Chapter 787

Senju Tobirama glared at Minato. What he had heard last night already filled him with utter disdain — a perfectly good person, and yet his ninjutsu was given such long, bizarre names. Could this Fourth Hokage guy be a natural airhead?

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Senju Tobirama grabbed Danzo and walked straight out; he didn't want to waste time with certain people.

"Let's go too. The barrier's already been lifted. The Root members should be discovering something's happened to their leader by now. Hopefully Lin Cheng's side isn't in too much of a rush, or there'll be nothing left for us to see when we get there."

The adult version of Lin Cheng, Banlincheng, lifted the barrier, placed a hand on Uchiha Itachi's shoulder, and headed with him toward the arena.

And among them, the only one who had temporarily slipped away from the group was Orochimaru. The instant Lin Cheng had left just now, Orochimaru had vanished at the same time.

The arena needed Orochimaru to stir up some excitement. And these people, suddenly appearing without any attempt at concealment, shocked countless ninja and civilians alike.

"Sorry we're a bit late getting back!" Lin Cheng appeared suddenly with Sasuke, standing beside Naruto and glancing around.

After those people had arrived earlier, the third round of the Chunin Exams officially began. Sasuke's absence was reported by Kakashi — officially, Lin Cheng had taken him away on some business.

Although he was annoyed those two hadn't come, the Third Hokage looked at Lin Cheng and felt a little relieved that at least a shadow clone had been sent to handle things. This was still the first match — the two sides facing off were Temari and Shikamaru. Their battle—

Overall, Shikamaru's odds of winning were greater, but he kept dragging things out, calculating each move and repeatedly making Temari furious. Then control, stall, enrage, control again.

"Lin Cheng, you finally made it. Shikamaru's really gotten into acting now, but Gaara's sister is probably so angry she wants to tear him apart."

Naruto hugged Lin Cheng's arm and told him about this match — exciting at first, but increasingly dull the more you watched.

"Shikamaru did well. Now it's our turn."

Lin Cheng reached out and brushed Naruto's half-long hair. Everything was prepared now. Next, the next match would continue.

"Will it be us next?"

Hearing Lin Cheng's words, Naruto's eyes went wide in an instant.

She didn't think that old man the Third would let something like that happen. After all, having a jinchūriki face Lin Cheng directly — that would be no better than letting her, the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, face Gaara.

Because against Lin Cheng she wouldn't even need to fight — she'd obviously just surrender outright.

The match is hard to say — it's the Hokage's arrangement, after all.

Stunned by Naruto's question, Lin Cheng hadn't expected that what she was still thinking about was the arena.

No matter who it is on the arena next, there won't be any result — because that guy Orochimaru has already arrived.

"Of course, we'll just see how to arrange this!"

Naruto hugged her arms and squirmed — she really had been overthinking it.

"I surrender!"

Just after Shikamaru once again trapped Temari with his Shadow Imitation Technique, this time he didn't delay any longer and directly raised his hand to concede. He clearly had countless chances to win, yet surrendered at this moment. Whether it was the other examinees, or the envoys and ninja of the Five Great Nations in the stands, they all looked with conflicted faces at the proctor as he announced Temari the winner.

"My chakra's run out, so I have to thank you for going easy on me!"

After being declared the victor, Shikamaru simply plopped down on the ground and thanked Temari, who was glaring at him.

That look successfully left Temari with nowhere to vent her anger. Once again her face flushed crimson. Furious, the next match was announced: Kazama Lin Cheng versus Hyūga Hinata!

Sarutobi Kurenai — no, Enma — watching the two names appear on the screen, quietly breathed a sigh of relief inside.

Good — at least it wasn't this guy facing his publicly known girlfriend. Otherwise there'd be absolutely no fight to watch.

In any case, let's hope nothing goes wrong!

"Lin Cheng, winning is definitely a breeze. I believe in you!"

Naruto took the lead in cheering Lin Cheng on, but Sakura and Ino looked over with some worry. Unlike Naruto's indifference, the two of them had always regarded Hinata as a formidable rival.

Although Lin Cheng's attitude had always been obvious, Hinata's very existence was enough to make them worry without meaning to.

Actually, if you really thought about it, the two of them didn't even know where this unease came from. After all, even though Hinata had once been a Young Lady, that meant nothing in front of Lin Cheng.

The two had discussed it many times and could only chalk it up to a girl's intuition in the end.

"Lin Cheng, go for it!"

Watching Lin Cheng about to step down onto the field, Ino and Sakura could only hope for the outcome they had imagined.

"Don't worry, there won't be any problem!"

Lin Cheng walked slowly down the steps. Hinata, unseen for many days, entered from the opposite side. The two exchanged no words, simply standing in the field, waiting for the referee to announce the start.

"The competitors have entered the field. Please abide by the match rules. Now… begin!"

Enma looked from one side to the other — these two weren't even going to talk? But he was just the proctor; at a time like this, it was best not to say more. Leaving directly was the safest option.