Chapter 143: Nice Moves
From the sidelines, Rock Lee stood in an athletic stance, punching the air.
Jada noticed him and inquisitively asked, "Lee, what are you doing?"
"I'm just mentally preparing myself!" he earnestly replied out loud. "I believe that one of these two fighters will be in the finals, and I want to be ready for it!"
Quite the ambitious thing to say. Or rather, completely in character.
Jada blinked, intrigued by the confidence he was exhibiting. She couldn't help but warmly ask, "You really think one of them will meet you in the finals, huh?"
"Well, of course!" Lee exclaimed, fists clenched in excitement as he delivered another slow series of punches into the air. But the enthusiasm surrounding his assertion drew attention from the other roundabout.
"No way, Bushy Brows!" Naruto chimed in from the side. "It's gonna be me in the finals against them!"
Jada shot Naruto a teasing grin and giggled. Iruka, standing nearby with a bemused expression on his face, interjected, "That's impossible, Naruto! You're in the same bracket as them. At best, you might see them in the semi-finals."
"Oh yeah, I knew that," Naruto replied, scratching the back of his head. He then grinned as if he had just solved a complex riddle.
It was moments like this that reminded her of the bond they shared, even amidst this unpredictable tournament.
As the energy shifted, eyes returning to the center where Hoshikaze and Chen stood poised to begin, it felt like the perfect prelude—a clash of strengths between a veteran shinobi and whoever Arthur might have looked to them.