After Chen Fan withdrew his killing intent, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Their taut nerves had left them too afraid to even move. Those jonin finally understood why Orochimaru had compromised. No one wanted to provoke someone like that.
Whoosh...! The sand around Gaara spun before appearing beside Temari and Kankuro.
"Gaara, how are you? Are you hurt?" Temari asked.
"I'm fine!" Gaara shook his head.
Looking at Chen Fan, Kankuro said, "Now I really believe that rumor about this village."
The unconscious Rock Lee was quickly carried away by the medical team for treatment, and the third elimination match came to an end.
The Third Hokage arrived and looked over the remaining contestants. Konoha had seven people left, along with three ninjas from the Land of Wind. The ninjas from all the other countries had been eliminated, which was already a highly favorable outcome for Konoha.
"I will now explain the official matches... The official matches will be held in one month. During that time, the daimyos of each country may be notified to come watch. It will also give you time to understand each contestant's abilities and train accordingly. How you spend this month is up to you," the Third Hokage said.
Then they drew lots and determined the matchups. The first match would be Hinata Hyuga VS Neji Hyuga; the second would be Gaara VS Uchiha Sasuke; the third would be Naruto Uzumaki VS Inuzuka Kiba; the fourth would be Kankuro VS Shino Aburame; the fifth would be Shikamaru Nara VS Temari.
"Everyone, thank you for your hard work. See you again in a month! Dismissed!" said the Third Hokage.
Seeing the matchups, everyone had their own thoughts as they considered how to deal with their upcoming opponents. Neji Hyuga turned his gaze toward Hinata, whose