Chapter 14:Choosing Teammates!

Iruka stood in front of the remaining students and the audience, holding a clipboard. "Congratulations to the students who have made it through to the third round!" His voice rang through the academy grounds. "This next stage will test your abilities even more, so be prepared!" His words were met with murmurs from the audience and excited chatter among the students.

Yuto stared at the board displaying the rankings. He wasn't surprised to see himself tied with Hitomi in first place. Naruko wasn't far behind, having secured second. 'Just as I expected,' he thought, his eyes narrowing slightly. 'The gap's not that big, though. Naruko's not one to stay down for long.'

Naruko, her arms crossed tightly, was glaring at the scoreboard. "Second place," she muttered, clearly displeased. "I should've hit that last moving target!" Her voice was tinged with frustration. 'If I'd gotten that stupid balloon too…'

Hitomi, standing nearby, smirked as she glanced over at Naruko. "Looks like second place suits you just fine, Naruko. Guess you couldn't keep up with me after all." She flashed a smug look, eyes glinting with amusement.

Naruko's expression darkened. "I won't be in second for long!" she snapped, her competitive spirit burning even brighter. She shot a glare at Hitomi. "I'll beat you in the next round, just you wait!"

Yuto sighed at their usual bickering. "You two are exhausting," he said, shaking his head. 'We've still got two more rounds, and they're already at each other's throats,' he thought with mild exasperation. 'But I guess this competition brings out the best in all of us.'

Iruka continued calling out the names of those who had qualified for the third round. Behind the trio, the clan heirs like Shikamaru and Kiba stood in their places, with Shikamaru yawning lazily. Ino was nearby, trying to comfort a teary-eyed Sakura, who had been eliminated earlier.

Sakura wiped her eyes, her voice shaky. "I was so close, Ino… I thought I'd at least make it to the third round…" She sniffled, clearly disappointed.

Ino gave her a reassuring pat on the back. "Don't worry, Sakura! You did your best! There's always next time, and you'll be even stronger then!" Despite comforting her friend, Ino's gaze kept drifting toward Yuto, who stood not far away.

Yuto caught Ino's eyes for a moment and offered a polite nod in response to her unwavering smile. 'She's always smiling at me…' Yuto thought with mild confusion. 'She acts like we've been friends forever, but we only recently started talking. I guess it's because she's heard about me from her dad.' He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. 'And she's always cheering for me like a fangirl.'

Ino blushed slightly, waving at Yuto again. "Good luck in the next round, Yuto!" she called out, her voice filled with admiration.

"Thanks, Ino," Yuto replied, offering a small, appreciative smile. He didn't mind her support; it was just… a bit overwhelming at times.

Naruko, noticing the interaction, crossed her arms with a huff. "Tch, that Ino's always cheering for you," she muttered under her breath.

Hitomi noticed too and her eyebrows also narrowed slightly. "Looks like you've got a fangirl." she said without any emotion in her tone.

Yuto watched Naruko and Hitomi with mild confusion. Both of them seemed irritated by Ino's cheerful waves and supportive gestures. 'Why are they acting like that?' he wondered, frowning slightly. 'It's just Ino being her usual self.' Before he could think more about it, Iruka called the remaining students to attention.

"Alright, everyone!" Iruka's voice boomed over the grounds, grabbing everyone's focus. "For the third round, we'll be doing something called the Flag Hunt."

The students exchanged curious glances as Iruka continued. "In this round, you will form teams of four. Each team will be given a flag with your team's names on it. The objective is simple: protect your flag while trying to steal two flags from other teams."

Naruko grinned widely at the idea of stealing flags, already forming plans to use her pranking skills against them, while Hitomi folded her arms, already considering some strategies to use. Yuto, meanwhile, was processing the challenge, thinking of how this game was going to play out.

"There's a catch," Iruka added, drawing attention again. "You'll have 20 minutes to do this. By the end of the round, the teams that have collected two flags and successfully defended their own flag will move on."

Yuto nodded, already formulating ideas in his head. 'It's going to be chaotic,' he thought. 'Defending and attacking simultaneously… this will definitely test how well we can work together as a team.'

Naruko pumped her fist. "Stealing flags, huh? That sounds like fun! I'll grab them all in no time! You both just defend our flag!"

Hitomi, always competitive, raised an eyebrow. "You're not the only one who can take flags, Naruko. You'd better keep up this time. Or else me and yuto will be done with our task before you even took a step forward."

Naruko shot her a glare. "I'll do more than keep up, you just wait!"

Yuto sighed, half-smiling at their constant banter. 'If only they could channel that energy into working together,' he thought wryly.

Yuto, Hitomi, and Naruko naturally teamed up for the Flag Hunt, but they needed a fourth member. Yuto had someone in mind and quietly approached Hinata, who was nervously watching other teams form. She'd been ignored by others, and just as she was starting to feel sad, she felt a gentle pat on her shoulder. Startled, she turned to see Yuto standing there, smiling.

"I want you on my team," Yuto said.

Hinata's eyes widened in surprise. "M-me?" she stammered, blushing as she glanced around, noticing how everyone else seemed to have dismissed her. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she felt both shy and elated. 'Yuto... wants me to join his team?'

Naruko and Hitomi, meanwhile, were busy fending off a crowd of students—mostly girls—who wanted to join their team. Being with the top three students in the tournament was clearly seen as a guaranteed win, but most of the kids pressing to join were girls. Naruko and Hitomi shot frustrated glances at each other as they turned away more students.

"What's with all these girls?" Naruko huffed, glaring at the growing crowd.

Hitomi crossed her arms, looking equally annoyed. "It's because of Yuto. They all want to be on his team."

Naruko frowned, her competitive spirit flaring. "Hmph! Like we're gonna let them just cling to him."

Unbeknownst to Yuto, who was now happily bringing Hinata back to the group, he had developed a fan club among the girls in their year. Most of them admired his skills and good looks, but Yuto remained oblivious—mainly because Naruko and Hitomi, both still unaware of their own feelings for him, had made it their mission to keep any fangirls far away from him.

As Yuto introduced Hinata to the team, Naruko and Hitomi stopped arguing with the others and focused their attention on the shy Hyuga girl. Naruko gave a determined nod. "Alright! Welcome to the team, Hinata!"

Hitomi, though more reserved, nodded her approval. "Let's see what you've got, Hyuga."

Hinata blushed at the attention but smiled shyly, feeling a bit more confident. "I-I'll do my best!"

(Pls give me some power stones!)

(Find out next time on Naruto:Eye system)