Chapter 135
Gekkō Hayate glanced at him: "Because the finals are one-on-one arena matches, and they have to be completed within a single day, seven teams and twenty-one people are indeed too many."
"Alright, the preliminary rounds will now begin. The format is very simple: random one-on-one battles."
"The randomly selected opponents will be displayed on the screen."
"All Ninja who passed the assessment, please prepare."
Naruto glanced around. Besides Team 7, Konoha Village had a big harvest.
Team Guy, Team 8, and Team 10 were all present.
In addition, a guy named Yakushi Kabuto, leading a Konoha Ninja squad with two members named Akado Yoroi and Misumi Tsurugi, also passed.
Out of seven teams, five actually came from Konoha Village.
Truly a great nation.
The three-person team from Hidden Sand Villagewas, of course, also present, standing there as the strongest seeded contenders.
The last group consisted of Zaku Abumi, Dosu Kinuta, and Kin Tsuchi from Otogakure Village.
Other small nations like Grass Ninja Village, Takigakure, and Hidden Rain Village were completely wiped out.
Just as Gekkō Hayate was about to announce the start of the exam.
Yakushi Kabuto suddenly stepped forward and announced his withdrawal.
This was an autonomous right, and Gekkō Hayatenaturally had no right to interfere.
With this, exactly twenty people remained for the battles.
Naruto was eager to try. Whether it was the written exam or the Forest of Death trial, they were not as direct as a one-on-one battle, which could better showcase his true strength!
For this preliminary round, Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was personally in attendance, and the Jonin instructors of each team were naturally also there. It could be said to be the best stage... At this moment, all teams, led by their Jonin leaders, arrived at the high-level stands surrounding the arena.
On the electronic screen in the front center, a name began to scroll.
Naruto prayed, "Me, me, me!"
Hinata, however, wished for Naruto and Sasuke to enter the arena later, to recover as much as possible... Sasuke's emotions were still fluctuating, but his face became expressionless.
Just then.
Stop!
The first pair of combatants appeared.
Those two names were... Sakura Haruno!
Kin Tsuchi!
Naruto's heart stirred.
"Sakura-chan?"
"It seems I haven't thought about her in a long time. I wonder what new Ninjutsu she learned from Yuhi sensei. I heard she has a lot of talent for Genjutsu..."
Although they had gradually grown apart, as fellow Konoha Ninja, Naruto still cheered enthusiastically.
"Go, Sakura-chan!"
Hinata wasn't jealous. She smiled slightly, only marveling at Naruto's astonishing recovery ability.
After all, Sasuke hadn't fully recovered yet, but Naruto was already full of life... Sakura Harunoclenched her fists: "Yuhi sensei, I'm going!"
Kurenai Yuhi smiled charmingly: "Go, and do your best."
"Mm! I will!"
"Sasuke-kun, please watch me!"
Sakura Haruno naturally didn't miss calling out to Sasuke as well.
Sasuke remained unresponsive.
Sakura Haruno stepped into the center of the arena, and Kin Tsuchi from Otogakure Village also came to the opposite side.
Kin Tsuchi, Zaku Abumi, and Dosu Kinuta were originally tools sent by Orochimaru to test Uchiha Sasuke. Unfortunately, in the Forest of Death, because Hinata's Byakugan evaded all enemies, the three of them didn't find Sasuke.
They could only see if they would encounter Sasuke in the later matches.
Kin Tsuchi, like other Otogakure Village Ninja, was cold, cruel, and had a sense of arrogant self-importance.
She was also skilled at using "sound" as a weapon to attack.
Her specialized threads and bells were all used in this way, using sound to disrupt the enemy's hearing and then launching her unique senbon attacks.
However... she met Sakura Haruno.
Sakura Haruno's teacher was Kurenai Yuhi, and Kurenai Yuhi came from a family with a hereditary Genjutsu tradition. Although not as powerful as the Sharingan, it was more than enough for ordinary people.
Soon, Sakura Haruno broke Kin Tsuchi's Genjutsu and then used her own technique against her.
"Genjutsu! Falling Cherry Illusion Technique!"
This was a Genjutsu that made falling cherry blossoms appear in the opponent's vision, thereby controlling their five senses and putting them into a deep sleep.
