Yakushi Kabuto

The moment Gekko Hayate finished speaking, a low murmur rose through the hall.

Quite a few people were injured. Some leaned against the walls, while others sat on the floor, gasping for breath. The second exam had only just ended, and many could barely stand steadily. Hearing that they had to fight another round immediately made their expressions turn grim.

The Third Hokage swept his gaze over the crowd and said, "There are too many injured participants. The preliminaries will begin in half an hour. During that time, anyone who wishes to withdraw may register with the examiners."

Gekko Hayate nodded, then coughed twice.

"Anyone who has not withdrawn after half an hour will be considered to have remained in the competition."

Naruto finally let out a breath and turned to look beside him.

"Where's Chiya?"

Sakura said quietly, "Still in the treatment room."

Naruto scratched his head, unusually subdued.

"He probably won't compete, right?"

Sasuke leaned against the wall without saying anything.

At the back of the crowd, Yakushi Kabuto adjusted his glasses. His fingers had just begun to rise before slowly lowering again.

Half an hour passed quickly.

When Chiya woke up, his shoulder had already been rebandaged. His mouth was filled with the bitter taste of medicine, so bitter that he nearly frowned.

Ino was crouching beside him. The moment she saw him open his eyes, she leaned closer.

"You're awake?"

Chiya glanced at her.

"I'm still alive?"

Ino said irritably, "You almost weren't."

Chiya tried to sit up, but the instant he moved, pain shot through his shoulder and made him suck in a cold breath.

Ino immediately pressed him back down.

"Don't move around!"

The medical ninja beside them also frowned. "You'd better not fight right now. The wound has only just stopped bleeding. If it opens again, it'll be troublesome."

Chiya lowered his head to look at the bandages around his shoulder, then looked toward the hall outside.

The electronic screen had already lit up.

The first match began soon after.

Sasuke versus Yoroi Akado.

This match was much like what Chiya remembered. Yoroi could absorb chakra, and Sasuke was forced into a miserable position at first. The Cursed Seal on his neck began to stir as well. Sakura's face turned pale with worry from above, while Naruto shouted anxiously, but Sasuke gritted his teeth and held on.

In the end, he used an imitation of Rock Lee's taijutsu to unleash a Lion's Barrage, slamming Yoroi Akado into the ground with a bang.

"The winner is Sasuke Uchiha."

The moment Gekko Hayate announced it, Kakashi took Sasuke away.

Chiya leaned against the railing and watched Kakashi lead Sasuke away without speaking.

He knew Kakashi was going to help Sasuke seal the Cursed Seal.

The next few matches went by quickly.

Shino versus Zaku. The insects blocked the sound-wave device, and Zaku lost miserably.

Kankuro versus Misumi Tsurugi. Once the puppet came out, there was little suspense left in the match.

Sakura and Ino's match lasted a long time.

The two fought from ninjutsu to fists, and in the end, both were too exhausted to stand. Before Ino fell, she glanced toward the second floor and happened to see Chiya leaning against the railing. Her lips moved, though no one knew what she wanted to curse at him for. The next instant, she and Sakura collapsed to the ground together.

Gekko Hayate coughed as he announced that both had lost the ability to continue fighting.

Naruto blinked in confusion.

"Huh? Doesn't that mean Sakura lost?"

"It's a draw."

Shikamaru lazily reminded him from nearby.

Tenten and Temari's match ended even faster.

The moment Temari opened her fan, all the weapons across the field were blown back. Tenten had run into her natural enemy.

Naruto and Kiba's match was the liveliest.

Kiba and Akamaru pressed Naruto hard from the start. Naruto was chased all around the arena, yet he refused to admit defeat. In the end, no one knew where his luck came from, but one foul fart made Kiba freeze up. Naruto seized the chance, launched a flurry of blows, and forcibly beat Kiba flat.

Chiya couldn't hold back his laughter.

He really was the number-one ninja at causing the unexpected.

The atmosphere in the hall clearly changed during Neji and Hinata's match.

Neji struck far too viciously. Hinata was knocked down again and again, only to struggle back to her feet each time. Naruto shouted himself nearly hoarse from above. If the jonin had not stopped him in time, Neji's final strike really could have killed Hinata.

Chiya looked at Neji below, his gaze darkening slightly.

He could not be bothered to comment on the Hyuga Clan's affairs.

But Neji had indeed been suppressing this resentment for too long.

Then came Rock Lee versus Gaara.

Even though Chiya had known this match would be outrageous, seeing it with his own eyes still made him sit up straighter.

At first, Rock Lee could not get anywhere near Gaara because of the sand. No matter how fast his punches and kicks were, he could not touch Gaara even once. That was until he removed the weights from his legs.

Boom!

The weights smashed into the ground, making the entire hall tremble.

Naruto's eyes went wide.

"What the hell are those things?!"

The next instant, Rock Lee vanished.

It was not the Body Flicker Technique. He was simply that fast!

So fast that even with his Sharingan activated, Chiya could only barely catch a blurry green shadow.

Bang!

Gaara was kicked from the ground into the air.

Chiya's pupils contracted.

Now this was taijutsu.

Rock Lee chased Gaara through the air with relentless attacks, and the sand finally could not keep up with his speed. Then he opened the Opening Gate, the Gate of Healing, the Gate of Life, the Gate of Pain, and the Gate of Limit. The aura around his entire body seemed to explode as his speed surged once more.

