Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. As the sound of the bells echoed through the air, the third round of the Chūnin Exams officially began. One by one, the examinees stepped onto the arena.
Compared to the previous two rounds, the third round tested individual ability. With a tournament-style elimination, thirty-two participants reduced to sixteen, then sixteen down to eight, this phase felt more like a competition than an actual exam.
And that was exactly the case. The third round of the Chūnin Exams had always had a performative aspect to it. The goal was to showcase the strength of the next generation, attract more future mission requests, and, of course, bring in revenue from ticket sales.
The real selection process for chūnin had already concluded by the end of the second round.
That said, all the participants were young shinobi. Who wouldn't want to secure a top ranking in the Chūnin Exams and become the most dazzling star?
For that reason, every participant who had advanced to the third round had spent the past two weeks training diligently, eager to secure a higher placement in the tournament.
In Team 7, Naruto had learned the Summoning Jutsu from Jiraiya and successfully summoned the mighty toads of Mount Myōboku. Though it wasn't a drastic leap in power, he had gained a powerful external ally.
Sasuke, on the other hand, had established contact with Orochimaru and begun to tap into the power of the Cursed Seal.
Both believed they had grown significantly stronger, strong enough to win the Chūnin Exams.
Gaara's team had also undergone intense preparation. However, their focus had shifted from simply passing the exams to guarding against the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, in order to secure more benefits for Sunagakure.
Of course, if they had the chance to win first place, who would refuse?
Meanwhile, Byakuya's situation was a little different. The usually quiet Haku and Kimimaro frowned as they watched Byakuya rush back from outside.
"Byakuya-sama, where did you run off to this time?"
Byakuya held up a betting slip and grinned. "I just went to place some bets. The odds outside are pretty good. We might make a fortune this time."
Haku and Kimimaro exchanged a glance before smiling.
"Byakuya-sama, did you bet on us to win? We'll make sure to secure a top ranking!"
Byakuya shook his head.
"Nope. I bet on Naruto and Gaara. Their odds of winning are higher. Can't be making a losing investment, now, can we?"
Their smiles froze.
This Chūnin Exam had turned them into mere background characters. Although they had smoothly passed the first two rounds, they had virtually no presence. Now, their own jōnin leader had placed his bets against them.
That didn't feel great.
Seeing their expressions, Byakuya chuckled. "I'm just messing with you. I didn't actually place a bet. Just focus on the exam and show off Akatsuki's strength."
Haku and Kimimaro exchanged another look, unsure of what to say.
Byakuya, however, turned his gaze toward the Third Hokage and flashed a polite smile before heading up to the stands. He wasn't going to stick around with the Third Hokage. He needed a reason to leave. If he stayed, a lot of things wouldn't be able to unfold.
After taking a seat in the stands, Byakuya's eyes swept across the arena before locking onto Might Guy, Lee, and the others.
He would start with them.
---
By midday, the Chūnin Exam had already progressed to the sixteen-person bracket.
Haku and Kimimaro had effortlessly defeated their opponents. For their adversaries, facing the two was utterly overwhelming.
Even setting aside their years of training, their Bloodline Limits alone gave them nearly instant activation abilities, something that most jōnin-level shinobi would struggle against. After all, for most shinobi, the mere time it took to weave hand signs was enough to cost them their lives.
In Team 7, everyone except Sakura had passed the qualifiers.
Naruto and Sasuke's strength spoke for itself. Both had jōnin-level abilities, making them complete outliers in the Chūnin Exams.
Sakura wasn't weak, she just happened to be competing in a tournament filled with monsters.
Gaara's team, on the other hand, had all advanced. Their abilities were balanced, with each of them possessing at least jōnin-level strength. Against shinobi from smaller villages, or even Konoha, they were practically unstoppable.
It was Shikamaru's team that had fallen to them, narrowly missing a spot in the next round.
Still, their battle against Gaara's team had demonstrated their remarkable abilities. They hadn't lost due to incompetence, only because their opponents were simply too strong.
Observing from the stands, the Third Hokage let out a sigh.
