Chapter 38: Preliminary tests

"Oh, there are a lot of participants here."

Appearing through the entrance door, the golden hair of a boy could be visible, after all this boy was Uzumaki Naruto.

Behind him, walked his teammates, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay, Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura looked worried, she was looking at Sasuke, who was touching his neck in pain. Right in the same spot was the same three Tomoe mark that Anko has. This was obviously Orochimaru's handiwork.

This mark has the name 'Cursed Seal of Heaven'. Compared to Toru, Orochimaru put this curse on Sasuke by force.

"I'm fine, you better worry about yourself."

Sasuke avoided eye contact with Sakura. At the end of it all, this curse was affecting him physically and mentally.

Meanwhile, in another place, there was Kiba's team, which was quite affected, as they had to go through horrible things in this survival test.

"How is Kumagoro, Enko?"

Approaching his teammate, Kiba spoke.

Apparently, Enko was a bit hurt due to having to fight a bastard who almost broke her arms.

"Kumagoro is fine, I'll have to wait a bit before I can summon him again."

"Hm... Well, at least no one got seriously hurt. Besides, Shino, you sure were a lot of help, if it wasn't for your jutsu, we'd be dead right now."

Kiba looked at his teammate, however, Shino remained silent as he looked at the boy who had the gourd bottle strapped to his back.

"That guy, uh..."

Letting out a tired sigh, Kiba looked at Gaara and his team. Those three are definitely strong, stronger than any rookie present in this room.

"He's too dangerous, like a demon. My insects are afraid of him."

Shino looked at his little friends. He feels what they feel, so it was easy to tell that his insects are terrified of what lurks inside Gaara.

"Seriously, I thought this would be easier" Enko shrugged as she sat down on the ground. She was tired and didn't know what was coming, after all this next test will be even harder than a simple survival test.

"Shikamaru, I'm not sure I can handle this. There are many here... and they all look very strong. I can only handle Genjutsu... I don't think I can do anything if they make us fight each other."

That girl, Hakuto, hid behind Shikamaru. Just by looking at the ninjas in the room she felt that at any moment she would lose her strength and fall down in a faint.

"What a bummer... Stop sticking to me so much already, Hakuto. It's awkward."

Instead, Shikamaru just felt stressed and tired. Everything they had to go through to get the earth scroll was hell.

"I'm sorry..."

"Hey, is anyone else hungry?"

Interrupting his teammates, Chouji spoke as he searched through the pockets of his clothes for some snacks. Even if the world was going to be destroyed, he would still eat for the sake of Konoha's gastronomy.

"You only think about eating, huh..." Shikamaru said in a slightly subdued tone of voice.

"I told you, food is strength."

"Really? If you keep eating so much, sooner or later you'll go into cardiac arrest."

As if those words were needles, Chouji felt attacked. This caused a grimace of disgust to form on his face.

"Are you calling me fat?"

"No, of course not. I never said that."

For a moment, Shikamaru felt in danger, after all no one should ever mention the word 'fat' in front of Chouji, because if so, the only fate that awaits you is that of a slow and painful death.

Still, everyone in the room seemed cheerful. The place was big, so the number of people was not a problem. There were also two giant stone hands at the back of the room, these hands formed one of the hand seals, more specifically, the seal of the ram.

"No matter what challenges life puts on me, I will make the flame of youth burn brightly."

As he punched and kicked the air, Rock Lee seemed quite relaxed. Even with everything he had to go through to protect Sakura and watching Sasuke break someone's arms with no mercy whatsoever.

"Hm... Looks like she didn't make it through the survival test..."

Hyuga Neji closed his eyes and crossed his arms. This is one of the most promising ninja Konoha has. Not even Rock Lee has been able to defeat him and this is due to the dangerous fighting style and impenetrable defense he possesses. A fighting style that pairs perfectly with the dojutsu in his eyes.

"We've been here a long time, how long is this all going to take?"

Right behind Neji, stood Tenten. A girl with long brown hair, though her hair is pulled back in two buns. Like her hair her eyes are a light brown color.

"I'll wait a whole year if possible. Anything to be stronger!" Rock Lee threw a few more punches again while smiling radiantly.

Tenten felt a little uncomfortable about this. It was like watching a copy of Guy-sensei.

"You sure are cheerful. I guess that's a good thing."

Still, Tenten only smiled slightly to then fix her gaze on the entrance door, where the last participants had just passed through.

"That guy is..."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the sight of him, well though a second later he let a slight smile form on his mouth. It was obvious that guy was going to pass the survival test, after all he's known him since the day they were born.

