Uchiha Sasuke, under the scrutinizing gaze of Orochimaru, stopped Sakura from reporting the details about his Curse Mark. Meanwhile, the suggestion made by Anko Mitarashi—that Sasuke withdraw from the preliminaries to receive medical treatment—was ultimately rejected by both the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Kakashi Hatake.
Soon after, during Hayate Gekkō's second call for any last-minute withdrawals, the seemingly experienced but mysterious Kabuto Yakushi unexpectedly raised his hand to forfeit. While it seemed unbelievable to some, for those paying close attention, it felt inevitable.
When Naruto angrily questioned Kabuto, demanding an explanation, Kabuto could hardly say, "I'm actually a highly trained spy and might accidentally kill one of you." Instead, he offered a weak smile and pointed to injuries on his ear and body, replying hoarsely, "Sorry, Naruto. I've been fighting with lingering injuries since the first test—during that run-in with the Sound ninja, my left ear was damaged. I haven't been able to hear anything since. I'm just not in any condition to take on another brutal round."
Kabuto's excuse was effective. Even Naruto, impulsive as he was, couldn't argue with someone trying to preserve their life. After all, they were technically rivals. If Naruto had pressed the issue, it might've come off as insincere, or even suspicious.
Still, Kabuto's withdrawal shocked many in the room—Hayate included. It was rare for someone who had made it this far—through the brutal Forest of Death—to give up voluntarily. Most genin at this point were fiercely determined to prove themselves.
Due to the unexpected nature of the forfeit, Hayate felt the need to clarify. "Let me remind everyone," he said through a cough, "the preliminary matches are one-on-one, so please think carefully before choosing to proceed."
After a short pause, Hayate waited to see if anyone else would step back. But no one did.
He opened the folder in his hands, flipped through a few pages, and then nodded to Kabuto. "You are Yakushi Kabuto of the Hidden Leaf. You are dismissed."
Everyone watched Kabuto walk out through the passageway, his retreating figure drawing more attention than he likely wanted. Naruto still looked uneasy, unaware of Kabuto's true identity. He sighed before turning his attention back to the arena.
"Let's begin the preliminary rounds," Hayate announced once Kabuto was gone, coughing lightly before continuing. "From here on out, it's a series of one-on-one matches."
"There are no specific rules. Matches will end when one combatant is unconscious, dead, or clearly surrenders. So let me give you one piece of advice: if you don't want to die—surrender immediately."
Hayate glanced at the group of genin and continued, "Of course, if the outcome becomes obvious, I will intervene to prevent unnecessary deaths. The matchups will be randomly generated. The winner of each bout will move on to the final stage of the Chūnin Exams. The loser is out."
"Wait!" Yamanaka Ino suddenly raised her hand, confusion in her eyes. "There were six teams that passed the second test—eighteen participants. But with Kabuto withdrawing, that's an odd number. What happens to the extra person?"
"Good question," Hayate replied. "In this kind of mission-based work, luck counts as a form of strength. The one who gets a pass this round will simply face two opponents in the final round, while everyone else only needs to win once. It's a disadvantage to balance out their early fortune."
Some genin still looked confused, but Hayate dismissed it with a cough. "You'll understand once the next round is announced."
With that, Hayate gestured toward the large wall behind him. At Anko's signal, a section of the wall slid open to reveal a large digital scoreboard.
"This scoreboard will display the matchups in each round," Hayate explained. "Names will be selected at random for each fight."
"If there are no more questions, we'll begin the first round now."
The genin all looked up, eyes fixed on the screen. For many, this was more than just a fight—it was a chance to observe their rivals' skills. The later your name came up, the better your odds of preparing or analyzing your opponents.
The names began to scroll.
Finally, the screen came to a stop:
Uzumaki Naruto vs. Tsubaki Misumi
"Naruto's up first!?" Sakura gasped, turning to glance at her teammate. Team 7 had barely gotten a chance to rest after the Forest of Death, and now Naruto was the first one called.
And worse, his opponent—Tsubaki Misumi—was a repeat participant. Like Kabuto, he was a veteran of multiple Chūnin Exams. Experience-wise, he had the edge. Of course, Sakura hoped that meant he just wasn't strong enough to pass before…
"Would the two named contestants please step forward," Hayate rasped, voice weak as always. "Take your positions, facing each other."
Naruto and Misumi both stepped forward and faced off in the center of the arena.
Hayate looked between them and asked, "Uzumaki Naruto of the Hidden Leaf, versus Tsubaki Misumi, also of the Hidden Leaf. Any objections?"
"None!" Naruto declared quickly.
Misumi chuckled coldly. "None here."
Hayate nodded and turned to the rest. "Everyone else, please move to the viewing balconies. Do not interfere with the match."
Team 10—Shikamaru, Ino, and Chōji—made their way to the right-side balcony, joined shortly by their jonin sensei, Sarutobi Asuma.
"We really surprised them this time, huh, Sensei?" Ino beamed, clearly proud of their progress.
Asuma gave a small smile and nodded. "Honestly, I didn't expect it. You guys managed to take down a jōnin-level opponent."
That comment hit Ino and Chōji like a lightning bolt.
At the beginning of the exam, they had suspected that the strange ninja they fought—Kawagawa Shiman—was stronger than a typical genin, maybe even a chūnin. But to hear Asuma say it outright—
"W-wait… he was a jōnin?" Chōji stammered, eyes wide in disbelief.
No other genin squad had the kind of first-hand understanding of how overwhelming a jōnin could be, especially after their experience in the Land of Waves. The thought that they had survived—no, won—that fight, made them both feel shaken and strangely proud.
"He was from a minor village," Asuma added, exhaling a puff of smoke. "Still, jōnin is jōnin. Taking him down as a squad of genin was no small feat. The Hokage has decided that for everyone involved in that battle, your records will reflect participation in an A-rank mission."
"For real!?" Ino squealed with joy. For a genin, getting an A-rank credit in their mission log was practically unheard of. It was something to brag about for years.
Shikamaru, more practical as always, glanced at Asuma. "Has his identity been confirmed?"
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