"Kazekage-dono, your village truly has no shortage of talent. If not for this third round, I doubt Gaara's team would have even needed to go all out."
Sasori glanced at the Hokage and chuckled. "And Konoha's Naruto is no different. To think he'd already be using the Rasengan… I recall that being a jutsu created by the Fourth Hokage. Looks like Konoha has another Yellow Flash in the making."
Hearing this, the Third Hokage's expression darkened as memories of Minato surfaced.
When Naruto used the Rasengan, for a brief moment, Hiruzen saw Minato in him. They were almost identical, both cheerful, both filled with the Will of Fire.
But Naruto and Minato were ultimately different.
Naruto was a jinchūriki. Furthermore, Naruto was not some nameless orphan, he was the Fourth Hokage's son. Yet Hiruzen had hidden that truth from him. Even now, he still hadn't told Naruto the truth. Although everything had been done for the sake of the village's stability, it still felt somewhat cruel.
Snapping out of his wandering thoughts, the Third Hokage scanned the crowd, hoping to spot Orochimaru in advance and put a stop to his schemes.
For the past half month leading up to the third round of the Chūnin Exams, he had been waiting for Orochimaru to come to him.
If Orochimaru was willing to talk, he wasn't entirely opposed to the idea of reconciliation, even accepting this wayward student once more. After all, the village could use someone with Orochimaru's level of combat strength.
But in the end, he had waited in vain.
Orochimaru never came.
That meant Orochimaru planned to make his move during the Chūnin Exams. Regardless of his scheme, and whether Hiruzen could stop him or not, Konoha was bound to suffer heavy losses.
Looking around again, the Third Hokage still couldn't spot Orochimaru among the crowd.
Sighing softly, he resumed his conversation with Sasori and Byakuya. With these two present, the exam should at least proceed smoothly without becoming a total disaster.
While the Third Hokage was lost in thought, the first match of the sixteen-to-eight bracket began.
Rock Lee versus Gaara.
Lee, a disciple of Konoha's jōnin Might Guy, was practically his teacher's mirror image. He had demonstrated exceptional taijutsu in his previous matches.
Gaara, on the other hand, was a favorite to win the championship. Their fight drew significant attention.
The moment the match began, Lee vanished from his spot, dashing toward Gaara. He had already determined that Gaara was a ninjutsu-based fighter.
Against such an opponent, the best tactic was to close the distance quickly, forcing them into a flustered state where they couldn't cast their jutsu in time.
Lee's strategy was flawless, except for one issue.
Gaara was a Sand Release user. He didn't need hand seals to attack. The moment Lee was ensnared by several streams of sand, his expression changed.
Naruto and Sasuke, watching from the sidelines, tightened their gaze as well. They were both highly likely to face Gaara later, so they had to gather intel on him now.
Gaara had terrible taijutsu and had never been seen using genjutsu.
But that didn't mean he could be easily defeated with either. He didn't use ninjutsu because he didn't need to. And as a jinchūriki, normal genjutsu was completely ineffective on him.
Within just a few exchanges, Lee was already at a disadvantage.
His speed was impressive, but it still wasn't fast enough to outrun the sand. Once fully restrained, he would either lose the ability to fight or be killed outright.
Seeing this, many spectators grew worried for Lee.
Sasori glanced at Byakuya.
"Looks like Gaara is going to win again. His next match should be against your Kimimaro, right?"
Byakuya chuckled. "Gaara will win, but not just yet."
Sasori raised an eyebrow before turning his gaze back to Lee.
He didn't believe Lee had much hidden potential left, but he did trust Byakuya's instincts. Maybe there really was more to Lee than met the eye.
What Sasori didn't know was that Byakuya's confidence came from prior knowledge, he knew Lee had more to offer.
It was simple. Lee was a genius of hard work and had mastered the Eight Gates.
A technique that burned one's own life force, the Eight Gates was an ability that allowed an ordinary human to rival gods.
Just before his imminent defeat, Lee exchanged a glance with Might Guy. Seeing his teacher's approving thumbs-up, Lee dropped his weights and opened the Eight Gates.
