Only half an hour remained before the end of the second exam.
Konoha's Third Hokage and the supervising jonin from the various villages gradually began to arrive.
"It's the Third Hokage!!" Izuno Akigiku's eyes sparkled like little stars as she gazed at the old man in the Hokage robe above. Kaminarimon Etsureki, beside her, was much the same.
For the first time, Naruto gained a more comprehensive understanding of this old man who frequently gate-crashed his home. He hadn't expected that the Sandaime, who in his own eyes was no different from any other old man, was actually an idol-like figure in the eyes of his peers.
As if sensing their gazes, the Third Hokage looked towards them and nodded with a smile.
"Mhm, my determination to become Hokage has grown even stronger," Izuno Akigiku declared.
Just then, two teams were led into the area by proctors, slowly joining the ranks and forming lines.
Naruto looked at the members of Team Seven beside him, all of them adorned with injuries, a puzzled expression in his eyes. He knew Team Seven's strength; even if Sakura was a drag, with the capable Sasuke and Sai, their luck couldn't possibly be this bad, could it? Sakura, in particular, was covered head to toe in bandages. From the exposed skin at the edges, it looked as if she had been corroded by something. It wasn't just her; Sai was similarly bandaged, bearing identical wounds…
"Sakura, are you okay?" Ino asked in a low voice. Team Ten and Team Seven had arrived at the same time.
Sakura shook her head slightly. "I'm fine."
Ino's face showed concern, but she didn't say anything more.
Naruto withdrew his gaze from the three members of Team Seven and looked towards the high platform, where the Third Hokage slowly took a few steps forward.
"Children, first of all, congratulations on successfully making it this far," the Sandaime said slowly, removing the pipe from his lips. "However, as the third exam will be held before dignitaries from various countries, we still need to filter out a portion of you."
"This is troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, glancing at Team Seven beside him. Although Team Seven had luckily passed the second exam with their help, they would be powerless to assist them in the preliminary matches that were about to take place.
"Ngh!" Sasuke let out a low grunt, clutching the back of his neck in pain.
"Sasuke-kun, are you alright?" Sakura, standing behind him, quickly asked.
Naruto, positioned at the very back, saw it clearly: a strange, three-tomoe pattern had appeared on the back of Sasuke's neck.
[It seems quite a lot has happened…]
"Since the third exam consists of individual matches, if anyone feels they are unable to continue participating, you may raise your hand. It will not affect your team's results," a jonin with a senbon held in his mouth announced, taking over from the Third Hokage to preside over the preliminaries. "You have one minute to consider."
"I withdraw!" a white-haired ninja said, raising his hand. Naruto had an impression of him; during the first exam, this person had seemed very interested in Sasuke. He thought his name was Yakushi Kabuto.
"I withdraw. Also, my teammate, due to injur—"
Sakura hadn't even finished her sentence before Sasuke cut her off with a bark, "Sakura, don't make me hate you!!"
"But, your injuries!" Seeing Sasuke's pained expression, Sakura was about to raise her hand again.
"Let's go, Sakura!" Kakashi appeared beside her in a Body Flicker and said to her.
"Kakashi-sensei, please, try to convince Sasuke-kun!" Sakura pleaded urgently, as if grasping at her last straw.
"My apologies, I'll take her away now." Kakashi ignored her, offering an apologetic smile to Shiranui Genma at the front of the group.
Watching Sakura being forcibly led away by Kakashi, Naruto could surprisingly sense a wave of relief wash over the tormented Sasuke.
"Does anyone else wish to withdraw?" Shiranui Genma asked again.
"…"
"The upcoming match order will be determined randomly by machine. All other non-participants, please proceed to the second floor to observe."
After glancing at the names displayed on the screen, Naruto's team of three headed towards the staircase.
"Uchiha Sasuke versus Akado Yoroi!"
In the arena, Uchiha Sasuke stood opposite an oddly dressed Sound ninja.
"You don't seem to be in very good condition," Akado Yoroi sneered cruelly.
Shiranui Genma glanced at the two of them, then swept his left hand down. "Begin!"
"Well done," Gekko Hayate said with a smile to Naruto's team.
"Easy peasy!" Izuno Akigiku declared with a confident grin.
"Honestly, when I recommended you for the Chunin Exams, I really was just thinking of letting you try it out. I never expected you to make it this far," Gekko Hayate chuckled.
"Come on, Sensei. Even if you don't believe in us, you have to believe in Naruto, right?" Etsureki said with a light laugh, slinging an arm around Naruto's shoulder.
Gekko Hayate nodded.
Meanwhile, the battle in the arena had reached a stalemate. Although Uchiha Sasuke was injured, Akado Yoroi was only gaining a verbal advantage; his attacks were steady and methodical, gradually expanding his own lead.
Just when everyone thought Uchiha Sasuke would be defeated due to his physical disadvantage, a stunning reversal occurred. Without using any ninjutsu, Uchiha Sasuke suddenly exploded with power, a series of heavy and forceful kicks sending Akado Yoroi crashing to the ground.
"So strong," Etsureki murmured, his mouth slightly agape.
"As expected of our year's top student," Izuno Akigiku also nodded. Just moments ago, they had been standing only a shoulder's width away from Team Seven and had clearly seen their condition. To put it bluntly, they wouldn't have been surprised if Sasuke had collapsed on the spot in the next second. Yet, despite such severe injuries, Uchiha Sasuke had still managed to achieve victory. From this alone, he was truly worthy of the Uchiha name.
"But speaking of which, Naruto, why weren't you the top student back then?" Izuno Akigiku asked, puzzled. After spending so much time with him, she had a good understanding of Naruto's abilities. His combat power was off the charts, and even she felt inferior to his theoretical knowledge.
"My grades were a bit lacking," Naruto said with a slight shake of his head.
"I heard that in your graduating year, there was one student who always skipped class and missed lessons, even the final exams," Gekko Hayate interjected at just the right moment.
An expression of sudden realization dawned on Izuno Akigiku's face. "Got it." This Naruto fellow was certainly nonchalant. Thinking about it carefully, a mere final exam probably didn't even register on his radar. Based on her understanding of him from this period, that guy was definitely out fishing on the day of the exam.
The preliminary matches proceeded, one after another. The three of them gained a preliminary understanding of the fighting styles of ninjas from other villages.
Fourth match: Izuno Akigiku versus Yamanaka Ino. The Izuno clan's Feline Mimicry Ninjutsu versus the Yamanaka clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu! Although Akigiku had grown tremendously in the past six months, it was, regrettably, still not quite enough when compared to the heiress of the Yamanaka clan. She was ultimately defeated.
Fifth match: Temari versus Tenten. The Sand kunoichi, Temari, easily secured victory with her outstanding Wind Style ninjutsu.
Sixth match: Nara Shikamaru versus Kin Tsuchi. A battle of intellect, Shikamaru won.
Seventh match: Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuga Hinata.
In the arena, Naruto looked at Hinata, who had sat beside him during the first exam, and nodded slightly.
"Naruto-kun, l-long time no see," Hyuga Hinata said, her cheeks inexplicably flushing red.
"Long time no see," Naruto replied.
"Begin!" Shiranui Genma announced, stepping back to the side the moment his words fell.
"Please, allow me to witness the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist," Naruto said, slowly drawing Kusabimaru.
"O-okay," Hinata nodded slightly, slowly settling into her stance. Once she entered her fighting posture, the girl's timid demeanor vanished, replaced by a distinct aura of her own.