"Forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I told you." Naruto stretched lazily, "Oh, by the way, Kurama, do Biju have genders?"
"Why are you asking me this?" Kyubi glanced at Naruto sideways.
"Just curious."
Kyubi originally disdained to talk to Naruto, but when he thought about how this human just wanted to improve the environment for him, he explained a little more.
"We are Chakra Manifestations, so strictly speaking, we don't have genders."
"Then why are you a male fox?"
Kyubi was speechless for a moment and decided not to bother with Naruto anymore.
"Since it's possible, why don't you transform into a cute fox girl with animal ears?" Naruto's curiosity burst forth, proposing a path Kyubi had never imagined.
"Roar!!!! Get out!"
"Oh my god! Kyubi is too fierce!" Naruto sat up angrily from the mossy, shady stone steps and exclaimed, "I was just curious. If he doesn't want to change, I didn't want to see it anyway!"
"Hmph!"
With a snort tinged with regret, Naruto stood up and looked towards the central tower.
'I thought I should go in and take a look. Although I won't participate, I am still a little worried. This preliminary seems to be a 1v1 battle selection. The opponent are not chosen randomly but through completely opaque methods.'
'But since I had withdrawn, those brain-dead higher-ups probably wouldn't pair Hinata and Neji together, right?'
'A match between the branch family's genius and the main family's girl? Wouldn't that just be a one-sided beatdown?'
Naruto hesitated for a while, but decided to go in and take a look, 'If things didn't look good, I could always shout for Hinata to surrender early. There's no point in persisting in such a stupid game where you just get beat up.'
With such thoughts in mind, Naruto turned around to take a step when the synthesized mechanical voice echoed in his mind again.
[Ding!]
A panel popped up, displaying two options.
[Option 1: Use the Mind Body Switch Technique (System temporarily provides perfect compatibility) to take over Hinata's body and control her to surrender. Reward: Explosive Tags x20]
[Option 2: Use the Mind Body Switch Technique (System temporarily provides perfect compatibility) to take over Hinata's body and control her to defeat Neji. Reward: Kusanagi Sword]
After reading the options, Naruto couldn't help but sarcastically comment, 'How can I possibly win?'
'Choose option one, decisively choose option one.'
As soon as he thought of that, Naruto collapsed to the ground as if his soul had been sucked away, and fell into a deep sleep. Anyway, with Kyubi still inside him, he wasn't worried about anyone daring to come and collect his body.
In the central tower, Hinata, who was chosen to fight against Neji, was feeling nervous and uneasy.
She stood on the nervously with her hands clenched, her palms full of sweat.
The match currently underway was between Kiba and Choji, and the outcome was about to be decided. The next match would be hers against Neji, her cold and ruthless cousin, causing Hinata more fear than anything else.
But she didn't want to give up. She still wanted to fight with all her might and dignity.
Suddenly, Hinata felt like she was losing control of her body. In that split second of widened pupils, an unprecedented strange sensation spread throughout her body.
'Oh no, my body!'
'Ah!'
Shino, who was standing nearby, noticed Hinata's abnormality and turned to ask, "What's wrong with you?"
"I'm fine." Hinata looked up, and Naruto's ghostly presence overlapped perfectly with her.
In Hinata's mind, there was a communication area that only the two of them could hear.
"Naruto-kun? What's happening?" Hinata asked in panic. She felt that she had lost control of her body, with only her eyes and mind able to move.
"Don't worry, Hinata." Naruto comforted her gently, "This is a mind-based Ninjutsu. I'll be taking control of your body for a little while."
"Taking control... of my body body?" Hinata was stunned for a moment, then realized something and let out a scream, "Pervert! No!"
That's right, this perfectly compatible Mind Body Switch Technique was a hundred times more refined than the one Ino used. Naruto could not only perfectly control Hinata's body but also share her consciousness, although there were inevitably some minor flaws.
"Uh... Hinata, relax." Naruto said with an awkward smile.
"Naruto-kun is a pervert!" Hinata hugged herself tightly and squatted down in the consciousness space.
However, this had no effect, as Naruto was still in control of Hinata's body.
"I'm sorry." Naruto said apologetically, "Please trust me, Hinata, I won't harm you."
"If I let you face the upcoming battle on your own, you would definitely get hurt. I just don't want you to get hurt, so I had no choice but to do this!"
Hearing this, Hinata calmed down a little. She looked up at Naruto and asked embarrassedly, "Naruto-kun, you did this because you're worried about me?"
"Of course!" Naruto said, "I am definitely worried about you, so Hinata, please don't be mad, okay?"
"I-I'm not mad at Naruto-kun." Hinata said meekly, blushing.
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your body! I won't do anything inappropriate!" Naruto promised seriously, "How about I treat you to barbecue after the exam?"
"Okay." Hinata nodded gently, her face turning as red as a tomato.
"Naruto-kun." Hinata spoke again.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"I know I'm not a match for Neji-niisan, and I... can probably guess what you intends to do, Naruto-kun. You're planning to make me forfeit the match, right?"
Naruto was silent.
"I know that forfeiting is the best option, but... Naruto-kun, I also want to follow my own ninja way." Hinata said softly, "Sometimes, I also want to prove that I'm not someone who fails at everything."
"I chose the path of being a Shinobi myself, and the days of training with everyone have been very happy for me. So, I cherish being a Shinobi very much."
"So… So I was thinking, if my thoughts are making things difficult for you, Naruto-kun, could you give my body back to me?"
"Even if I get hurt, I still want to give it a try."
While Naruto was silent, the battle in the arena reached its conclusion, with Kiba defeating Choji.
Hayate glanced around the stands, and his lazy and weak voice rang out in the venue.
"The next match, Hyuga Neji vs. Hyuga Hinata!"
Seeing that it was Hinata's turn, Naruto took a deep breath and said, "No."
"Eh?" Hinata was confused, "But…"
"I'll fight for you." Naruto interrupted Hinata and said, "Since I'm already here, don't worry, Hinata. I'll do my best."
As he said that, Naruto, controlling Hinata's body, slowly walked towards the arena.