Inside the center tower in Forest of Death.
The proctor for the third round, Gekko Hayate, appeared before the crowd. He held a board with some temporary rules on it.
"The content of the third round is, cough... one-on-one arena matches."
"If you do not wish to participate, cough... you can withdraw now, cough. From now on, battles will not be conducted in teams."
"So withdrawing, cough... will not cause the entire team to be disqualified."
"Next, you will have a few days, cough... of rest time to prepare. At that time, your assessments will be conducted in front of a massive audience."
Hayate looked like he was about to die from overwork, coughing incessantly after every couple of words.
"Good, we can even go back and take a bath."
Takumi was very satisfied.
Not just him, the others were also very satisfied with this decision.
All of them had just spent a perilous seven days in the Forest of Death.
Their bodies were already stained with sweat and grime.
Especially the girls, they were about to reach their limit.
Back home, Takumi saw Kurenai waiting for him early.
"You did well. Keep up the effort."
Kurenai stepped forward and hugged Takumi as encouragement.
And Takumi directly wrapped his arms around Kurenai's slender waist.
After a few busy days, it wasn't until the day of the arena matches that Takumi woke up early to prepare.
"Good luck, I believe you can do it."
At the dining table, Kurenai looked at Takumi with gentle eyes.
"Don't worry, I will definitely win."
Carrying Kurenai's blessing, Takumi strode out the door with an imposing aura.
Just in case, he kept his Observation Haki active at all times.
After all, there were too many dangerous people in the village right now.
Especially the Akatsuki's members and Orochimaru.
The Akatsuki's members might not make a move.
But that old schemer Orochimaru definitely wouldn't let it go, so being careful wasn't a bad thing.
Maintaining a trace of vigilance, Takumi headed towards the match's venue.
However, just after turning two street corners.
Thump.
An old lady who looked very old accidentally bumped into Takumi and fell.
Takumi quickly reached out to help her, saying worriedly, "Are you okay, ma'am?"
"It's fine, it's fine..." The old lady grabbed Takumi's hands, using his strength to stand up.
But suddenly…
Whoosh!
The old lady's neck suddenly elongated, her open mouth revealing four sharp fangs.
But…
Crack!
Once again, the old lady… no, Orochimaru disguised as an old lady shattered his teeth, his face full of shock, before quickly retreating!
And Takumi just stood there, giving a faint, cold smile, not giving chase.
'You amateur!'
'Did you think I wouldn't be prepared for your sneak attack?'
'Still too naive.'
Orochimaru's sneak attack had already been predicted by Observation Haki.
Takumi's every move just now was all an act.
'Orochimaru actually thought his sneak attack could succeed? He really underestimates me.'
'But, truly worthy of Orochimaru. His teeth grew back so quickly.'
Casually sighing twice, Takumi, in a good mood from outsmarting Orochimaru, arrived at the match's venue.
At this time, the spectator stands of the arena were already filled with audiences.
Especially the front seats, where the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and envoys from various countries were seated together.
A rough estimate put the number of spectators at around ten thousand.
When Takumi arrived, the gazes of all the examinees and Shinobi from various villages focused on him.
'If we could take this chance to eliminate him...'
Those hostile towards Konoha thought this simultaneously.
But others had different thoughts.
"Takumi, my husband! Let me witness your power!"
Kurotsuchi looked at Takumi's figure, her face full of excitement and anticipation.
Her father, Kitsuchi, seeing this, looked utterly helpless.
'What should I do with this girl?'
'Her soul is practically hooked.'
'How am I going to explain this to the old man when we get back!'
Just thinking about it gave Kitsuchi a headache.
"Alright, all examinees are assembled, cough. The assessment will now begin."
Hayate, with his pale face, spoke to the examinees standing on the second floor.
"There are twenty-two examinees. The exam will proceed in the form of one-on-one duels. Next, we will draw the examinees for the first round of matches!"
The two screens on the wall started moving in response.
Like slot machines, the names of the examinees scrolled continuously until the speed gradually decreased.
The first pair of battling examinees was determined.
Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi.
Seeing he was the first, Sasuke immediately looked at his opponent.
Akado Yoroi was also a Konoha's Shinobi, but he was also a spy Orochimaru had planted in Konoha.
Just like Kabuto.
'Uchiha Sasuke, you are also someone Orochimaru-sama mentioned. Let me see what makes you worthy of that Lord's attention!'
Yoroi's eyes immediately became focused.
The two quickly went to stand on either side of Hayate.
"Alright, form the Seal of Confrontation."
Hayate looked at the two, and after confirming they were both ready, stepped back slightly.
After forming the Seal of Confrontation, Sasuke immediately stepped back to create distance.
Yoroi stood his ground calmly.
"Not coming to attack?"
The masked Yoroi made a muffled sound.
"If you won't come, then I'll go over."
Yoroi charged forward with extreme speed.
But Sasuke was faster.
Yoroi's punch was easily dodged.
Sasuke instead nimbly stood on Yoroi's fist.
"Is this your strength?"
A disdainful smile appeared on Sasuke's face as he looked down at Yoroi.
"You damn brat!"
Yoroi was immediately enraged.
He forcefully flung his arm upward, throwing Sasuke high into the air.
Then he charged straight towards Sasuke's landing point.
"You can't dodge this now!"
Swish!
Two thin wires wrapped around Yoroi's body. Sasuke, in mid-air, pulled hard, immediately causing Yoroi to lose his balance and fall face-first onto the ground in a dog-like pose.
"You should go back and train for another two years. With strength like this, you're too weak."
Sasuke's gaze towards his opponent was full of dissatisfaction.
'This guy is too weak.'
'He can't even let me display more of my strength.'
'If I were fighting Takumi, I could definitely improve a lot.'
Thinking of this, he turned his gaze towards Takumi on the second floor.
'Huh? Why is Second Pillar looking at me?'
Takumi felt puzzled.
But he still responded with a gentle smile to maintain his persona.
"You dare look down on me?!"
Yoroi was furious beyond belief.
"Just let me touch your body, and it will be your death!"
Yoroi charged at Sasuke like an out-of-control beast, recklessly and wildly.
"Hmph, trash."
Sasuke coldly spat out.
"Let me show you the power of the Uchiha!"
Even without being implanted with Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, Sasuke, relying on his two tomoe Sharingan, found dealing with Yoroi to be extremely easy.
Sure enough, the wild and uncoordinated Yoroi was quickly knocked out by Sasuke.
"First round winner, Uchiha Sasuke!"
Hayate announced the winner.
Whoa!!!
The audience erupted in excited cheers.
It's because the winner was a Konoha's Shinobi, and most of the audience were from Konoha.
Even though Yoroi's current identity was also a Konoha's Shinobi…
But, who told Sasuke to be handsome?
Sometimes, being handsome really is an advantage… just like Takumi.
The matches continued.
Round after round of duels proceeded.
Soon, it was Takumi's turn to appear.