Duel
Call--
Baki had just breathed a sigh of relief.
But Shuichi didn't seem to care at all. Instead, he turned around with a smile and said, "Your name is Baki, right? This little guy is interesting."
"It's an honor that you know my name." Baki unconsciously swallowed.
For some reason, Shuichi's gaze seemed to exert immense pressure, making it difficult for ordinary ninjas to breathe.
"It's nothing." Shuichi grinned. "I have a feeling that a certain tanuki I killed more than ten years ago is very agitated and is baring its teeth and claws, wanting revenge. Isn't that interesting?"
"Oh?" Kakashi and a few others stared at Gaara, as if they understood something, but they all remained silent.
In an instant, Baki felt his body heat up, and his back was instantly soaked with sweat. "I don't quite understand what you mean. He shouldn't have another relapse. We apologize for the unintentional disruption to the exam process due to our lack of preparation."
After Shuichi stopped arguing, cleared her throat, and said seriously:
"Before the Third Exam, there's something I need to clarify: the significance of the Allied powers working together to host this exam..."
"To deepen our friendship and improve our ninja skills..."
"This is the platform where ninjas uphold the nation's prestige and fight to the death..."
"..."
Public speaking is an essential skill for Hokage.
Although Shuichi dislikes being long-winded, he still needs to emphasize the important points, which can be considered a form of ideological education for the Genin.
After what just happened, even if he said he'd be gone for half an hour, probably no one would dare disturb him.
After speaking for several minutes, Shuichi announced, "Due to the large number of people who passed, I plan to begin the preliminary rounds of the Third Exam immediately. Shiro, it's your turn now."
"Yes!"
A handsome young man with flowing long hair stepped forward, leaving many Genin dumbfounded. A young man roughly their age was actually Konoha Jonin?
"If anyone wants to withdraw, please raise your hand." Bai cut to the chase. "If no one does, then we'll officially begin the preliminary rounds!"
Unsurprisingly, no one chose to withdraw.
A few ninjas were covered in dirt, but none were seriously injured. Having already fought this far, they were even less likely to give up.
Therefore, Bai quickly continued, "The preliminary rounds will be one-on-one individual matches."
There are 27 people in total, so the competition will consist of thirteen rounds. The last person remaining will receive a lucky bye, and the winner will advance to the Third Exam and Main Tournament.
"There are no restrictions on real combat duels; the match will not end until one side dies, falls, or concedes defeat..."
However, when I believe the outcome is decided, I will immediately enter the field to stop the match and try to avoid any casualties.
Sizzle!
The electronic screen at the edge of the training ground slowly opened, displaying the names of all the participating Genin rapidly. It stopped precisely three seconds later: [Terumi An VS Shirakawa Shin]
"The first round is about to begin. Everyone except the contestants, please proceed to the audience seats..."
After everyone took their places on the edge platform, only a brown-haired girl and a gray-haired boy remained in the center of the arena—it was the duel between Kirigakure and Konoha.
"Start!"
Swoosh,
Konoha Genin Shirakawa Shin's expression was solemn. As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed forward with a half-length scythe in hand.
This Mist Ninja was clean and tidy from head to toe, indicating that she passed the Second Stage test without much effort, and must be very strong.
At the same time, besides carrying a basic ninja tool kit, Terumi An did not carry any weapons, suggesting she is likely a ninja skilled in jutsu.
Therefore, he didn't intend to give his opponent time to Hand Seals, wanting to settle the matter quickly and determine the victor...
Facing the onrushing opponent, Terumi An quickly threw out several Kunai while forming hand Hand Seals, seemingly unaffected by the close-range pressure.
Jingle bells, jingle bells--
Shirakawa Shin slowed down slightly, then with a few precise swings, he activated his ninja tools, rushed to his opponent's side, and slashed again—whoosh!
Terumi An leaped back nimbly to dodge, simultaneously exhaling a large cloud of murky mist that instantly enveloped Shirakawa Shin. "Ahhh..."
My skin was burned bright red, and the corrosive fumes were like sulfuric acid; if I opened my eyes, I would probably go blind.
Terumi An turned around and attacked, Kunai stabbing a hole in him with a kunai. Just as she was about to strike again, the voice of "I surrender" suddenly rang out.
"Match ended, Terumi An won the first round."
"Let's begin round two!"
Beep beep beep... [Naruto Uzumaki vs. King Tsuchikage]
"Haha, it's my turn to show off my skills!"
The blond boy excitedly jumped down, and after a while, he found a beautiful girl with long, straight black hair standing opposite him, and it turned out to be another battle between men and women.
"..."
"The female ninjas from other villages are all dangerous," Naruto thought to himself.
He remembered Kakashi-sensei and Sakura's teachings well, and the previous battle clearly proved this to be true.
Therefore, he immediately made a plan in his mind: to send Shadow Clone to swarm in at the very beginning and see what tricks the opponent had up their sleeve.
"The match begins!"
BOOM--
The female Sound Ninja, Kongō, pulled out Senbon and was instantly dumbfounded when she saw more than a dozen Naruto charging at her like mad dogs.
In a panic, she immediately threw out her ninja tools.
It definitely hit, because the opponent didn't dodge at all.
The remaining dozen or so Shadow Clone had completely surrounded her, and countless punches and kicks rained down from all directions, each one landing with a resounding thud. "Ahhh..."
"... I won?" Naruto asked in disbelief.
The Shadow Clone disappeared, and Jin's beautiful face was almost deformed, her cheeks swollen to the size of a pig's head, blood flowing from her nostrils and the corners of her mouth. She looked like she had completely lost consciousness.
"The winner Naruto Uzumaki."
"I'm so strong!" Naruto laughed as he ran up the stairs.
The audience was speechless. Many Genin believed that the Sound Ninja Team's victory was due to luck, and they all hoped that they could face the remaining two.
But the battle that followed shattered their understanding.
[Dosu vs. Choji Akimichi], the strange man with his head wrapped in bandages moved extremely fast. His two left-hand attacks, one missed and one hit, easily knocked the fat man unconscious.
"This guy is tough to deal with." Shikamaru said helplessly after seeing Choji's defeat, "Using sound waves as a weapon, combined with that kind of movement speed, he's really a headache."
The others were secretly alarmed; this attack method was incredibly powerful in Genin duel, no wonder the Sound Ninja were able to survive the Scroll Battle.
The electronic screen continued to scroll, displaying the match between Hozuki Suigetsu and Kiba Inuzuka.
"The Hozuki Clan? This is bad!" Shisui frowned slightly. "If this boy is very talented, Kiba doesn't have much of a chance of winning."
Aburame Shino, standing nearby, asked, "Sensei, do you know anything about Kiba's opponents?"
"I know a little. The Hozuki Clan is famous throughout the Shinobi World for their Water Transformation Secret Technique; their bodies can be immune to physical attacks to a certain extent..."
Shisui explained, "The power of Ninjutsu is naturally closely related to the user. According to information from the village, the stronger the talent, the more flexible the user can use it."
Therefore, there are only a few options: either use Lightning Release to counter it, or unleash power exceeding its tolerance limit.
"... That's terrible news, Ya's luck is really bad."
After hearing this, Aburame Shino and Hinata could only silently offer their teammate moral support and carefully observe the two fighting.