𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 | 𝙉𝙖𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙤

²⁵; ᶜˡᵃˢʰ ᵒᶠ ᵗⁱᵗᵃⁿˢ

"𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐀 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐇 since we last saw him, hasn't it?"

The Hyuga sat beside the man who spoke, a grim look on her face as she nodded her head in confirmation.

Ronin frowned at this, opting to return to silence at her lack of response. Not even bothering to try any further.

She didn't show it, but she was the most nervous she'd ever been in her life. Why wouldn't she be, she'd seen firsthand the destructive power he carried.

A more accurate way to describe how she felt? terrified.

She'd spent the entire month training non-stop with her sister, getting battered and beaten, all in order to beat the Uchiha.

Ronin just wished she'd recognize her own strength, she was just as strong as the two of them, and stronger than any other leaf genin, but he knew she didn't feel that way.

Really, he just wished the two didn't have to fight at all. The three had become decently close friends throughout all their training, even if Mai acted like she disliked the Uchiha. It wasn't fair, but life isn't fair.

Plus, with the dissapearance of the Uchiha following the preliminaries, there was no way to know how strong he had gotten.

Both sides were going into this fight completely blind.

He himself hadn't fought yet, the tournament had just started and the only completed match was Naruto versus Neji, they were currently waiting for Sasuke to arrive, but it seemed that wasn't going to occur anytime soon.

He didn't know how to feel about fighting Temari, and he didn't know if she recognized him, she was his cousin after all.

He didn't want anything to do with any of his relatives in Suna, and hadn't interacted with them in any way yet, but he was nervous she'd recognize him.

"Hey! Start the next match!"

"What's going on?"

"Where's the Uchihas!?"

Multiple voices rang out, the discontent of the spectators evident.

In a normal case, Sasuke would be disqualified, but a majority of the audience, including the Kazekage, was there soley to see the two Uchiha only battle.

"Everyone!" The proctor yelled out, "The contenders for the next match have not arrived yet! As a result to this, the matches will be changed around, and this bout will be postponed."

The Genin in the tournament listen closely, awaiting word on what the next match would end up being.

"The next match will be Mai Hyuga versus Kenjiro Uchiha! Will both competitiors please come down!"

Ronin's eyes widen as he turns to look at Mai, suprised that what was meant to be the last match was changed to occur now, but the people wanted an Uchiha, so...

She lets out a shaky breath before she stands, looking at Ronin for a brief second, the two nodding at eachother as she jumps over the railing, moving to where the proctor stood.

She stood there for a few minutes, wondering if Kenjiro was to actually show up or if he'd do the same as Sasuke did.

The crowd erupted once again, angered that both Uchiha they'd came to see were no shows.

She let out a sigh, wondering where he could be, annoyed that he was making her wait.

Yes, she was deathly afraid to fight him. He was leagues above them in terms of strength now, a contrast to before their first mission, and he'd shown them that in the forest.