From the night of genocide, marching towards the strongest.

"Stop talking." Sasuke sighed, glanced at the scene, and said calmly, "If you keep encouraging her, Hinata will be beaten to death."

"Forehead...."

Upon hearing this, Naruto was speechless, silently shut his mouth, and looked at the field with a worried expression.

boom!

Once again, Hyuga Neji's Gentle Fist struck Hinata hard in the abdomen, and Hinata coughed up blood.

"Just admit defeat, you have no chance of winning!"

Looking at Hinata, who was covered in wounds, Hyuga Neji's eyes flashed with pity and conflict, but it quickly disappeared, replaced by an indifferent expression.

The girl stood up shakily, gently wiped her mouth, and smiled weakly, "Neji-nii-san, I will not give up!"

"If that's the case, then die!"

With a fierce determination, Hyuga Neji attacked Hinata instantly. Although he said he wanted to die, he still held back a lot of force when he attacked, and avoided hitting any vital points.

Next, just like in the original story, Naruto came to the rescue.

"I'll give you a good beating, you bastard, a month from now!"

Naruto issued a challenge to Neji Hyuga.

However, the match that followed, which was drawn by lot, did not go as Naruto had hoped.

The Chunin Exams finals schedule is as follows:

No. 1 Kankuro VS No. 2 Aburame Shino!

#3 Temari VS #4 Nara Shikamaru

Gaara #5 VS Sakura Haruno #6!

#7 Hyuga Neji VS #8 Tos

And the final match—Uchiha Sasuke vs. Uzumaki Naruto!

With the draw completed, the third Chunin Reserve Selection Exam came to an end.

Chapter 137 Interlude

"I never expected to be paired with Sasuke."

Looking at the paper in his hand, Naruto's expression was conflicted, his heart filled with mixed feelings of joy and worry.

The good news is that I can finally have a proper showdown with Sasuke.

The worry is that he probably won't be able to give that arrogant Hyuga Neji a good beating in the Chunin Finals.

Unless the two are drawn together again after the first round of elimination matches.

But Naruto also faces a very difficult problem.

"Although I really want to beat Neji up, I reckon... I'm probably no match for Sasuke right now."

Naruto murmured softly, looking conflicted.

"Be more confident, Naruto!"

Seeing that Naruto's expression was not good, Sasuke thought for a moment and then gently comforted him, "Remove the 'estimate' and 'probably'."

"Sasuke-kun is right!"

Sakura nodded in agreement and chimed in.

Ah ah ah ah ah!

That damn Sasuke, he still talks so annoyingly!

Why is Sakura always on his side?!

Hearing this, Naruto felt a surge of frustration and pointed at Sasuke, shouting, "You arrogant brat, what are you so smug about? Next month's tournament, I will definitely defeat you in front of the entire village and show everyone who the real genius ninja is! Humph!"

The little guys look really spirited!

Kakashi looked at the three students in front of him and felt a warm feeling well up in his heart. After the three of them talked for a while,

He cleared his throat to draw everyone's attention and said, "In order to prepare for the Chunin Exams in a month, I have decided to arrange a long period of special training for you."

"First, Naruto. You'll be training with me in taijutsu for the time being."

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Naruto gave Kakashi a somewhat disdainful look.

"Kakashi-sensei, can you really teach me taijutsu?"

For the past few months, in Naruto's mind, Kakashi-sensei has been playing the role of someone who is lazy, slacking off, and procrastinating.

Late! Slacking off! Taking a break!

The key issue is that my body is still weak!

What kind of powerful martial arts skills could someone with such a weak body teach me?

"You'll find out when the time comes."

Kakashi coughed lightly, ignoring Naruto's disapproving look, and turned to Sakura, saying, "Sakura, you too. As for Sasuke..."

"I can train on my own, Kakashi-sensei."

Before Kakashi could finish speaking, Sasuke spoke up.

"Kakashi-sensei has already taught me everything he could, and I haven't fully figured out what he gave me a few days ago. I'll take this month to study it carefully."

"okay."

Kakashi remained silent for a long time before finally nodding.

"If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to come and ask me anytime."

Just as Sasuke said, he had already taught him almost everything he could in the past two years.

There's absolutely no stock left.

As Sasuke suggested, let him meditate alone for a while; it might be more effective that way.

This month, I'll be able to spend more time and energy on Naruto and Sakura.

"Then it's settled. Sasuke will train on his own. Naruto and Sakura, meet at the third training ground at 8:00 AM tomorrow!"

"Hi!" X3

"Disband!"

..............

As evening fell, the sky was dyed blood red by the setting sun, like a raging fire, and the peach-colored clouds became hazy and dreamlike.

It was already evening when we emerged from the central tower of the Death Forest.

Konoha East Street.

After saying goodbye to Sakura and Naruto on the street, Sasuke walked alone on the main street of the village. The Uchiha clan's territory was located in the eastern corner of Konoha.

This East Street was the only route he took every day to reach his clan's territory.

As Sasuke walked, his pace was neither hurried nor slow, while he kept planning something in his mind.

Suddenly, Sasuke stopped in his tracks and looked up at the flower shop on his left.

Mountain flower shop.

This isn't the flower shop owned by the Ino family, but rather a flower shop belonging to another mountain clan.

Like the Nara clan, whose sideline occupations were medicinal herbs and deer farming, the Yamanaka clan's sideline occupations were gardening and flower cultivation.

Sasuke stood still, quietly observing the flower shop for a while, before stepping inside.

Welcome!

A young man, about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with orange-red hair tied in a ponytail.

Upon seeing Sasuke walk in, the young man was visibly stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered and put on a professional smile.

"Are you here to choose flowers?"

"Hmm, come and take a look."

Nodding slightly, Sasuke spoke calmly.

"Does the guest know the meaning and symbolism of various flowers?" the orange-haired man asked gently. "Buying flowers is a very particular matter. Different occasions and different people require different flowers. Who are you buying flowers for? Your teacher? A friend? Or... a girl you like?"

Towards the end, the orange-haired man's tone carried a hint of teasing.

But Sasuke could tell that his teasing was fake, and even his gentle tone was an act.

"neither."

Sasuke slowly shook his head and replied, "It's to commemorate the dead."

Upon hearing this, the orange-haired man was taken aback, but quickly understood.

That's right, today is July 6th, and in a few days it will be the anniversary of the Uchiha clan massacre.

After a moment of silence, the man with orange hair spoke up: "If it is a memorial for the deceased, I recommend that you choose white chrysanthemums. White chrysanthemums symbolize mourning and longing, and are generally used when mourning the dead or during sacrifices and tomb sweeping to express one's feelings of remembrance."

"Then let's have white chrysanthemums."

Sasuke didn't bother with much selection and directly chose the white chrysanthemum recommended by the man.

"How many white chrysanthemums would the guest like?"

The man with orange hair smiled gently and asked the question knowingly.

"How much..." Sasuke muttered to himself, not answering the man's question immediately. He slowly glanced around the flower shop before finally fixing his gaze on the man.

"The flowers in your shop are not enough, far from enough."

When Sasuke looked at him with calm eyes, the orange-haired man felt a sudden unease.

However, as one of the few members of the Yamanaka clan who were proficient in sensory abilities, he did not sense any killing intent or malice from Sasuke.

Moreover, how could Uchiha Sasuke possibly have murderous intent towards him for no reason?

Unless he knows the truth about that night and his own identity.