger flared in Temari's heart.
At the center of the arena, Hinata felt her opponent's openly appraising, hostile gaze. Especially when those eyes lingered on her chest, a blush involuntarily rose to her pale cheeks, and she instinctively wanted to curl inward. It was a habit she had carried since childhood; her early