After his last loss to Haku, Kushina had watched Naruto train every single day. Even now, thinking about that whole regimen of hellish training made his calves tremble.
He had been counting on a good fight in the finals, but Sasuke had fallen unconscious right after fighting Gaara. He had exhausted his chakra, and once he went down, he never woke up.
The Referee Panel discussed it and finally did something decent-Sasuke could no longer fight, so he was excluded from the list of available opponents.
Hozuki Suigetsu did not particularly care. He just needed to pick someone and get the fight over with.
He pointed at random, and his finger landed squarely on Naruto.
Naruto froze for two seconds, then grinned.
He certainly would not turn down a windfall like this. Watching Sasuke and Gaara fight so fiercely down below had already left him itching for a fight.
He instinctively glanced toward the stands to see whether Sakura was there. Her seat was empty.
Oh, right. Sakura had gone with Sasuke to the medical room.
Naruto scratched his head without giving it much thought. Sasuke was injured, so it made sense for Sakura to accompany him as a friend.
Up in the stands, Xuan Zhe sighed.
This kid really was unbelievably naive. The person his beloved Sakura liked was not him at all. These brats' romantic entanglements were even more melodramatic than the novels he wrote.
Naruto jumped down into the arena and thanked Hozuki Suigetsu.
Hozuki Suigetsu did not even raise his eyelids.
He had no intention of wasting any more time-since Sasuke could not fight, he would just pick someone and finish it quickly.
He moved faster than he spoke.
The Kubikiribōchō came cleaving down with a howl, no slower than the Chidori that had just pierced