"Everyone is watching us..."

Hinata felt a little overwhelmed by the stares of the ninjas present, though it was quite the opposite for Ino, who looked up with a smile on her face.

It was as if the expression on her face said, "That's right, look at me. I'm awesome!"

On the other hand, the man in the mask saw the Hokage enter through one of the doors on the other side of the room.

"Well, looks like this is as far as it went."

The man in the mask sighed, his vacation was over. He didn't want to go back to work, it was tiring and stressful, however, he remembered a few things that made a smile form under his mask.

(Well, someday I will win the heart of the woman I love).

"By the way, I know you don't care about this. But my name is Naoto, I hope we will meet again in the future."

After saying that, as if his body flickered, Naoto disappeared.

"So his name is Naoto, he must have done it a long time ago."

As is always her habit, Ino simply spat out some words complaining.

"Wow, the weirdo is here."

With a slightly arrogant smile on his face, Kiba approached Toru and spoke. However, a second after he spoke, Enko appeared behind Kiba, covered his mouth with his hand and left while saying:

"Sorry, this guy fell out of his crib when he was a baby."

Ino and Hinata were a bit confused by this, but Toru apparently didn't take any notice of it.

(Sasuke...)

Toru looked at his childhood friend. He instantly noticed what that boy had on his neck. He quickly assumed that it's mark was that 'gift' Orochimaru offered to him during the survival test.

(Did he accept the 'gift?) Asking himself, Toru folded his arms as he touched his lip with his thumb.

It's true that Sasuke wants to take revenge for what happened five years ago, but accepting a strange power from a stranger was something Sasuke wouldn't do, after all he wanted to become strong on his own. So the only explanation to this is that Orochimaru forced Sasuke to grasp that power.

"Everyone, please form up in rows of three."

Snapping Toru out of his thoughts, Anko's voice was heard as she approached the front along with the other teachers and the Hokage.

After a few seconds, all the participants who passed the survival test were perfectly arranged in rows of three.

"First of all, congratulations on surviving. It's amazing how many participants passed."

Anko counted the participants with her eyes. She thought that only about ten participants would pass, but twenty-four ninja surviving is something that hasn't happened for five years.

At the same time, Yamato, who at that time was right next to Kakashi whispered some words.

"All the rookies are here..."

Hearing this, Kakashi replied with a muffled tone of voice.

"Yeah... I'm actually a bit surprised. Your team is here too."

"Haha, they've grown up a bit since they became ninja. I can say the same for your team, Kakashi-senpai."

"Uh... I don't think so. They still have quite a ways to go."

Even though Kakashi said that, his gaze was fixed on Sasuke. More specifically, on the mark that was on the neck of the Uchiha clan boy.

"Now Hokage-sama will explain to you what this next test consists of. So listen carefully, maggots."

Taking a puff of smoke, Hiruzen stepped forward and looked at the aspiring chunin.

He took a few seconds of silence 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, this is something you need to understand. I'm going to tell you the real purpose of these tests."

The Hokage spoke, and everyone maintained their silence. However, some looked confused by this sudden 'revelation'.

(The true objective, uh... If I'm not mistaken, the chunin exams are basically a war between the allied nations.)

Toru was right, the chunin exams themselves, are a competition between nations.

To understand this you have to go back in time a bit, when the nations near Konoha were in constant conflict. At that time there were quite a few casualties in terms of military strength, so at the end of the third ninja world war, the nations reached an agreement. They would choose different champions from their villages and send them to these chunin selection exams.

These ninja who are selected, bear the burden and honor of representing their respective nation. Although at first they were told that these exams were focused on strengthening their ninja and strengthening friendly ties with allied nations. In short, the chunin selection exams are a 'friendly' war. Each nation shows its military power by sending its best shinobi to the selection exams. If the representatives of one nation show that they have more power than any other nation, that nation will be flooded with missions, which generates money and increases the power and renown of that nation.

"This is a custom that is preserved by fighting and dying. In the shinobi world, it means friendship."

Hiruzen looked at everyone in the room, some looked a little concerned, others just took it lightly. But what caught his attention the most were three ninja in specific.

(Uchiha Sasuke, Asahi Toru.... Uzumaki Naruto. I hope they understood that they carry the honor of our nation.)

After a long sigh, the Hokage would look at everyone with a relaxed expression.

"The third exam is a fight with life for the pride of your village and your own dreams in jeopardy."

Hearing this, a smile signed on Naruto's mouth.

(Now that convinces me)

At the same time, Gaara began to say some things a bit arrogant.

