Preliminaries, Round One: Sasuke's Lion Combo (Please Vote!)

After Yakushi Kabuto withdrew, seventeen candidates remained. Gekko Hayate, acting as referee, began his introduction between coughs.

"The preliminaries officially begin now! Next are one-on-one matches. Cough, cough..."

"With seventeen candidates, there will be eight matches and one bye. The winners and the candidate with the bye can enter the Third Exam."

"There are no rules. A match ends when one side dies, loses consciousness, or surrenders. Cough, cough."

With that, the electronic screen on the hall wall began matching opponents.

"We'll now select the fighters for the first match."

Names scrolled across the screen. Soon, the first pairing was decided.

Sasuke would face Akado Yoroi, the Sunglasses Man and a fellow Konoha ninja.

Yoroi was Yakushi Kabuto's teammate, but no one knew either of them was a spy. According to his public record, Yoroi was just a worthless Genin who had graduated years ago and only taken low-level missions.

Before Sasuke stepped into the arena, Kakashi warned him not to use Chakra again. Otherwise, his Cursed Seal could flare up and even kill him. If that happened, Kakashi would stop the match by force.

Kakashi's warning left Sasuke frustrated and angry. He could not even use ordinary Ninjutsu now.

Sasuke and Akado Yoroi walked to the center of the hall, surrounded by spectators eager to watch.

Naruto forced himself not to look at Orochimaru, who was disguised as Otogakure's Jonin team leader. He did not want Orochimaru to notice him.

It was not that he was terrified of Orochimaru. He simply did not want to distract him and disrupt the Konoha Crush Plan.

The fight began.

Yoroi hurled several Shuriken at Sasuke. Sasuke tried to block them with a Kunai, but pain from the Cursed Seal overwhelmed him, and he fell to the ground.

Yoroi seized the chance to attack. Sasuke caught him with Taijutsu and held him fast.

But Yoroi remained calm, his eyes full of mockery.

He placed his right hand on Sasuke's chest, and Sasuke's strength drained away in an instant.

Then he gave Sasuke's chest a little punch, broke free of his hold, and pressed his right hand against Sasuke's forehead before Sasuke could react.

Sasuke finally realized that Yoroi had secretly mastered a technique that absorbed an enemy's Chakra through touch.

Yoroi intended to drain Sasuke dry. That was exactly what Orochimaru wanted: once Sasuke ran out of Chakra, he would have no choice but to rely on the Cursed Seal's power.

But Sasuke had clearly had enough of being drained. He suddenly kicked Yoroi away.

"Sasuke, remember how Rock Lee kicked your ass!" Naruto called with a grin from afar.

The reminder annoyed Sasuke, and his brows knitted together. But he quickly understood what Naruto meant.

Yoroi attacked again. Sasuke gritted his teeth and dodged each strike.

At last, Sasuke found his opening. It was his turn to show off!

He kicked Yoroi in the face, launching him into the air, then flashed behind him.

But just as he was about to strike, the Cursed Seal flared up and began consuming him.

Orochimaru watched smugly from afar, while Kakashi and Mitaraishi Anko looked on in worry.

What happened next stunned them: Sasuke suppressed the Cursed Seal through sheer force of will.

Then he resumed his display.

He battered Yoroi with punches and kicks in midair. As Yoroi fell, Sasuke drove a clean kick hard into his abdomen.

That borrowed and adapted move, the Lion Combo, defeated Yoroi outright.

Everyone was stunned. Rock Lee felt as though ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through his mind...

Just as Sasuke's strength gave out and he was about to collapse, Kakashi made a stylish entrance and braced Sasuke's back with his leg.

Kakashi hurried Sasuke into an empty Secret Room, preparing to use the Evil Sealing Method to seal the Cursed Seal.

Naruto had no interest in that. He cared even less whether Kakashi would run into Orochimaru afterward.

He watched the badly injured Sunglasses Man being carried away and felt nothing but contempt. Yoroi's Chakra-absorbing ability looked impressive, but it was practically useless.

If Yoroi could absorb someone else's Chakra and make it his own, like Samehada, then it would be a formidable ability.

But he had so many chances to touch Sasuke during the fight. Why not hold a Kunai and stab him to death?