With the gates unleashed, his speed and strength skyrocketed, and his chakra surged exponentially.
With just a single strike, the shockwave alone repelled the incoming sand. His movements became nothing but afterimages, no one could even see him anymore.
For the first time, Gaara's expression changed.
Taking a direct hit from Lee's powerful punch, Gaara immediately switched to defense, abandoning his offense. He knew Lee couldn't maintain this state forever.
Among the spectators, many recognized the technique.
The Eight Gates was a jutsu recorded in the Scroll of Seals. It had remained obscure for years, passed down between Might Duy and Might Guy. No one had ever considered it worthwhile, as it took over a decade of dedicated training to master.
Most figured that time would be better spent learning other jutsu, one could have become a jōnin already instead.
That perception changed during the Third Great Ninja War.
Might Duy, a so-called "eternal genin," had single-handedly wiped out the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
The Eight Gates had shaken the ninja world.
Watching the match, Kakashi turned to Might Guy in surprise.
"Guy… When did Lee learn the Eight Gates? You never told me about this."
Grinning, Guy flashed his signature gleaming smile.
"Well, you know now, don't you? Lee is my greatest disciple! He even opened the gates before I did! If taijutsu had geniuses, he would undoubtedly be one, a genius of hard work."
Pausing for a moment, he added, "When Lee beats Gaara, he'll probably face either Sasuke or Naruto next. I can't wait to see those fights. It'll be just like us! Youth must have enough rivals and challenges to truly be fiery!"
Kakashi sighed at Guy's usual antics but smiled nonetheless. He wasn't as excited as Guy, he was more concerned about the Chūnin Exams as a whole.
From the moment he had seen Byakuya, he knew this exam wouldn't be simple. He hadn't expected things to become this complicated.
Orochimaru had infiltrated the Forest of Death in secret and even made contact with Naruto and Sasuke. Judging by the battle traces left at the scene, he likely hadn't come alone.
This wasn't to say that Orochimaru didn't have subordinates, it meant that there was likely another ninja of comparable strength by his side. They might have already joined forces.
And aside from them, there were still others lurking in the shadows, Obito, Kushina's former mentor…
So many forces were eyeing the Chūnin Exams, waiting to stir up chaos.
But could Konoha even handle such an onslaught? Would the village collapse under the pressure?
At that moment, Might Guy noticed Kakashi's serious expression and walked over.
"What's wrong, Kakashi? You've been looking even gloomier than usual lately."
Kakashi sighed before asking, "Guy… which do you think is more important? The village or the Hokage?"
Guy was momentarily stumped by the question.
"Aren't the village and the Hokage one and the same? Why are you asking this?"
Kakashi scratched his head.
"What I mean is… if the Hokage were to betray the village one day, what would we do?"
"…If the Hokage betrayed the village? Then, of course, we'd stand by the village."
Guy pondered the question for a long moment before pressing further.
"Kakashi, what's going on? Why are you asking something like this?"
Kakashi didn't answer. Well, Guy didn't have time to pursue the matter. While they talked, the battle between Lee and Gaara was reaching its climax.
The victor would soon be decided. From a purely individual skill standpoint, Lee and Gaara were about evenly matched.
They were close in age, both had trained relentlessly, and both wielded unique secret techniques. Their strength was roughly 50-50. But that was only if Gaara didn't draw upon Shukaku's power.
The moment Gaara tapped into his bijū's chakra, Lee simply couldn't keep up. After unleashing his final trump card, Lee was countered head-on. His body crashed to the ground like a severed kite.
Seeing this, Gaara used his sand to gently lower Lee's body onto the arena floor.
He had won. But his victory felt hollow.
In the Chūnin Exams, he never intended to use his tailed beast's power, except when facing Naruto. And yet, against Lee's sheer threat, he had instinctively drawn upon Shukaku's strength.
With their match concluded, Naruto's battle was up next.
He easily defeated Neji.
Now, the next match would be Naruto vs. Gaara.