"Cough, cough… Next, we'll begin the random matchups. The names that appear on the screen will remain here; the rest of you, head to the second-floor stands to wait and observe."
After the Third Hokage explained the reason for the preliminaries, Gekko, who, despite being a character from Shippuden, would fall here in the chunin exams arc, coughed heavily a few times and spoke weakly.
"Um, I choose to forfeit!"
At that moment, Kabuto, hidden among the candidates, suddenly raised his hand and said.
"I understand. You may leave, someone will escort you back to the village." Gekko nodded, crossed Kabuto's name off with his pen, and said, "That leaves twenty-three candidates. Which means one person will get a bye."
Kabuto's withdrawal immediately caught the Third Hokage's attention. Upon learning Kabuto had participated in multiple chunin exams before, the Hokage ordered his men to investigate him at once.
Meanwhile, Naruto, who had received Kabuto's help during the first exam, looked confused and tried to stop him from leaving. But when Kabuto explained that he had sustained serious internal injuries during the first exam and couldn't continue, Naruto blamed himself and didn't insist further. After all, Kabuto's injuries were partly because of him.
If he hadn't provoked everyone so recklessly, Kabuto wouldn't have stepped in, nor been attacked by the Sound trio.
Once that interlude ended, the preliminaries of the third exam officially began.
The names of the twenty-three candidates flickered rapidly across the large screen. A few seconds later, two names froze on the left and right.
Sasuke Uchiha vs. Yoroi Akado.
"Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi Akado, stay behind. The rest, please head to the stands." Gekko reminded them.
Soon, only Sasuke and Yoroi were left in the arena.
When Team 8 arrived at the stands, Kurenai, already there, walked over. She patted Haruma on the shoulder and said, "Second to arrive at the central tower, with over an hour of time to spare. Well done."
"This was thanks to Hinata, she saved us the trouble of finding the way." Haruma smiled.
Hinata gave a shy look in return.
"Watch the matches first. Once the preliminaries end, dinner's on me." Kurenai declared boldly.
"Yes sensei." Haruma nodded, then leaned on the railing, watching Sasuke endure the searing pain of his Cursed Seal. His gaze, however, wasn't on Sasuke or Yoroi, it was inward, toward himself.
From the first matchups alone, Haruma had already seen through it, the screen wasn't random at all. It was being manipulated from behind the scenes.
Sasuke urgently needed his Curse Mark sealed, and so the Hokage had arranged for him to be matched first. And conveniently, his opponent was one of Orochimaru's spies, Yoroi, who possessed chakra-draining abilities.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru himself disguised as a Sound jonin stood among the proctors, watching Sasuke intently, eager to see if he would succumb to the power of the seal.
The first battle began quickly and ended just as fast.
Sasuke's performance surprised Orochimaru slightly and made him even more pleased with his chosen vessel. Sasuke didn't rely on the Curse Mark's power. And because he hadn't been beaten down by Rock Lee earlier, he didn't use his improvised Lion Combo. Instead, he prevented Yoroi's chakra absorption by binding his hands with wire and finished him off swiftly.
The result didn't surprise Haruma at all. Even weakened by the Curse Mark, Sasuke's power without it still far outclassed Yoroi.
After the fight, Sasuke could no longer endure the Curse Mark's agony and collapsed. Kakashi instantly appeared at his side and whisked him away to seal it.
Orochimaru, in turn, silently left the stands.
The second match was announced immediately, giving no time for chatter. And when the names appeared, Haruma's eyes widened in disbelief.
Hinata Hyuga vs. Maiko.
Maiko was one of their classmates, a kunoichi from Team 11 (Kiba's squad). Like Haruma, she bore no clan name.
What was going on? Hinata's opponent should have been Hyūga Neji, shouldn't it? Was the screen really random after all?
Though surprised, Haruma smiled warmly at Hinata and encouraged her, "Hinata, do your best."
"Mm!" Hinata nodded firmly, not timid this time, and walked down to the arena.
Meanwhile, Maiko looked distraught, "Oh no… to be matched against Hinata? Should I just forfeit?"
Kiba thought for a moment and encouraged her, "Maybe give it a shot. Hinata wouldn't hurt you anyway."
"Alright." Steeling herself, Maiko entered the fight.
But the outcome was obvious. Hinata's Byakugan and Gentle Fist left Maiko, who only knew the basic Academy techniques, utterly defenceless. With no resistance, she was quickly defeated.
Watching this, Haruma knew.
The butterfly had begun to stir its wings.
If the matches weren't manipulated, fine. But if they were, why had the Hokage skipped the anticipated Hinata vs. Neji match now? Perhaps it was because he wanted that battle to take place later, in the official third round, before Hiashi Hyuga's very eyes.
And sure enough, his answer came immediately.
The third matchup flashed on the screen.
Haruma vs. Neji Hyuga