Yoroi had not fought like a ninja at all. A ninja fought to complete a mission and achieve an objective, not to flaunt an ability.

So Yoroi had earned his defeat. He would never rise above the level of a Genin.

The second match was Shino Aburame against Choji Akimichi.

Shino was exceptionally capable and intelligent, with strength already at the Chunin level. Choji, by contrast, was still a timid Genin.

When Shino sent swarms of insects closing in from every direction, cold sweat soaked Choji's body. He could not even muster the courage to fight, so he surrendered on the spot.

The Konoha Ninja watching shook their heads. What a mighty father and disappointing son!

Ino-Shika-Cho had such a famous name, and Choza Akimichi was such an imposing man. How had he ended up with a son like this?

The third match pitted Kankuro against another of Yakushi Kabuto's teammates: Rubber Man, whose body could soften like Luffy's.

Kankuro was confident to the point of arrogance, but he had the skills to back it up. He dropped the bundle from his back onto the floor with a thud and waited for Rubber Man to attack.

Rubber Man charged first. Kankuro raised an arm to block, but Rubber Man's limbs suddenly stretched out, wrapped around him, and locked him tight.

Crack! Rubber Man snapped Kankuro's neck.

The surrounding Genin were shocked. None had expected Kankuro to die so quickly or in such a way.

Then "Kankuro's" head twisted a full 180 degrees to face Rubber Man. The ghostly sight nearly scared him out of his skin.

It turned out the trapped "Kankuro" was his Puppet, Karasu, in disguise. Kankuro himself had been hiding inside the bundle, controlling his Puppet with the Puppet Technique all along.

Kankuro then made Karasu strangle Rubber Man unconscious.

Kankuro won the third match.

The fourth match was Sakura against Ino.

Both girls had pursued Sasuke. They had gone from childhood best friends to romantic rivals—a story fit for an entire drama series.

Fate brought them face-to-face again. They settled things with their fists, each blow landing hard, and aimed almost exclusively for each other's face.

Naruto watched with keen interest from afar. He wished he had a bag of popcorn.

But Ino was a little craftier. She pretended her Mind Body Switch Technique had failed while secretly using her hair and hair ribbon to restrain Sakura.

Then she used the real Mind Body Switch Technique. Her mind entered Sakura's body, and she tried to make Sakura surrender so she could win.

Unfortunately for her, no amount of scheming could have prepared her for the powerful second personality lurking inside Sakura. It drove Ino straight out of Sakura's body.

Their struggle exhausted them both. After one final exchange of blows to the face, they collapsed together. Neither qualified for the Third Exam.

The fifth match was Temari against Tenten.

Naruto felt some fondness for Tenten and her Chinese-inspired style, but her strength was nowhere near enough.

Tenten relied on large numbers of ordinary Ninja Tools. Temari relied on the superior Giant Iron Fan.

Tenten desperately hurled every kind of Ninja Tool at her, but Temari swept them all away with her fan. The difference in strength was overwhelming.

Before long, Temari knocked Tenten out with a single Kamaitachi!

But Temari took it too far, flinging Tenten toward ground littered with Ninja Tools.

Fortunately, Rock Lee stepped in and caught her in time.

The sixth match was Shikamaru against Kiba Inuzuka.

Along with Choji and Naruto, those two had been known as the Truant Quartet at the Ninja Academy. They were old partners in mischief.

But Kiba's personality was the complete opposite of Shikamaru's. Shikamaru hated trouble, had no desire to compete, and wanted nothing more than to laze around.

Kiba, meanwhile, was aggressive and convinced he stood above everyone else.

He scoffed at Shikamaru, dismissing his fighting ability entirely. He thought Shikamaru was still weak and that winning would take him no time at all.

Instead, Shikamaru's wits crushed him.

Kiba opened by throwing two Smoke Bombs at Shikamaru, then charged into the smoke alone to pummel him in the confusion. He had played right into Shikamaru's hands.

Shikamaru sent the Shadow Imitation Technique curling across the ground and caught Kiba the moment he rushed in.

Akamaru charged to his master's rescue, but Shikamaru forced Kiba straight into him. Boy and dog collided and knocked each other unconscious.

Shikamaru won with ease.