However...
"Huh? Where's Sasuke Uchiha?"
"I don't know... Is he running away?"
Civilians and ninjas alike murmured in disbelief. All the participants returned to their respective areas, leaving Gaara alone, frowning.
The Chunin Exam had barely begun, and already there was an issue. Sasuke was missing despite being scheduled for the first match.
The Hokage nearly disqualified him!
Fortunately for Sasuke, the Fourth Kazekage intervened, persuading the Hokage to postpone the match.
"Whoa, it's Naruto!"
"Look at him go, haha!"
Ayame and Teuchi exclaimed, watching Naruto jump into the arena alongside a teenager with fair skin, long black hair, and the distinctive Byakugan eyes.
"Naruto vs. Neji, huh?"
Tsuna mused with an amused expression.
He was quite interested in how things were going and wanted to see if there were any changes to the original plot.
"Whoa, finally!"
The crowd seemed just as excited, cheering loudly for the match. Tsuna noticed, however, that everyone seemed to be underestimating Naruto.
"But it's that troublemaker fighting..."
"Never mind, this match is going to end quickly."
"Now that you mention it, that brat doesn't stand a chance against a Hyuuga member..."
Their excitement died down quickly, as if Neji's victory was inevitable. The crowd seemed certain that Neji would defeat Naruto as easily as breathing.
"Oh, you all came as well!"
Naruto called out, waving enthusiastically when he saw familiar faces in the crowd while ignoring the rest who boo-ed him.
Tsuna chuckled, feeling a bit of admiration for Naruto's spirit.
"He's quite a tenacious one, isn't he?" he said, watching with renewed interest.
Unfortunately, as the match began, things didn't go in Naruto's favor.
Neji showcased his abilities and even revealed his trump card, Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!
This shocked the audience and even the Hyuga family members since it was a skill exclusively taught to the main family.
With the momentum in his hand, Neji then executed his finishing blow, Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, successfully sealing all of Naruto's chakra points and rendering him unable to use chakra.
"Naruto..."
"..."
Both Teuchi and Ayame seemed worried, which contrasted with the loud cheers from the crowd for Neji as Tsuna saw Naruto slowly rise to his feet.
His eyes showed that he had yet to give up, and he suddenly formed a hand sign.
"What a fool!"
Neji just scoffed.
However...
Against all odds, fiery chakra slowly burst forth from Naruto's figure, making the lively atmosphere turn quiet immediately.
"..."
Everyone looked on in shock as Naruto defied the odds and kept fighting, eventually defeating Neji.
"Holy shit, what did I just witness?"
The crowd murmured in disbelief as both Ayame and Teuchi suddenly cheered out loud.
"Naruto!! Let's go!"
"Hahaha, he did it!"
This ignited a domino effect as everyone started clapping and cheering for Naruto.
Despite his reputation as an infamous troublemaker, they couldn't help but respect his tenacity.
"He did it, huh?"
The proctor, a man who wore his forehead protector like a bandanna with a senbon in his mouth, looked at Naruto jumping around excitedly with his lips slightly curled up.
He was Genma Shiranui!
"Next, we'll move on to the next match! Participant from the Sand Village, Kankuro, and from Konoha Village, Shino Aburame, please come forth to the arena!"
However...
"I forfeit the match!"
Kankuro's voice echoed, making Genma blink in confusion before shaking his head, "Are you sure about this, Participant Kankuro?"
"..."
Shino looked at Kankuro thoughtfully behind his sunglasses, feeling slightly bothered. Kankuro didn't seem like the type to just forfeit a match.
"Yeah, I forfeit..."
Kankuro replied calmly.
"Alright then..."
Genma nodded in response and announced that Shino Aburame won by default, moving on to the next match.
Temari vs. Shikamaru Nara!
"..."
Shikamaru twitched his mouth in annoyance and muttered, "So troublesome, why did he have to forfeit the match..."
He looked at Temari, who seemed strong, and sighed deeply, "Should I just forfeit as well?"
"Let's go, Shikamaru!"
Naruto cheered for him, patting him on the shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't you fucking dare to lose this match, Shikamaru!"
A voice echoed from the crowd.
Shikamaru turned to see a girl with light blue eyes and platinum blonde hair threatening him.
"...So troublesome."
He sighed, feeling even more inclined to forfeit, "Let's just get it over with--"
"I forfeit the match as well!"
Just as Shikamaru was about to forfeit, Temari's voice interrupted him. He blinked in confusion, turning to see Temari forfeiting.
Shikamaru couldn't help but look at Temari in a different light, thinking she wasn't as troublesome as the other girls as he felt relieved at this and muttered, "I guess I can take a nap now..."
"..."
Shino silently watched the two siblings forfeit their matches, growing more suspicious.
Something felt amiss!
"...Huh?"
"What's going on?"
"Two people forfeited in a row? And both from the Sand Village nonetheless..."
The crowd was utterly confused.
They had been looking forward to a good matchup between the Sand Village and Konoha ninja, but the forfeits left them feeling disappointed.
"Huh? What's this?"
Even Tsuna was surprised as he looked at Temari with a confused expression. This was totally different from what he recalled from his memories.
He muttered to himself, "Hmm... Is this a domino effect from my interference?"
"...I have to save my energy for the plan."
Temari thought quietly as she glanced at Kankuro. Though she tried to appear nonchalant, her eyes betrayed her worry.
"He hasn't been sleeping for the last couple of days to fix his puppet..."
She sighed, recalling how Kankuro had stayed up every night to work on his puppet, which had been torn apart by Tsuna's ability.
Normally, she wouldn't be too concerned since they were ninja, but Kankuro hadn't slept in days.
This was really worrying her. Their plan was important, and it was also dangerous.
"I can't let my brother die in vain!"
Temari thought determinedly as she tightly gripped her fist.
"Alright then," Genma shrugged his shoulders as he announced, "Then, for the next match! Gaara from the Sand Village, please step forward!"
Gaara's figure quietly appeared in the arena with a blur as Genma nodded before looking around and noting that Sasuke wasn't there yet. He began to speak, "Now, since our last participant seems to be missing, I shall count to ten before disqualifying hi--"
"Disqualifying who?"
A voice suddenly interrupted as two figures emerged with a puff of smoke in the arena, revealing a dark-haired teenager and a white-haired man wearing Jonin attire with a book in his hand.
It was Sasuke Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake!
However, Kakashi's expression seemed off, flustered as he looked at the book in his hand. "...This new book from Jiraiya-sama... is a bit too good."
This book hadn't yet been released to the masses and was only available to selected loyal fans like himself.
While reading it, Kakashi was convinced it was the best he had read so far!
"I wonder if Jiraiya-sama had personally experienced these scenes himself..." His face couldn't help but flustered at the thought.
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