By then, even Chiya's Sharingan could no longer see clearly.

A pure stat monster.

He could only see Gaara being blasted into the air again and again, then slammed viciously back down.

Almost no one in the hall spoke.

In the end, Rock Lee still lost.

Gaara's sand bound his limbs and nearly crippled him. When Might Guy rushed down to embrace Rock Lee, Naruto clenched his fists tightly and ground his teeth until they creaked.

Chiya sighed. Gaara was too strong. At this stage, he was overwhelmingly strong.

Choji versus Dosu did not last long. Dosu's sound waves were too troublesome. Choji's eyes rolled back from the vibrations, and he was quickly defeated.

One match after another ended.

Until the electronic screen lit up again.

The names flickered rapidly.

Everyone in the hall looked up.

A few seconds later, the screen stopped.

Chiya Uchiha versus Yakushi Kabuto.

Sakura had already returned to Chiya's side by then, and her expression changed at once.

"Chiya?!"

Naruto immediately jumped up as well.

"What kind of joke is this?! He's still injured!"

Ino ignored the miserable state she was in after her own match. She stood while supporting herself on the railing and stared downward.

Chiya looked at the names on the screen, his expression puzzled.

Yakushi Kabuto.

Wasn't he supposed to have withdrawn?

Gekko Hayate looked toward Chiya.

"Chiya Uchiha, given your current condition, you may choose to forfeit."

Kabuto stepped out from the crowd, wearing the same gentle smile.

"Chiya, you're badly injured. There's no need to force yourself."

Chiya supported himself on the railing and stood.

Ino grabbed his wrist.

"Are you crazy?"

Chiya turned to glance at her.

"It's fine."

"You call this fine?"

Chiya did not explain further. He gently pried her hand away and slowly walked down the stairs.

Kabuto stood in the center of the arena, watching Chiya approach. His eyes narrowed slightly behind his lenses.

Once the two were in position, Gekko Hayate announced,

"Begin."

The instant his words fell, Kabuto flickered forward, and several kunai shot toward Chiya.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Chiya raised his hand and knocked the kunai aside. He stomped down and slid to the side. At almost the same instant, Kabuto rushed in front of him and struck toward his shoulder with one palm.

With his Sharingan active, Chiya saw everything clearly.

That palm strike looked ordinary, but the chakra in Kabuto's palm was as fine as a blade.

Chiya abruptly twisted aside, and Kabuto's palm grazed past his shoulder.

The motion was too large, and his bandages instantly split open.

Blood immediately seeped through.

Ino's face went pale above.

Kabuto spoke gently.

"Sorry, I hit a little too hard."

Chiya looked at him and curled his lips.

"Your hands are pretty vicious."

The next instant, Chiya formed One-Handed Hand Seals.

"Earth Release, Earth Flow Spears!"

Crack!

The ground split open, and several earthen spikes burst up beneath Kabuto's feet. Kabuto's reaction was terrifyingly fast. He flipped away almost against the spikes themselves, and when he landed, not even the edge of his clothes had been touched.

Too fast.

Too fast to be a genin.

On the second floor, several jonin fixed their eyes on him.

Kabuto noticed it as well.

Chiya did not give him a chance to pause. With a flick of his wrist, his hand seal speed abruptly increased.

"Meteor Release, Lava Bullet!"

A small crimson stone bullet shot from his mouth and whistled toward Kabuto's face.

Kabuto raised a hand to block it.

But just as his hand rose halfway, he forcibly stopped and leaned back to dodge instead.

The Lava Bullet grazed past his glasses, then struck the wall with a bang, blasting out a scorched black mark.

Chiya panted, his face turning even paler.

"Go ahead. Block it."

The smile on Kabuto's face finally faded somewhat.

Just as Chiya was preparing to use Meteor Release, Lava Swamp—

Kabuto suddenly raised his hand.

"Examiner, I forfeit."

A burst of discussion immediately erupted in the hall.

Naruto froze.

"Huh? You're quitting already?"

Kabuto rubbed his forehead, revealing a helpless smile.

"It seems I overestimated myself. My body can't hold up much longer."

Gekko Hayate looked at him, then at Chiya.

Chiya stood where he was. The bandages around his shoulder were already stained red with blood, and his face looked terrifyingly bad.

"The winner is Chiya Uchiha."

The instant the words fell, Chiya swayed, and his vision instantly went black.

"Chiya!"

Ino practically rushed down from the second floor.

Naruto ran down after her as well.

Before Chiya collapsed, he only vaguely saw Kabuto push up his glasses and turn back into the crowd.

That guy still wore the same gentle expression.

As if nothing had happened.

After Chiya was carried away again, the preliminary matches finally came to an end.

That evening, the list for the main matches was posted. Sasuke, Naruto, and Chiya were all on it.

But Chiya himself was still lying in the infirmary, without even opening his eyes.

Meanwhile, Kakashi had already taken Sasuke away from the tower.

At the training ground.

Sasuke leaned against a tree. The Cursed Seal on his neck had been suppressed by a sealing technique, but he still looked pale.

Kakashi stood before him.

"For the next month, you'll train with me."

Sasuke looked up at him.

"Train in what?"

Kakashi did not answer immediately. He merely raised his right hand.

The next instant, a piercing crackle of electricity suddenly rang out.

Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

Blue-white lightning burst in his palm, like a flock of screaming birds.

Sasuke's gaze instantly froze.

Kakashi looked at him.

"This technique is called Chidori."