"First off, congratulations on passing the Second Exam," Anko called out. Tsukiko with standing among the Genins in a large arena. The Jonin teachers, Ibiki, and Anko had gathered in the tower with the Hokage for the next announcement.
Hiruzen was standing in the middle, right across the Genins who were lined in columns, on a slightly raised floor. Anko and Ibiki stood on either side with Chunins, including Iruka Sensei while the Jonin leaders to the teams, including Kakashi Sensei, stood behind the Hokage.
"I'm hungry," Choji muttered. Tsukiko glanced at the other Genins present there and was rather surprised the only two teams with four members passed: Team Seven and the Otogakure Team.
"There's still this many people left? How troublesome," Shikamaru grumbled. Ino looked toward Sasuke and giggled, muttering, "Sasuke-Kun's team passed, too,"
Tsukiko glanced at the Sunagakure Team, biting her lip when she saw Gaara in the very front of his team. She was not surprised that he passed but now she was scared that he will murder her in her sleep for absolutely nothing. Why must the heavens play her like this?
"Of course," Shikamaru said. "We went through a lot of trouble helping them. Our efforts would've gone to waste if they didn't pass," Tsukiko looked at Rock Lee and his team next. They had passed too. Neji looked cool but Tsukiko was still sour over the fact that she was called second-rate.
"Your team is pretty good," Guy said to Kakashi Sensei. "Perhaps they were lucky," Kakashi Sensei didn't reply. "But as long as my team is here, they can't go any further since in the next stage, personal abilities will be critical. Youth is sweet and sour, and sometimes strict, Kakashi,"
"Did you say something?" Kakashi Sensei asked causing Guy to yell out in disbelief. Tsukiko raised her eyebrows at them. What are their team leaders up to now?
"Just wait, Guy-Sensei, I will shine too!" Rock Lee said, holding up a fist.
"All of the rookies from Konoha are here," Sakura said to herself. Tsukiko noticed that as well, and she was very relieved.
"Hey, hey, old man Hokage, Iruka-Sensei and the super-brows are here, too," Naruto whispered to his teammates. "Feels like everyone important is here,"
"I don't have a good feeling about it, though," Sasuke said. Tsukiko agreed with that but her eyes were set on his hand that he had set over the left side of his neck. Was that thing still hurting him?
"We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam from Hokage-Sama," Anko called. "Everyone better listen well," She turned to the Hokage. "Hokage-Sama, please do the honours," Hiruzen nodded at her and stepped ahead. He cleared his throat slightly.
"The Third Exam will begin," Hiruzen informed. "But before the explanation, there's one thing I want to make clear to all of you. It's about the true purpose of this exam, why we do a joint exam with the allied nations. 'To maintain good relations with the allied nations' and 'Heighten the level of the ninja'... Do not let those reasons deceive you. This 'exam', so to speak, is..." The Genins were confused. After a while of silence, Hiruzen spoke up again. "The epitome of a war between the allied nations,"
"What do you mean?" Tenten asked.
"If we go back through history, the allied nations right now were..." Hiruzen started. "Neighbouring countries that have fought each other over and over again... To avoid wasting military power, those countries decided to choose a place to fight. That is the beginning of the Chunin Selection Exam,"
"Why do we have to do that?" Naruto asked. "We're not doing this to select Chunins?"
"Yes, this Exam does examine those who are worthy of the Chunin title," Hiruzen replied. "But, on the other hand, it's also a place where ninja fight and carry their country's dignity,"
"Country's dignity...?" Sakura asked.
"In this Third Exam, feudal lords and famous people from various countries who may be potential clients are invited here as guests," Hiruzen answered. "And feudal lords from countries with hidden villages and Ninja leaders will see your battles. If there's a significant difference in power, the strong country will be flooded with jobs.
"If a country is seen as weak, their jobs will decrease, and at the same time, countries are able to show how their village has grown and possess excellent military power to the adjacent countries. In other words, they can put foreign pressure on them,"
"So why do we have to fight with the risk of losing our lives?" Kiba spoke up. Tsukiko looked at him and tilted her head to the side when she saw that Akamaru was him cowering in Kiba's jacket, peeking out from the neck opening.
