The Third Hokage looked at Jiraiya and Tsunade, smacking his lips, and said helplessly, "I really had no choice. Minato and Kushina sacrificed themselves, Orochimaru defected, and both of you were away from the village. If we were to fight with the Cloud Village, Konoha would definitely suffer heavy losses.
At that time, the Hyuga clan was already a bit restless, so I thought I could use this chance to discipline them. Look at them now, the Hyuga clan is so obedient and well-behaved."
"...So you still think you did the right thing?"
"Whether it's right or wrong, time will judge."
Tsunade and Jiraiya's faces darkened.
Both of them knew the old man wasn't wrong.
If they had been in the village, or even just one of them, the Cloud Village wouldn't have dared to extort Konoha so openly.
"It would have been better if Minato and Kushina hadn't died."
"Yeah, in the end, it's all Uchiha Obito's fault. If he hadn't started the Nine-Tails attack, the village wouldn't have lost its high-level combat power and would still have relied on the old man to hold the fort."
After saying that, Tsunade turned her head and stared directly at Obito.
"Hey, what does this have to do with me? Okay, it does, but I was young and didn't know better back then."
Obito was completely numb.
Even the extortion by the Cloud Village was his fault now?
Luckily, he knew his situation was awkward, so to avoid making Rin uncomfortable, he readily admitted his mistake.
"Hmph, it's good that you know you were wrong. After we finish watching this, give me a million ryo, consider it compensation for the mental distress I've endured."
"Huh?"
"Hahaha, Obito, don't listen to her. She's just crazy about money."
"Tch~"
Jiraiya laughed awkwardly, and Tsunade didn't insist on making Obito pay.
She just wanted to express her attitude.
She, the medical prodigy and one of the legendary Sannin, Tsunade, was right. The one who was wrong was Uchiha Obito.
Obito: Ah, right, right!
[Hinata was shaking from Neji's harsh words, feeling utterly ashamed.]
[At this moment, a foolish encouragement came from the stands.]
[Yes, the one encouraging Hinata was none other than our king of words: Naruto Uzumaki.]
[Naruto: Hurry up and defeat him, Hinata! I can't watch this anymore.]
[Hearing Naruto's encouragement, Hinata froze.]
[Yes, following through and never giving up is Naruto's ninja way, and it's also hers.]
[At this moment, her panicked heart finally calmed down, and her expression shifted from fear to calm.]
[Hinata: I don't want to run anymore. Let's settle this, Neji-nii.]
[Actually, Hinata's taijutsu wasn't weak. According to the bingo book, at this point, her taijutsu value was already five.]
[Don't underestimate five points. Most of the others were still stuck around two or three.]
[But even so, in front of the genius of the Hyuga clan, Hinata was still far behind.]
[At this time, Neji's taijutsu value was a solid seven, stronger than many Chunin. He fought Hinata as if he were a ten-year veteran in a children's bumper car ride, relaxed and easy.]
[After just a few rounds, Hinata was heavily injured. Not only were all her chakra points sealed, but even her heart was hit with a fatal blow.]
[Hinata struggled to get up from the ground. Neji, on the other hand, was growing impatient. He hated these stubborn types.]
[The final round ended, and Hinata fell, coughing up blood, while Neji confidently turned away.]
[Just as everyone thought the fight was over, and even the examiner was about to announce the result, Naruto once again sent his foolish encouragement.]
[Naruto: Don't stop the match, Hinata!]
"Son, you don't seriously want Hinata to be beaten to death by Neji, do you?"
Looking at the screen, with her silly son encouraging her blindly, Kushina felt extremely embarrassed.
"Why? Hinata didn't give up, so shouldn't I encourage her?"
Seeing how clueless Naruto made Kushina, Minato turned to Naruto and said,
"When the difference in strength is so large, and after trying everything, realizing that you can't win, surrendering is actually a good choice. After all, this is just an exam, not a life-or-death battle."
"Is that so?"
Naruto turned to Kakashi, hoping to hear what his teacher had to say.
"Hmm, Minato-sensei is right. In Hinata's case, surrendering was indeed the best choice."
Kakashi had a strong impression of this match.
During that fight, Neji didn't hold back, and in the end, he even revealed his killing intent, wanting to take Hinata's life.
If no one had intervened, maybe Hinata would have been killed by Neji.
Luckily, it wasn't just him who had that thought. Guy, Kurenai, and Asuma shared the same concern.
The four of them acted together to stop Neji, and Neji had no way to counter it.
Looking at the outcome, if Naruto hadn't encouraged her again, Hinata could have received treatment sooner, and she wouldn't have had to endure the pain standing on the platform.
"Alright, I guess I was wrong."
Naruto groaned, holding his head in frustration.
Even though he didn't think there was anything wrong with encouraging Hinata, since both his parents and Kakashi-sensei said so, he would bravely admit his mistake, and then spend time figuring out why he was wrong.
This is Naruto's strength.
He admits his mistakes and corrects them.
However, many things don't have a clear right or wrong; it's just that different perspectives lead to different conclusions.
Adults weigh the pros and cons, while children follow their hearts.
Perhaps, Naruto would need a lot of time to understand the right and wrong of this matter.
[Hinata didn't lose consciousness. With Naruto's encouragement, she struggled and got back up again.]
[She had always been a nobody with little presence, but now that the person she liked finally noticed her, how could she afford to mess up in front of him?]
[Seeing Hinata getting back up, Neji, already angry, became even more furious.]
[At this moment, a murderous aura appeared in Neji's eyes. He activated his Byakugan and attacked Hinata again.]
[At this point, Hinata's injuries had already overwhelmed her. Before Neji's attack could land, she collapsed.]
[Naruto, flustered and worried, was the first to run over to check on her.]
Naruto: I didn't—I wasn't—I didn't say that!
[Hinata, gazing at Naruto who was filled with concern, wanted to ask him if she had changed at all, but her injuries were too severe. Before she could even speak, she fell unconscious.]
In Tobirama's office.
Little Jiraiya looked displeased at the screen and said, "This kid Neji sure has a big presence, huh? It takes four Jonin just to stop him. He's really showing off."
(Little Jiraiya didn't know that Hayate was a Special Jonin.)
"It's not that he has a big presence, but these four Jonin all wanted to save Hinata, that's why we see four people stopping one," explained Orochimaru.
After giving Little Jiraiya a brief explanation, Orochimaru continued, "By the way, the villain we'll be facing in the second half, named Hiruko, do you think he could be one of our classmates?"
"I hope not... but... sigh~"
As a friend of Hiruko, naturally, Jiraiya didn't want the big villain that the screen was about to count to be him.
But in the ninja world, there are really too few people with the same name.
The high probability is that this big villain is their classmate.
"Orochimaru, how about we go visit Hiruko tomorrow?"
"No, you go if you want to."
"Alright, fine. If you're not going, I'll go find him myself."
*********
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