The Chunin Exams Begin

For more than two years, Chen had trained without ever daring to slack off, and his strength had grown tremendously. Drawing on his memories of a past life, he had even developed several new techniques from Chidori, including Chidori Stream and Chidori Sharp Spear. He had also mastered Finger Gun and developed Ten Finger Gun and the Rokushiki Ogi, Rokuogan. These were all techniques he had worked out himself, not exchanged through the system. Chen's talent really was remarkable.

"This is really something to look forward to! Heh heh~~"

At that moment, a group of ninjas had gathered in the Hokage's office building. Some were Chunin from the Ninja Academy, but most were Jonin serving as team leaders. Everyone waited for the Third to speak.

"You can tell from my expression, can't you? The time has come." The Third took a puff from his pipe and addressed the people below.

"We've already informed the other countries, and quite a few ninjas from other villages have arrived in Konoha!" the Third's son, Asuma Sarutobi—the bearded man—said, a cigarette dangling from his lips. Were all the Sarutobi Clan members smokers?

"Um, when does it start?" Kurenai Yuhi asked softly.

"In one week."

"That soon?" Kakashi said.

The Third took a deep puff of his pipe and exhaled. Then he rose from his chair.

"I hereby announce that the Chunin Exams will begin on July 1, one week from now. This meeting is adjourned."

"Yes!" everyone replied, then headed back to inform their students.

After receiving word from their teachers, Konoha's Genin began preparing nervously.

At last, a week passed, and the eagerly anticipated Chunin Exams finally began.

First, all the Genin taking part in the exam had to sit a written test in a classroom arranged by Konoha. Just like in the Original Story, Sasuke and the others clashed with Team 3, led by Might Guy, and Sasuke even fought Rock Lee, one of the Rookie Nine.

It was worth noting that in the Original Story, Sasuke had lost to Rock Lee in this match. This time, however, he didn't. Three years earlier, he had been driven to work even harder after encountering the mysterious Root and Anbu in the woods. He had trained more diligently than his counterpart in the Original Story and was a little stronger, so his fight with Lee ended in a draw.

That was only because Lee hadn't yet used his full strength; Might Guy's arrival stopped the fight. Then Guy and Lee put on a display of their deep teacher-student bond in front of Team 7, leaving everyone utterly dumbfounded. Before Lee left, he made a point of telling Sasuke that he hadn't been going all out. He also told him that there was a Genin on his team who was even stronger than he was, and that he was taking the Chunin Exams to defeat him. Sasuke was one of his targets, too.

Next, the Rookie Nine from the same graduating class gathered at the exam site. Their senior, Kabuto Yakushi, showed off his intelligence-gathering skills, then staged a little double act with several Sound Ninja. After that, Ibiki Morino, the sleazy proctor, arrived with his band of thugs and announced the start of the exam.

The exam proceeded as the candidates showed off their various tricks and cheated with all kinds of secret techniques. At the last moment, Ibiki gave them the tenth question and said, "First, I'll let you choose whether to take the tenth question or not. If you choose not to take it, your score will become zero, which means you'll forfeit your right to take the exam. Of course, everyone else on your team will be disqualified as well. There's another rule, too. If you choose to take the question but can't answer it correctly, you will lose the right to ever take the Chunin Exams again. But I'm not leaving you without a way out. If you aren't confident, you can simply choose not to take it and come back next year or the year after. Now, those who choose not to take it, raise your hands. Once I've confirmed your numbers, get out."

Under such intense pressure, many candidates couldn't take it and withdrew. In the end, Naruto's passionate speech dispelled the remaining candidates' doubts, and they chose to stay. Ibiki then announced that everyone who remained had passed.

After Ibiki gave the candidates a lecture, Mitaraishi Anko made a forceful entrance and announced that she would proctor the second exam. She arrogantly told the candidates, "I'm going to eliminate more than half of you in the second exam. I'll explain everything in detail when you arrive at the exam site tomorrow. Ask your respective Jonin instructors about the meeting place, time, and other details. That's all. Dismissed!"

The next day, the candidates got the details from their respective Jonin instructors and gathered at the entrance to Training Ground 44. After Mitaraishi Anko explained the rules and had them sign liability waivers, they entered the training ground known as the Forest of Death. But among the candidates was an extraordinary figure: Orochimaru, one of the Konoha Sannin and now an S-Class Rogue Ninja—the Cold-Blooded Orochimaru!

