Naruto's preliminary opponent was Kiba Inuzuka and his ninja hound, Akamaru. Kiba's Beast Human Clone, Fang Over Fang, and other techniques had once forced Naruto onto the defensive. But Naruto cleverly tricked Kiba into accidentally seriously injuring Akamaru. Then, after eating too much Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto suddenly farted, severely affecting Kiba's ability to attack, and defeated him with his self-created Naruto Barrage. Jin's clone, seated among the judges, actually burst out laughing at the sight. It even made Naruto feel that he had won unfairly. Still, Naruto advanced to the elimination round, where he faced Neji Hyuga, known as a "genius." Neji's Rotation, pressure-point attacks, and Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms were unexpectedly powerful. Naruto did not even have the strength to touch a single hair on Neji's head, and his chakra points were even sealed, leaving him unable to use any chakra. Yet Naruto's big mouth kept chattering away, thoroughly irritating Neji. Since Naruto had long been able to transform into the Three-Tails and control the Nine-Tails' power, he defeated Neji with the Nine-Tails' strength, earning the cheers of the entire arena.
Sasuke's opponent was Akado Yoroi of Otogakure. Before the match, Kakashi had learned that Orochimaru had placed a curse mark on Sasuke, so he warned Sasuke not to use its power, or he might be disqualified immediately. After the battle began, Yoroi used his chakra-absorbing ninjutsu to drain a large amount of Sasuke's chakra, gaining a major advantage. Unable to use the curse mark, Sasuke slightly modified the taijutsu he had copied from Rock Lee into the Lion Combo, controlled the curse mark, and ultimately defeated his opponent in a single move. After the match, Kakashi sealed the curse mark on Sasuke's body to prevent it from activating. At that moment, Orochimaru suddenly appeared and told Kakashi and