After everyone finished their cheers, Jada took a moment to look where Arthur was standing. He caught her gaze, prompting her to gesture two fingers up with a smile.
Arthur returned her victory pose with a subtle smile.
Her fight was over, meaning his was possibly next. So he stood there for a moment to think about this turn of events.
Sasuke—Victorious. Hinata—Victorious. Alice—Victorious. Margaret—Victorious. Alex—Victorious. Naruto—Victorious. Jasper—Victorious. Jada—Victorious.
Things had been going awry because all of those winners were far stronger than he believed them to be. The most significant upset was Naruto's victory. While the main character may have defeated Kiba like in the original story, his overall growth was misjudged.
Then there were the players who won their matches. They were clearly strong enough to become Chūnin. But based on what Arthur had seen today, they could very well lead their own team of Genin as Jōnin.
He sighed.
Assuming he won his match, there was still one bigger event to consider: the next arc, Orochimaru's invasion. This was written to take place after a one-month break once the preliminaries concluded. Such an event was looking less likely to happen.
Arthur weighed the unpredictable nature of things.
There was approximately a twenty percent chance of Orochimaru's invasion occurring. If it happened, the focus would shift from the tournament to the village's defense, causing the final matches to be postponed or canceled altogether.
With that thought settled, he placed his attention back on the screen.
Letters scrambled together to reveal the next fighters. He patiently waited, eying the monitor. If it displayed Gaara's name and his, he would have no choice but to show some of his skills.
Then, the texts solidified into bold letters: Gaara versus Shino Aburame.
Arthur dodged a bullet there. Now it was also certain that he would be fighting Chōji for the last match. How strategic of him to have spared the only member of Team 10, allowing these results.
Shino's hidden face betrayed no emotion as he met Gaara on stage.
Arthur knew the outcome of this fight: Gaara's victory was inevitable.
Shino, despite his unique insect manipulation techniques, simply didn't have the firepower to contend with Gaara's overwhelming sand.
When the match started. Shino wasted no time by waving his arm to summon a swarm of black, buzzing insects from his body. They surged forward in a dark cloud to devour Gaara whole and disrupt his chakra flow.
Gaara, however, remained in one spot. He was clearly more annoyed than grossed out, unlike some of the spectators.
With a mere flick of his wrist, a torrent of sand erupted from his gourd, engulfing the approaching insects in a swirling vortex. The desperate buzzing of the bugs filled the air for a moment before they were ripped to shreds and their tiny bodies swallowed whole by the relentless sand.
The crowd, although disturbed, gasped in unison.
Shino, his brow furrowed in concentration, unleashed another wave of insects, only to be met with the same overwhelming response.
The speed of the insects made the sand seem impenetrable, while Gaara proved effective on both the offensive and defensive ends.
But amidst the display of power, Arthur noticed a subtle flaw in Gaara's strategy: his reliance on the overwhelming quantity of sand left him vulnerable to a more precise, targeted attack. This weakness, Arthur mused, could potentially be exploited by skilled opponents—opponents who had already proved they could beat Gaara head-on.
Arthur's musings were interrupted by insects buzzing on the arena floor.
Frustrated by the ineffectiveness of his bugs, Shino decided to take a more direct approach. He charged toward Gaara while forming a hand sign.
Gaara reacted by kneeling down to form a wall of sand on the side. This prompted Shino to stop, unaware that sand tendrils underneath were wrapping his ankles. When he tried to leap, he found himself stuck.
Gaara then used the sand to fling Shino right into the wall.
Splash!
"Give up," Gaara said in a voice devoid of emotion. "You're too weak; you stand no chance against me."
Shino tried to rise, but his efforts were in vain as more sand pressed down on him. By the time he noticed, he was trapped in a sand-like coffin.
"Stop!" Margaret yelled, knowing what Gaara was going to do next. Everyone's attention turned toward her. Everyone except for Gaara, who raised his hand. "I said stop!"
At those words, she flung herself onto the stage, cocked her arm back, and smashed through the sand encasing Shino inside.
Gaara was surprised as Shino slumped to the floor, coughing up sand.
"What's wrong with you?!" Anko yelled, coming onto the stage.
"He… He was going to kill him," Margaret explained.
"That's not the point," Anko relayed. "You could be removed from the exams because of that act."
Now the other players were concerned.
Hayate wasted no time appearing on the stage. He looked at the scene with an analytical face before coming to a conclusion. "Because of this intervention, Shino Aburame is disqualified. The winner of this match is Gaara."
There wasn't a single cheer from the stands. Gaara remained unmoved, his eyes devoid of any satisfaction to begin with. He simply resealed his gourd and calmly returned to his team.
Arthur watched as Margaret's Jōnin instructor and Kurenai met her on the stage, only to berate her for her actions. She tried her best to explain that Gaara's last technique was going to be the "Sand Burial," a jutsu that would crush all of Shino's bones from the sand pressure.
If that were to have happened, Shino (a main cast member) would have died.
It was hard for Kurenai and the other Jōnin to comprehend this. Shino himself, unaware of Gaara's true strength, thanked Margaret for intervening when she did. He really could have died.
It wasn't long until things finally settled. The proctors agreed not to disqualify Margaret, believing that Gaara's win was inevitable since Shino claimed that he had nothing to help him escape.
The other players were relieved. Arthur himself didn't care whether Shino had died or whether Margaret would have been disqualified; he had his own match to focus on.
Neither he nor Chōji needed a monitor to tell them their fight was next. They both strode to the arena while the crowd cheered them on.
Naruto yelled, "Go get 'em, Arthur! Give Chōji a run for his food!"
