After Hao Shuai and Kabuto Yakushi withdrew, only twenty candidates remained.
Moonlight Hayate immediately announced that the one-on-one preliminary matches would begin.
On the wall of the arena, the names of the candidates began flashing across a large electronic screen.
Before long, the names of the first pair appeared: Sasuke Uchiha vs. Dosu Kinuta.
"The first match is between Sasuke Uchiha and Dosu Kinuta. The other candidates should head to the viewing stands and wait for their turn," said Moonlight Hayate, the chief examiner.
The other eighteen candidates followed his instructions and went up to the viewing stands. Hao Shuai, who had deliberately stayed to watch the fun, went up with them.
Normally, candidates who withdrew were supposed to leave the arena immediately. But Hao Shuai wasn't going anywhere, and no one dared say anything, so they let him be.
Hao Shuai didn't care what the others thought. Watching Sasuke and his opponent from the stands, he felt a little dazed. Who would've thought that even this butterfly of mine couldn't flap its wings enough to cause a Butterfly Effect? After all that, there were still twenty candidates, and Sasuke's opponent hadn't changed.
Still, Hao Shuai didn't mind. The outcome wouldn't change anyway, and unlike in the original story, Sasuke was surely confident enough to teach Dosu a lesson.
Sure enough, when Moonlight Hayate gave the signal and the first match began, Sasuke started by mercilessly taunting Dosu, provoking the furious boy into charging at him with fists swinging.
Sasuke charged at Dosu just as fast.
Bam!!
The two collided, and with a muffled thud, the match was decided.
Sasuke's fist punched straight through Dosu's abdomen.
Dosu was officially out of the picture!
For a moment, the arena fell silent.
After a long pause, Moonlight Hayate, the chief examiner, finally