"Neji Hyūga and Gaara are a terrible matchup," Link thought as he watched from the sidelines, shaking his head. He didn’t hold much hope for Neji, who was dodging Gaara’s relentless sand attacks.

  While the Gentle Fist excelled at internal damage and chakra point sealing, it was iive against Gaara, who erpetually shielded by his sand. It was a cssic case of a cle fighter struggling against a le batant—a pure mismat styles.

  Unless Neji could achieve Lee’s speed after opening the Fifth Gate or use a teique like Chidori to pierce through Gaara’s dual defenses, it would be nearly impossible for him to deal any signifit damage.

  Neji had her the speed nor the raw power, but his Byakugan allowed him to observe his oppo’s movements iail. This only trapped him in a cycle of dodging, searg for an opening that did.

  "So much of the story has already ged. Without Kabuto’s team, Lee never faced Gaara…"

  Link couldn’t decide whether to feel relieved or disappointed. Missing this key enter meant losing a ce to recruit Lee and strengthen his bond with Guy. But thinking of Guy, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of te.

  In the arena, Neji suddenly gathered chakra at his feet and made a reckless charge taara, closing the distance rapidly.

  “Sand!”

  Gaara had been prepared. The sand around him surged upward, f a shield like a protective shell.

  “Thud!” Neji’s palm, brimming with chakra, struck the sand shield with tremendous force. It peed deep, nearly reag Gaara’s sand armor. Unfortunately, the attack lost its strength before it could break through entirely.

  Gaara’s face twisted into a cruel smile as his sand coiled around Neji’s arm, attempting to crush him.

  “Whoosh!”

  The sudden release of chakra caused a whirlwind to erupt from Neji’s spinning form.

  "Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!"

  Neji spun like a top, creating a vortex of chakra that repelled Gaara’s sand. The sand fragments rebounded against Gaara’s armor, crag it in multiple pces. The force of the terattack even knocked Gaara into the air.

  A victorious smile spread across Neji’s face.

  "You’re within my Eight Trigrams range now!"

  "Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

  “Smack!” Two palms.

  “Smack!” Four palms.

  “Smack!” Eight palms.

  “Crack!” The sound of Gaara’s sand armor breaking echoed.

  “Boom!” Thirty-two palms. Neji’s strikes finally broke through the st yer of sand, reag Gaara’s chakra points.

  But as Neji tinued his attack, he failed to notice sand creeping up his legs.

  "This is bad…" Guy muttered, his expression tense.

  “Smack!” Sixty-four palms. The final blow nded, but instead of striking Gaara, it hit sand.

  “Crack!” Pain from the crushing sand spread up Neji’s lower body.

  "How? I sealed his chakra points; he shouldn’t be able to use chakra!" hought, his fidence faltering.

  That’s when he realized: "Some of the sand’s chakra isn’t his own!"

  Neji struggled to lift his head and saw Gaara h mid-air on his sand, his armor shattered but his face twisted into a sadistic grin.

  "His chakra is increasing abnormally…"

  Before Neji could process further, his vision was engulfed by sand.

  “Smack!” Guy appeared in an instant, scattering the sand with a powerful blow.

  "Gaara…" Baki tensed, ready to intervene in case his unstable jinchūriki lost trol.

  “Winner: Gaara!” Hayate Gekkō announced.

  Gaara clutched his head in pain, kneeling. The notion of people g for one aools like him showing for others—was inprehensible to him. Memories of his traumatic past resurfaced, filling him with unbearable anguish.

  “Medical team!” Hayate called out, but before the words were fully spoken, a young medic appeared beside Neji.

  “?!” Hayate stepped back slightly, startled by the intense gaze of the boy.

  Link pressed a hand to Neji’s chest, quickly assessing his injuries. "pound fractures in both legs, severe muscle damage, and a partially ruptured waist…"

  He eled chakra into Neji, perf emergency treatment. "Thankfully, the Hyūga’s ability to emit chakra saved him from worse damage. If he hadn’t recklessly advahe injuries would’ve been less severe."

  Even with immediate treatment, Neji’s recovery would take at least a month or two. Still, it was far better than the life-altering injuries Lee had suffered in the inal timeline.

  “Neji!” Lee rushed over, his face filled with . "Neji, are you okay?"

  “Stop yellihe patient.” Link gnced up, his tone sharp.

  “Ah… yes!” Lee quickly backed away, though his gaze lingered on Gaara as he left the arena.

  With his usual enthusiasm, he raised a thumbs-up and shouted, "Wait for me, Sunagakure ninja! I’ll defeat you fair and square in the finals!"

  Not driven by hatred er, Lee’s challenge ure and resolute—a promise to best his oppo honorably.

  "Well done, Lee!" Guy mirrored his student’s gesture, radiating approval.

  Gaara, back with his teammates, observed the camaraderie among the Konoha ninja. His expressiorayed fusion as something g his already fragile psyche.

  "These people… I ’t uand them."

  Beside him, Kankurō flinched, unnerved by Gaara’s growing instability.

  Neji was carried out on a stretcher by the medical team for further treatment. Though not life-threatening, his injuries required immediate attention.

  Link stayed behind, knowing he o address Sasuke’s curse mark soon.

  With the preliminaries cluded, Hayate announced, "The third exam will take p one month. Details will be shared now."

  As the Third Hokage eborated on the finals, Link approached Sasuke.

  "How are you holding up?" he asked quietly.

  The curse mark’s tendency to absorb natural energy and mix it with the host’s chakra meant that even light chakra usage could trigger adverse reas.

  Bleam