"A country's power is the village's power," Hiruzen said. "A village's power is the ninja's power, and a ninja's true power is only born in life-or-death battle. This Exam is also a place to show off the ninja power of one's country. Since this is an exam where you fight with your life on the line, it has a meaning and your predecessors have fought and dreamed of being in the Chunin Exam because of it,"
"But why do you say it is to promote good relations?" Tenten asked.
"I told you at the beginning to not get it confused with that," Hiruzen said. "The custom of shaving one's life and fighting to maintain balance... That is the good relation in the world of ninja. This is a life-or-death battle for your dream and village's dignity,"
"I understand now!" Naruto said as he crossed his arms. Tsukiko chuckled at him slightly but the next voice made her shut up immediately.
"I don't care," Gaara said. "Tell us the details of this life-or-death exam," Tsukiko sent the back of his head an uncomfortable look and tried to hide behind her hair.
"Then I will now begin the explanation of the Third Exam, but..." Hiruzen said as he coughed once more. Suddenly, another person jumped ahead and bowed in front of Hiruzen on his knee.
"Excuse me, Hokage-Sama..." He said. "I, Hayate Gekko, the judge, will explain," Hayate Gekko had short brown hair, dark-coloured eyes and dark markings under his eyes. Tsukiko wondered what was up with him.
"Please do," Hiruzen said. Gekko stood up straight, putting his arms behind his back, which was facing the Genins.
"Everyone, it's nice to meet you," Gekko said as he looked at him. "Everyone, before the Third Exam..." He coughed. "There's something I want you to do..." He coughed again.
"Fight in some preliminary matches to see who gets to advance the Third Exam's main battle," Gekko said, now facing the Genins completely.
"Preliminary matches, Usa...?" Tsukiko muttered as she and the other Genins looked over. She saw some surprised, some curious and some didn't really seem to be bothered.
"Preliminary matches? What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked.
"Sensei, I don't understand what you mean by preliminary matches," Sakura said. "Why can't we just start the Third Exam with the remaining examinees?"
"In this case, it must have been because the First and Second Exams were too easy, I don't know... But there are too many examinees left," Gekko answered. "According to Chunin regulations, we must decrease the number of participants for the Third Exam,"
"Oh, no," Tsukiko groaned as she pulled at her twin tails. Are they supposed to fight once more? She wasn't looking forward to that...
"As previously mentioned by Hokage-Sama, there are many guests for the Third Exam, so..." Gekko said. "We cannot just have a lot of matches. We are limited on time, as well. So, those who aren't feeling well..." He started coughing, surprising a couple of Genins. "Excuse me. If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation, please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately,"
"Immediately?!" Kiba shouted. Tsukiko's jaw dropped as she stared at them. Not only do they have to fight but to do it immediately?!
"But we just got through the Second Exam..." Ino said.
"How troublesome," Shikamaru said.
"What? What about my meal?" Chouji asked. Tsukiko glanced at Naruto, the blond was a bit too excited and she wondered if he was really that crazy.
"I forgot to mention this, but you will have one-on-one matches from here on out," Gekko said. "So please withdraw if you wish," Tsukiko looked at her teammates, Sasuke in particular.
"Sasuke-Kun," Sakura said when Sasuke grabbed the side of his neck again. Tsukiko frowned deeply as she looked forward as well. Naruto turned around as well. "Sasuke-Kun, you should quit these preliminaries!"
"Huh?" Naruto said, surprised. But he wasn't the only one. Sasuke looked shocked at the suggestion as well, almost as if he didn't want to even think about it.
"L-Look, you haven't been yourself," Sakura tried to reason with the Uchiha male. "...ever since you got worked over by that Orochimaru guy! The bruise hurts even now, right...? At this rate... Please, please quit," She wiped the tears out of her eyes. "I'm scared... You're in no condition to fight properly, Sasuke-Kun,"
"Quieten up!" Sasuke told her.
"I understand!" Sakura replied back adamantly. "But you've been enduring the pain this whole time, right?!" Sasuke tried to stop her. "No matter what you say, Sasuke-Kun... I'm going to tell the teachers about the bruise!" Before she could raise her hand, someone else did.
"What is it?" Hiruzen said, looking over at the Genins. Tsukiko turned around to look at who had raised their hand and was surprised to see Kabuto.
"I'll quit," Kabuto said.
"Kabuto-San...?" Naruto asked, surprised.
