The seven of us stood in the center of the ring, surrounded by the deafening roar of the crowd. Sasuke wasn't here—he was late. Good for him. Dosu was absent as well, his whereabouts unknown. I stood between Gaara and Neji, feeling the oppressive weight of Gaara's malevolent presence beside me. It was suffocating.
Naruto was scanning the crowd, probably searching for Sasuke. His restlessness was palpable.
"Stop fidgeting. Stand still and face forward, towards the guests," Genma reprimanded Naruto, his voice firm. "All of you are the stars of these finals."
"Ahem, ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests... welcome and heartfelt thanks for gathering here in Konohagakure for the Chunin Selection Examination!" Lord Third's voice boomed from the highest seat in the stands. "We will now begin the matches of the final round between the nine candidates who advanced in the preliminaries. Please sit back and enjoy!"
Genma held up an unfolded piece of parchment, drawing our attention. "Before we begin, I have a few announcements. Look here," he said, his tone authoritative.
(more of my shat editing 😻)
Deze afbeelding leeft onze inhoudsrichtlijnen niet na. Verwijder de afbeelding of upload een andere om verder te gaan met publiceren.
Genma continued, "There have been a few last-minute changes. Look again and confirm your assigned opponent."
Instead of ten of us, there were now nine in total. Dosu. I wondered what had made him withdraw—if he did withdraw, anyway. Gaara was tense beside me, and my eyes widened. Could Gaara have killed Dosu? I wouldn't put it past him, but still...
"Hey! Hey!!" Naruto called out, his voice cutting through the murmurs.
Genma grumbled, "What?!"
"Sasuke's not here yet, so what's gonna happen?" Naruto asked, genuine concern in his voice.
"If he doesn't arrive by the start of his own match, he'll lose by forfeit, and the match will be taken on by Uchiha Misaki and Gaara," Genma said, confirming my suspicions. If Sasuke didn't hurry up, I'd take his opponent. We were both itching to kill each other.
