A Chance to Make a Big Score!

Before the official matches began.

There was also a speech from the Land of Fire's minister, followed by speeches from the Three Sannin.

Tang Ping had no interest in any of it. He would rather watch the three people glaring at each other like fighting cocks.

In fact.

Most of the contestants in the competitors' stands were secretly observing those three as well.

That was far more interesting than the speeches.

Fortunately, people from the Three Great Ninja Villages were maintaining order in the corners of the competitors' stands, so no one started fighting there.

The contestants from each ninja village stuck together.

Don't think the contestants would get along peacefully.

They all wished the others dead.

One only had to look at how ruthlessly the examinees had attacked each other in the Death Forest to understand that.

Only a few had successfully sent out signals and been rescued.

Although more than half of those eliminated had been taken out by the hunters, quite a few had fallen to attacks from other examinees.

Exams during non-peaceful times were nothing more than legitimate stages for slaughter.

Only during the peaceful era in the future would they become real exams. This didn't count.

Now you understood.

Why people from the Three Great Ninja Villages were stationed in the corners, right?

Because without them, there might not have been many living people left before the matches even began.

This was the real ninja world.

Cruel and bloody!

That future situation where examinees peacefully coexisted was completely fake.

There were twenty-four examinees participating in the third round.

More had survived the Death Forest than that, but villages whose competitors were too weak would voluntarily have them withdraw.

The Three Great Ninja Villages occupied half the slots.

Konoha had it the worst!

They only had Tang Ping and Kakashi.

The reason was probably that Konoha was the strongest of the Five Great Ninja Villages, so everyone had tacitly targeted them.

"The first match is about to begin. Contestants Uchiha Tang Ping and Juan, please take the field!"

An examiner in the corner suddenly called out.

The one-on-one matchups had just been drawn by the examiners near the main stands.

None of the three seeded contestants had been matched against each other.

Something's fishy!

Tang Ping complained inwardly.

The three seeded contestants were the ones the audience most wanted to see. If they faced each other in the first round, there would not be much left to watch afterward.

But... when Tang Ping heard his matchup, he felt like killing someone.

He had no objection to rigging the draw, but they couldn't screw him over like this, could they?

His opponent was Juan?

A Sunagakure kunoichi skilled in binding seals, and also a member of Baki's team.

She might have been a girl, but she fought dirty.

It would have been fine on an open battlefield, but on a limited arena like this, it was absolutely her home ground.

Damn it!

If all the examinees were ranked by how troublesome they were, she would definitely place in the top ten.

Tang Ping glanced at the girl hurrying toward one contestants' tunnel, then headed into another tunnel himself.

The dim, lengthy contestants' tunnel gave him a good chance to sort through his thoughts.

Tang Ping could not afford to lose this time.

Leaving the arena in one piece aside, the bets he had placed alone meant he could not lose.

The best opportunity to make money!

Was this Joint Chunin Exams.

Where there were matches, there was naturally betting.

Gambling was legal in the ninja world.

The Joint Chunin Exams, a grand event held once every few years, were the perfect platform.

This was far more exciting than football.

Naturally, the bookmakers were nobles and wealthy merchants.

If ninjas acted as bookmakers, the nobles and merchants would never accept it.

There was only one reason.

Everyone feared that if they lost too much, the ninjas might simply pull a "dead men owe no debts," and that would be disastrous.

There had been precedents for that, which was why things had ended up this way.

After Tang Ping learned that his White Thighs had not only gone bankrupt but had even mortgaged her home, he thought of this source of profit.

Bet on himself to win!

His strength had been severely underestimated. As long as he could bet on himself, he could make a Big Score.

Of course, he could not keep it all to himself.

He would bring in the Main Branch Lineage, along with some ordinary Uchiha clansmen, and swallow this piece of the pie together.

That way, those great nobles and wealthy merchants acting as bookmakers would have no way to renege on their debts.

Because if they did, they would have to face Uchiha's wrath.

At the same time, Uchiha Mei could use this opportunity to win over the Main Branch Lineage and seize the position of Branch Head.

After her eyes had been injured some time ago, quite a few people had defected to Uchiha Xiu. Naturally, she had to win them back.

So Tang Ping absolutely could not lose.

As he thought about this, a glimmer of light appeared ahead.

It was the exit of the passage!

Beyond it lay the arena, where he would fight beneath countless watching eyes.

The reason the Joint Chunin Exams were a stage for making a name for oneself—

Was precisely because of these one-on-one matches.

The first test was entirely meant to eliminate those trying to muddle through.

The second test selected the geniuses.

The third test was the stage for geniuses to display themselves.

As long as one reached the third round, nearly everyone would pass the Chunin Exams.

Thus, the third-round matches were no longer fought to pass the exam, but for the honor of one's village and oneself.

When Tang Ping passed through the exit, Overwhelming noise surged into his ears like a tide.

"Go!"

"Konoha will win!"

"Sunagakure will win!"

The shouts made his blood boil.

The person emerging from the contestant passage opposite him was a young girl wearing a sand-protection cloth over her head and carrying a bundle of white cloth on her back.

Juan!

She was considered a sealing prodigy among the Sand ninjas.

When Tang Ping saw the few examiners standing to the side, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Those people?"

There were three match examiners, rather than only one as in the anime.

Konoha's representative was Minato Namikaze.

The other two examiners were a man and a woman.

The man was powerfully built, wearing a Red Ninja Hat. He had a distinctive large nose and a beard running across his face, dressed in a red combat uniform, with a long red sleeve covering his left arm while his right arm was bare.

He resembled a steady mountain.

Kitsuchi!

He was also the son of Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage, and was considered Iwagakure's strongest member of the New Generation.

The final female examiner wore a backless bodysuit, her birch-green hair tied up, and possessed a temperament like blazing fire.

Scorching Style Yekura!

She was likewise a powerhouse of Sunagakure's New Generation.

The examiners were all at least Elite Jonin, and perhaps even Quasi-Kage-level powerhouses.

It was meant to showcase the village's strength, give them a chance to make an impression, and protect the village's future.

Of course, although there were three examiners, the Konoha examiner naturally took the lead.

They had to have the home-field advantage.

"For the first match, Uchiha Tang Ping of Konoha will face Juan of Sunagakure!"

Minato Namikaze stood in the center of the arena and announced loudly.

In the spectator stands.

"It's all been taken care of!"

Uchiha Shizuka, who had just arrived, quietly reported to Uchiha Mei, whose bandages had been removed to reveal her fully recovered eyes.

The betting!

Naturally, they had to time it carefully.

If they placed their bets too early, they might give the bookmakers a chance to investigate and respond.

Uchiha Shizuka had been in charge of the operation, which was why she had only returned now, just as the match was about to begin.

"Mm."

Uchiha Mei gave an almost imperceptible nod, as though she had not wagered the last of her family's assets.

After having fallen into that hopeless darkness, nothing could make her worry anymore.

It had even... changed her Sharingan.

Desperate Uchiha!

That was no joke. Besides, her talent was far from poor. It would have been strange if she had not changed.

Among the villagers some distance away.

Hinata Cang Yue stared intently at Tang Ping in the arena below, her eyes flickering with gratitude, affection... and other emotions as she secretly clenched her fists and cheered him on.

"Go, Tang Ping!!"

A sudden cheer rang out from Honda Taka in the stands. Beside him sat Yamaa Koji, pale-faced and frail.

His two best friends had also come to cheer Tang Ping on.

As the atmosphere built to its peak, the match officially began.