Chapter 74: A Win Earned By Good Looks - The White Eyed Princess of Konoha

Chapter 74: A Win Earned By Good Looks Hinata found that Neji had grown somewhat dull over time. When they were children, Neji would blush at the sight of her, but now he carried himself with earnest seriousness, like a little adult. Hmph! All poisoned by the rigid rules of the Hyuga clan. Hinata figured that once Neji grew up, he would become just like Hiashi and Hizashi—always stern-faced, as if someone owed them money and hadn't paid it back. Hinata set a small goal for herself... to ensure Neji lived to see adulthood with some joy! The battles continued in the arena. The first round was mainly about eliminating the weaker opponents. Most were defeated instantly, and even the slightly stronger ones couldn't last more than a few rounds. A bit boring. Wasn't Kakashi already completely absorbed in the story of "Icha Icha Paradise"? However, Hinata never found her fun on the battlefield. Her eyes darted around, searching for someone to tease. Eventually… they landed on the Third Hokage. The Third awkwardly turned his face away, not daring to meet Hinata's eyes. But Hinata wasn't planning on offending the Third Hokage; after all, he was still in power for another month. It was wise to keep things smooth until the end. The first round quickly concluded, with 32 participants being halved, leaving only 16. Gaara's team advanced completely, one female ninja from the Sound Village was eliminated, and among Konoha's tenacious Twelve, only Sakura was knocked out. Hinata and Ino had even gone out of their way to comfort Sakura. Sakura was now following Kurenai's path of genjutsu, but as a beginner, her combat strength wasn't particularly high, especially against an opponent like the Sand Village's Temari. Gekkō Hayate announced calmly, "Now we'll begin the second round of preliminary matches..." Glancing at the screen on the wall, he continued, "Hyuga Hinata vs. Zaku Abumi!" Internally, Hinata gave a thumbs up to the Third Hokage, appreciating the consideration. She had been worried about being matched against Neji; a clash within the family wouldn’t be pleasant. As Hinata prepared to jump over the railing, Zaku across the way raised his hand to signal, "I... I forfeit!" Zaku was quite self-aware, having watched Hinata's earlier battle. Based on her mountain-crushing move, she seemed to be a similar type of ninja to him, using chakra waves to attack. But their power levels were not the same. Like comparing a firecracker to a grenade. What’s more, despite her cute appearance and seemingly soft demeanor—like a girl easy to bully—Hinata was, in fact, ruthlessly brutal in combat, creating grisly scenes. Though abandoning the match meant Orochimaru would discard him, there might still be a sliver of hope in that, unlike facing Hinata, which was a guaranteed path to destruction. Hinata nodded with satisfaction; that was obedient enough. He must have been won over by my cuteness and didn’t want to hit me. Ever since the beginning of this exam, Hinata felt her strength wasn't great, but her looks were quite the asset. I live off my looks! Having opponents forfeit just by appearance—now that's the real power of overwhelming beauty. I, the great Ōtsutsuki Hinata... reign supreme with my looks in the ninja world! "Due to Zaku's forfeiture, the winner of the first match is Hyuga Hinata!" “Ahem!” Gekkō Hayate maintained his composure, announcing without any change in expression, "Now the second match... Uzumaki Naruto vs. Kiba Inuzuka!" "Finally, it's my turn!" Naruto shouted, jumping downstairs, pointing at Kiba, "Get down here, defeated opponent!" Indeed, in the Forest of Death, Naruto had seriously pummeled Kiba. Kiba leapt down with Akamaru in his arms, showing off his impressive taijutsu. "Naruto, that was just me being careless. If it weren't for Hinata's influence, do you really think you could beat me?" Hinata: Was it because of my looks? Naruto taunted, "Only weaklings make excuses for their failures." Kiba was stunned. Was this really Naruto with that level of eloquence? In truth, the outcome of this match was decided from the start; Kiba was simply no match for Naruto. This version of Naruto was far stronger than he had been at this point in the original series, unburdened by the Five Elements Seal from Orochimaru, making jutsu much easier to use. More importantly, Kiba's chakra reserves were limited. Naruto, inheriting the vast life force and chakra of the Uzumaki Clan, coupled with the Nine-Tails' power, could easily wear his opponent down; even if Naruto stood still, one could bet on who would tire out first. Discussing chakra reserves, Hinata recently made a new discovery. Even as a child, her chakra capacity greatly exceeded that of her peers. At first, she thought it was due to her innate talent, which accelerated her chakra growth. By the time she graduated, her chakra amount had surpassed that of Hiashi. Yet at the time, she hadn’t paid it much mind. Recently, however, she noticed her chakra was increasing at a rapid pace. Hinata had a theory. Activating the Tenseigan, besides needing a lot of Byakugan, also required merging a pure Byakugan with Ōtsutsuki bloodline. Much like how Madara Uchiha gained the Rinnegan by fusing with Hashirama's cells. And Hinata’s eyes were a result of her wish. Based on this logic, Hinata probably carried Ōtsutsuki blood within her. Right now, it was likely the point of bloodline awakening. Hinata had considered this and it gave her the confidence to declare she could surpass Hiashi soon. Though unsure how long until the Tenseigan would awaken, her growing chakra reserves undoubtedly made her more suited for prolonged battles, wearing down opponents with less chakra. For example… Itachi Uchiha! Targeting Itachi Uchiha was a task Hiashi assigned to Hinata when she was just five years old. Hinata, in her confusion, had agreed. According to official data, Itachi Uchiha's 'stamina' was rated lower than Kakashi’s. Lost in thought, the match downstairs had already been decided. Naruto had defeated Kiba once again, securing his victory. With this, both Hinata and Naruto from Team 7 advanced to the third exam. Sasuke felt the pressure. Naruto, grinning ear to ear, bounded up to Sasuke, bragging, "Sasuke, both Hinata and I have advanced smoothly; don’t disgrace our Team 7. I really want to fight you!" Sasuke huffed, turning his head away, but his eyes kept darting to the screen. Having seen Gaara's strength, Sasuke knew there were several monsters in this competition that he couldn't defeat as he was now. Besides, Hinata’s cousin was quite intriguing. The names on the screen flickered and finally stopped. “Hyuga Neji vs. Shino Aburame!” Hinata approached Neji, whispering a reminder, “Brother Neji, be careful!” Neji hadn’t been worried initially, but hearing Hinata's words made him serious. Could Shino Aburame be a formidable opponent?