Book 1: Sakura Heart (Kiba Love Story)

Chapter 37

After a quick glance at Choji, Hayate announces, looking back at the Kinuta, "The winner is... Dosu Kinuta!"

No one cheers as he returns to his spot on the opposite balcony. A couple of medics rush in and head for the prostrate Akimichi, kneeling down beside him.

One of the medics as Choji in concern, a hand on his back, "Hey, are you alright?"

"Meat... I wanna eat some meat..." He grumbles in response.

Leaning his elbow on the railing and head in his hand, the Nara says sheepishly, "That's our Choji—always thinking with his stomach." Ino hums sheepishly in agreement.

"Even though he lost, the least we can do is take him out for some barbecue beef," Asuma inputs.

Hayate gives a couple of coughs as he steps forwards. He holds up his arm. "And, with that match, the third exam Preliminaries are now finished!" The Genin who've won their matches gather on the floor, facing Hayate, the exam proctors, and the Third Hokage. "I commend all those who have advanced to the finals for the third level of the Chunin Exams. Well, there's one person missing, but still, congratulations!"

"Sensei?" Sakura addresses, gaining Kakashi's attention. "I have a question for you."

"About Sasuke?" He says knowingly, before averting his gaze. "I'm sorry. I don't know much about that, I'm afraid. But, I wouldn't worry too much." Kakashi glances back at the pinkette. "Sakura, I have to leave, so I'm counting on you to get the details about the finals."

The Hatake holds up his gloves hand in a wave as Sakura utters quizzically, "Huh?" Then the silver haired Jounin teleports away as she nods. "Oh... okay..."

Gripping the rim of his red and white hat, Hiruzen begins, "And now I will begin the explanation of the final rounds."

"Finally! I feel like these preliminaries went on forever!" I think in exhaustion.

"In the final rounds, each of you will put your battle skills on display. You'll demonstrate the power and control that you've achieved in your respective disciplines. Accordingly, the final battles will commence 1 month from now," Continues Hiruzen.

"Wait—we're not gonna do it right here and now?" Naruto questions from my right, Dosu on my left, squinting his eyes.

"This is to provide a suitable period of preparation."

"What do you mean by that?" Asks Neji.

"Simply this: in addition to announcing the conclusion of the preliminary matches to each countries leaders, we must also have sometime to prepare and distribute the summons for the Final Selection." He closes his eyes briefly as Hiruzen smiles. "Not to mention, that you examinees are going to need time to prepare for something that is this important."

"Look, I don't really get what you're trying to say. What's the point of this?" Kankuro cuts in impatiently.

Hiruzen states, "I mean, that to know your adversaries and prepare yourselves, you need time. Even though up to this point, all your battles have been real battles, as I'm sure you can all attest, they were conducted on the premise that you were fighting an unknown enemy. That's no longer the case now that you've battled each other. So in order to make the Finals fair and just, we're giving you this month, each of you must embrace the opportunity to practice hard and learn some new tricks. Because, by now, everyone here knows your technique. So using your old, tire tricks is a sure way to lose in the Finals. And remember to get some rest as well.

"Now, with all of that behind us, I would like to begin winding things up. But before we could bring this to an end, first, there is one more important matter to take care of before the final round."