Chuunin Exams 5

After talking some things with Karin, Kuro continued on his way to the tower.

When he arrived it was around 2:30 P.M.

He walked around the tower until he found a sealed door, however, he did not enter.

Kuro looked into the forest.

*Crack* The sound of branches breaking could be heard coming from the darkness.

"Hey, it looks like you're fine. What happened to that guy with the snake?" Yoroi came out of the forest while waving.

"I managed to get rid of it with a bit of luck. Have you seen Kabuto?" Kuro asked when he approached.

"Huh? Uh... No, I've been waiting in front of the gate, but he hasn't been through here. Maybe he went back to camp and ran into that guy?" Yoroi stuttered a bit at first before answering.

Kuro shrugged. "No idea. Still, when he doesn't find us, he'll come to the tower. We'll wait here until he arrives." After saying that, he created a clone that quickly ran into the forest.

"What was that for?" Yoroi asked curiously.

Kuro sat in front of the door. "We need the team to be complete to qualify. The clone will find Kabuto and bring him back before he runs into an unfortunate accident."

It will also serve to thwart his gathering of information on Sasuke's Curse Mark. It will be only a minor inconvenience though.

"I see." Yoroi nodded. "Should we hide? Many participants attack those who approach the tower. We will be an easy target here." He said while looking at the forest.

Kuro shook his head. "Let them attack and we will take their scrolls from them. Even if we don't need them, we can eliminate the competition."

.

.

.

A few hours have passed and they haven't received any surprise attacks, though Kuro managed to sense some people watching them for a while before leaving.

He theorized that his conflict with the Genin of Otogakure before the first stage persuaded them to attack.

"Hm?" Yoroi looked into the darkness of the forest. A moment later, Kuro's clone, along with Kabuto and Team 7 came out of the forest."At last, I was already dying of boredom."

"I'm sorry, something happened and I couldn't get back to camp in time." Kabuto said, embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head.

Yoroi was about to speak, but was interrupted by an excited Naruto. "Hey Kuro! Thanks for giving us the Scroll of Heaven, we owe you one!" Sasuke and Sakura nodded.

Yoroi grunted as Kuro made the clone disappear.

Apparently Amegakure's Oboro team attacked the clone, however they were quickly defeated and their scroll was stolen by him.

Afterward, the clone encountered Team 7 and Kabuto who were heading to the tower.

"No problem." Kuro replied and looked at Kabuto and Yoroi. "Let's go." After saying that, he opened the door.

"Us too, being out here could be dangerous." Sakura spoke before leaving with her team.

.

.

.

5 days have passed and all the participants are in the place where the preliminaries will take place.

"Pay attention. Hokage-sama will explain what the third exam is about, so listen carefully, brats." Anko announced before looking at Hiruzen and tilting her head slightly. "Hokage-sama, they are all yours."

"Mhm." Hiruzen nodded and took a step forward. However, a Shinobi knelt in front of him before he could speak.

"Hokage-sama, I am Hayate Gekkō. Please allow me to speak first."

Hiruzen looked at him for a moment before nodding and exhaling a puff of smoke. "Go ahead."

Hayate stood and looked at the participants. "There is something I want everyone… Cough… Cough… to do before the third exam. We need to do a preliminary exam before we continue to the third exam."

"Um… Sensei, what's the point? Can't we just continue with the third exam now?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Well, the first and second exams were perhaps very easy. The fact is that we do not expect that many students will still be here and according to the rules, a preliminary exam can be of help at any stage in order to reduce the number of candidates remaining." Hayate replied.

Sakura frowned. "But is that fair?"

"Many important guests will be present to observe the last test, so we must hurry things up a bit and not waste their time. They will come to see only the best." After saying that, Hayate went through the list of candidates. "So if any of you don't feel in excellent physical condition, now… Cough! Cough!" Hayate coughed for a while. "Sorry, as I was saying, now is the time to withdraw if your physical condition is not the best. The preliminaries will begin immediately."

After complaints from some, someone raised their hand.

"Well, I think it was all for me."

Some candidates looked in surprise at the one who raised his hand.

Hayate checked the list before speaking. "So… Kabuto Yakushi from Konohagakure, right? You can go ahead and leave."

"Understood." Kabuto nodded and turned to his teammates.  "I'm sorry, but I can't continue. I wish you all the best of luck."

Kuro nodded and looked at him as he walked towards the exit after exchanging a few words with Naruto.

Hayate coughed to get the Genin's attention. "So, no one else?"

When he received no reply, he continued.

"Well, we will start with the preliminary round, which will consist of one-on-one matches, therefore only 10 of you will be able to advance to the third exam. As for the rules; they do not exist. You are going to fight until the other one dies, he surrenders or be declared physically unable to continue the test. Naturally, those who lose can accept defeat to avoid a fatal blow. Also, as a proctor, I have some agency to judge matches and will intervene if a match is lost, to save as many lives as possible. "

After saying that, he looked at Anko.

She nodded and with a command, the wall panel lifted, exposing a screen.

Hayate looked at the candidates. "Your names will appear on the screen randomly. This is how we decide the matches."

The candidates looked at the screen, which suddenly lit up and the names began to flash.

"!" A moment later, two names remained on the screen.

'Damn…' Were the thoughts of the puppeteer.

Kankuro VS Kuro Shizumatta.

Hayate spoke when the screen stopped. "Perfect, the chosen ones advance."

Once they were both facing each other. Hayate spoke, "You will be the first confrontation. Do you have any objections?"

They both shook their heads.

After coughing, Hayate spoke. "Okay, everyone except the two opponents clear the area and settle into the upper level."

.

.