Mirai looked at the Hidayada behind his eyes, then at his hands, muttering, "However, that is only a ninja's dream, not mine..."
"Although I really want to explain the third exam to you now, but..."
Suddenly, Gekko Hayate, pale-faced, carrying a sword on his back, and with deep dark circles under his eyes, appeared before Sarutobi Hiruzen. He said respectfully, "Lord Hokage, please forgive my rudeness. Let referee Gekko Hayate handle this matter."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Gekko Hayate. "It's up to you."
Facing the Hokage, Gekko Hayate stood with his back to the crowd and said softly in a calm, hoarse voice, "Everyone, nice to meet you. Before you take the third exam, cough cough... there is something you must do first... cough cough... pass the qualifying matches to determine whether you are qualified to participate in the third exam."
Huh? Preliminaries? There seemed to have been something like that...
Mirai could not remember all the details either. He listened to Gekko Hayate's dull explanation: "By the way, from this point on, it is an individual battle. You may withdraw."
"Who would withdraw..." Sasuke said with a frown, only to suddenly feel a sharp pain in his shoulder.
The cursed seal...
While Sasuke endured the pain, Mirai was also racking his brains over this plot when inspiration suddenly struck.
Right. I remember now, that person...
Mirai looked at Kabuto, the bespectacled man with a wooden Leaf symbol on his forehead, and realized that this person would choose to withdraw.
A moment later, as expected, Yakushi Kabuto chose to leave.
"Alright, the preliminaries begin now." Gekko Hayate's tone remained flat, occasionally broken by coughs.
"From now on, your fate will be decided by you..." As Gekko Hayate spoke, he glanced at Anko. Anko nodded and said into the microphone, "Open