Gekkō Hayate looked at Naruto, who had appeared behind Satsuki at some unknown point, and understood. This distance… in real combat, it was already enough to deliver a fatal blow. Did he use a clone to replace his main body the moment Satsuki activated her Lightning Bullet?
He glanced at Satsuki, who was slightly panting in the arena. Seeing that she had even exhausted the Chakra needed to maintain her Sharingan, her crimson eyes had receded to their original dark color, and she had personally admitted defeat. The outcome was clear.
Naruto looked at Satsuki, who was slightly out of breath, pale from Chakra exhaustion despite no external injuries, her hair stuck to her forehead by sweat, and her cheeks smudged with a bit of dust. Her pursed lips and the unconcealed unwillingness in her eyes made him realize he had to comfort her. He immediately took a clean handkerchief from his ninja pouch and naturally reached out to wipe the sweat and dust from her forehead and cheeks. This slightly intimate gesture immediately made Uchiha Fugaku's eye twitch slightly from the examiner's stand.
Satsuki was startled by this sudden intimacy but did not resist at all. Instead, she subconsciously tilted her face up slightly, cooperating with his movements. Or rather… if anyone dared to stop them at this moment, she would truly get angry.
"Then… *cough*… I announce," Gekkō Hayate broke the short silence at the opportune moment, his voice carrying its usual weakness, "the winner of the first round is… Uzumaki Naruto."
Upon hearing the announcement, Naruto finished wiping and put away the handkerchief. He then naturally took Satsuki's hand and said softly, "Let's go to the stands." He led her towards the spectator seats.
It's… over? The warmth of his palm on the back of her hand quickly melted away the slight unwillingness Satsuki felt from her defeat. However, another emotion quietly arose—a lingering, slightly annoyed sense of loss, like a cat that had been perfunctorily petted twice and then cast aside, feeling an inexplicable stuffiness in her heart.
As the two arrived at the spectator seats, Naruto turned his head and spoke softly again, "Satsuki, you were really amazing just now."
Satsuki gave him a puzzled look, seemingly not understanding why she was being praised when she had clearly lost.
"Noticing that you couldn't gain an advantage in taijutsu combat, you immediately integrated hand seals into your taijutsu movements to prepare for the Great Fireball Jutsu. That adaptability and tactical thinking were truly outstanding," Naruto analyzed meticulously.
Naruto… is he comforting me? Satsuki sensed the intention behind his words. Although he was praising her, she knew that this was more of Naruto's way of soothing any potential disappointment she might feel.
To be honest, was Satsuki really angry? Was she really that unwilling?
Perhaps only a tiny bit. That bit of unwillingness was more like an instinctive emotional reaction after the outcome was decided. And when she looked up again and saw Naruto's gentle blue eyes, that tiny bit of unwillingness instantly evaporated. After all, she had initially intended to concede.
In fact… if Naruto's action of wiping her cheek had not been interrupted by the examiner and had lasted a bit longer… she probably wouldn't have felt any disappointment; instead, she might have felt a sense of having "gained something."
"Also, after being caught by the Adamantine Sealing Chains last time, you specifically researched a way to break free, didn't you?" Naruto continued, "Thinking of using Lightning Release Chakra to interfere with the precise structure of materialized Chakra is truly remarkable."
His praise continued, meticulously affirming each of her tactical choices.
"That final wave of offense was truly brilliant. Before using the Lightning Bullet to create a strong light, you had already cast a genjutsu on me with your Sharingan. If I didn't have some special resistance to genjutsu, it might have been truly dangerous."
Although saying this was a bit of an exaggeration… Naruto knew in his heart that if he truly went all out, he couldn't possibly activate Six-Tails Mode and use the Great Spiraling Ring for the Chunin Exams, could he?
"However, when we spar in the future, we can focus on practicing…" Naruto tried to steer the conversation towards their future joint training.
"No."
Satsuki suddenly spoke, interrupting him. Under Naruto's puzzled expression, she gazed at him with her dark eyes, utterly serious, and repeated clearly, "I don't want to fight Naruto."
…
Being stared at by her unconcealed, straightforward, and resolute gaze, Naruto felt his cheeks flush slightly. For a moment, he didn't know how to respond.
He subtly shifted his gaze, cleared his throat, and proposed again, "…Then, how about we train together? For example, specifically researching more effective Lightning Release applications to interfere with Chakra structures, and also conducting Chakra refinement and physical endurance strengthening training."
"Mm." Hearing this, Satsuki's face immediately bloomed into a bright smile, and she nodded vigorously, "Then it's a deal."
Her tone became light: "I'm actually not very sad about losing to you. However…" She tilted her chin slightly, with a familiar hint of tsundere pride and determination, "Next time, I will definitely succeed! Also, Naruto, you absolutely must become a Chunin."
Watching Satsuki, who showed no anger but instead genuinely cheered him on, a warm current flowed through Naruto's heart. Yet, because of this overly pure trust and expectation, he found himself unable to meet her eyes directly.
In the distance, Uchiha Fugaku took in all the interactions between his daughter and Naruto. Seeing his daughter, who had just experienced defeat, not only showed no trace of dejection but was instead so happy after talking with Naruto, his gaze was complex, ultimately turning into an almost inaudible sigh. He said nothing.
Kakashi, who had been quietly observing his two disciples' interaction from the side, did not step forward to disturb them. He simply leaned against the wall, his visible eye curved into a gentle arc, listening to the conversation between Naruto and Satsuki, and the corner of his mouth under his mask couldn't help but turn up slightly.
It seems… I was overthinking things after all. This is good.
Just then, in the center of the arena, the large electronic screen began to flicker again, and a mechanical voice announced the start of the next match's selection. Everyone's gaze was instantly drawn to it.
When the names on the screen finally settled and were clearly displayed, one person in the arena suddenly turned deathly pale, and cold sweat instantly seeped from his forehead, trickling down his painted face.
He felt his blood freeze in an instant, and even breathing became difficult.
W-what a joke…! He froze in place, feeling as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
[Gaara VS Kankuro]
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