Senju Haruto wasn't surprised by the result of the first match.
In the original course of events, Neji had lost to Naruto—and that was when Naruto had only barely drawn upon a sliver of the Nine-Tails' chakra. Back then, he hadn't even formed the chakra cloak.
But this time, Naruto had gone straight into the second stage of tailed-beast transformation.
At that level, it wasn't just that Neji—a genius among genin—stood no chance. Even an elite jōnin like Kakashi might not have been able to handle it properly.
With such an enormous difference in power, it would've been far stranger if Naruto and Neji had ended up evenly matched.
"Neji… lost…"
Guy stood frozen for a long moment before finally realizing what had happened.
He had always known that the Nine-Tails was sealed inside Naruto, but he hadn't expected Naruto to be able to freely wield that chakra now.
"This is basically cheating, Kakashi." Guy couldn't help but grumble, his tone almost as though he hadn't yet accepted defeat himself.
In truth, Kakashi hadn't anticipated this either. Even with Sage Mode and the golden cloak form sealed off, Naruto had still managed to draw upon the Nine-Tails' power.
In a sense, the restrictions had simply not been thorough enough.
But no matter what, the first match was over.
"…It's Sasuke's turn now."
Kakashi deliberately shifted the topic, glancing up toward the competitor's platform where Sasuke stood.
"Sasuke against Kankurō, huh?" Haruto murmured under his breath, faint memories resurfacing.
He recalled that Gaara's team hadn't come to the Chūnin Exams with the actual intent of promotion. Their true purpose had been to unleash the One-Tail and destroy Konoha.
Whether they became chūnin or not was of little interest to them.
During the match against Aburame Shino, Kankurō had forfeited outright to avoid exposing his puppet. If Haruto's memory was correct, things would play out the same this time.
Sure enough, when Sasuke turned toward Kankurō, his interest wasn't in him at all—but in Gaara.
"I… forfeit."
After a brief pause for thought, Kankurō raised his right hand and declared his withdrawal to the proctor, granting Sasuke victory.
And just as Haruto had expected, the reasoning was the same as before.
"Forfeit?"
Sasuke frowned. He hadn't anticipated such an outcome.
But in truth, he had no particular desire to fight someone like Kankurō anyway. Seeing him choose to surrender, Sasuke simply shifted his gaze away and looked instead at Naruto, who had just returned after defeating Neji.
By the rules of advancement, his next opponent would be Naruto.
Naruto, too, quickly realized the same.
"…Sasuke…"
But before anything could come of that realization, the proctor officially declared the result of the second match.
Sasuke wins!
The result, however, didn't sit well with the spectators.
To them, Sasuke's victory was irrelevant. What they wanted was to see the battle itself! Otherwise, why would they have traveled all this way instead of simply waiting for news at home?
They had come in person to witness the genius of the Uchiha clan in action.
It wasn't exaggerating to say that Sasuke's fight was the most anticipated, the most eagerly awaited match of the entire tournament.
And now, for it to end like this?
No few in the stands erupted in complaints, some even demanding refunds.
Of course, none of the grumbling in the audience mattered to the genin waiting on the competitor's bench. They weren't here to perform for the crowd; they were here to become chūnin.
When the proctor called for the next competitors, Gaara's gourd released a swirl of golden sand that gathered beneath his feet, lifting him into the air and carrying him down slowly into the arena.
The aura that Gaara exuded was already formidable, and his dramatic descent only amplified it, quieting many of the restless spectators.
"What a show-off," Naruto muttered, watching Gaara's flashy entrance.
But as Sakura's teammate, he couldn't help but feel a pang of worry for her.
After all, even Rock Lee—a genin of extraordinary ability—hadn't been able to defeat Gaara.
Sakura's speed was nowhere near Lee's.
In other words, from Naruto's perspective, she might not even be able to touch Gaara—and could very well be risking her life.
"Maybe… Sakura, you should just forfeit too?"
Naruto swallowed hard as he suggested it, but earned nothing more than an exasperated glare from her.
"No way I'm forfeiting!"
With that, Sakura placed her hand on the railing of the competitor's platform, preparing to leap down in a bold, dramatic fashion to match Gaara's own.
But one glance at the height below made her lips twitch as she drew in a sharp breath.
Jumping from here… would be suicide.
Her movement stalled for two seconds before she decisively turned on her heel and headed down via the stairs instead.
The audience, of course, erupted into a chorus of sighs and chuckles at the sight.
"With her level of ability, there's no way she can beat Gaara. You all saw what happened to that green-clad boy. As her teammate, I'd advise you to tell her to give up."
Temari glanced at Sakura's retreating figure. Though she respected Sakura's courage, she had no faith in her chances.
Challenging Gaara was barely different from walking to her death.
"Sakura's strong," Sasuke said immediately, without hesitation.
Back during the Land of Waves mission, he hadn't been the only one trained by Senju Haruto. Sakura had grown a great deal during that time as well.
With her current strength, even if she couldn't defeat Gaara, she could at least force him into a corner.
"…I'll trust Sakura too."
Naruto hesitated for only a moment before speaking firmly.
Even though he didn't believe Sakura could win, this was her own choice—and as her comrade, he would support her unconditionally.
Still…
The thought of her facing the same monster who had crushed Rock Lee left him uneasy.
"Honestly… all I was thinking about was showing off in front of Sasuke-kun. Regular physical attacks won't even scratch Gaara."
"How am I supposed to beat absolute defense…?"
Sakura muttered to herself as she walked toward Gaara.
After all, Rock Lee had only managed to outrun Gaara's sand by opening the Eight Inner Gates.
At her speed, she'd never even come close.
"Are you ready?"
Seeing Sakura's conflicted expression, the proctor couldn't help asking.
He too had witnessed Gaara's terrifying strength. Forget genin—even jōnin like himself had no idea how to handle someone like him.
For Sakura to forfeit now would be no shame at all.
In fact, the tone of his question carried more than a hint of urging her to reconsider.
But Sakura only turned her head, casting one last glance back at Sasuke in the stands. His expectant gaze met hers, steady and unwavering.
In the end, she nodded firmly. She was ready.
"…What a lovesick girl."
Watching the scene, Haruto couldn't resist muttering under his breath. At this stage, Sakura's head was filled with nothing but thoughts of romance—she didn't seem to care about anything else.
"Kakashi… that girl's strength…"
Guy hesitated, his voice heavy with concern.