Although not particularly powerful, at the Geninlevel, it was almost unstoppable.
Soon, Kin Tsuchi's consciousness became blurry, and she fell into a dazed state.
Sakura Haruno then brandished a Kunai and held it to her throat.
"You lose!"
Seeing this, Gekkō Hayate immediately announced the result.
"Sakura Haruno wins!"
Asuma Sarutobi smiled slightly: "Yuhi, it seems your disciple has inherited your legacy..."
"To be able to cast such Genjutsu at this age is truly remarkable talent..."
Kurenai Yuhi also smiled: "Sakura indeed has a great talent for Genjutsu."
Sakura Haruno herself was excited: "Sasuke-kun, did you see that?!"
Sasuke naturally did not respond.
But no matter what, proving herself was inherently exhilarating.
Inuzuka Kiba cheered excitedly.
Shino Aburame also nodded slightly.
Naruto also clapped: "Well done, Sakura-chan!"
Hinata said to Ino: "Sakura's Genjutsu is really amazing..."
Ino nodded: "Seeing her also working hard to become stronger, I'm truly happy for her..."
Sakura Haruno's victory could be said to have given Konoha Village a good start... "The next opponents are..."
"Hyuga Hinata!"
"Versus Tenten!"
Naruto was immediately overjoyed: "Hinata! It's your time to shine!"
Hinata's face was slightly red as she nodded.
"I, I will do my best, Naruto-kun..."
Naruto stood with his arms crossed, confidently saying: "Don't worry, you're a member of Team 7, you won't lose to anyone!"
Rock Lee, however, said: "Naruto, don't underestimate Tenten!"
"She is also very strong, and in terms of Ninja tool summoning and manipulation, probably no one is stronger than her!"
Might Guy also laughed heartily: "That's right! Tenten, like us, is also burning with the fervor of youth!"
"Kakashi, she will never lose to your Team 7!"
Kakashi Hatake echoed: "Yes, yes."
"However, I'm afraid we will still be the ultimate winners."
The two female Ninja stood on the arena.
Tenten looked Hinata up and down.
"Are you the young lady from the Hyuga Clan?"
"I heard about you from Neji..."
"However, even though you're Neji's clan member, I won't go easy on you!"
Hinata quickly said: "Please, please guide me!"
With a command from Gekkō Hayate.
The battle officially began.
Tenten made the first move, leaping up sharply. Scrolls appeared out of nowhere, from which various projectiles were summoned, shooting towards Hinata!
"Consecutive Projectile Attack!"
Kunai, Shuriken, senbon, flying needles, Fūma Shuriken... All sorts of projectiles, diverse and dazzling, too numerous to keep track of... Even the Jonin couldn't help but genuinely praise her upon seeing this scene.
"She indeed has unparalleled talent in Ninja tool manipulation..."
However.
Hinata was not to be outdone. She immediately activated her Byakugan, and with equally unparalleled insight, she launched a counterattack using her self-created Guardian Gentle Fist Eight Trigrams Palm.
Bang, bang, bang—
Bang, bang, bang!!!
Even though Tenten's projectiles rained down, dense and countless, under Hinata's Guardian Gentle Fist Eight Trigrams Palm, they were all blasted away, with not a single one getting through!
Hinata's defense at this moment, though not as powerful as the Rotation, had already reached a level of seamless perfection and impregnability!
"That is..."
Hyuga Neji also couldn't help but frown.
"What's wrong, Neji?"
Rock Lee asked curiously.
"That is not a technique that the Hyuga Clanoriginally possessed."
"Could it be that she created it herself?!"
Rock Lee was startled, then smiled: "That's not surprising. I heard Naruto talk about Hinata. She is meticulous and intelligent, so it's normal for her to create new Ninjutsu."
Might Guy frowned: "That's a defensive Taijutsu created by thoroughly integrating the defensive moves from the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist Eight Trigrams Palm, combined with her own talent and aptitude..."
"With this, Tenten's Ninja tool manipulation will likely be ineffective..."
Clang, clang, clang—
Projectiles scattered all over the ground, forming circles around Hinata, but they consistently failed to harm her in the slightest.
Tenten landed, and her expression couldn't help but change.
"Such powerful defensive capabilities..."