Not long after the second part of the Chunin Exams began, Sasuke and Sakura were attacked by Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. Under Orochimaru's Death Prediction Technique, Sasuke was terrified and trembled so badly that he could barely fight back. Just as he was about to hand Orochimaru the scroll to save his own life, Naruto arrived in time to stop him. As Naruto fought Orochimaru, Sasuke was astonished to see how agile Naruto was. He was nothing like the dead-last he had seemed to be. Although Naruto couldn't defeat Orochimaru, his actions ignited Sasuke's fighting spirit. Sasuke used a Fuma Shuriken tied to a wire to restrain Orochimaru, then used Fire Release Ninjutsu to send flames along the wire and burn Orochimaru's face. Just as Sasuke thought he had won, Orochimaru—pleased with Sasuke's abilities—placed the Curse Mark of Heaven on him. Sasuke collapsed in agony, and before leaving, Orochimaru told Sakura that Sasuke would come looking for him someday to gain power.

Because of the Cursed Seal, Sasuke lost consciousness, just like Naruto. Sakura stayed by their side to look after them. Just then, a group of Sound Ninja arrived on Orochimaru's orders to kill Sasuke. Sakura, Rock Lee, who had come to help, and Team 10 struggled against the three Sound Ninja, but they were losing. Sakura was also badly injured. The other members of Team 3, led by Neji, arrived. Just as they prepared to fight the Sound Ninja, Sasuke's body adapted to the Cursed Seal, and he woke up. Furious, Sasuke's body covered in the Cursed Seal's black markings, he attacked Zaku, who had been casually preparing to strike Sakura. The Cursed Seal gave Sasuke an overwhelming advantage. He violently broke Zaku's arm and prepared to take revenge on the other two Sound Ninja as well. Sakura realized that Sasuke had lost control and threw her arms around him, begging him to stop. Her actions brought Sasuke back to his senses. Terrified, the Sound Ninja left their scroll behind and fled.

Afterward, Sasuke and the others all passed the second exam. At this point, the Third appeared before the candidates who had passed, accompanied by a group of ninjas. He explained why the Chunin Exams were held, then announced the details of the third exam.

In the preliminary rounds, Sasuke was the first to compete. His opponent was Kabuto Yakushi of the Sound Ninja. Before the match, Kakashi warned Sasuke not to use the Cursed Seal's power, or he might be disqualified outright. Once the fight began, Kabuto used a chakra-absorbing technique to drain a great deal of Sasuke's Chakra, gaining a considerable advantage. Unable to use the Cursed Seal, Sasuke adapted the Taijutsu he had copied from Rock Lee and turned it into Lion Combo. He kept the Cursed Seal under control and defeated his opponent with a single move. After the match, Kakashi sealed the Cursed Seal on Sasuke to prevent it from activating. Orochimaru suddenly appeared and told Kakashi and Sasuke that the Cursed Seal couldn't be sealed if Sasuke himself was willing to use it. After confronting Kakashi for a while, Orochimaru left.

After fierce preliminary matches, the remaining candidates narrowed down to nine. Five were from Konoha: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Neji Hyuga, Shino Aburame, and Shikamaru Nara. Three were from the Sand Village: Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. The last was Dosu Kinata from the Sound Ninja.

The nine finalists drew lots to decide their opponents. Since there was an odd number of candidates, one of them received a bye. Temari of the Sand Village was the lucky one.

"You'll be competing in the official selection matches before the Chunin. You represent the strength of your respective countries, so I hope you'll perform to the best of your ability. Therefore, the official selection will take place one month from now," the Third told the candidates who had passed the preliminaries.

"Isn't it happening today?" Naruto asked, confused.

"This month is preparation time. In other words, it gives us time to notify the Daimyo and ninja leaders of each country. We'll tell them the preliminaries are over and that they can come watch the official selection. It also gives you candidates time to improve and prepare for battle," the Third explained as he smoked.

"I'm a little confused. What exactly is going on?" Kankuro asked irritably, bewildered by the Third's rambling.

"To put it simply, you'll have time to prepare specifically for your opponents and analyze how they performed in the preliminary matches, which will improve your chances of winning. The fights so far were real battles, but you were fighting opponents you didn't know. The official selection will be different: everyone's abilities will have been revealed. To keep things fair, use this month to make yourselves stronger. Thanks for your hard work. I'll see you in a month. Dismissed!" After explaining, the Third dismissed the candidates and left.

The candidates each left the exam site, deep in thought.