"Let's see..." Gekko said as he looked over his clipboard. "You are Konoha's Yakushi Kabuto-Kun? You may leave, then,"
"Yes," Kabuto said as he turned to leave.
"Kabuto-San, why are you quitting?" Naruto shouted after him. "Why?!"
"I'm sorry, Naruto-Kun, but my body is completely worn out already," Kabuto said. "Even before the First Exam, after I had that quarrel with the Sound guys. I couldn't hear anything in my left ear. I can't fight right away, especially if it's a life or death battle..."
Kabuto muttered something to his teammates before looking at Team Seven and waved Naruto goodbye and turned around, walking away. Tsukiko stared after him, eying him closely. There wasn't anything outright weird about him but he was really strange...
"May I assume there are no more people who wish to retire?" Gekko asked, letting out a cough. Tsukiko turned to look at Sakura, who was raising her hand but Sasuke grabbed it rather harshly before she could.
"Be quiet about this bruise," Sasuke warned her. That caused Sakura to tear up and Tsukiko frowned slightly, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Why are you acting tough like that?!" Sakura demanded of the Uchiha male. "I don't want to watch you suffer all the time anymore! For me, you are!"
"This has nothing to do with you!" Sasuke told her. Sakura stared at him. "It's none of your business," He let go of her hand. "I said it once before... I'm an avenger. This is not just a mere exam to me. The Chunin business has nothing to do with me. 'Am I strong?' All I want is the answer to that. By fighting with those who are strong, and they're here! I will not allow anyone, even you, to take my path away from me!"
"You!" Naruto cut into the argument. Tsukiko sighed, shaking her head at the situation. She patted Sakura's shoulder comfortingly. "What are you doing putting up a front like that, you idiot?! Here Sakura-Chan is this worried about you!"
"Naruto," Sasuke said, turning to look at him. "I want to fight you, too," Naruto was surprised. Sasuke then glanced over at Tsukiko at the back, remembering the interest Orochimaru had in her strengths. "You too, Tsukiko," The white-haired girl stared at him.
"Then, let's begin the preliminary matches," Gekko said when no one else spoke up. "It will be a one-on-one match. In other words, it will be like real combat. Now that we have exactly twenty people, we will have ten matches... And the winners will be able to advance to the Third Exam.
"There are no rules. You will fight until the other person dies, is knocked out or admits defeat. If you do not want to die, please give up immediately. However, if I judge that the match is over..." He coughed. "I may stop you to prevent any unnecessary deaths. The thing that will hold your destiny..." He looked behind. Anko nodded.
"Open it," Anko said. The stone slab from one section of the wall behind them slid up and revealed a large screen. Tsukiko stared at it.
"...Will be this," Gekko said. "This electric bulletin board will randomly display the names of two fighters for each match," He looked back at the Genins. "Without further ado, I will now display the names for the first match,"
Along with others, Tsukiko looked up at the screen where names skimmed past in a flash, separated by a 'versus'. Suddenly it came to a stop on two names, shocking the others.
Uchiha Sasuke versus Akadou Yoroi.
"Those whose names were displayed, step up," Gekko said. Sasuke and a member of Kabuto's team both walked ahead. "The first match's fighters are Akadou Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke," The two of them were now standing in front of each other. "Are there any objections?"
"No," The two of them replied. Tsukiko, Naruto and Sakura shared uncomfortable glances at each other, worried for their teammate but they could do nothing but respect his decidion.
"We will now begin the first match," Gekko said. He coughed. "Everyone other than the two fighters, please move up there," Everyone started walking towards the stairs that led to a higher place, surrounding the hall. Team Seven remained downstairs.
"Hey, Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto shouted as their teacher walked over toward them. Kakashi Sensei nodded at them before muttering something to Kakashi.
"Let's go onto that side, please, Usa," Tsukiko said as she pointed at the balcony opposite from Gaara's. She didn't want to annoy him any further by her presence and accelerate her approaching death.
Kakashi Sensei, Tsukiko, Naruto and Sakura walked away from Sasuke and to the balcony that the white-haired girl had pointed out.
"Begin," Gekko said. Everyone had by now gotten upstairs and the only people down were Gekko himself, Sasuke and Yoroi. Tsukiko leaned over the railing, looking down, a little apprehensive.
"Let's go!" Yoroi said, immediately setting with the hand seals.
