Preliminary Rounds

The Chunin Selection Exams, second stage, fifth day.

At this point, only two teams remained in the Forest of Death. Their strength was evenly matched, and both sides fought until the very last second, but neither managed to win. As a result, both teams were eliminated.

A total of six teams, eighteen people altogether, passed the second stage.

Interestingly, only one of the six teams came from Sunagakure. The other five were from Konoha.

Sunagakure:

Gaara, Temari, Kankuro;

Konoha:

Kabuto Yakushi, Yoroi Akado, Misumi Tsurugi;

Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura Haruno;

Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi;

Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame;

Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, Tenten.

The situation was enough to make people suspect that Konoha had rigged things behind the scenes to bring about this result.

But Konoha was hosting these Chunin Selection Exams, and the number of Konoha Genin who had taken the exam and been eliminated exceeded the total number of examinees from all the other villages combined. Having a few more people left over seemed somewhat understandable.

At least the ninjas from other hidden villages standing beside the Third Hokage neither commented on it nor lodged a protest.

As usual, the Third Hokage said a few simple words, mainly about the significance of holding the Chunin Exams in different hidden villages in turn.

After he finished, the Third Hokage handed the proceedings over to a sickly-looking man who had suddenly appeared, then quietly stood aside and slacked off.

"Hello, I'm Gekko Hayate."

The sickly-looking man introduced himself to the examinees. "The next event is the 'preliminary rounds' for the third stage. I'll be the referee."

Someone groaned in despair. "There are preliminaries too!?"

Someone else asked, "Um, we passed the second stage. Why can't we go straight to the third?"

"Because there are too many people left."

Gekko Hayate explained, "Lord Third just said that a lot of distinguished guests will be coming to watch the third stage, so the schedule is tight. We can't have all of you compete. If anyone is unwell or wants to withdraw, you can say so now. And from this point on, withdrawing won't drag your teammates down with you, so don't worry."

No one withdrew.

"No one? Good. With eighteen people, we can have exactly nine matches."

Gekko Hayate nodded and began explaining the rules. "These preliminary rounds were added at the last minute, so there aren't many restrictions. The fight ends when one side falls, dies, or surrenders. The winner earns the right to take part in the third stage. Also, if I judge that one side has already lost, I'll stop the fight by force to prevent unnecessary casualties."

After he finished, he had everyone look up at the screen on the wall. "The names of the examinees competing will appear up there. Now, I'll announce the names of the first pair."

Uchiha Sasuke VS Yoroi Akado

"Everyone except the two contestants, leave the arena."

Gekko Hayate began ushering people out.

Once the others had moved to the surrounding spectator stands, Gekko Hayate had Sasuke and Yoroi Akado face each other and announced, "Begin."

Yoroi Akado immediately formed Hand Seals and used some kind of ninjutsu, but nothing visibly happened.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan at once. Only then could he see what was happening to Yoroi Akado. "He's concentrating chakra in his right hand. Is it a technique that simply strengthens his right hand?"

While Sasuke was thinking, Yoroi Akado moved on to the next step. He took a few Shuriken from his ninja pouch with his left hand and threw them at Sasuke, then charged after them.

"So it seems to be a technique that only works at close range, or even on direct contact."

Sasuke took half a step back, turned, and sidestepped the Shuriken. With his back to Yoroi Akado and his body blocking the view, he quickly formed Hand Seals.

Some people in the stands commented on Sasuke's performance, mostly praising him. No one thought Sasuke had done something stupid—except Yoroi Akado.

"Hmph. Turning your back on your enemy—how foolish. How could Lord Orochimaru have taken an interest in someone like you? I'll use my special ability to show Lord Orochimaru how useless you are, Uchiha Sasuke!"

Thinking this, Yoroi Akado picked up speed and closed the distance in one go. He reached for Sasuke with his right hand, and just as he was about to touch him, Sasuke suddenly turned around again and opened his mouth. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

At such close range, Yoroi Akado's speed and reflexes were nothing special. Even the gentlest Great Fireball wouldn't miss.

The scorching flames seared him. In just two seconds, parts of Yoroi Akado's body were charred black. Just as the Great Fireball was about to kill him, Sasuke suddenly closed his mouth and stopped the technique, and the flames vanished at once.

"Phew..."

Sasuke gently spat out the last of the fire to the side, then said to Gekko Hayate, "He should still be alive. Get him treated quickly."

Gekko Hayate nodded to the medical staff waiting outside the arena, then announced loudly, "First match, Uchiha Sasuke wins!"

The medical staff carried a stretcher into the arena and took away Yoroi Akado, who was charred black.

Most of the spectators were calm. They had already foreseen this outcome from the moment Sasuke turned around and formed Hand Seals. A small number of people, especially the younger girls, thought Sasuke looked cool. Their faces flushed slightly, and their eyes gravitated toward him.

Sasuke himself didn't notice any of this. He walked to the stands without expression and stopped beside Naruto. "How was my performance just now?"

"You were a little too cautious."

Naruto thought briefly, then answered, "Considering the difference in strength between you, there was no need to waste chakra on Fire Release. You could've just knocked him out with a punch."

"But he used some kind of technique."

Sasuke recalled, "What if it had a really powerful effect? Wouldn't it have been dangerous for me to approach him?"

"I don't know exactly what his technique does, but powerful ninjutsu are usually easy to recognize."

Naruto gave his opinion. "Still, when you don't know what your enemy can do, it never hurts to be careful."

As the two talked, the names for the second match appeared on the screen:

Shino Aburame VS Kankuro

"That guy from Sunagakure is a puppeteer."

Naruto's gaze fell on Kankuro. "He looks somewhat capable, but unfortunately, he's a bad match for Shino."

"A bad match?"

Sasuke looked at Shino, then at Kankuro. "In what way?"

"In combat."

Naruto explained, "The Aburame Clan, which Shino belongs to, is a family of ninjas skilled at using insects in battle. Do you know what kind of insects they mainly use?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"Kikaichū, a special kind of insect that feeds on chakra and can sense it."

Naruto watched Kankuro begin fighting in the arena. "Puppeteers control their puppets with threads made of chakra."

Sasuke immediately understood what Naruto meant.

The fight unfolded just as Naruto had expected. Shino's Kikaichū chewed through the chakra threads, leaving the puppet motionless like a wooden doll. Then they closed in on Kankuro and released even more Kikaichū, which devoured all his chakra.

Seeing Kankuro covered in insects, most of the women present silently looked away...