The Preliminaries Conclude!

[Round Ten: Choji Akimichi VS Dosu Kinata]

In a corner, Ye Tian held a thermos cup, gently blowing aside the few goji berries floating on the surface as his lazy gaze swept over the arena below.

He naturally knew the outcome of this fight, having read the story. But that did not stop him from using his "professional eye" to assess the "prey" about to take the stage.

Choji Akimichi was currently huddled in a corner, trembling as he muttered about "forfeiting" and "barbecue." It was not until Asuma Sarutobi unleashed his ultimate move—"all-you-can-eat barbecue"—that the fat man charged into the arena with howls, as if pumped full of adrenaline.

"What a simple motivation..." Ye Tian remarked. Then his gaze passed over the Human Bullet Tank and locked firmly onto the hunched Sound Ninja—Dosu Kinata.

More precisely, it was locked onto the extravagantly designed, perforated metal bracer on his right arm.

"Begin!"

At Gekko Hayate's command, Choji instantly transformed into a massive Human Bullet Tank and crushed forward with a roaring gust of wind.

Faced with the charge of such a heavy tank, Dosu did not dodge. He merely raised his right arm coldly. He formed no hand seals and made no dramatic movement, only slightly adjusting the angle of his bracer.

Bzzzz—!

An incredibly piercing high-frequency sound wave erupted, as though it could bore straight into one's brain.

This was not ordinary noise. It was a directional sound wave created by using Chakra to generate high-frequency vibrations through the special perforated structure inside the bracer.

"AAARGH!"

The previously imposing Human Bullet Tank instantly fell apart. Choji clutched his ears and rolled painfully across the ground, as if the entire world were spinning and the barbecue in his stomach was about to come back up.

"Seventy percent of the human body is water, and sound travels through water four times faster than through air." Dosu explained his technique in a chilling voice. "As long as you have ears, you cannot defend against my attack. Your semicircular canals have been damaged. Your sense of balance is completely gone."

In the stands, everyone wore grave expressions.

"An attack that cannot be defended against... That's troublesome." Shikamaru frowned as he analyzed it.

Yet within Ye Tian's Divine Sense, the scene looked entirely different.

"Crude... far too crude."

Ye Tian shook his head, but his eyes gleamed with the light of someone spotting a bargain.

"Using metal resonance to guide Chakra—the principle is somewhat similar to the Soul-Reaping Bell or the Heavenly Sound Wave from the cultivation world. But the design concept behind that bracer is rather interesting..."

Like an X-ray, Ye Tian's Divine Sense silently seeped into the interior of Dosu's bracer.

"There are three sets of sound-amplification corridors embedded inside. The material seems to be some special alloy capable of enhancing vibrations... In the Shinobi World, this alloy might only be used for ninja tools. But in the cultivation world, if I simply carved a few Sound-Gathering Arrays and Soul-Confusing Curses into it, it would become a low-grade magical artifact capable of directly attacking the Divine Soul!"

Ye Tian licked his somewhat chapped lips.

He happened to lack a magical treasure capable of launching large-scale mental attacks. He could use Divine Sense: Pressure, but that consumed too much mental energy. If he could get his hands on that bracer and modify it a little...

"Hehe, my cultivation-world version of the Soul-Reaping Bell is within reach."

The battle below ended without suspense. Although Choji retaliated once through sheer willpower, he was ultimately knocked unconscious by Dosu's vicious sonic heavy punch and slammed into the wall.

"Winner, Dosu Kinata."

Accompanied by Gekko Hayate's weak coughing, the long and brutal preliminary round finally came to an end.

"Cough, cough... Everyone, thanks for the effort."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stepped forward once more. Looking at the remaining nine winners below, plus Ye Tian, a gratified smile appeared on his aged face.

"These are the contestants who will take part in the official selection matches one month from now."

Leaning on his cane, Ye Tian blended into the very back of the group.

Beside him stood Dosu, who had just won and wore a sinister expression. Further to the side was the cold-faced Gaara.

At that moment, a familiar, chilling presence slithered toward him from behind like a snake flicking its tongue.

Orochimaru, disguised as the Sound Ninja team's instructor, had somehow made his way to the rear of the group and was slowly leaving through the passageway.

As he passed Ye Tian, his footsteps paused almost imperceptibly.

"Hehehe..."

A hoarse voice that only Ye Tian could hear was transmitted into his ear through an extremely concealed Wind Release sound transmission:

"I truly look forward to it... little brat with that strange power. I hope you survive the finals. I would very much like to see what your insides look like once you have been cut open."

It was a blatant threat.

An ordinary Genin would probably have had his legs go weak under that Kage Level killing intent.

But Ye Tian merely turned his head slightly. In his half-lidded eyes, his pupils instantly narrowed into needlepoints.

Bzz!

Inside his Niwan Palace, the Divine Sense of the Qi Refining Fifth Layer instantly condensed into an invisible spike and viciously stabbed at a wisp of Orochimaru's mental tendril.

"Cough, cough..."

Ye Tian covered his mouth and coughed violently twice, pretending he could not stand the dust. At the same time, he replied with a lip movement only the two of them could understand:

"Sir, remember to brush your teeth on time... Your bad breath is suffocating me."

Orochimaru's body abruptly stiffened as he walked.