"Okay!" Sasuke said. Yoroi moulded Chakra on his right hand while his left hand slipped to his pouch strapped around his waist. Sasuke's hand went into his own as well. At once the two of them aimed their respective weapons of choice, Yoroi with Shuriken and Sasuke with Kunai.
Tsukiko frowned when Sasuke grunted, clutching his neck where the strange mark was and fell onto his front. Yoroi reacted quickly and came to attack. Sasuke slipped aside by the help of his Kunai and grabbed Yoroi's leg his feet, making him fall over as he grabbed his leg and his own leg over his neck.
"He did it!" Naruto shouted. This celebration was premature for Yoroi suddenly grabbed onto Sasuke, draining his Chakra. He then raised his arm and hit him back, making Sasuke loosen his grip, giving him a chance to get up.
Yoroi slipped away while Sasuke lay on the floor, shuddering, unable to understand what had just happened to him. But then, Yoroi came for another attack, again grabbing Sasuke's head roughly and draining his Chakra.
"Are you... My Chakra..." Sasuke forced out. Tsukiko, Naruto and Sakura stared at their teammate, shocked, and Kakashi Sensei didn't look much better as Sasuke's grip gave out. What's going on here? How could Sasuke lose it like this?
"Did you notice now?" Yoroi mocked the younger male. Tsukiko did not know what he was trying to do but she knew that whatever it was, it was not going to be good.
"Get off!" Sasuke said as he kicked the older Ninja off and away from him. Yoroi got up, laughing mockingly. Tsukiko bit her lower lip, worried about what this would mean for Sasuke.
"You till had some strength left?" Yoroi said. "You're just a guinea pig, though. Relax, I'll end this quickly," He got ready to take Chakra once more as he went running towards Sasuke, who dodged him a couple of times before stumbling away when Yoroi aimed for his neck. "What's wrong? Are you done for already?"
Sasuke went to roundhouse kick Yoroi but the latter jumped away. Sasuke's moves were very feeble, which was a given. It was obvious Yoroi was toying with him, wanting close combat, which Sasuke could not and should not risk. Tsukiko pulled at her twin tails.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. "You call yourself Uchiha Sasuke with that?!" Sasuke looked back at him. "Stop acting like an idiot! Get serious!" Suddenly Sasuke seemed to have realised something when he looked towards Lee, who was standing next to Naruto.
"You don't have time to be looking the other way," Yoroi said as he went running towards Sasuke to try and drain his Chakra once more. Tsukiko chewed on her lip, surging with worry. "This is it," As Yoroi tried to get a hit on Sasuke, the latter kept dodging.
Suddenly Sasuke dropped low, disappearing out of Yoroi's sight and kicked him under the jaw. Right after, he jumped up after the older Ninja and got behind Yoroi, still in air. Tsukiko's jaw dropped, so he copied Rock Lee from all those days earlier?
"From here on out, it's all original, though," Sasuke said, smirking. Both Lee and Guy looked very shocked. "It's the end," He placed a hand seal behind Yoroi's back but suddenly, the cursed seal opened. Tsukiko held her breath, worried.
Then suddenly, much to her surprise, the cursed seal retreated back. Sasuke continued with his newly formed technique, kicking Yoroi ferociously and repeatedly enough to knock him out as the two of them fell on the ground. "Lion Combo!"
Gekko walked over to Yoroi and got on his knee to inspect him. He looked towards Sasuke, who managed to get up a little, though severely beaten up.
"I will now stop this match," Gekko announced. "The first match winner is Uchiha Sasuke. This means he passes the preliminary round,"
"Yes!" Naruto cheered. Sasuke, who was now sitting on the ground, started breathing heavily, drained out. He almost fell back, and would've if it wasn't for Kakashi appearing behind him and supporting him with his knee, reading his book.
"You did okay," Kakashi told Sasuke.
"Sasuke," Naruto continued cheering. "You won in such an idiotic way! You're all worn out! Idiot!" Lee looked a little bothered that Sasuke managed to copy his technique after only viewing it once.
Soon the medics arrived, taking away Yoroi on a stretcher. Another Konohagakure Medical-Nin approached Sasuke and Kakashi. Tsukiko watched as Sasuke tried to resist the Medi-Nins but their Sensei led him away, Sasuke holding onto his seal. It was then that Tsukiko realised that Kakashi knew of the wound.
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