Although the first match had run into a small mishap, it ultimately ended without any real danger.
The audience was left wanting more, eagerly anticipating even more exciting battles to come.
Reality, however, was likely to disappoint them.
Jinchūriki were not exactly common. Only three of them were participating in this Chūnin Exam.
Whether the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki, Fū, would use her tailed beast's power was anyone's guess. As for Naruto, he certainly had no intention of exposing his identity for the time being.
Gaara?
That was simply because Sunagakure's sealing techniques were too terrible. The gourd-carrying kid couldn't control his emotions at all. Whether he used the tailed beast's power or not was something even he couldn't fully control.
With the incident resolved, Makoto vanished from sight and instantly returned to Honoka's side, allowing Hayate to continue presiding over the tournament.
His Flying Thunder God Technique no longer required seals to provide coordinates. Everything within his perception was effectively a marker, allowing him to travel freely wherever he wished.
Jiraiya openly envied that ability.
He couldn't help but imagine how convenient it would be if he could learn it. Then, whenever he was out gathering research material, people wouldn't be able to chase him down and beat him up anymore.
Of course, the old pervert only dared think such things to himself. What he actually said sounded perfectly respectable.
"Back then, it took both Makoto and me working together to subdue the Four-Tails."
"Who would've thought that now, tailed beasts don't even have the courage to resist when they see him? Someone's definitely going to lose sleep after returning home."
Makoto shrugged.
"That just means they're overthinking things. I'm not one of those dark-skinned brutes from Kumogakure. I have no interest in stealing other people's property."
Tsunade shook her head.
"It won't matter. Shinobi only trust the power in their own hands. They'll never trust an enemy's moral character."
"Even when Grandpa distributed the tailed beasts to them back then, they still didn't trust Konoha. Terrified by the power of Wood Release, they expanded their military forces like mad. Then the moment Grandpa died, war broke out soon afterward."
Everyone understood that principle.
In truth, it wasn't just shinobi.
The same thing happened in every world. It was practically a universal flaw shared by all intelligent life.
Down below, Hayate continued his duties.
"The contestants for the second match, please come forward."
Inside the competitors' waiting room, Neji and Omoi rose silently to their feet and hurried toward the proctor, greeted by the cheers of the crowd.
"Please state your names!"
"Konoha, Hyūga Neji."
"Kumogakure, Omoi!"
"Excellent! Then..."
Hayate chopped his right hand downward.
"Begin!"
Instantly, Neji and Omoi each leapt backward a step, their eyes locked on one another.
The battle was about to begin.
...
On the main viewing platform, Ōnoki suddenly spoke up.
"I heard that during the preliminaries, all of Kumogakure's opponents happened to be members of the Hyūga Clan. And now it's happened again."
He turned toward Minato.
"Tell me, Hokage-sama—there's really nothing wrong with Konoha's electronic lottery system, is there?"
Minato's expression remained unchanged.
"There's nothing wrong with it. Konoha has no need to resort to tricks."
"Perhaps the Hyūga and Kumogakure simply have a special affinity for one another."
The Raikage thought:
Yeah, right. As if I'd believe that.
But outwardly, he remained firm.
"It doesn't matter. Our people don't care who their opponents are."
Ōnoki said nothing more.
Throwing out little provocations had become second nature to him. It didn't matter if they succeeded or not. As long as they annoyed Kumogakure, he considered it worthwhile.
Down in the arena, Omoi studied his opponent carefully.
During the past month, he had gathered basic intelligence on him.
The man standing before him was nothing like the girl he had faced in the preliminaries.
This was the true genius of the Hyūga Clan.
Even if he came from the branch family.
That meant close-quarters combat was out of the question.
He would have to use a hit-and-run strategy, wearing his opponent down while searching for an opportunity to land a decisive blow.
With that in mind, Omoi activated Lightning Release chakra to stimulate his body.
Drawing several kunai, he coated them with Lightning Release chakra and began circling Neji at high speed, hurling them from multiple angles.
Such attacks were useless against someone with the Byakugan.
Neji shifted his footing swiftly and effortlessly evaded every kunai.
At that moment, Omoi charged forward.
Yet before he even reached his target, he swung his blade down fiercely.
Lightning Release: Lightning Flash Slash!
A crescent-shaped arc of lightning shot from the blade at tremendous speed.
Neji shattered the attack with a single Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm and immediately rushed toward his opponent.
He intended to end the fight as quickly as possible.
But Omoi had already created three Shadow Clones, surrounding Neji from all sides.
The clones charged forward as well.
Yet they had no intention of giving Neji a chance to engage in close combat.
Halfway through their advance, all four figures stopped simultaneously and swung their swords together.
Cloud Style: Triple Crescent Lightning Slash!
Unlike the Gekkō Clan's Konoha sword technique, Crescent Moon Dance, Triple Crescent Lightning Slash was not a combination of swordsmanship and genjutsu.
