After saying those words, he kept walking without stopping, brushing past the confused look on the medical ninja's face.
But at some point, someone appeared in front of him, blocking his path.
"Isn't this kind of harsh on your body?"
The voice carried a teasing tone, but without malice — it actually sounded quite pleasant.
Neji blinked up in surprise. He hadn't expected Shiki Uzumaki to stand before him.
"Come to lecture me again with your philosophy?"
A bitter smile crept into Neji's voice. He already understood what Shiki would say. Today's battle had once again proven Shiki's point correct.
In the end, people shouldn't give in to so-called destiny. Fate itself is merely an excuse people use to bind themselves from moving forward.
He finally saw that truth clearly now.
Yet Shiki waved his hand in front of him. "Nope, I'm not a teacher. I just can't stand seeing someone discouraged or allowing people around me getting hurt."
Truthfully speaking, he probably had been worrying too much lately.
Letting out a faint sigh, Shiki walked beside Neji, placing Neji's left arm over his shoulder and helping him toward the Rest Area.
Neji stiffened slightly and asked, "Are you pitying me?"
Shiki clicked his tongue slightly before replying, "Stop being so sentimental, like some little girl."
"You—"
Neji suddenly looked furious, but at that moment, Shiki gave him a couple pats on the back.
"Relax. There are plenty of people watching behind you. Even if you don't care, don't act like a loser in front of others. You can fall down and still get back up. It's just a bump in the road, and you've still got friends who've got your back. So now, hold your head high and walk with me."
This time, there was a fierce edge in Shiki's voice.
While others were cheering for Naruto, at least someone should stand by Neji's side right now.
At this moment, Shiki willingly took on that role.
"Fine, whatever."
Letting out a slight sigh, Neji allowed Shiki Uzumaki to support him as they made their way toward the Rest Area.
But just then, the previously silent Genma Shiranui unexpectedly slid his hands into his pockets and murmured softly toward Neji's retreating figure:
"A captured bird, if smart enough, should be able to peck open the cage door with its own beak."
"It still holds hope of soaring freely across the sky again."
Neji paused momentarily. He hadn't expected that in Konoha, quite a few people also stood outside the Main House's perspective.
As Shiki exited the Rest Area, he just caught Genma Shiranui announcing the delay of Sasuke Uchiha's match. The next scheduled fight was between Kankuro and Shino Aburame.
"I forfeit."
Shiki turned his gaze toward the Spectator Seats where the voice came from. Kankuro raised his hand high, declaring his withdrawal.
Kankuro had forfeited.
A chill ran through Shiki's mind. At least for now, this confirmed that Sunagakure's plan hadn't changed.
In other words, before this Chunin Exam concludes, that conflict during which Konoha was attacked will definitely happen again.
Shiki felt himself tense up again, worried that if things happened too suddenly, he wouldn't be able to react in time.
Due to Kankuro's withdrawal, Shino Aburame advanced directly without fighting. He advanced without even stepping into the arena.
"But I'm still excited about seeing Shino's fight. Although he's often overlooked, he could actually be the most steadily powerful one among us this year," Shiki murmured slightly emotionally because just a month ago, he'd thought no one from their group could possibly defeat Shino.
Naruto couldn't control any part of the Nine-Tails' power, and Sasuke hadn't learned Chidori yet—his physical abilities remained extremely low. His own injuries hadn't fully healed yet either. If it came down to just taijutsu or sword techniques against Shino—who used [*Insect Clones*]—the chances of winning were pretty slim.
Even Kiba admitted Shino was one of the last opponents he wanted to face in this exam—right up there with Neji and Gaara.
The next match would be between Temari and Shikamaru.
Although the two were not on the same level of combat strength, Shikamaru fully demonstrated his abilities and intelligence before conceding.
Thus, this match ended quickly.
Now it would be Sasuke versus Gaara's fight.
Though Sasuke hadn't appeared on the arena yet, others were already worrying whether he would be counted as having forfeited.
However, Shiki clenched his fist tightly—not because of Sasuke or Gaara.
Because compared to what would happen later, the conflict between these two was far too insignificant.
This was an event capable of heralding an enormous war. If things developed poorly, it could bring consequences that Konoha—and even the entire Ninja World—would be unable to accept.
Suddenly,
Green leaves began swirling inside the arena. A gentle breeze blew, causing the green leaves to dance like snowflakes in midair. To be continued.
Chapter 190: The Butcher
Countless green leaves gently whirled along with the wind; no one could figure out why so many green leaves had suddenly appeared on the ground.
But no matter what, the bizarre phenomenon caught everyone's attention—even Shiranui Genma, who had been about to declare Uchiha Sasuke unfit for competition, turned his gaze toward it.
He had sensed a familiar chakra from within—a chakra belonging to Kakashi Hatake.
The wind continued spinning but became sharper, and now the dancing leaves flew even more violently.
Even Naruto and Shikamaru, standing near the whirlwind, raised their arms to cover their faces.
Yet oddly, just as quickly as the wind had arrived, it vanished. When the strange wind vanished, only two figures stood where the whirlwind had been.
Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha.
At this moment, the leaves, deprived of the wind's support, fell to the ground but reformed into a whirlwind shape centered around the two of them once again.
The two stood back to back. Even though there was a noticeable height difference due to their age gap, the intensity radiating from them was just as sharp and powerful.
"So cool... So handsome!"
This combo could wipe out every girl in the audience in an instant. If not for the overwhelming surprise of their entrance, the air would likely already be filled with excited screams.
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