Sandō of Kumogakure

When the preliminaries began, Madara Uchiha and the others were taken to an arena in Sunagakure along with everyone else who had passed.

Twenty-seven Genin gathered in the ocher-colored arena. Around them, the Jōnin who led their teams stood in the spectator stands, watching their students, while several Sunagakure ninja guarded the arena from above. Arakawa Kiba, the examiner in charge, stood directly in front of the candidates. Meanwhile, Fourth Kazekage Rasa sat in the seat of honor, silently observing the young Genin.

"Hey, are you guys from Konoha? My name's Sandō Raikō. Nice to meet you."

Before the draw for the preliminaries began, a tall, blond-haired man with dark skin and a body covered in powerful muscles approached Madara Uchiha and the others. Judging by his forehead protector, he was from Kumogakure.

"We are. I'm Hayato Hyuga. Did you need something?"

Although the Kumogakure ninja had been throwing their weight around in Sunagakure, they had not provoked anyone from Konoha. Since the newcomer seemed reasonably polite, Hayato returned his greeting with similar courtesy.

"Hayato Hyuga! So you're from the Hyuga Clan! That's amazing. Could you tell me your other two teammates' names?"

The moment he heard that Hayato belonged to the Hyuga Clan, the burly man named Sandō Raikō put on an admiring expression. His exclamations made Hayato feel the prestige his clan afforded him, and, unable to contain his delight, he readily gave away his teammates' information.

"Hehe, I'm nothing special. As for my teammates, this gloomy fellow who never talks is Sōsuke Aburame. He's a genius from the Aburame Clan. And this short guy here is a genius from the Uchiha Clan. His name's Uchiha Itachi. You've got quite the build yourself, buddy. You must be pretty strong. If we end up facing each other, go easy on us."

Once the talkative Hayato Hyuga got started, there was no stopping him. Even after introducing his teammates, he was happy to keep chatting with the other boy.

"Oh! The Hyuga Clan, the Uchiha Clan, and the Aburame Clan. You're all descendants of Konoha's great clans. Say, buddy, are you from the Hyuga Branch Family or the Main Family? Don't worry, I definitely won't try to kill you."

Seeing how enthusiastic Hayato was, Sandō continued the conversation.

"Me? I'm from the Branch Family, but I'm just as strong as anyone from the Main Family!"

Hayato Hyuga rubbed his nose. He had all but grown immune to questions about the Branch Family and the Main Family. To him, becoming the strongest member of the Hyuga Clan as someone from the Branch Family was more of a challenge, wasn't it? Though the Branch Family stood below the Main Family within the clan, Hayato did not believe that made him inferior to them outside it.

"Huh? You're from the Branch Family? Then those eyes of yours are worthless, aren't they? Even if I dug them out, I probably couldn't preserve them. Little guy, have you awakened your Sharingan yet? I'd really like to collect a pair of Uchiha eyes."

As soon as he heard that Hayato belonged to the Branch Family, Sandō lost interest in him and turned his gaze toward Madara Uchiha instead. Though his manner remained warm, the words coming out of his mouth were as frightening as those of a demon.

"You want to collect the Uchiha Clan's eyes?"

Madara Uchiha had never had any interest in trading barbs with children, but Sandō's words prompted a rare response to an outsider. At the same time, Hayato Hyuga finally realized that the newcomer meant them harm.

"What's that supposed to mean? Don't talk to my teammate like that! If you've got a problem, come at me!"

After being taught by Shisui and Kazuhiko, Hayato had learned to stand up for his teammates. Seeing Sandō size up Madara Uchiha with a malicious gaze, he immediately stepped in front of Madara, blocking Sandō's view.

"You worthless Hyuga Branch Family trash, would you kindly stop blocking my view? Brat, just tell me whether you've awakened those eyes. If you have the Sharingan, I might spare your life and only gouge out your eyes. If you don't, I'll be so disappointed I might just smash you into pulp."

Having learned what he wanted to know, Sandō Raikō revealed his true colors. He had even less reason to be pleasant to Hayato, who was utterly worthless in his eyes.

"All right, Genin, quiet down. The preliminaries are starting."

Just as Hayato and Sandō were about to come to blows, a powerful killing intent locked onto them both. The two Genin instantly calmed down under its pressure, and Arakawa Kiba's voice rang out from the front of the arena.

"As stated earlier, the preliminaries will consist of one-on-one matches, and the winners will advance to the main tournament. Matchups will be completely random. You won't face anyone from your own team, but there are no restrictions on facing someone from your own village, so matches between fellow villagers are possible. If no one has any objections, we'll draw lots to determine your opponents and the match order. This container holds twenty-seven lots. Twenty-six are numbered from one to twenty-six. Once the draw is complete, the matches will proceed in order: one against two, three against four, five against six, and so on. The remaining lot bears Sunagakure's emblem. Whoever draws it will advance directly to the main tournament."

After explaining the rules in detail, Arakawa Kiba cast a scrutinizing glance at the team leaders watching from the arena's second level. Once he confirmed that none of the Jōnin objected, a Sunagakure ninja brought out a square box for the draw.

"Come draw your lots in the order you completed the previous stage."

"Heh, Hayato Hyuga, I'm really looking forward to fighting you."

Once Arakawa Kiba announced the drawing order, the killing intent pinning down Sandō and Hayato vanished. Sandō gave Hayato a mocking smile, then strode over to the drawing container. A nimble-looking boy with a full head of gray hair and an energetic red-haired girl stepped forward with him.

Clearly, these three had been the first team to complete the first stage of the exam. That was also why Arakawa Kiba allowed Sandō to move around freely after the draw. No wonder Sandō could be so arrogant—he genuinely had the ability to back it up.

After Sandō's team drew their lots, the three-person team from Iwagakure went next, followed by Sunagakure. Madara Uchiha and the others drew theirs later, and before long, all twenty-seven candidates had finished.

"Whoa, how are you that lucky?!"

As everyone checked their results, Hayato Hyuga, who was standing beside Madara Uchiha, jumped at the sight of Sōsuke Aburame's lot. It bore Sunagakure's ninja emblem, meaning Sosuke had advanced straight to the main tournament.