The next day, the third exam officially began.
Gekko Hayate would randomly select the combatants, and only the winners could advance to the next round.
The first match was Sasuke Uchiha against Akado Yoroi.
One look at Akado Yoroi made it clear that he was older than the Konoha 12.
Zhou Cheng also knew that he served Orochimaru and, like Kabuto, had infiltrated Konoha as a spy.
Though he was nominally a Genin, his true strength far exceeded that rank, especially compared with this year's Konoha Genin, who had only recently graduated.
They sorely lacked actual combat experience.
As soon as the fight began, Sasuke was forced onto the defensive.
Akado Yoroi deliberately engaged Sasuke in a Taijutsu exchange. The moment their bodies made contact, he used his Chakra Absorption ability to drain most of Sasuke's chakra.
Sasuke found himself struggling, and Kakashi had sealed his Cursed Seal.
Anyone else might have surrendered and given up on the exam.
But revenge had always driven Sasuke forward. Giving up was out of the question.
In the end, he devised the Lion Combo and finally defeated Akado Yoroi.
"Sasuke's a genius too, and he works hard!"
"Developing a Taijutsu move in the middle of battle? He really does have talent!"
"Akado Yoroi isn't one of this year's Genin. He's far stronger than the other students!"
"And he has the Chakra Absorption Technique. Beating him really wasn't easy for Sasuke!"
The second match began. Most of the matches pitted members of the Konoha 12 against the Sound Ninja.
In the Forest of Death, Zhou Cheng had not seized every scroll. Apart from the Sound Four, at least, he had not encountered any other Sound Ninja teams.
The Sound Ninja within his sensing range had all stayed far away from him. Going after their