It was a pure Lightning Release ninjutsu.
Three crescent-shaped arcs of lightning sealed off Neji's avenues of movement.
Yet Neji showed no sign of panic.
He leapt into the air and, without even looking, struck upward with a palm.
A tactic that had worked against Hinata was useless against him.
This time, however, Omoi had changed his approach.
The figure descending from above was not the real body, but a Shadow Clone, which exploded with a single strike.
On the ground, a victorious smile spread across Omoi's face.
Got him.
The real Omoi and his two Shadow Clones formed a triangular formation, their ninja swords held horizontally.
Lightning Release: Gathering Thunder Assault!
Unlike Scattering Thunder Assault, which unleashed a wide-area Lightning Release attack outward in all directions, this technique compressed the lightning into a tiny area at the center of the encirclement, focusing entirely on a single target.
The three streams of lightning released from their blades merged with the still-lingering Lightning Flash Slash arcs, creating a small pool of crackling lightning on the ground.
As long as Neji came down, there would be nowhere to run.
The moment he landed, he would get to enjoy the wonderfully numb and tingly sensation of a full "internet addiction treatment therapy."
Neji's expression remained unchanged.
He allowed himself to fall directly toward the lightning pool.
The instant he made contact, chakra erupted from every tenketsu in his body, driving him into a high-speed spin.
Rotation: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!
The all-encompassing defense of Rotation dispersed the Lightning Release the moment Neji's feet touched the ground.
But it didn't stop there.
Under his precise control, the chakra he had released suddenly flowed back into his hands.
It then transformed into more than a dozen Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palms, instantly blowing apart the two Shadow Clones.
Omoi's real body received special attention as well.
He was struck simultaneously by the force of four Vacuum Palms.
His chakra pathways were damaged by the attack, preventing him from gathering chakra for a brief moment. As he was sent flying backward, his body locked up in a fatal bout of stiffness.
Neji flashed in front of him with a Body Flicker Technique and unleashed a sequence of Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms, finishing the fight on the spot.
Omoi lay on the ground, his beloved lollipop still hanging from his mouth, looking utterly helpless.
As expected of a genius of the Hyūga Clan.
The strategy he and his teammates had painstakingly developed had been completely useless.
He had lost that quickly.
Hopefully Lord Raikage wouldn't blame him.
And if punishment did come...
What kind of punishment would it be?
Would it be terrible?
Would he die?
His pessimistic thoughts immediately began spiraling out of control again.
After checking his condition, Hayate announced the result.
"The winner is Hyūga Neji."
...
In the audience, Hyūga Hizashi wore a complicated expression.
His son truly was a genius.
To think Neji had managed to draw back the chakra released during Rotation and transform it into multiple streams of force for Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, successfully combining the two techniques into a true union of offense and defense.
A pity he had been born into the branch family.
Hyūga Hiashi's expression was equally complicated.
Compared to Neji, his daughter—the heir of the main family in this generation—was somewhat lacking in strength.
More importantly, there was her personality.
At that thought, his gaze shifted toward his younger daughter, Hyūga Hanabi.
Fortunately, he and his wife had successfully started a second save file.
Though she wasn't a son, Hanabi surpassed her sister by five years in both temperament and talent.
Perhaps...
It was time to reconsider the choice of clan heir.
Seven-year-old Hanabi looked excited.
"Father, Father! Neji-niisan is amazing!"
Hiashi nodded.
"Neji's talent is indeed exceptional. That's why you must work even harder. When you're at the dojo, make sure to learn properly from your sensei."
"Yes, Father. I will."
On the main viewing platform, the Raikage's face had darkened—though, admittedly, it was already dark to begin with.
Omoi possessed the best talent among Kumogakure's younger generation.
He had even developed a specialized strategy with the help of his teammates.
Yet he had been defeated so decisively.
Were Konoha's younger generation all monsters?
Beside him, Ōnoki couldn't resist speaking again.
"Hokage-sama, I've heard that quite a few of Konoha's children are able to train under that man. Is that true?"
Minato replied with a smile.
"That's right. Makoto is a generous and selfless person. Anyone willing to come to his dojo and learn—adult or child—will receive his sincere guidance."
Ōnoki raised an eyebrow.
"Anyone, you say? What if Iwagakure sent a group of children over?"
Minato looked directly at him.
"If you're willing to send them, Konoha is willing to teach them."
Ōnoki: "..."
He had only been speaking casually.
He hadn't expected Konoha to actually agree.
But the real question was: could he really send them?
And even if he did, would he dare use them after they returned?
If those exchange students spent several years immersed in Konoha's dazzling world, who knew where their loyalties would end up?
The Raikage and the Mizukage had similar thoughts.
They were tempted.
Very tempted.
But they didn't dare.
If they sent over perfectly good young talents, those kids would probably be reshaped into Konoha's image inside and out before long.