In the boundless darkness, Kiba Inuzuka felt something wet on his face, as though something were licking him.
Where was this? How had he ended up here? Right, he remembered! Hadn't he been taking part in the preliminaries before the third exam?!
He remembered being matched against Naruto, that perennial dead last who had failed to learn the Transformation Technique for three whole years. He remembered that he had almost landed a hit on Naruto, only to be... blocked? Yes, Naruto had indeed blocked him!
What happened after that? Ugh, it felt like he had taken a heavy blow to the stomach. Naruto had been the only one near him. Had Naruto done it?! Had that guy really become this strong?! His current condition... had he been knocked unconscious?!
Had he already lost? No! He couldn't! How could he go down just like this!
Ugh, his face. Something kept licking his face. Was it Akamaru?
He suddenly felt a tug, then heard a noisy commotion, as though people were talking, along with barking. That was Akamaru's voice!
The tug grew stronger and stronger, as though his whole body were submerged deep in the sea, with a mysterious force pulling upward on every part of him. He rose higher and higher, his body growing lighter as the view before his eyes grew brighter. Then, as though breaking through a nonexistent barrier, his body reached its strongest point before suddenly sinking...
Kiba Inuzuka's eyelids twitched. Seeing this, Akamaru grew even more excited, barking happily a few times before licking Kiba's face with renewed vigor.
Kiba gradually regained consciousness, his senses returning as he woke. First came the pain in his abdomen. The churning in his stomach had passed while he was unconscious. Now there was only pain, not sharp, but dull.
That