In the Otogakure arena, Sakura finally woke up again. Shino stayed far away from her, afraid that she would faint again.
Sakura was extremely embarrassed by the event, she quickly gave up and hurried away. She didn't even want to try to act tough now, just want to hide as fast as possible, shame consuming her.
Shino finally sighed with relief, but when he tried to apologize, Sakura simply ran away. Shino could only stand there, unsure how to react.
An aura of depression enveloped Shino.
On the other side, the participants of the next fight were arriving at the field.
Kenta, excited, and Choji, nervous but with a serious look, as if he were preparing for a life-or-death battle, or an Akimichi eating contest.
When the pair exchanged glances with Orochimaru not far from them, each felt a mixture of apprehension and excitement.
Choji did his research, knowing that Kenta was a pure Taijutsu fighter, but knowing Lee, he didn't underestimate Kenta at all, remembering the fight between Lee and Gaara.
Kenta, on the other hand, also knew about the Akimichi clan, in the end, it came down to a direct fight.
-Begin.- Orochimaru said simply, before stepping back a little.
As soon as the order arrived, Kenta became excited, charging at Choji at high speed, his physique making him extremely fast, but Choji had grown during this period, so when Kenta's punch landed, his fist expanded to defend himself while his other arm prepared a counter punch.
Kenta managed to calmly dodge, Choji's fighting style was much more direct than Jirobo's, who seemed to enjoy toying with him. Even so, Kenta kept an eye on the entire field, looking for traps.
Their fight settled into a steady rhythm, Kenta was faster, but couldn't inflict serious damage on Choji, while Choji, on the other hand, was stronger, but couldn't land a single hit on Kenta.
-Baika no Jutsu! - Choji shouted, as his body expanded, transforming into a ball. He then began to spin, becoming a huge wrecking ball, rapidly advancing towards Kenta.
Kenta was still faster, but now he couldn't even attack Choji, even when he tried to throw kunai, they just bounced off without hurting Choji.
Kenta frowned, if it were someone else, he might have let Choji exhaust himself by constantly dodging, but Kenta liked to fight head-on.
The next moment, he turned away again and crossed his arms, which surprised the people of Konoha, who recognized the posture, as well as Lee watching from the competitors' area.
-Gate of opening, open!- Kenta shouted, but he didn't stop there. -Gate of rest, open! And... Gate of life, open!
Kenta's skin flushed red due to the accelerated blood flow, a green aura covering his body. The next moment, as Choji advanced towards him, Kenta dodged, but as Choji passed him, Kenta struck the wrecking ball directly in the side.
The punch hit him squarely in the side of his body, making Choji scream in pain and fall away.
Kenta didn't stop, advancing again, appearing right where Choji was about to appear, and landing a kick that sent Choji flying upwards.
In the air, Kenta appeared above Choji, ready to deliver a powerful kick.
However, Choji had recovered somewhat, his hand had grown, and he lunged straight at Kenta. Choji's fist was three meters in diameter. Kenta, in mid-air, could only receive the fist head-on, crossing his arms in front of him.
However, the power of that punch was far from weak, Kenta screamed in pain, exiting the three-gate stage, fatigue mixing with the pain, causing him to fall directly to the ground.
Choji managed to land, feeling the dull pain where Kenta had struck him, but still able to fight, he advanced again, his giant hand opening and grabbing Kenta's figure as he tried to get up.
He squeezed hard, making Kenta scream in pain.
Breathing heavily, Choji sighed in relief and yelled at Kenta while squeezing tighter. - Give up!
Kenta, however, refused to give up under any circumstances. Choji tightened his grip, the sound of their bones creaking, but Kenta didn't want to give up.
This frustrated Choji, he didn't like hurting others, but he wanted to win, so he wouldn't let him go.
Kenta, feeling pain, thought of Dosu-sensei, who appeared as he was leaving the field.
//-//
-Kenta... forcing yourself to fight when you have to protect someone important is admirable, but refusing to yield without purpose is foolish.- Dosu said, his one eye focused on his apprentice. -You'll have a chance to prove yourself again, this time to protect something truly important.
Kenta blinked, surprised by Dosu's words, but before he could reply, Dosu disappeared.
Kenta looked thoughtful, remembering Nanami, he clenched his fists, then continued walking forward.
//-//
Kenta felt pain all over his body, unable to move, the external pressure feeling like it would break him, but as he struggled to resist, Dosu's words kept returning to his mind.
He pursed his lips, feeling that even after all the training he had gone through, he was still weak, but remembering Dosu's reminder, he knew this was not the time, he recalled the second exam, where he and Ryuta stayed behind so Nanami could escape.
He understood what Dosu-sensei meant.
-I-I give up.- He finally spoke, making Choji release him immediately and breathe a sigh of relief. He really didn't want to hurt Kenta, thankfully, he gave up. Choji didn't know if, if this continued, he himself would give up. After all, it was just the Chunin Exams, he could do it again. He didn't need to kill someone now for this.
Kenta lay on the ground, breathing heavily, his body aching, and even when Orochimaru announced the winner, he didn't react.
Instead, he clenched his fists, tears escaping his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away and promised himself, he would be stronger, next time, he wouldn't lose!