Chapter 73: The Third Exam Begins
That afternoon, Kyosuke went to the Anbu base alone. There, he found Rei sitting in a corner, looking dejected.
"What happened this morning?" Kyosuke asked casually, walking up to her.
Rei turned to look at him, then shrugged helplessly. "What else could it be? I was provoked."
With that, she looked at Kyosuke's expression, and as if she knew what he wanted to ask, she said again in an indifferent tone, "That person is from the Hyuga main family. And also..."
She paused here, not continuing.
However, a curious Kyosuke insisted on getting to the bottom of it. "Also what?"
"Also... my fiancé," Rei said. Although her tone was calm, the bone-deep hatred that emanated from her was impossible to hide.
"Well, that's unfortunate for you," Kyosuke said, shaking his head with a flippant tone.
Sigh. Seeing his nonchalant attitude, the emotions Rei had managed to stir up were also interrupted. In the end, she could only let out a helpless sigh.
Suddenly, Kyosuke reached out and patted her on the forehead, which was covered by her bangs. He said in a strange tone, "Is this the reason you don't fight back against him?"
"What else?" she said, rolling her eyes at him. "If it weren't for this damn Caged Bird, I would have killed him with my own hands long ago."
"Don't worry. One day, I'll help you break free from this cage," Kyosuke promised with a serious expression.
Rei, or rather, Hyuga Saori, hearing this, turned her whole body to face him, her eyes fixed on his.
It wasn't until Kyosuke started to feel a bit uncomfortable that she suddenly said, "Have you fallen for me?"
With that, she stood up and spun around a couple of times, perfectly showcasing her graceful figure. "Have you been captivated by my charm?"
Seeing that Kyosuke didn't answer, she sat down again and said in a heartfelt tone, "Kyosuke, listen to me calmly. Although we have a good relationship, we're really not suitable for each other."
As she spoke, she scanned Kyosuke with a strange look and said in an odd tone, "Because... you're just too young~"
Hearing this, Kyosuke finally couldn't take it anymore and spat out a single word.
"Scram!!!"
Soon, the remaining time passed in a flash. Today was the day the third Chunin Exam began.
Unlike in the original story, there was no preliminary round this time. Instead, they went straight into the final individual battles.
By the time Kyosuke leisurely arrived at the competition venue, the spectators from all the countries had already arrived, just waiting for the competition to begin.
A total of 16 people had advanced to the third exam.
From the five great nations, except for the Stone Village, which had lost two members to Kyosuke, all the others had successfully advanced, for a total of 13 people.
As for the remaining three spots, they were divided among several smaller ninja villages.
Although the number of participants was a bit high, for the sake of the competition's continuous entertainment value and some other indescribable reasons, Konoha had finally decided to still use a 1-on-1 format for the matches.
As for the pairings, they were to be determined by a "random" draw.
In the stands, the personnel from the five great nations, including the participants, each occupied a corner. The remaining seats were filled by some smaller ninja villages and the audience.
The entire competition venue was almost completely full, which showed just how influential this joint exam was.
"Kyosuke, the competition is about to begin. Remember, no matter who your opponent is, you must fight with the spirit of our Uchiha. Do you understand?"
At this time, in the Konoha section of the stands, in the corner where the Uchiha clan was gathered, the Great Elder was earnestly instructing Kyosuke.
At the same time, his gaze couldn't help but drift to the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi hanging at Kyosuke's waist.
"This... isn't this..." the Great Elder exclaimed in surprise. He then turned to his younger brother. "I say, Second Brother, you're really generous."
The Second Elder snorted twice at his words but didn't answer.
Seeing this, the Great Elder shook his head with a laugh. He finally understood why there had been such intense fighting sounds coming from the Second Elder's courtyard a few days ago.
Seeing that they were no longer paying attention to him, Kyosuke gave a slight bow and then walked to the front of the stands.
There, his temporary teammate, Torune Aburame, was standing alone, looking out at the competition venue.
As for the other members of the Aburame clan, none of them had come to watch.
This situation was actually quite normal. After joining Root, Torune's connection with his clan had likely been severed. The Aburame clan and Danzō had never been on good terms.
However, Kyosuke couldn't say anything about this. After all, Torune's identity was still highly classified. Logically, he shouldn't know that Torune Aburame was also serving Root.
So, Kyosuke could only approach him as a teammate and start a casual conversation.
He was doing this to build a good relationship with him first. If the situation were to change in the future, Torune Aburame was one of the people he would do his best to win over. If for no other reason, his nano-sized poisonous insect technique alone was worth the effort.
As Kyosuke was chatting with Torune Aburame, an Anbu member suddenly walked to the center of the venue.
Seeing this, the venue gradually quieted down. Everyone knew that this grand Chunin Exam had finally reached its most critical moment.
"I now declare the third exam officially started," the Anbu said, without any unnecessary words.
As soon as the Anbu finished speaking, the names of the 16 participants on the large screen hanging above the venue began to flash rapidly.
At the same time, some malicious gazes couldn't help but secretly turn toward Kyosuke.
Although Kyosuke remained calm on the surface, he had already imprinted the expressions of these people in his mind.
Kisame, Maki, Kuro, Akatsuchi, and... Yugito?!
The corner of Kyosuke's mouth twitched imperceptibly. Why was Yugito also looking at him like that?
Did I do something to offend you?
Although he was a bit puzzled, Kyosuke could only temporarily put this question aside. Now was not the time to dwell on such things.
As Kyosuke and his enemies were exchanging glances, the pairings for the first match had already been "randomly" decided.
Hyuga Yōmyō vs. Sasori.
Konoha vs. Sand.
When this result was announced, the venue was instantly in an uproar.
Then, everyone's emotions were stirred up.
Because the hostile relationship between Konoha and the Sand was already well known.
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