"Outing?"
Iruka Umino was promoted to Chunin at sixteen, four years older than Naruto.
Recalling his own Chunin Exams, he had gone through a lot of hardship.
Although the questions for each exam varied, the difficulty remained constant.
Iruka Umino had experienced the Death Forest survival exam once, and it left a deep impression on him; he had once ignored poisonous mushrooms and nearly met his great-grandmother.
"An—an outing sounds good—"
Iruka Umino raised his hand to rub the back of his head, narrowing his eyes into a gentle smile.
His expression sobered, and he coughed a few times into his fist before continuing, "Next is Hokage-sama's message to everyone."
After a period of encouragement,
the new Seventh Team and the other two would have to wait until the second exam ended before they could begin the third exam.
Fortunately, time passed quickly.
Other Ninja teams arrived at the round tower one after another.
By the fifth day,
all the expected examinees had arrived; those who hadn't were naturally disqualified.
Guided by the broadcast, everyone resting in various corners of the round tower gathered at the training ground in the center of the first floor.
The training ground was quite spacious, paved with large, square stone bricks, with second-floor viewing stands built on both sides, and a statue of two hands wearing Ninja armbands, forming the "Un" hand sign, on the front wall.
Led by Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, a group of Jonin from Konoha Village stood below the Un hand sign statue.
In addition, there were many Special Jonin, Ninjas and VIPs from other hidden villages, and medical teams responsible for treating injuries.
After all, the Chunin Exams were also an important occasion for allied nations to observe each other's national strength.
Especially the third exam, which had already filtered out the "trash," leaving only the potential seeds from the major Ninja villages.
Even if they didn't have Chunin strength, they were still the elite among the Genin.
"Swish!"
A sickly man with dark circles under his eyes instantly appeared in front of the Genin, seemingly habitually coughing twice, and said, "First, I must congratulate everyone on passing the second exam."
"My name is Gekkō Hayate, and I am the proctor for the third exam."
"Next, Hokage-sama will personally explain the details of the third exam."
Gekkō Hayate retreated below the arm statue, while Hiruzen Sarutobi, puffing on his pipe, stepped forward and began his speech.
After the lengthy and tedious speech concluded, just as in the original story, Yakushi Kabuto, who was hiding his strength, chose to forfeit, meaning the first round of matches would have one lucky person get a bye.
"According to the original plot, my opponent should be Inuzuka Kiba, right?"
Naruto stood in the crowd, idly looking around, his gaze sweeping over Inuzuka Kiba, who had Akamaru perched on his head.
Facing him, the final big boss, in the very first round.
One could only say Inuzuka Kiba was a bit pitiful.
At this moment,
Naruto keenly sensed a rather chilling gaze and immediately looked back, discovering it was a thick-browed Otogakure with a high ponytail.
Aside from the vertical snake-like pupils, the disguise used by the Transformation Jutsu this time bore no resemblance to Orochimaru himself, no wonder he dared to appear before Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, and the other Konoha Village powerhouses.
"Orochimaru?"
"After I kicked his head off, he still dares to appear in the third Chunin Exams. It seems he's quite bold."
"Isn't he afraid I'll expose him on the spot and then get ganged up on by Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kakashi Hatake, and Might Guy?"
Thinking of this, Naruto couldn't help but curve his lips upward.
Such thoughts uncontrollably surfaced.
"If Orochimaru is truly pushed to the brink, the scene of the First Hokage, Second Hokage, and Third Hokage fighting might just play out early." Naruto suppressed the urge to find amusement and silently withdrew his gaze.
In the Otogakure camp, Orochimaru frowned.
"Did Naruto discover me?"
"Impossible. The Transformation Jutsu is flawless; he couldn't possibly have discovered me. He must have only sensed my gaze. Heh heh, his perception is quite keen. Is it because of the Nine-Tailed sealed within him?"
"It's just a pity that because of his destruction, my plan didn't succeed."
Orochimaru then looked towards Sasuke among the Genin.
He craved him.
The Heaven's Curse Mark prepared for Sasuke also wasn't planted.
Should he change his plan?
Or rather—find another opportunity to strike? Yakushi Kabuto's forfeiture and exit was just a small interlude.
As the screen rose, it displayed the names of the two parties in the first match:
Uchiha Sasuke VS Akado Yoroi!
The other Genin left the arena and went to the viewing stands on the second floor, leaving only Uchiha Sasuke and Akado Yoroi, a sunglasses-wearing man with a black mask, in the center.
He presented himself as a former student of Konoha Village but was actually an Otogakure spy planted by Orochimaru in Konoha.
As one of the three spy team members, he, along with Yakushi Kabuto and Misumi Tsurugi, carried out intelligence missions.
During the Chunin Exams preliminary stage, Akado Yoroi faced Uchiha Sasuke and, relying on his contact-based Chakra absorption ability, momentarily suppressed his opponent, but was ultimately defeated by Sasuke's Lion Combo.
Furthermore, without the interference of the Curse Mark, Sasuke performed Taijutsu more calmly and unhurriedly.
Even without copying Rock Lee's Shadow of the Dancing Leaf, he still successfully won the match.
"This match ends here."
"First round, Uchiha Sasuke wins and passes the preliminary!"
Gekkō Hayate, who had shunshined into the arena, announced.
"Well done."
Kakashi Hatake instantly appeared beside the exhausted Sasuke, offering praise and affirmation while still engrossed in his "Icha Icha Paradise."
Second round:
Zaku Abumi VS Shino Aburame!
Zaku Abumi, a Genin from Otogakure, was sent to Konoha Village with Dosu Kinuta and Kin Tsuchi by Orochimaru to participate in the Chunin Exams.
Later, Zaku Abumi and Kin Tsuchi became living sacrifices used by Orochimaru for the Edo Tensei of the First Hokage and Second Hokage.
Zaku Abumi, with his gray-black wolf-cut hair and a dull yellow outer jacket emblazoned with three red "death" characters, entered the arena.
His opponent was Shino Aburame, who had an astonishing battle record among the Konoha 12 Genin.
Although Zaku Abumi could unleash the powerful and rock-destroying Decapitating Airwaves,
Shino Aburame keenly noticed Zaku Abumi's weakness: once his pores were blocked, he would injure himself.
In the Fire Shadow World, if one's strength hadn't reached Kage-level, intelligence was still extremely important.
Once the opponent discovered one's information and analyzed weaknesses, the outcome of the battle became self-evident.
Zaku Abumi attempted to unleash a more powerful Decapitating Airwave, but because his pores were blocked by Shino Aburame's insects, the sound waves and blades of sound could not be released, and his hands and forearms were directly blown apart.
The splattering blood instantly froze the atmosphere in the examination hall.
Everyone's mood became much heavier.
They suddenly realized the cruelty and terror of the exam.
Fortunately, they were not children, but true Ninjas who had experienced the baptism of blood and tears!
Someone might feel sorry for Zaku Abumi, but no one would blame Shino Aburame, who had his hands in his pockets, for being too cunning and resorting to any means to win.