"If I wasn't already injured, do you think your plan would be so easy?"
Watching Zaku raging impotently, Shino casually waved his hand, not caring what the latter thought.
"Give up! I'm not interested in torturing my rival!"
Zaku stood there blankly. He recalled the mission of the Sound Ninjas and his miserable childhood. No! He would never give up so easily!
If he lost this match disgracefully, he didn't know what kind of punishment awaited him back at the base. Looking at his other injured arm, he decided that even if both hands were to be crippled, he must win this match.
Enduring the excruciating pain in his hands, he forcefully pulled them out of the bandages. Just as he was about to make a final stand and go down with Shino, something happened.
"I declare the winner, Shino Aburame!"
Zaku stared at Itachi Uchiha in disbelief as he announced the result.
"What are you doing? I haven't lost yet! I haven't given up!"
Itachi calmly looked at Zaku.
"At the start of the match, I said that apart from the candidates admitting defeat themselves, if I believe one side has no chance of winning, I'll declare the result!"
"Who do you think you are? You should know who I am..."
Before Zaku could finish his sentence, he was immobilized by Itachi's Sharingan. Looking into those cold eyes, he'd only seen such a terrifying look on Orochimaru.
"Brat, watch your mouth!"
Itachi exuded a strong killing intent, which made Zaku, who was facing him, gasp for air and stand there stunned. He scanned the candidates in the stands, who had various expressions on their faces.
"I'll say it again. My decision is final. If anyone disagrees, feel free to challenge me!"
The already quiet stands fell into an even deeper silence. It was the elite Jonin, on par with Shisui the Body Flicker and Kakashi, the Copy Ninja. Even if they all went together, they'd be no match for him.
But this was too arbitrary. Were all the Konoha ninjas like this?
As Zaku was carried away, the Third Hokage couldn't help but tease Kakashi beside him playfully.
"It seems Itachi is very angry and in a hurry. He's usually so proper, calm, and steady, which is completely different from his current appearance."
Kakashi stood casually with one hand on the railing, looking relaxed, but actually, he was extremely nervous inside.
Would Itachi blame him for Sasuke's injury when he got angry?
"Of course. His precious little brother is still injured. How could he not be in a hurry?"
Kakashi looked at Itachi's domineering back. This guy was always a brother - protector. Now, saying such arrogant things in front of so many people, would the reputation of Konoha drop again among the five great countries?
"Sigh!"
...............
As the big screen scrolled, a surprising match was about to begin.
"Ino Yamanaka vs. Sakura Haruno. Both candidates, step forward!"
Sakura and Ino looked at the names of their opponents next to their own names on the screen in disbelief. They couldn't help but wonder why fate was so cruel. They were the best of friends, so why did they have to fight to the death in front of so many people for just one spot?
Ino grabbed the railing with both hands, looking unwilling and a bit scared. As childhood friends, she really couldn't bring herself to do it.
Ino stood on the stage shakily, raising her hand with a choked voice.
"I... I for..."
Before Ino could finish her sentence, she heard a snap as Sakura tightly grasped her hand.
"Sakura?"
"Ino, I'm really glad I can have a match with you. You don't know that since childhood, you've been so handsome and beautiful. You're the idol of many girls, and I've always admired you. I've been standing behind you, silently chasing your back."
"Sakura..."
Ino still remembered that when they were kids, Sakura was often self - conscious about her wide forehead. At that time, she went to talk to Sakura, and since then they've been good friends, never arguing over anything.
Sakura always followed her. From being timid at first to being beautiful and generous later, it seemed that she had always been leading Sakura.
"So, Ino, don't give up like this. Give me a chance to prove that I've grown up and I'm no longer that crying girl hiding behind you!"
Looking into Sakura's determined eyes, memories flooded Ino's mind.
Especially after they were assigned to different Genin teams, every time she went to see Sakura, she was either cultivating or practicing Chakra control.
As time passed, Sakura cultivated later and later, and her injuries gradually increased. She no longer needed Ino's protection...
"Sakura! I won't give up. I'll also go all out and take this match seriously!"
"Yeah!"
"But is it okay for you to talk so big? You've never beaten me in any match since childhood!"
Ino's heart, which was previously heavy, suddenly became light. She could even joke and tease Sakura.
"Those don't count. I'll definitely win this time!"
"Oh~ Really? Then if I win, you lend Sasuke and Naruto to me for a day. I'm going on a date with them!"
"What? If they don't agree themselves, I can't promise you on their behalf!"
"Oh~ You were so confident just now. Are you already planning to admit defeat?"
"What? Are you kidding? The match hasn't even started yet. How could I admit defeat? Just do as you said. If I lose, I'll lend them to you for a day and you can do whatever you want with them!"
?_?
⊙_⊙
"Hey, Sakura, we haven't even agreed to this..."
Naruto whispered, pulling Sasuke along to voice their opinions. But obviously, the two girls in the heated argument didn't pay any attention to them.
"Hey, you two! Are you going to fight or what? If you don't come down right now, you'll both lose your qualification for the test!"
Itachi stood under the stage, waiting impatiently as the two people chatted on and on. Eventually, their conversation became increasingly absurd, even touching on the matter of the ownership of his precious younger brother.
Humph! As his brother, he hadn't given his consent yet. These two shouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly!
"Sorry, Examiner. We'll come down right away!"
"Wow, is that Sasuke's brother? He looks so intimidating!"
"Yeah. Although Sasuke is usually cold and mysterious, compared to his brother, Sasuke's coldness is nothing!"
Under Itachi's powerful and overbearing pressure, the two were immediately shocked and then quickly ran down to the stage.
...............
<><><><><><><><>
~ 80+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
p-atreon.com/Tansnovel
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
~ Every 50 Powerstones = 4 Bonus Chapters on the weekend!