Kiba snorted. "Yeah, and I'm going to be the oo win it. Just you wait and see." Naruto just rolled his eyes. "I'm shaking in my boots, Kiba." Oh, burn. I mean, not really, but it was a ry, Naruto.
As the bickering tinued, Hinata watched with a mixture of and admiration. She was like a little cheerleader, rooting for Naruto from the sidelines. "Naruto-kun is s," she whispered to herself. "I just know he's going to win." (Wait, what, strong? No, at least not yet, young dy.)
Kuro muttered. "Aw, Hinata, you're so sweet." But he was w if Naruto heard that.
But despite the tension in the room, there was a sense of camaraderie, too. I mean, these guys were all in this together, even if they were peting against each other. They were like a big ol' dysfunal family, always bickering and arguing, but deep down, they cared about each other.
And then, of course, there was Reika, who seemed like the odd o. She was like a wild card, uable and mysterious. But hey, that's what made her so iing, right? The unknown quantity, the X-factor. She was like a puzzle, waiting to be solved.
As the versation tihe room only grew more lively. It was like a big ol' party, with everyone chatting and ughing and having a good time. Even Sasuke cracked a smile, although it was more like a faint glimmer of amusement than an actual smile. But hey, it was a start, right?
The verbal sparriween Naruto and Kiba reached a fever pitch, drawing the attention of others nearby. Shino, ever the voice of reason, stepped forward and pced a hand on Kiba’s shoulder.
“That’s enough, Kiba,” Shino said calmly. “Save your energy for the real challenges ahead.”
Kiba hesitated but eventually relented, clig his tongue in annoyance. “Fine. But don’t think I’m letting you off easy, Naruto.”
Naruto gririumphantly. “I’ll be waiting!”
Meanwhile, Hinata quietly approached Naruto, her hands csped tightly in front of her. “N-Naruto-kun,” she began, her voice soft aant. “I think… you’ll do really well.”
Naruto turo her, this time he heard her clearly, his usual bright grin spreading across his face. “Thanks, Hinata! I’ll make sure to show everyone what I’m made of!”
Hinata’s blush deepened, and she nodded quickly before retreating to her team’s side, her heart rag.
As the otion died down, Kuro found himself once again sing the room, his sharp eyes drinking in the sights and sounds of the gathered petitors. He he different dynamics among the teams, some of whom worked seamlessly together, their movements and iions a testament to their months or even years of training together. Others, however, appeared disjointed or overly fident, their body nguage and behavior screaming of a ck of cohesion or a mispced sense of superiority.
Xero, who had been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, broke the silence, his deep voice rumbling through the room. "So, these are the guys we're up against, huh?" He gnced around, his gaze lingering briefly on Gaara, Neji, Shikamaru and of course Sasuke, his eyes narrowing as he sized them up. "Some of them look like they've got potential." His tone was nont, but Kuro could sehe underlying iy, the quiet fidehat Xero exuded like a palpable aura.
Reika nodded, her expression thoughtful, her eyes sing the room with a calg gaze. "But appearances be deceiving," she cautioned, her voice low and smooth. "The real test will reveal who's prepared and who's not." Her words were ced with a hint of warning, a remihat looks could be deceiving, and that the true strength of a petitor couldn't be judged solely by their physical appearance or their team's reputation.
Kuro smirked, a wry smile spreading across his face. "And who's lucky," he added, his voice tinged with a hint of sarcasm.
Xero grinned, crag his knuckles with a loud pop, the sound eg through the room. "Luck won't matter when I'm smashing through the petition," he decred, his fidence b anbsp;
Kuro raised an eyebrow, his eyes glinting with amusement. "We'll see about that," he murmured, his tone ced with a hint of skepticism.
Kuro leaned against the wall, his dark eyes sing the room with a mixture of curiosity and boredom. The atmosphere was thick with tension, the air heavy with the weight of unspoken threats and unseen dangers. He noticed Kabuto Yakushi making his way through the crowd, his eyes fixed on Team 7 and the other rookies. There was something about Kabuto that didn't sit right with Kuro, a sense of uhat he couldn't quite put his finger on.
As Kabuto reached the group, his easygoing demeanor seemed to mask an undercurrent of dession. "You should all quiet down," he began, his tone carrying a hint of mockery. "This isn't some school field trip." He oward a group of Amegakure ninjas, their sharp, hostile gres fixed on Naruto and his panions. Kuro's eyes narrowed, his gaze flig to the Amegakure ninjas before returning to Kabuto. There was something about the way Kabuto seemed to be enjoying the situation that made Kuro's instincts twitch.
Kuro's expression twisted into a wry, humorless smile, a subtle yet scathing refle of his utter disdain for Kabuto. The air seemed to thi with his unspoken pt as he thought to himself, "That slimy, duplicitous bastard, feigning innoce with such transparent guile - how quaint, how utterly...predictable." His mental tone dripped with sarcasm, "Oh, I already kly what you're up to, Kabuto.”
Sakura asked if this was Kabuto's sed time participating in the in Exam.
The older ninja shifted his attention to Sakura, expining, "This is my seventh time participating in the in Exams." He gestured around the room, his eyes glinting with a mixture of amusement and warning. "This isn't a pce for childish antics. You'd do well to keep a low profile." Sakura frowned, her gaze flig nervously to the intimidating petitors surrounding them. Kuro's eyes never left Kabuto's face, his expression unreadable.
