Naruto pouted his lips high, closed his eyes, spread his arms, and flew towards Hinata in the air.
"Naruto, your battle with Neji was really exciting. Even I can't tie with Neji in Taijutsu."
Naruto opened his eyes, and what came into view was a watermelon-headed guy with thick eyebrows. Naruto almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.
"Naruto!" Rock Lee accurately caught Naruto who was pouncing on him, hugged Naruto in his arms, gave Naruto a thumbs up, and showed a sunny smile. His white teeth seemed to be glistening.
Naruto seemed to have lost his soul. His face turned pale, and he looked like a deflated piece of paper.
"Naruto, are you okay? I didn't expect that after you were hit by Neji's palm, you seemed to be seriously injured." Rock Lee asked with concern. At this time, Naruto was being held in a princess carry by Rock Lee.
In fact, Neji's palm couldn't hurt Naruto at all. Being held so strangely by Rock Lee was the real harm.
"Naruto-kun, are you hurt?" Hinata's gentle and caring voice sounded beside him.
Hearing Hinata's voice, Naruto instantly returned to full strength. He jumped out of Rock Lee's arms at an extremely fast speed and quickly ran in front of Hinata.
"It was so close! I almost died. Thankfully, you're here." Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and rubbed his cheek against it. It seemed that he wanted to comfort his fragile heart with Hinata's fair and tender little hands.
"Naruto-kun, it's good to see you're okay." Hinata seemed to be comforting Naruto. Because she knew best how dangerous the Gentle Fist of the Hyuga family was. Each palm strike targeted the meridians and internal organs, making it extremely difficult for ordinary people to endure.
The Gentle Fist has the gentlest name, but it is an extremely deadly boxing technique.
"This..." Naruto exclaimed in shock. He stroked Hinata's palm with a very solemn expression.
"What's wrong?" Hinata asked in reply.
"Hey, Neji has practiced the Gentle Fist so much that his palms are all calloused. In contrast, Hinata's hands are so smooth. He's such a clumsy oaf compared to Hinata." Naruto looked silly and innocent.
Hinata felt a little embarrassed. She really didn't know if Naruto was praising her or disliking that she didn't train as hard as Neji.
"..." Neji, standing not far away, wore a solemn expression. Watching Naruto and Hinata being all lovey-dovey, he felt deeply neglected and insulted.
Neji got angry. He quickly rushed to Naruto's side and kicked at Naruto directly.
Naruto protected Hinata and hugged her in his arms. At the same time, he raised his left arm to block Neji's kick. He stared fiercely and said, "Neji! If I don't teach you a lesson, you won't know who the strongest is among the new generation in Konoha."
Orange Chakra burst out from Naruto's whole body. It was the Chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Hinata, being held in Naruto's arms, felt full of strength all over her body.
The orange Chakra on Naruto's body actually covered Hinata.
"What!"
On the most luxurious grandstand, Third Hokage noticed this scene. None of the previous battles could pique his interest. It was only when Naruto Uzumaki released a large amount of the Nine - Tailed Fox's Chakra that it could change Third Hokage's expression.
Naruto Uzumaki! At such a young age, he can control the Nine - Tailed Fox's Chakra so well! Naruto's aptitude is no less than Sasuke's. The Fourth Kazekage, who was disguised as Orochimaru, watched the situation in the arena and thought to himself: I wonder if it's feasible to make Naruto my vessel...
Soon, Orochimaru gave up this idea. Naruto, in whose body the Nine - Tailed Fox was sealed, was already a vessel. If he wanted to seize Naruto's body, there would be too many variables, the risk would be higher, and the chance of success would be extremely low. The Nine - Tailed Fox itself was a very unstable factor.
"Hinata, let's go for Gatai!" Naruto shared the Nine - Tailed Fox Chakra with Hinata, forming a fox - shaped bubble membrane on Hinata's body surface.
Sensing the danger, Neji quickly stepped back, looking at Naruto and Hinata in disbelief. Watching the obvious changes in their appearance, Neji felt the aura of a powerful enemy for the first time.
"What is this..." Hinata was covered in orange Chakra, and the concrete outline of the Chakra was very much like a fox, with two long ears on her head.
Neji analyzed the situation. The Chakra of Naruto and Hinata was indeed strange, but in essence, it was still Chakra. As long as it is Chakra, it can be cut by the Gentle Fist.
Hinata, wrapped in the Nine - Tailed Fox's Chakra coat, rushed towards Neji and engaged him in close combat.
Both Neji and Hinata opened their Byakugan. Their palm strikes were as sharp as blades, and being hit by their palms was like having one's throat blocked. They dodged each other's palm gusts and aimed at each other's meridians, attacking each other's weak points with every move.
Rock Lee stood straight, his eyes fixed firmly on Naruto. He made a starting pose with his right hand, and the meaning was obvious - he wanted to fight Naruto.
Naruto first cast a concerned glance at Hinata. With the blessing of the Nine - Tailed Fox Chakra, Hinata's defense and the power of her Ninjutsu would increase. Maybe she could really fight Neji.
"Ah—" Rock Lee rushed straight up, flashing in front of Naruto. Suddenly, he vanished and then reappeared behind Naruto.
Naruto opened his eyes wide. Only when facing Lee directly did he realize how terrifying this guy's speed was.
Naruto kicked backward sideways. Lee quickly moved away, and only the continuous popping sounds in the air could be heard. Lee transformed into a whirlwind and circled around Naruto.
Naruto thought to himself: What a high speed! It's so fast that I can't even catch it with my eyes...
"Ninjutsu! Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto quickly made hand seals and pressed his palm on the ground, summoning a two - meter - tall big frog.
The big frog appeared right in the path that Lee was circling around. The big frog looked panicked, and Lee was equally shocked.
Lee, moving at high speed, crashed into the big frog directly because of inertia.
The big frog was so frightened that its eyes popped out. At the critical moment of the upcoming collision, Lee stomped hard on the ground and leaped into the air, dodging the big frog.
The summoned big frog got it. It was summoned by the caster as an obstacle, with the purpose of making it collide with the opponent.
Seeing Lee dodge the big frog, someone thought to himself that Lee truly lived up to his reputation. Among the younger generation in Konoha, no one other than him could perform such a difficult Taijutsu.
"Naruto — finally found you —"
"Why are so many people looking for me! I'm not a beauty..." Naruto said with a scowl and looked to the side, only to see Gaara's figure.
Naruto was stunned. All the top - ranked fighters in this Chunin Exams had gathered around him.
What was going on? Do the strong automatically attract the strong?
"Gaara, you have the nerve," Naruto said. "As Sand Ninjas, you have the nerve to show up in front of us."
Lee landed on the ground from the air. He stopped attacking Naruto and shifted his attention to Gaara instead.
Lee stepped forward voluntarily and stood in front of Naruto. Judging from his stance, he seemed to want to fight Gaara.
"Get out of the way. You're not my target," Gaara roared angrily.
"If you want to get to Naruto, you have to beat me first," Lee retorted defiantly.
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