All the participants who had passed the survival test were neatly arranged in rows of three.
"First of all, congratulations on surviving. It's surprising how many participants managed to make it through."
Anko counted the participants with her eyes. She had thought that only around ten would pass, but twenty-four shinobi surviving was something that hadn't happened in five years.
Yamato, who was standing right beside Kakashi at that moment, whispered a few words.
"All the rookies are here..."
Hearing this, Kakashi replied in a subdued voice.
"Yeah... I'm a little surprised. Your team is here too."
Yamato felt proud.
"They've grown a little since becoming shinobi, and I can say the same about your team, Kakashi-senpai."
"I don't think so. They still have a long way to go."
Even though Kakashi said that, his eyes were fixed on Sasuke. More specifically, on the mark on his neck.
"Now Hokage-sama will explain what this next test is about, so listen carefully, maggots," Anko said.
Taking a puff from his pipe, Hiruzen stepped forward and looked at the candidates. He remained silent for a few seconds before speaking.
"Before I tell you what this third test will consist of, I would like to explain something about the exam itself. Listen carefully, because this is something you need to understand. I am going to tell you the true purpose of these exams."
Everyone remained silent. However, some of them looked confused by this sudden revelation.
'If I'm not mistaken, the Chunin Exams are basically a war between allied nations...'
Toru wasn't wrong, and Hiruzen explained it in detail:
To understand this, they had to go back a little in time, to when the nations surrounding Konohagakure were constantly in conflict. During that era, there were many losses in terms of military strength, so after the Third Shinobi World War came to an end, the nations reached an agreement: they would choose different champions from their villages and send them to the Chunin Selection Exams.
These selected ninjas carried the burden and honor of representing their respective nations. At first, they were told that these exams were meant to strengthen their shinobi and the bonds of friendship between allied nations. In short, the Chunin Selection Exams were a 'friendly' war.
Each nation displayed its military power by sending its best shinobi to the Selection Exams. If the representatives of one village demonstrated greater strength than those of any other, that village would receive a large number of missions, generating money and increasing its power and reputation.
"This is a custom preserved through fighting and dying. In the world of shinobi, that means friendship."
Hiruzen looked at everyone in the room. Some looked a little worried, while others simply took it lightly, but what caught the Hokage's attention the most were three shinobi in particular: Sasuke, Toru, and Naruto.
'I hope you understand that you carry the honor of our nation on your shoulders...'
After a long sigh, the Hokage looked at everyone with a relaxed expression.
"Anyway. The third exam is a fight with your lives on the line, for the pride of your village and your own dreams."
Hearing this, a smile formed on Naruto's face.
'Now that's something I can get behind.'
"I can overcome anything. Just tell me the details of this test, and I'll make sure to kill them all," Gaara whispered, causing the mummy-looking guy and the blonde girl to look away.
The Hokage became somewhat interested in Gaara, so with a slight smile on his face, he said:
"Then..."
With a small gust of wind, a shinobi appeared kneeling in front of the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama, allow me to explain," he said.
Hiruzen sighed.
"You're the proctor for this third test, after all."
"Thank you very much, Hokage-sama," he replied, coughing a couple of times.
After that, the shinobi stood up and turned around, looking at the participants. Most of them had a somewhat strange reaction when they saw his face. He had large dark circles under his eyes and looked extremely tired.
This man's name was Hayate Gekko.
"So... We need to hold a preliminary round before continuing with the actual exam..."
Enko looked at Hayate and asked a question.
"A preliminary round? What's that?"
"Well... Apparently, the first two exams were too easy, and we didn't expect so many students to still be here. So, according to the official rules of the Chunin Exams, a preliminary round may be necessary, since its purpose is to reduce the number of remaining participants."
"But that's not fair," Sakura protested.
"Uh... I don't know if you heard Hokage-sama's words, but this is a competition between nations. For the final exam, very important guests from each nation will come to watch the best shinobi, so anyone who doesn't feel they're in excellent physical condition can—cough, cough, cough... Sorry. So, anyone who doesn't feel they're in optimal condition, this is the best time to withdraw. The preliminaries will begin immediately."
"Is this some kind of stupid joke?! We just survived a damn hell! We're not even getting a break?!" Enko complained.
"What a drag..." Shikamaru muttered.
"You have to decide now. If you don't think you can handle this, now is the time to withdraw," Hayate reaffirmed.
Some of the participants looked at each other. They were tired, but this was their chance to become Chunin. After a long silence, a few of them raised their hands and quietly left the room.
These were the ones who remained:
Onikuma Enko, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba.Hoki Hakuto, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji.Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura.Yamanaka Ino, Hyuga Hinata, Asahi Toru.Hyuga Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee.Gaara, Kankuro, Temari.Misumi Tsurugi, Yoroi Akado, Yakushi Kabuto.Kinuta Dosu, Abumi Zaku, Tsuchi Kin.
Hayate cleared his throat.
"All right, then we'll begin with the preliminary round. This test will consist of individual, one-on-one matches, and you'll be fighting with everything you've got. This isn't a simple training exercise. You'll fight until the other person dies or surrenders. A match can also end if one of the participants is considered physically incapable of continuing. I also have a certain amount of discretion when judging the matches, so I can stop a fight if I believe one of the participants can no longer continue. This is done to save as many lives as possible."
Hayate felt a little dizzy.
"So—cough, cough, cough... Let's see who will be first," Hayate said, looking at Anko.
She reacted immediately and looked toward one of the walls, which seemed to have some kind of hatch built into it.
"Open the hatch," she said.
Immediately, the hatch opened, revealing a screen.
"Before each match, the participants will be chosen at random. Now, since there's nothing else to add, let's begin. The names of the first two opponents will appear on this screen."
Hayate looked at the screen as it lit up and began displaying the names of all the participating shinobi in rapid succession. Finally, two names appeared:
Uchiha Sasuke vs. Yoroi Akado
Everyone looked at Sasuke and his opponent, whose mouth was covered with a black cloth.
"These are the first two. Everyone else, move to the upper level. Only the two participants may remain," Hayate said.
After a few seconds, only Sasuke and Akado remained in the battle arena.
Toru watched silently, just like Naruto and Sakura, who looked especially worried.
At the same time, Hayate prepared to begin the first match.
"There's nothing else to say, so... are you ready?"
"Yes," Sasuke and Yoroi said in unison.
Hayate nodded.
"All right, then... begin!"
…
…
…
[Battle Summary:
Time: 3.47 minutes
Winner: Uchiha Sasuke
Decisive Move: Shishi Rendan.]