Chapter 71: The Man Leading the Hyuga Clan

No wonder when I hit Neji, he was completely fine.

Hinata smiled and bowed deeply to Neji. He is indeed the most suitable person to lead the Hyuga clan forward...

"Brother Neji, thank you for the guidance."

"Well, actually, you're also very good, Hinata. During our fight just now, I noticed that you're very agile. If you keep cultivating in this area and develop new Ninjutsu that suits you, you'll definitely become stronger!"

Hinata looked at Brother Neji with a smile. She really couldn't compare.

Brother Neji's greatness lies not only in his genius - like understanding and application of Ninjutsu but also in his determination and willpower!

His resolve to eliminate the gap between the main family and the branch family, break the distorted system of the Hyuga clan, and build a brand - new Hyuga Clan that has never existed before.

She thought she couldn't do all this. Not only couldn't she do it, but she hadn't even thought about it...

It's really great that the Hyuga clan has Brother Neji.

"The winner is Neji Hyūga."

................

"Sorry, Teacher Kurenai, I lost."

Hinata lowered her head guiltily, not daring to look at Teacher Kurenai, who had been patiently teaching her for such a long time.

"You've done very well, Hinata. When I first saw you, I thought you were a strong girl. Although everyone thinks you're too weak, I think that's exactly where your strength lies. So, it's okay. Look up."

"Teacher Kurenai."

Kurenai Yūhi showed a beautiful and warm smile. She gently stroked Hinata's hair with her hand. This was an introverted child. It was a great success for her to be willing to stand on the field today.

So far, all three of her students had finished their matches. It was a pity that Kiba and Hinata didn't pass the preliminaries, but Shino advanced successfully, which was still a good result.

.................

"Great job, Neji! You're really worthy of being the rival I recognized!"

Rock Lee showed his shiny white teeth and gave Neji a big thumbs up. He was really worthy of being the rival he approved of, with both outstanding character and strength.

"Stop praising me. Isn't it your turn soon, Lee? Come on and don't lose!"

"Lee, Teacher Gai will always support you. Come on!"

"Yeah!"

................

As the big screen scrolled, a series of pig - like screams came out.

"Safe!"

As the matches continued, the number of people who hadn't competed yet became fewer and fewer.

Shikamaru figured that only he, Lee, Gaara, and Toss of the Sound Ninja were left.

As long as he didn't have to compete with that guy with extremely heavy dark circles under his eyes, everything would be fine!

"Idiot, don't suddenly scream so loudly. I thought it was you competing with Gaara!"

Shikamaru said irritably. He was really startled by this guy just now. That Genin from Sunagakure gave off an inexplicable and intimidating aura.

Based on their team's performance in the previous rounds, no one wants to face a team like theirs. Rock Lee is a master of Taijutsu, and it would be very difficult for Chōji to win against him. As for the Sound Ninja, it's not that he isn't strong. Rather, he exposed his moves too early, which is Chōji's only hope of victory.

"Wow! Teacher Gai, it's finally my turn!"

Rock Lee's round eyes sparkled with excitement. There was a burning flame in his heart. It was obvious that he wasn't afraid of Gaara; instead, he looked extremely thrilled. He was eager to fight against a powerful opponent.

His friends Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji had all defeated their formidable foes. He, too, was determined to win this match.

"Right! Rock Lee, win this match!"

"Yes, sir, Teacher Gai!"

.................

"That watermelon - peel guy only knows some basic martial arts. He's nothing special," Temari said boredly, spreading her hands. Although Rock Lee had blocked her attacks earlier, she didn't think he was very powerful overall. Facing someone like Gaara was like sending him to his doom.

Gaara ignored Temari's taunts. His body began to turn to sand. As the sand slowly flowed, Gaara's figure materialized on the stage.

Itachi Uchiha's sharp eyes swept over the calm - looking Gaara. He had been paying close attention to this kid since the start of the match because he smelled different from everyone else.

The faint smell of blood from the gourd on his back was impossible to ignore. This guy seemed even younger than Sasuke. How much blood had he spilled? How many people had he killed?

Thinking about this, Itachi's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. It seemed he needed to keep a close eye on this match. If this guy showed any signs of trouble, he had to step in immediately!

While Itachi was sizing up Gaara, Gaara was also sizing him up.

The legendary genius ninja of Konoha, who became a Chunin at 10 and a Jonin at almost the same age as him, was now the right - hand and left - hand assistant of the Third Hokage. Even Gaara, who was from the Land of Wind, had heard of his fame.

Although he tried to keep a low profile, the overly flamboyant behavior of Kanpō and Temari had caught Konoha's attention. It would be difficult for them to continue their mission.

Rock Lee excitedly jumped off the stage. He looked sincerely at his upcoming opponent but noticed that the latter was on high alert, looking at Itachi Uchiha, the Examiner.

Instead of getting angry, he just curled his lips. Is it okay to look down on me like this? Although everyone in Konoha knew how powerful Itachi Aniki was, Rock Lee believed he wasn't a weakling either.

"You're Gaara from Sunagakure, right? The match is about to start, but your eyes aren't on your opponent. Being so careless might cost you the match!"

Rock Lee's teasing words forced Gaara to shift his gaze. Gaara stared at the ninja in a tight - fitting ninja suit with a watermelon - peel - like hairstyle on his head. Just as Temari had said, he didn't sense any aura of a powerful fighter from him.

Where on earth did he get the confidence to talk to himself like this? ...

Kanpō couldn't sit still when he saw Itachi Uchiha's suspicious gaze turn towards Gaara. Acting as if nothing had happened, he walked over to Naruto and planned to get some information from this fool. ...

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