"I can overcome anything, just tell me the details of this test and I'll be sure to crush you all."

The Hokage felt a bit interested in Gaara, so with a slight smile on his face, the Hokage spoke.

"So-"

With a small gust of wind, a shinobi appeared in front of the Hokage, interrupting the Hokage's words.

"Hokage-sama, allow me to explain."

The shinobi was kneeling before the Hokage, this made the Hokage sigh tiredly.

"Well, after all you are the presenter of this third test."

"Thank you very much, cof....cof.... Hokage-sama"

After that, the shinobi stood up and turned around looking at the participants. Most of them had a rather strange reaction when they saw the shinobi's face. He had big dark circles under his eyes and looked very tired. This guy's name is Hayate Gekko.

"Uh... we should do a preliminary examination before we continue with the real thing..."

"Preliminary exam? What's that?"

Feeling confused by the sudden statement, Enko looked at Hayate and asked a question.

"Well, apparently the first two exams were very easy. The fact is, we didn't expect so many students to continue here. So, according to the official rules of the chunin exams, a preliminary round can be helpful, as it is meant to reduce the number of remaining participants."

"But... Is that fair?" said Sakura

"Um... I don't know if you heard Hokage-sama's words, but this is a duel between nations, so for the last exam, very important guests from each nation will come to see the best shinobi. So, whoever doesn't feel in excellent physical condition, you can- cof, cof, cof.... I'm sorry. So, whoever is not feeling optimal, this is the best time to withdraw, as the preliminaries will begin immediately."

"Are you kidding me? We just survived a fucking hellhole, won't there even be a break?" Enko said with an obvious expression of disgust on his face.

"Ha-.... this is a bummer."

Even Shikamaru lost the will to go on living after listening to Hayate.

"Well, you must decide now. If you don't think you can handle this, it's time to retire."

After that, some participants looked at each other. They were tired, but this was the chance to become chunin. So, after a long silence, some few raised their hands and left the place silently.

These were the few who remained:

- Onikuma Enko, Shino Aburame, Inuzuka Kiba.

- Hoki Hakuto, Shikamaru Nara, Akimichi Chouji.

- Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura.

- Yamanaka Ino, Hyuga Hinata, Asahi Toru.

- Hyuga Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee.

- Gaara, Kankuro, Temari.

- Misigi Tsurugi, Yaroi Akado, Yakushi Kabuto.

- Kinuta Dosu, Abumi Zaku, Tsuchi Kin

"Well then, we will begin with the preliminary round. This test will consist of individual bouts, one on one, with all your strength. This is not a simple training. As for rules, there are none. They will fight until the other dies or surrenders, the fight may also end if one of the participants is deemed physically incapacitated. Although, I also possess some free will when it comes to judging fights, so I can stop a fight if I deem that one of the parties can no longer continue. This is for the purpose of saving as many lives as possible."

Hayate closed his eyes for a few seconds, feeling a little dizzy.

"So- cof, cof, cof... let's see who will be first" Hayate said while looking at Anko.

She reacted instantly and looked at one of the walls, which seemed to have some kind of gate.

"Open the hatch" Anko said.

At once, the door opened and a screen could be seen.

"Before each match, the participants will be chosen randomly. Now, since there is nothing more to add, let's begin. The names of the first two opponents will appear on this screen."

Hayate looked at the screen, it turned on and began to display all the names of the shinobi who were participating in the examination.

After a few seconds, the names started to scroll at a regular speed, until it stopped on two names, these names were:

Uchiha Sasuke vs Yaroi Akado.

Everyone looked at Sasuke and his opponent, who had his mouth covered with a black scarf.

"Okay, these are the first ones. Now everyone go to the top, only the two participants can stay" Hayate said.

Already after a few seconds, only Sasuke and Akado were in the battle arena.

(So Sasuke is the first one) Toru, who had kept quiet until now turned his full attention to his childhood friend.

At the same time, Hayate was preparing to start the first duel.

(Let's see why Orochimaru is so obsessed with this guy).

Akado looked very confident, after all he was Orochimaru's henchman.

"Alright, there's nothing more to say, so.... are you ready?"

"Yes..."

"Good, then... begin!"

[Battle summary:

Time: 3.47 minutes

Winner: Sasuke Uchiha

Decisive Blow: Shishi Rendan (Lion Burst)]

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Author's Note: Before everything gets crazy in the comments, I put this summary of Sasuke's fight since the chapter got too long, plus in the next chapter Toru is going to fight.

But well, I think there will be a chapter tomorrow, if I'm in the mood, of course.