Back at the arena, he once again took his seat beside Yuuma and Hayate Gekko.
"Shiki, you seem off today. Are you nervous about your match?" Hayate Gekko sensed something was wrong—Shiki Uzumaki did indeed appear somewhat unusual.
"I'm a bit nervous," Shiki replied. However, he knew his anxiety wasn't due to the competition itself, but rather what was about to happen next.
Among all the matches scheduled for this Chunin Exams round, his fight against Lee would be held last.
Unless something unexpected occurred, there wouldn't even be a battle between him and Lee during these Exams.
This was because nothing had changed—Gaara's opponent remained Sasuke.
And over the past month, Sasuke had gone away for special training with Kakashi.
What techniques Kakashi would teach Sasuke was no secret to Shiki.
Right now on the battlefield, Naruto Uzumaki was clearly at a disadvantage—in speed, strength, or anything else.
He couldn't match Neji's abilities at all, only constantly creating waves of Shadow Clones to engage Neji in battle.
Still, this wasn't going to work for long.
Yet Shiki felt slightly calmer inside, anticipating what would unfold next.
The crowd roared with excitement—normally Shiki would've been cheering right along with them.
Today, however, he had absolutely no mood for it.
Suddenly, the chakra signature below drastically shifted—within Shiki's sensory perception, an incredibly domineering yet powerful chakra emerged.
Nine chakra tails floated out from Naruto Uzumaki's body, swirling through the air. This was an iconic scene straight from the original story—but clarification must be made: this wasn't the same as tailed beast cloak visible to the naked eye—it was merely borrowed chakra directly drawn from Nine-Tails.
The helpless, nearly defenseless Naruto Uzumaki just moments ago suddenly transformed, like being reborn anew.
With this chakra boost, both his speed and power dramatically increased—now he could actually stand toe-to-toe against Neji in direct confrontation.
"What exactly is that?"
No one knew how many spectators stood up in alarm, astonished by this sudden surge of chakra radiating from Uzumaki Naruto.
Yet nobody could stop the battle currently unfolding into something even more intense.
Two opposing chakra forces clashed violently—Hyūga Neji's Gentle Fist strikes, now boosted with raw power, slammed into Uzumaki Naruto.
Explosive booms reverberated across the stadium, shaking every spectator's soul. Nobody expected someone who had been labeled a "dead-last" could now fight equally against Neji—who was known as a genius.
Even Third Hokage's eyes briefly gleamed sharply—"So it's Nine-Tails' chakra... When did he learn to control it?"
He didn't know that throughout this entire month, Naruto Uzumaki had been training with Jiraiya to master it.
Just a small portion of the Nine-Tails' power could produce such might—Shiki himself couldn't help but feel momentarily amazed.
But soon after, he regained his composure. [Power like this comes at a cost—loneliness, hatred, and exile. People see only the strength a tailed beast brings, never the pain that comes with it.]
Shiki let out a light sigh and turned his gaze toward another section of the spectator seats. Across the crowd, he locked eyes with Gaara.
Gaara hadn't slept at all for this.
Except for the Uzumaki Clan, who could perfectly bear tailed beasts, other clans would pay some sort of price.
Of course, if one could earn the tailed beast's approval, that cost would lessen significantly, allowing them to truly become an asset to the Ninja Village.
Hard work won't always pay off, but at least it gives you something to hope for.
Everyone watched in shock as Naruto won the fight.
Naruto shouted in joy as he ran up to the stands. For the first time, it seemed like he'd gained someone else's recognition.
When he reached Shiki, Shiki gave him a quick compliment: "Naruto, you did well."
But Naruto looked away with a pout and said, "Unless you treat me to the deluxe version of Ramen, I won't easily forgive you. As for Hinata, I've already apologized to her."
Shiki nodded slightly. He also knew that his attack back then had been too harsh — driven entirely by the anger he felt when he saw how Hinata had been hurt.
"Deal."
At this moment, Shiki wasn't in the mood for jokes either, speaking with genuine seriousness.
Naruto was momentarily stunned, but the next moment, Shiki's hand landed heavily on his shoulder.
"Naruto, you've really become stronger."
This was heartfelt praise.
Then, Shiki turned his head and walked in another direction. To be continued.
Chapter 189: Glistening Leaves in the Rain
The place where Shiki's gaze landed held only an extremely weakened person.
But seemingly, he had regained some strength now, using what little power remained in his hands to stand up.
There was no sign of disappointment over defeat on his face — only calmness. This loss didn't seem to affect him much at all.
Right now, every cheer from the audience was for Naruto. Almost everyone had ignored this defeated figure.
Even this feeling reminded him again of the world's nature.
No one cared about the weak or those who failed. At this moment, he felt he had become both.
If losing to Shiki Uzumaki could still be understood, then losing to Naruto Uzumaki was absolutely unforgivable.
However, he had long grown used to this loneliness and coldness — just like the countless lonely nights he had endured alone before.
Slightly shaking his head, he felt his legs had somewhat recovered their strength. Then, dragging his feet, he began walking toward the rest area.
"Please come with us for some wound treatment."
A medic ninja's voice rang in his ears. Only the medics truly paid attention to the defeated.
But Neji shook his head, "No thanks. I can take care of these minor wounds myself."
Most of his battle against Naruto had involved direct collisions of power. Without sharp weapons involved, there were naturally no severe injuries.
To him, getting injured had become routine. Therefore, he didn't want anyone else treating such slight wounds.
Because doing so would make him feel even more like a weakling.
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