Battle! The Third Exam

In a mere split second, Tenten sensed it too, but her body seemed unable to keep up with her reaction.

The speed of that sand was incredibly nimble, barely perceptible to the naked eye, and Tenten was about to be struck.

With a "swish," the sand scattered in an instant!

"Rustle, rustle, rustle!"

The sand, which had been acting like a living creature just a moment ago, was pierced by a hand and instantly turned into dead matter, falling to the ground without further movement.

Neji stood before Tenten, his expression calm.

Gaara stared with wide eyes, looking somewhat surprised.

He could not comprehend such an action; saving someone? It was beyond his understanding.

He could only grasp one thing: the speed and technique just now... his judgment had been correct, the person before him was strong!

"Neji..."

Tenten was also startled by Neji's speed and stood up.

"Thanks, when did you get so fast?"

Neji turned his head and smiled: "I didn't, I just happened to be heading this way and reacted in time."

"Speaking of which, what exactly do you want?" Tenten immediately shifted her focus to Gaara, who had just attacked her, and demanded loudly.

"I have no interest in you, but I am quite interested in this partner of yours."

Gaara chuckled softly, then the sand slowly returned to his gourd, and he crossed his arms again, returning to his cold demeanor.

"What is your name?"

Gaara asked.

"Hyuga Neji." Neji thought to himself that since he would eventually have to fight this guy, there was no need to be too reserved.

"Gaara."

Having said that, Gaara turned and walked away without looking back.

"Chunin Exams, I can't wait to have a match with you."

His footsteps grew more distant, his voice echoing leisurely throughout the training ground.

Tenten simply let out a breath: "The Sand ninja this year are really not to be trifled with. Not only do they look strong, but their attitude is also incredibly detestable!"

Tenten complained, but Neji did not answer.

He asked himself a question in his heart: As he was now, was he certain he could defeat Gaara?

"Not necessarily."

This answer left Neji uneasy for a long time, and lost in thought, he began a new round of training.

"The exam time is up!"

Upon receiving the notification, all the examinees were brought out of the Forest of Death and gathered in an open space.

Iruka counted the heads and muttered: "Only 7 teams left, 21 people..."

At this moment, a young man suddenly stepped forward.

It was none other than Kabuto Yakushi.

"Sorry, I've decided to withdraw from this exam."

Naruto: "Huh?!"

Standing in the corner, Neji felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

Neji turned around to see the proctor from the previous round, Anko Mitarashi.

"I didn't expect a kid like you to pass the exam, not bad at all!"

Neji gave a simple smile to brush it off.

"Now then, cough, everyone follow me. We will now begin the third round of the exam."

"Huh?? There's more!!"

Hayate Gekko appeared, and everyone was shocked.

After rushing about for three days and three nights, they hadn't expected the third round to start right away!

Neji looked at Hayate Gekko; he was a guy who looked very gloomy, with dark circles under his eyes, much like Gaara's.

He seemed to have some lung issues, as he kept coughing incessantly.

Excluding Kabuto who had suddenly withdrawn, the twenty-one people from the seven teams were reduced to twenty, and they were arranged to fight in pairs; the winners would be able to enter the official Chunin Selection Tournament.

Everyone was brought into a venue, which was a specialized training ground located beneath Konoha.

The space was large enough, and there were a small number of spectator seats above.

At the edge of the training ground, there was also a giant hand sign of the Fire Seal, which looked quite spectacular.

"Rock Lee, congratulations on passing the exam!"

Guy's voice echoed throughout the arena.

"Guy-sensei!?" Rock Lee immediately perked up.

Shortly after, the jonin began to file in one after another.

Kakashi, Guy, and Kurenai Yuhi all stepped out, along with several special jonin who had come to observe the matches.

"Everyone is quite concerned about the results of this Chunin Exams! You'd all better give it your best!"

Kakashi waved at everyone, speaking with a smile.

Shikamaru scanned the people above and narrowed his eyes, saying, "It's a good thing Asuma didn't come... not that our team has much hope anyway..."

Seeing this, Neji let out a sigh.

They're all jonin? It looks like I'll have to be careful; if I'm not cautious, they might see right through me...

As the crowd buzzed with discussion, Hayate Gekko coughed twice and said, "Now, those whose names appear on the big screen, come down to the arena. Everyone else, please head up to the waiting area."

"Uchiha Sasuke!"

The first name appeared, and the entire arena was stunned.

"Whoa, I didn't expect to see a battle from a genius of the Uchiha Clan in the very first match!"

"Who will his opponent be? Is there anyone who can beat him?"

"Choji Akimichi!"

Neji was startled; he truly hadn't expected these two to be the first pairing.

Everyone began to head up to the stands, leaving only Uchiha Sasuke and Choji Akimichi on the arena floor.

"Choji! Be careful!"

Although Ino had a crush on Sasuke, she was still more worried about her teammate.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was whispering instructions to Sasuke, who gripped the back of his neck tightly.

Witnessing this scene, Neji let out a soft huff.

Orochimaru had indeed planted the Cursed Seal.

Once in the spectator area, Neji noticed people beginning to gather around him, all standing in a line to watch, spaced closely together.

"Yo!"

Kiba Inuzuka arrived at Neji's side and immediately greeted him enthusiastically.

"If I end up fighting you, I'll be so lucky!"

Neji knew what he meant, but only offered a polite smile in response.

Beside him were Tenten and Rock Lee.

Tenten remarked with a sigh, "Neji, Lee and I won't be able to cover for you this time; you'll have to rely on yourself!"

"Mn."

"Now then..."

Hayate Gekko stepped back and extended his hand forward, ready to give the order.

"Begin!"

The two combatants were Uchiha Sasuke and Choji Akimichi of the Akimichi Clan.

"Sasuke-kun! Flatten that fat pig!"

In the stands, Sakura immediately began cheering.

As soon as those words left her mouth, Shikamaru and Ino were both stunned.

"Oh no! That girl... she said the forbidden word?" Shikamaru's eyes widened.

Sure enough, upon hearing the word "fat pig," Choji furrowed his brows, his anger burning.

"Fat pig? Did you just call me a fat pig?"

Choji gritted his teeth, glaring at Uchiha Sasuke not far ahead, and instantly lost his previous relaxed demeanor, his fighting spirit ignited!

Sasuke, meanwhile, seemed to be in agony from the Cursed Seal, his brows locked in a tight frown.

"Hurry up. I don't have time to mess around with you."

"Ahhhhh!"

"Human Bullet Tank!"

"Lion Combo!"

"...The winner is... Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Sigh! Choji, it's just too hard to beat Sasuke!" Ino rested her chin on her hand, feeling somewhat dejected.

"Sasuke-kun! Wow, he's so cool!"

In the first match, Sasuke had undoubtedly secured the victory, which was well within Neji's expectations.

However, this kind of random selection was truly stimulating, and Neji now found himself quite curious about what kind of opponent he would face for his first bout.

Regardless, he hoped for someone easy to deal with, especially since Jonin were watching from all sides.

"Cough, then, the next group..."

As Hayate spoke, he covered his mouth with a clenched fist, his eyes dark and profound.

"Zaku of the Sound, versus..."

Once the first name appeared, everyone's gaze began to converge on the next name, which was scrolling incessantly.

A few seconds later, it manifested.

"...Hinata Hyuga!"