Two Girls Clash

After the Hokage nodded in acknowledgment, Gale began explaining the rules for the third round.

He glanced in Su Bai's direction and smiled faintly before coughing several times.

Su Bai nodded to his uncle.

The people below began discussing among themselves.

"Hey, look at that chief examiner. Why does he look half-dead?"

"Exactly. His face is pale, and there's no life in his eyes. Looks like he could collapse at any moment."

"In that condition, can he really serve as the chief examiner? What if something goes wrong?"

Whispers continued throughout the crowd. Everyone was discussing Hayate Gekko's health and questioning whether he was fit to serve as chief examiner.

Su Bai felt somewhat helpless as he listened to the discussions around him.

Gale had taken on heavy missions while serving in the ANBU, leaving his body exhausted for long periods without a chance to recover.

What was worse, he had even gotten himself a girlfriend in the ANBU.

Her name was Yugao Uzuki.

Su Bai had only met his future aunt once.

All he could say was that she was very beautiful.

"This is a preliminary round. To be honest, too many people passed the second round."

Gale then began introducing the preliminary round rules:

If the final exam went on for too long, the daimyo and nobles would grow tired from watching.

Therefore, the preliminaries would begin immediately.

Each person would be randomly assigned an opponent.

The ninja whose names appeared on the screen were to step forward for one-on-one matches.

The battle would end when one side surrendered or was clearly no longer capable of fighting.

The winner would advance.

After the rules were explained, the first preliminary match began.

The screen displayed: Sū Bai of the Moonlight Clan VS Yakushi Kabuto

"Sū Bai of the Moonlight Clan versus Yakushi Kabuto!"

As the names flashed across the large screen, a confident smile curled at Su Bai's lips.

He leaped forward and landed steadily in the center of the arena.

Su Bai let out a long breath, his gaze locked on Yakushi Kabuto opposite him.

In the original story, this Yakushi Kabuto was Orochimaru's subordinate.

His intelligence-gathering abilities, medical ninjutsu, and poison techniques were all first-rate.

Su Bai had long been eager to test such a person and see what he was capable of.

"I wonder what you can do. Show me."

However, before Su Bai could even take his stance, Yakushi Kabuto unexpectedly raised his hand.

"I surrender."

His voice was not loud, yet it clearly carried throughout the entire venue.

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

"What kind of outcome is that? Sū Bai of the Moonlight Clan won before he even made a move?"

"That Yakushi Kabuto... I heard he's already taken the Chunin Exams five times."

"Sorry, Su Bai."

Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses, his expression calm. "I know I'm no match for you. Rather than struggle in vain, I might as well surrender while I can."

"Your strength has probably changed beyond recognition by now, hasn't it?"

Though he said that, Su Bai understood the truth.

Yakushi Kabuto was Orochimaru's trusted confidant, and his strength could not be underestimated. He had merely surrendered because he did not want to reveal his true abilities.

Just like that, Su Bai advanced without lifting a finger.

But this was fine too.

Su Bai calmly analyzed the situation.

Yakushi Kabuto's surrender was irrelevant to him. What truly mattered came next.

The following ten one-on-one matches were the real key.

Sunagakure's three siblings and Konoha's elite genin—none of them could be underestimated.

Su Bai narrowed his eyes as he calculated inwardly.

His fusion rate had just exceeded 9%.

Reaching 10% would require no additional effort. He only needed to quietly observe the battles to achieve his goal.

The corners of Su Bai's lips rose slightly. This would be his easiest and most enjoyable moment.

All he had to do was stand here and witness the next ten intense duels.

Breaking through 10% and unlocking Ryujin Jakka's Shikai was within reach.

"Begin."

Su Bai murmured softly, a glimmer of anticipation flashing through his eyes.

He could no longer wait to experience the feeling of that power awakening within him.

At chief examiner Hayate Gekko's command, the second match officially began.

Two names flashed across the large screen, signaling the start of a new battle.

Two names flickered across the electronic screen: Uchiha Sasuke VS Yoroi Akado.

The two contestants quickly entered the arena, and the atmosphere instantly grew tense.

As the signal to begin sounded and the two started fighting, Su Bai felt a familiar energy flow into his body.

His face remained expressionless, but inwardly, he rejoiced.

Sasuke had encountered a troublesome opponent.

Yoroi Akado displayed a special ability to absorb chakra, which posed no small problem for Sasuke, who relied on chakra.

Worse still, chakra depletion could trigger fluctuations in the curse mark within Sasuke's body.

Forced to abandon ninjutsu, Sasuke could only rely on taijutsu.

A trace of determination flashed through his eyes.

After submitting his registration form, Sasuke had fought Rock Lee and copied part of his techniques with the Sharingan.

Now, he cleverly refined those moves and created a unique technique.

After an intense exchange, Sasuke ultimately defeated his opponent, displaying astonishing adaptability and combat intelligence.

The third match began immediately after: Zaku Abumi VS Aburame Shino.

Zaku Abumi was the Sound ninja whose arms Su Bai had broken earlier.

He endured the agonizing pain and insisted on fighting with his injured arms.

Shino, meanwhile, calmly analyzed his opponent and used his insects to block the air vents in Zaku Abumi's palms.

This precise tactic caused the Air Slash Wave to backfire, completely destroying Zaku Abumi's arms.

This brutal duel brought Su Bai hundreds of thousands of experience points, bringing him one step closer to his goal.

The fourth match: Misumi Tsurugi versus Kankuro.

Kankuro displayed exquisite puppet techniques, controlling Crow to defeat his opponent with ruthless methods.

The sheer brutality of the battle made most of those present shudder.

Su Bai, meanwhile, gained another substantial amount of experience.

The opponents for the fifth match appeared on the large screen: Haruno Sakura VS Yamanaka Ino.

The two girls stepped into the arena, and the air immediately filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Ino spoke first, her tone provocative. "Su Bai is mine, Sakura. Stop dreaming. We even went on a date together before the exam."

The moment she said that, everyone in the venue turned to look at Su Bai.

His expression remained calm, but an almost imperceptible flicker of embarrassment passed through his eyes.

Sakura demanded, "Su Bai, is that true?"

Su Bai nodded slightly, thinking that it had merely been a temporary measure to help Naruto pass the written exam.

Sakura glared at Ino. "You must have seduced Su Bai. He's obviously mine! In the Forest of Death, Su Bai nearly lost his mind trying to protect me."

"You big forehead!"

Ino shrieked, "How could Su Bai possibly like a violent girl like you?!"

Sakura refused to back down and fired back, "Shut up, you pig! What Su Bai needs is a smart girl, not an infatuated fool like you!"

Their quarrel drew everyone's attention.

As Sakura and Ino's argument grew increasingly heated, everyone present had a different reaction.

Kakashi stood to the side and shook his head helplessly.

As Team 7's instructor, he should have stopped this farce, but he had no idea where to begin.

He sighed inwardly. Looks like I still underestimated the combat power of adolescent girls.

Naruto looked utterly confused. Scratching his head, he said, "Hey, why are they fighting over Su Bai? What's so great about him?!"