July 7, 60th year of the Leaf Village, 3 PM.
Having arrived early at the central tower and being assigned to dormitories to wait for the exam to conclude, the candidates received a notification from the proctors to gather in the lobby on the first floor.
Team 8 was one of them.
At this moment, twenty-four candidates stood in the lobby, along with their Jonin instructors.
As Mitarashi Anko had said, the second exam was designed to reduce the number of candidates who passed the first exam by at least half.
Out of twenty-four teams, seventy-two candidates, only eight teams, or twenty-four individuals, would ultimately pass the second exam.
Among them, the ninjas from the Leaf Village made up the vast majority.
To be precise, aside from the three siblings of Gaara and the trio from the Hidden Sound Village, all other candidates were from the Leaf Village.
They included: Team 6, Team 7, Team 8, Team 10, Might Guy's Team 3, and Yakushi Kabuto along with his two teammates.
"You all did well to arrive at the central tower on the first day," Kurenai Yuhi praised as she approached Team 8.
Her feminine warmth was palpable.
In fact, as the sensory team, Team 8 had already fallen behind by not being the first to reach the central tower.
Thus, there was no sense of pride among Team 8; Izayoi and Hinata merely smiled.
At that moment, Izayoi seemed to sense something and turned to look in the direction of Team 7, locking eyes with Kakashi Hatake.
Izayoi smiled and nodded at Kakashi, understanding why the other was looking at him.
Clearly, Kakashi was gathering more information about Orochimaru and had learned from Team 7 who had performed the Fireball Whirlwind.
Before the candidates could chat with their Jonin instructors, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the team of examiners for the second exam appeared on the second floor.
Then all the Jonin instructors moved to the second-floor stands to listen to the Third Hokage's speech.
As Hiruzen spoke about the Chunin Exams being a microcosm of the allied nations' wars, and that the third exam would attract many nobles and spectators, he emphasized the need to filter out another batch of excellent Genin from those who passed the second exam to ensure the competition was entertaining. Then, Hayate Gekko took the stage as the chief examiner.
"Ahem... I am Hayate Gekko, the chief examiner for the third stage of the Chunin selection exams."
Hayate coughed lightly, then surveyed the twenty-four candidates before him while checking the list on his clipboard, and slowly stated, "We are currently in the preliminary stage, and the rules are simple: losers are eliminated, and winners advance to the official matches."
"Shortly, the screen on the wall will display the names of all twenty-four of you, then shuffle them randomly for matchups."
"Before we begin, does anyone wish to forfeit? If not, I will upload the list."
"...I forfeit."
As soon as Hayate's voice fell, Yakushi Kabuto raised his hand to forfeit.
This scene drew the attention of Hiruzen Sarutobi and some of the examiners in the stands, but the other candidates paid little mind.
After all, unlike in the original story, the rookie ninjas did not know Yakushi Kabuto.
"Ahem... What is your name?"
"Yakushi Kabuto."
"Alright, you may leave."
Hayate crossed out Kabuto's name with his pen and asked again, "Now there are twenty-three candidates left, and one will have a bye. Does anyone else wish to forfeit?"
Seeing no one speak up, Hayate took out a walkie-talkie and said, "Then I announce that the preliminary round of the Chunin selection third exam officially begins!"
Immediately, the screen flickered with static.
Then, the candidates' names began to appear one by one, as if someone were typing on a keyboard behind the scenes.
Once all twenty-three candidates' names were displayed on the screen, the image suddenly changed, and two large VS letters replaced the list, occupying the center of the screen.
The names flickered on either side of the VS. After a few seconds, the screen froze.
Dosu Kinuta VS Akimichi Choji.
"Candidates whose names are displayed, stay here; the rest of you, please move to the second-floor stands to watch," Hayate instructed.
"Choji, go for it!"
"Don't lose to the ninjas from the Small Ninja Village; if you win, Asuma-sensei will treat you to barbecue!"
"…Okay!"
Upon hearing the word "barbecue," Akimichi Choji's eyes widened, and he nodded seriously.
As Izayoi leaned on the railing beside Kurenai, he did not watch the ongoing battle between Akimichi Choji and Dosu Kinuta but instead scrutinized the Sound Ninja standing next to Zaku Abumi and Kin Tsuchi.
While others could not discern the identity of this Sound Ninja, Izayoi recognized him immediately as Orochimaru.
Izayoi did not expect that even after failing to plant a curse, Orochimaru would still infiltrate the central tower to watch the preliminaries.
If that were the case, why wasn't the first match Uchiha Sasuke VS Akado Yoroi? Was he merely here to watch, or did he have other plans?
It seemed that Orochimaru sensed Izayoi's scrutiny, as his gaze turned towards him, revealing a charming smile.
Izayoi returned the smile politely, nodding as if unaware of Orochimaru's identity.
Meanwhile, the battle below had already determined a victor.
Although Dosu Kinuta did not expose any information as in the original story, Akimichi Choji still began with the Human Bullet Tank technique.
With his head tucked into his body and ears blocked, Choji inadvertently avoided being instantly defeated.
However, his combat experience was still far inferior to that of Dosu Kinuta, who had fought in small skirmishes.
Just like in the original story, Dosu Kinuta dodged the impact of the Human Bullet Tank and deliberately left an opening, causing Akimichi Choji's body to get stuck in the wall.
Then, using the moisture in the human body, he unleashed a Sonic Wave Fist, instantly defeating Akimichi Choji.
"Akimichi Choji has lost the ability to fight; the winner of the first round is Dosu Kinuta," Hayate announced immediately.
Seeing this, Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino could only helplessly cover their foreheads.
Asuma Sarutobi, with a cigarette in his mouth, chuckled, "At least he wasn't injured. Choji is still strong; he just happened to run into someone who counters him."
After saying this, Asuma instantly flickered down to bring Akimichi Choji back to the stands, without taking him to the medical room.
The screen flickered with names again, quickly freezing on one.
Uchiha Sasuke VS Zaku Abumi.
"I look forward to your performance, Zaku," Orochimaru encouraged Zaku with a smile.
"Yes!"
Zaku, nearly standing at attention with excitement, quickly assured, "I won't let you down, sir."
On Team 7's side, Haruno Sakura reminded Uchiha Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun, that ninja from the Sound Village seems to use sound wave techniques; you need to be careful."
Uzumaki Naruto, with his hands behind his head, provocatively cheered, "Don't lose to a loser like that before you face me!"
Just as Uchiha Sasuke was about to step down, he suddenly halted, turned, and smiled at Uzumaki Naruto, saying, "Naruto, I also want to fight you."
This time, Uchiha Sasuke did not refer to Uzumaki Naruto as "Dead last."
Uzumaki Naruto was taken aback, his eyes slowly opening wide as he stared blankly at Uchiha Sasuke.
Then, an inexplicable emotion surged within him, making him tremble with excitement, goosebumps rising on his skin.
(End of Chapter)