With that, a relaxed Daigan turned and walked towards the upper level.
Gekko Hayate stepped forward to check Hinata's condition before announcing, "The winner is Daigan! As Hyuga Hinata is unconscious, she cannot exercise her right to challenge another victor and is considered to have forfeited. She is eliminated."
***
As a composed Daigan walked up the stairs, he was met by Kankuro's cheerful greeting.
"Yo, 'Red Sand Dust,' our first confirmed finalist. How's it feel?"
"It's alright," Daigan replied, waving his hand magnanimously. "It was only natural, wasn't it? No need to be so surprised."
He was three or four years older than those brats who had just graduated from the Academy. It was only natural that he'd be a little stronger. With his superior stamina, combat experience, and an overwhelming intelligence advantage from long preparation, if he had still managed to lose, he might as well have gone back to Sunagakure to live out his days and wait for the chosen one to save the world. The ninja world was too dangerous for failures to be making waves.
Down below, the unconscious Hyuga Hinata was carried away on a stretcher. Aside from a few cuts and the senbon wounds, she wasn't seriously injured. The poison that had knocked her out wasn't fatal; she would recover after some rest.
Daigan, on the other hand, had used up a considerable amount of chakra, and the stress of consecutive battles had been immense. If the fight had dragged on any longer, the outcome might have been different.
But at last, it was over. The next month would be a chance to rest, recover, and improve.
Greatly relieved, Daigan dismissed his Substitute Puppet. He then took out some rations and water, letting the Temari puppet sitting on his shoulder feed him.
Once he relaxed, the hunger from not having eaten for so long hit him, and he no longer held back.
After a few moments of ravenous eating, Daigan suddenly noticed the area around him had gone quiet. He turned his head to see Temari staring at him with a strange expression.
"Uh, what did I do now?"
"You..." Temari looked in disgust at the puppet on Daigan's shoulder, which was busy serving him food and water. "You want me to do that for you that badly?"
"What?" Daigan looked from the puppet to Temari, then back again. "My arm is injured, you know? It hurts like crazy to move it. It's just more convenient to use a puppet."
"And you can guarantee there wasn't some other thought behind it? Like, say, having me wait on you..."
"Nope."
"No? Then why are you chewing on that beef jerky so hard?"
Her suspicious eyes drew closer, staring right into his.
*She's so cute!*
He had never seen her beautiful face from this close. It was right in front of him. Daigan's calm heart started pounding again. This was far more stressful than fighting Rock Lee and Hyuga Hinata.
"You're sweating. Feeling guilty?"
"Huh? Not at all."
"Liar!"
"How am I lying? I'm just a little hot after the fight. It's definitely not a guilty sweat!"
"Who knows?" Temari pulled back her suspicious gaze, letting Daigan breathe a long sigh of relief. "So you really don't want me to feed you?"
"I really don't! Only a grandson would want you to feed him..."
In an instant, Temari's eyebrows shot up, and her eyes flashed dangerously at Daigan.
"No, no, I misspoke... I mean, I do, of course I do... No, I mean, not right now, and I wasn't thinking about it just now!"
"Is that so!" Temari shot him a fierce glare, then turned her head away. "Don't talk to me anymore. Stay away from me."
"But..."
Temari walked away, leaving Daigan staring after her, dumbfounded. "Why am I so unlucky? Don't you think so, Chi?"
Chi, standing nearby, seemed not to have noticed their conversation at all. She was staring blankly at the electronic screen. Daigan couldn't help but look over. It was displaying the next matchup drawn from the winner's bracket.
Chi vs. Yakushi Kabuto!
"It's your turn again so soon?"
Chi gave a bitter smile. "Did your bad luck rub off on me? This is the worst."
"So... what are you going to do? That Yakushi Kabuto guy doesn't look easy to deal with."
"Maybe," Chi said noncommittally. "But that Konoha ninja used up a lot of energy to beat Sana."
"You want to give it a try?"
"Yeah. If I can't win, I can just surrender and challenge someone else. He doesn't seem like a ruthless person..."
On the surface, it looked like Chi had a decent chance. She had easily defeated Inuzuka Kiba, while Yakushi Kabuto was already injured and had only won against Sana after a "tough fight."
But the truth...
"Well, good luck then."
So far, at least, Yakushi Kabuto's disguise hadn't slipped. Whether it was by coincidence or by design, this was how things stood.
"Daigan, if I win, could you..."
"Hm?"
"Never mind, it's nothing. I have to go."
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