The First Round of Matches; Orochimaru's Plan!

"Bai Hao-kun!"

When Bai Hao appeared, Sakura and Ino immediately waved at him together.

"Bai Hao-kun, sit beside me!"

"Sit beside me!"

"Forehead, let Bai Hao-kun sit next to you.

Are you planning to block Bai Hao-kun's view with your huge forehead!?"

"Ugly hag!

If you're with me, Bai Hao-kun won't even feel like watching the match, okay!"

"Who are you calling an ugly hag?

You huge forehead!"

"I'm talking about you, you ugly hag!"

The two girls glared furiously at each other.

The smell of gunpowder instantly filled the air.

Seeing this, Bai Hao expressionlessly pulled Ino up and placed her beside him.

Then he silently sat down between the two girls.

"Bai Hao-kun!"

Seeing this, the two girls immediately leaned toward him from either side.

While taking advantage of Bai Hao, they continued arguing with each other.

Bai Hao could only feel speechless.

"Who on earth chose this seat?"

He sighed inwardly, then silently turned his gaze toward the arena.

Eleven people were standing there at that moment.

The one missing was none other than the protagonist, Naruto.

"The first match is Naruto against Zaku Abumi from Otogakure. There shouldn't be any suspense~"

Just as Bai Hao was thinking this,

he suddenly heard a loud bang.

Then Naruto flew in through the main entrance.

His body scraped across the ground as he slid all the way over, face-first, until he crashed into the other contestants.

"Fine.

That was very Naruto."

Chapter Twenty-Four: The First Round of Matches, Orochimaru's Plan! [Four Updates, Begging for Flowers and Collections]

With Naruto's appearance, all the contestants had arrived.

However, the matches did not begin immediately.

They waited until the "Kazekage" had taken his seat on the platform before the Third Hokage announced the start of the matches.

The first match was Naruto versus Zaku Abumi.

There was nothing particularly interesting about it.

So Bai Hao began observing the main platform and the audience stands.

"The Kazekage really is Orochimaru.

There are many hidden ninja in the audience.

It seems he still wants to cause trouble.

As for Konoha...

The Third Hokage did strengthen the guard detail.

I remember that in the original story, the Third Hokage only had one Special Jonin guarding him, Namiashi Raidō.

But this time, three of them came directly.

Namiashi Raidō is here as usual.

Another is his good partner, Aoba Yamashiro.

And one more is wearing a mask.

Looks like an Anbu ninja.

The surrounding defenses are pretty good too.

It seems the Third Hokage really took this seriously."

Ever since Bai Hao had told Hiruzen Sarutobi that he might die at Orochimaru's hands,

the Third Hokage had begun investigating the matter.

After some investigation,

he discovered that Orochimaru was indeed secretly making various moves.

Moreover, he had been maintaining close contact with Sunagakure.

It seemed that they were preparing to make a major move together.

Therefore,

after summoning the other three Konoha higher-ups for a discussion,

he decided to strengthen security during the Chunin Ninja Exams.

After all, it was impossible for them to suspend the Chunin Ninja Exams.

They could only strengthen their defenses to deal with the situation.

Fortunately, they had plenty of time to prepare.

Otherwise, they would not have been able to gather enough Jonin.

After Bai Hao finished observing the main platform,

he turned his head toward Kakashi again.

Ever since Kakashi began suspecting that Obito was still alive,

he had entered a withdrawn state.

Just like now.

On the surface, he was watching the match.

But in reality, his gaze was unfocused as he stared blankly at some spot.

"I wonder if Kakashi has figured things out after thinking about it for so long?"

Bai Hao glanced at him once, then stopped looking.

Instead, he turned his gaze toward the arena.

Naruto was indeed Naruto.

Even a match against Zaku Abumi could become so thrilling.

First, Zaku abused him in every way.

Then Naruto killed him in a comeback with barely any health left.

"If he had mastered the Rasengan earlier, perhaps the battle would have ended long ago."

Bai Hao sighed silently.

The second match was Kankuro versus Shino Aburame.

Kankuro did not even fight. He forfeited directly.

Seeing this, Bai Hao secretly glanced at Shino.

Shino still had an expressionless face, making it impossible to tell that he was angry.

The third match was Tenten versus Shiro Matsuno.

Shiro Matsuno was an utterly ordinary Konoha Genin.

Tenten defeated him with ease.

The fourth match was Temari versus Shikamaru.

Relying on his extraordinary intelligence,

Shikamaru dealt with his opponent very smoothly.

The fifth match was Sasuke versus Dosu Kinata from Otogakure.

Because Sasuke was currently the "only" surviving member of the Uchiha,

most of the people who came to watch the matches were there to see him.

Therefore,

his match drew quite a few cheers.

The result was naturally an easy victory for Sasuke.

He did not even need to use the Chidori he had just finished practicing.

After the match ended,

the final match of the first round—Gaara versus Hinata Hyuga—also began.

"We're finally almost done with the first round.

There are so many people participating this time. I can hardly wait."

In the viewing stands,

Kankuro complained while stroking his puppet.

"Once Gaara wins this match,

we can enter the second round.

Naruto Uzumaki versus Shino Aburame, Tenten versus Shikamaru.

Sasuke versus Gaara.

This competition is really taking forever~

We still have to wait so long before we can begin the plan..."

"Kankuro, calm down."

Baki glanced at Kankuro, then turned his gaze back toward the arena.

"Everything will proceed according to plan.

We have to trust Gaara.

This match will be over quickly."

At the same time.

On the main platform,

Orochimaru was staring at Sasuke, who had just finished his match.