In that instant, he felt as though an invisible wasp had fiercely stung his mind. It was not enough to injure him, but the stinging sensation made him extremely displeased.

"Hmph."

Orochimaru snorted coldly, gave Ye Tian a deep look, then vanished into the shadows without looking back.

"Old Snake Skin, we'll see about that."

Ye Tian withdrew his gaze, secretly delighted. Dancing in a big shot's minefield like this was truly thrilling.

"Next, we will draw lots for the official selection matchups."

Anko approached while carrying a white box. "It's troublesome, but this will determine the direction of your special training over the next month. Come draw one."

The atmosphere instantly grew tense.

This was no ordinary drawing of lots. It concerned life and death, as well as fate.

"I'll go first!" Naruto was the first to rush over. He stuck his hand into the box, stirred around for a long while, then pulled out a slip of paper.

"I'm... in the first match!" Naruto shouted as he looked at the number on the slip.

One after another, the others stepped forward as well.

Soon, the matchups appeared on the electronic display.

Match One: Naruto Uzumaki VS Neji Hyuga

Match Two: Gaara VS Uchiha Sasuke

Match Three: Kankuro VS Shino Aburame

Match Four: Temari VS Shikamaru Nara

Only one slip remained.

Ye Tian slowly walked over. Under Anko's wild gaze, he extended his pale fingers and drew out the final slip.

He opened it, and an imperceptible smile curled his lips.

Just as expected.

Match Five: Ye Tian VS Dosu Kinata

"Tch... So it's that sickly weakling."

Dosu, standing not far away, looked at the matchup chart. Unconcealed contempt and delight filled his single eye. "My luck is pretty good. I thought I might run into a monster like Gaara, but it turned out to be a useless cripple who can barely even walk."

In his eyes, Ye Tian had only defeated Kin Tsuchi in the preliminaries because of luck, and that so-called Tai Chi was just flashy posturing. His sound-wave attacks could penetrate anywhere and were specifically suited to dealing with frail, sickly people like this.

"This is practically a guaranteed spot." Dosu sneered inwardly.

However, he did not know that Ye Tian's gaze upon him was even more "affectionate" than his own gaze upon Ye Tian.

"Dosu, Dosu..."

Ye Tian tucked the slip into his clothes, looking at the hunched Sound Ninja immersed in joy as he silently lit a candle for him.

"According to the original script, you should get yourself instantly killed within the next month by foolishly challenging Gaara."

"In other words... if you die, then in the first round of the main tournament, wouldn't I... get a bye?"

Ye Tian rubbed his chin. The chance to obtain Dosu's equipment while advancing without having to fight was simply tailor-made for a laid-back cultivator like him.

"This is what they mean by luck being part of strength."

Ye Tian covered his mouth and let out a weak series of coughs. Yet beneath the cover of his handkerchief, he could not suppress his amusement.

"Alright, the drawing is over."

The Third Hokage concluded, "The coming month is for gathering intelligence, recovering from injuries, and special training. For the honor of every nation, I hope you will display even more exciting battles in the finals. Dismissed!"

At that command, the Genin who had just experienced life-and-death battles finally let out a sigh of relief.

Outside the tower, the sunlight was just right.

"Ye Tian! Should we train together?" Naruto came over, his face full of excitement. "Even though my opponent is that Byakugan bastard, I definitely won't lose!"

"Sorry, Naruto." Ye Tian waved a hand, looking as though he had been completely drained. "You saw it too. With this body of mine... I need to spend half a month lying in the hospital first. Passionate things like special training aren't for me."

"Huh? Is that so..." Naruto looked a little disappointed, but Kakashi quickly called him away.

"Sasuke, come with me." Kakashi glanced at Ye Tian. Though he was somewhat worried about this "patient," his top priority now was sealing Sasuke's Curse Mark and teaching him how to deal with Gaara.

"Hmph." Sasuke shot Ye Tian a cold glance. He seemed to want to say something, but ultimately followed Kakashi away.

In the blink of an eye, Ye Tian was left alone at the entrance to the tower, which had just been bustling with activity.

"It's good that they're all gone. Nice and quiet."

Ye Tian stretched lazily. Though that sickly air still clung to him, his eyes had become incomparably clear.

"One month."

Ye Tian looked at the bustling streets of Konoha and calculated his next plans.

"First, I need to go stock up at the Konoha Hospital pharmacy. There should still be some of those Tranquility Herbs and dragon bone powder I had my eye on last time."

"Second, I need to find a quiet place to refine the Broken Blade fragment I swiped from Zabuza using True Fire. My Life-Bound Flying Sword only lacks that final trace of the 'bloodthirsty' attribute before it takes shape."

"And... that old pervert Jiraiya should be making his entrance soon, right?"

Thinking of that, the smile at Ye Tian's lips deepened.

"Sage Mode? Natural Energy? That's advanced stuff that has touched the threshold of Unity of Heaven and Man. If I don't take the chance to coax some theory out of him and improve my cultivation technique, then wouldn't I have crossed over for nothing?"

Leaning on his cane, Ye Tian swayed step by step toward Konoha Hospital.

The setting sun stretched his shadow long behind him.

During this month filled with danger and opportunity, the waters of Konoha were destined to be stirred into utter turmoil by this cultivator who refused to follow the script.