Chapter 54: What Do You Mean by a Top-Tier Substitute Player?!
"Forget it, even if I tell you, you wouldn't understand." Naruto stretched lazily. "Oh, right, Kurama, do tailed beasts even have male or female distinctions?"
"What are you asking that for?" The Nine-Tails gave Naruto a sideways glance.
"Curiosity."
Normally, the Nine-Tails disdained talking with Naruto, but remembering how this human had just been considering improving its environment, it begrudgingly explained a little more.
"We're manifestations of chakra. Strictly speaking, we don't have genders."
"Then why are you a male fox?"
"I…" The Nine-Tails was momentarily speechless and decided it didn't want to deal with Naruto anymore.
"Since that's the case, why don't you transform into a fox-eared cute girl?" Naruto's curiosity exploded, throwing out a path the Nine-Tails had never even considered.
"ROAR—!!! Get lost!"
"Damn! The Nine-Tails is way too fierce!" Naruto opened his eyes and sat up angrily from the moss-covered, shaded stone steps. "I was just curious, that's all. It doesn't want to change, and it's not like I even wanted to see it!"
"Pah!"
With a slightly regretful sigh, Naruto stood and turned his gaze toward the central tower.
Might as well go take a look inside. Even though he wasn't participating, he still felt a little concerned. This extra exam seemed to be a 1v1 elimination battle. The opponents weren't chosen randomly either—it was completely behind closed doors and opaque.
But since he'd already withdrawn, those brain-dead higher-ups wouldn't actually match Hinata against Neji, right?
A duel between the branch family's prodigy and the main family's heiress? That'd just be a one-sided beating!
Uneasy, Naruto hesitated for a while before finally deciding to head in. If things looked bad, he'd just have Hinata forfeit early. No point letting her suffer in a pointless beatdown.
As he was about to step forward, the synthetic mechanical voice rang again in his head.
Ding!
A panel popped up, showing two options:
[Option 1: Use the Mind Body Switch Technique (system-provided perfect compatibility) to take over Hinata's body and make her surrender. Reward: Explosive Tags x20.]
[Option 2: Use the Mind Body Switch Technique (system-provided perfect compatibility) to take over Hinata's body and defeat Neji. Reward: Kusanagi Sword.]
After reading the options, Naruto instinctively grumbled,
"There's no way she could win."
"Option one, obviously option one."
The moment he spoke, Naruto's entire body collapsed to the ground as if his soul had been sucked out, falling into a deep sleep. With the Nine-Tails still inside him, he wasn't worried about anyone daring to mess with his unconscious body.
Inside the central tower, Hinata—drawn against Hyuga Neji—stood anxiously, fidgeting.
Her palms were sweaty as she clenched her hands.
In the arena, Kiba and Chōji were locked in battle, almost finished. Next up would be her match with Neji. Facing her cold, merciless cousin, Hinata felt mostly fear.
But she didn't want to give up. She still wanted to fight with dignity and do her best.
Suddenly, she felt her body fall out of her control. Her pupils dilated as a strange, foreign sensation spread through her entire being.
"No… my body… something's entering me!"
"Ha…"
Shino, noticing Hinata's strange reaction, turned and asked,
"What's wrong with you?"
"I'm fine." Hinata looked up, but Naruto's soul overlapped with hers perfectly.
In the inner world of shared consciousness, where only the two of them could hear each other—
"Naruto-kun? You… what's going on?" Hinata asked nervously. She realized she couldn't move her body at all—only her eyes and mind were free.
"Don't worry, Hinata." Naruto's voice was gentle. "This is a mental jutsu. I'll be borrowing your body for a bit."
"Borrowing… my body?" Hinata froze, then suddenly realized the implication and cried out, "Pervert! Don't you dare—!"
Indeed, this perfectly compatible Mind Body Switch Technique was a hundred times more precise than Ino's version. Naruto could not only fully control Hinata's body but also share consciousness. Of course, there were unavoidable side effects.
For example, Naruto could feel every aspect of Hinata's body—like the weight on her chest, and…
The absence of his own "equipment" left him feeling strangely drafty.
"Uh… Hinata, relax." Naruto chuckled awkwardly.
"Naruto-kun, you pervert!" In the inner world, Hinata hugged herself tightly and crouched down.
But it was pointless—Naruto was still controlling her body on the outside.
"Sorry." Naruto apologized sincerely. "Please trust me, Hinata. I won't hurt you."
"If you had to face this fight on your own, you'd definitely get hurt. I just don't want that, so I had no choice but to do this!"
Hearing that, Hinata calmed a little. She looked up at Naruto, blushing, and asked softly,
"Naruto-kun… you really did this because you were worried about me?"
"Of course!" Naruto said firmly. "I definitely worry about you, so please don't be mad, okay?"
"I… I'm not mad at Naruto-kun." Hinata spoke gently, her face red as an apple.
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your body! I won't do anything weird!" Naruto promised earnestly. "Once this exam's over, I'll treat you to barbecue, alright?"
"Okay." Hinata nodded shyly, her face burning like a tomato.
"Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke again.
"Mm? What is it?"
"I know I'm not a match for Neji-nii-san. And I… can pretty much guess what Naruto-kun is planning—to forfeit the match for me, right?"
Naruto stayed silent.
"I know giving up is the safest choice. But… Naruto-kun, I also want… to follow my own ninja way." Hinata's voice was small but resolute. "Just once, I want to prove that I'm not someone who fails at everything."
"Becoming a ninja was my choice. Training with everyone has been so much fun, and I truly treasure this path."
"So… if my determination makes things harder for Naruto-kun… could you please give me my body back?"
"Even if… even if I get hurt, I still want to try."
As Naruto fell silent, the fight in the arena wrapped up—Kiba defeated Chōji.
Hayate's languid, raspy voice announced from the stands,
"Next match: Hyuga Neji versus Hyuga Hinata!"
With Hinata about to step onto the stage, Naruto took a deep breath and said,
"No."
"Eh?" Hinata was stunned. "But…"
"I'll fight in your place." Naruto cut her off. "We're already here. Don't worry, Hinata, I'll do my best."
With that, Naruto, controlling Hinata's body, slowly walked toward the arena.
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