While the comment frustrated Chōji, Arthur felt odd being cheered on by the likes of the main character. He had never interacted with the boy before, so there was no real reason to be cheered for.
The rest of the audience, however, held a more reserved expression. They instead cheered on for Chōji, knowing the boy had lost his teammates. The only other spectators showing just as much interest in Arthur were none other than Hiruzen and Kakashi.
All eyes were on him, making now the perfect moment to seize this opportunity.
"Chōji," he casually said. "I'm sorry about what happened. They were your friends and deserved to see you here."
Chōji was lost for words for a moment. He then thanked Arthur, stating that this is what he signed up for.
"I'll get revenge for them one day," Arthur claimed, "but before that, I have to grow stronger and win the exams. For Shikamaru, for Ino!"
Such words were enough to affect just about everyone who heard. Mainly Asuma, who had never known that Arthur cared so much for his current and deceased pupils.
Hayate raised his hand and started the match.
'High-speed movement...'
Before Chōji could even launch his first attack, Arthur moved with unorthodox speed. His right arm blurred into a streak, and with a sudden crack, his fist landed squarely on Chōji's chin!
The Akimichi fell to the ground in a heap.
There was a brief moment of silence, broken only by awe and gasps.
Hayate rushed toward Chōji. After a cursory examination, he looked up and declared, "The winner of this match is Arthur Bennett."
Cheers erupted from the stands, albeit less thunderous than for the previous matches. Only a few were amazed that Arthur had dispatched an opponent with a single blow, for he was the only one to do it.
As Arthur stood, his gaze swept across the crowd. He saw the looks of their intense analysis. Jasper and Alex, with their Byakugan activated, were clearly unimpressed by the speed. The former, however, gave him a nod of approval.
Even Jada, Kakashi, and Sasuke had their Sharingan active—all of whom gave different looks.
Hiruzen had a strange smile on his face, while the others remained only a little baffled. A great knockout, yes, but nothing spectacular.
Arthur knew that he had fooled them. That speed he displayed was just enough to surprise Chōji, but not enough to really show himself off.
Was Arthur actually that much faster than they believed? Not entirely. Chōji was simply too slow to react.
Arthur's main reason for ending the fight this way was to remain a subject not worth the attention. The more he stayed out of the spotlight, the easier it would be for him to maneuver the village.
As medical personnel carried Chōji off the platform, Arthur returned to his balcony.
Surprisingly, his Jōnin approached him to show her admiration. She had separated from him, believing that he wouldn't last. Yet after seeing that surprise knockout, she felt the need to congratulate him.
Her words weren't even close to purposeful.
Later, all the winners were instructed to return to the stage. Hayate stood in front of them as he made his announcement.
"That concludes today's matches! You ten will be advancing to the finals."
Hiruzen then emerged to raise his hand to declare, "I commend you all on your outstanding performance. You have displayed your skills and determination and earned the right to compete in the final round."
Naruto pumped his fist in the air, excited to have made it so far. He was the loudest of the qualifiers.
"The finals will commence in one month," Hiruzen continued. "During this period, it is advised that you prepare for the challenges that lie ahead."
All the players knew that this one-month break would be crucial. It would be a period of intense planning and strategizing, particularly for the finals. And after everyone's display of skills, not a single one of them wanted to fall behind.
Hiruzen gestured to Anko nearby, who approached the participants with a box in her hands.
"Time to see who you'll all be facing," she drawled with a sardonic grin. "Each of you will pick a slip, and the number on it will determine your opponent in the finals."
Naruto, who was originally carefree, now seemed anxious. When she approached him, he reached into the box and drew a slip of paper. "I got number one!"
Anko then swept past the remaining participants as they too received their numbers.
Gaara saw the number two. Hinata received number three. Margaret picked number four. Alex got the number five. Jasper picked number six, followed by Alice, who received the number seven. Jada picked number eight. Sasuke was assigned number nine. And finally, Arthur, who received the last number—number ten.
Anko then presented a board that displayed a bracket for the upcoming battles.
Naruto, with number one, was paired against Gaara, number two. Hinata, number three, would face Margaret, number four.
The remaining participants were paired accordingly, following a simple number-based sequence.
Arthur's gaze drifted toward Sasuke, who was paired against him. Who knew what that Uchiha was thinking? Regardless, he gave Sasuke a slight grin, only to have it reflected right back.
After a dismissing speech, the winners were free to disperse, each engrossed in their own thoughts.
Naruto, brimming with nervous excitement, began peppering Sasuke with questions about Gaara. Margaret and Hinata exchanged a nod of acknowledgement. Jada and Alice—since they were going to be fighting one another—couldn't help but smile due to their mutual understanding.
Everyone else, such as Alex and Jasper, seemed to be mentally strategizing their own upcoming fights. One thing was certain about those two: neither of them was going to back down.
Arthur decided to use this opportunity and sought out Asuma, who stood observing the dispersing crowd.
He raised an eyebrow as Arthur approached. "What can I do for you?"
"You did a great job as a Jōnin raising your team... I'd like to know that it wasn't at all your fault things turned out the way they did."
"This is the price of being a ninja. By the way, congrats on your fight against Chōji. It's not easy to take him out like that."
Arthur could tell that Asuma was being modest. So he leaned in and said, "If you ever need anything, Asuma-sensei, you let me know."
Asuma's eyebrow shot up a little. He hadn't expected Arthur (technically a kid) to be the respectful type. In truth, Arthur simply knew the right time to lower himself.
"You're a fine ninja," Asuma finished. "I'll be sure to let Chōji know how you felt when he wakes up."
The building was eventually winding down. Announcements were made, directing participants toward designated areas for post-match medical evaluations and information for the finals.
And when the sun finally set, the preliminaries ended.