"Uchiha Ye Chen wins!"
Seeing that something was wrong, the Examiner knew he could wait no longer. He decisively entered the arena, stepping between Yechen and Takakura Ran.
Yechen stopped, but his grip on his sword did not loosen. He shifted his gaze from Takakura Ran to the Examiner.
A cool breeze blew through the utterly silent arena. A bead of cold sweat slid down the Examiner's forehead, crossed his cheek, and dripped down his neck. The tension was suffocating.
A dozen or so seconds passed. Then Yechen turned and walked toward the stairs.
For some reason, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Even Sarutobi Hiruzen did the same, afraid that the boy might lose control and decide to kill.
"What a terrifying kid," the Examiner murmured. Then he waved over the medical ninja to carry Takakura Ran away.
"He scared me to death. I thought he was going to draw his sword and kill someone."
"Me too. I heard he doesn't even leave the dead alone on the battlefield."
"Keep your voices down. He's coming."
Yechen paid no mind to what others said about him. This was actually better; no one would dare bother him.
Meanwhile, the third match proceeded as usual.
This time, two girls entered the arena. Yechen vaguely remembered one of them. She seemed to be on Nara Heisei's team, but he had only glanced at her back then and did not know her name.
The two combatants' abilities were hardly worth mentioning in Yechen's eyes, but the others found plenty to admire. At least their fighting was much more pleasing to watch than the boys'.
After watching for a while, Yechen lost interest. He leaned against the wall behind him and closed his eyes to rest.
It was not that he was tired. There