At 8 AM, the Cloud Village's grand arena was packed with spectators gathered to watch the Chunin exam matches, including daimyos from various countries and leaders of certain factions.
Amid an atmosphere of tension and anticipation, the third exam officially commenced under the supervision of proctor Taruī.
The first match, serving as the opening act, featured Omoi from the Cloud team led by Samui against an unnamed member from the Rock ninjutsu team.
Omoi, utilizing the Cloud-Style Nin-Taijutsu Sword Art learned from Killer B, easily overpowered the Rock ninja's Earth Release techniques.
The outmatched Rock ninja could only dodge in disarray under his assault, allowing Omoi to showcase his skills and secure the first victory.
After their match ended, arena staff immediately began repairing the场地. The second match followed shortly after.
The second group featured a taijutsu specialist from the Sand Yomi team against Roy from the Cloud nin-taijutsu team.
Their strength was evenly matched, resulting in a very close contest. Ultimately, Roy leveraged his local advantage of being better adapted to the Cloud Village's environment to exhaust the Sand ninja's stamina, winning narrowly and advancing to the next round.
However, compared to the first match, the entertainment value was much lower. Consequently, the audience did not offer much applause after it concluded.
The third match was Uchiha Kazuhiko's. His opponent was the captain of the Rock ninjutsu team.
This Rock captain only possessed average chunin-level strength and was no match for Uchiha Kazuhiko. As the fight began, he used large-area Earth Release attacks against Uchiha Kazuhiko.
Considering the performative nature of the Chunin Exams and learning from the previous match's experience, Uchiha Kazuhiko did not instantly defeat the Rock captain.
Instead, he used Fire Release techniques that looked visually impressive but were actually not very powerful to engage him.
In the eyes of the ordinary spectators lacking discerning eyesight, their battle was as thrilling as a fight between immortals.
The crowd's mood, previously subdued from the last match, became highly excited, cheering enthusiastically for both combatants.
Once the show had gone on long enough, Uchiha Kazuhiko used the Great Blazing Flame technique to defeat the Rock captain, securing his advancement.
The fourth match, the final one of the morning, pitted the Steel Release Kekkei Genkai user, Kōya, against the captain of the Cloud nin-taijutsu team.
The Cloud captain's nin-taijutsu skills were considerable. Unfortunately, his opponent Kōya possessed the Steel Release Kekkei Genkai, which greatly countered physical attacks.
Despite his best efforts, the Cloud captain couldn't inflict significant damage on Kōya and regrettably lost his chance to advance.
After a brief midday rest, the first round continued.
Fifth match: Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai user, Shō, vs. another ninjutsu-type Sand ninja from the Yomi team.
This match was quite spectacular. Both the thunderous Explosion Release and the sand-and-stone flying Wind Release provided visual enjoyment for the audience.
Ultimately, Shō used an Earth Release barrier technique to trap the Sand ninja inside, securing victory.
Sixth match: Karui vs. Natsumi from the Rock Kekkei Genkai team.
Like Omoi, Karui had trained extensively in sword techniques under Killer B. Limited by the physical strength disadvantage typical of females, her strength was slightly inferior to Omoi's.
Her opponent, the Rock ninja Natsumi, excelled in genjutsu and summoning. She immediately summoned her elite chunin-level leopard summon at the start, while using genjutsu to Interfere with Karui's movements.
After a stalemate, Karui suddenly used a burst secret technique, broke free from the leopard summon's entanglement, and struck Natsumi, wounding her.
The severely injured Natsumi cried out in pain, used a defensive secret technique to burrow underground, and the exhausted Karui was defeated under the leopard summon's intensified frantic attacks.
After the mutually damaging sixth match, Proctor Taruī had medical-nin take both away for treatment and proceeded to host the seventh match.
Seventh match: Swift Release Kekkei Genkai user, Yomi, vs. the final member of the Cloud nin-taijutsu team.
Both were taijutsu specialists using tachi, but their sword styles were completely different.
The Cloud ninja's nin-taijutsu sword art followed a power-based path, with direct, domineering strikes. Yomi's sword art focused on speed, creating layers upon layers of sword shadows that made it impossible to distinguish illusion from reality.
Initially, the Cloud ninja could hold his own against Yomi with his nin-taijutsu. However, once Yomi activated his Swift Release Kekkei Genkai, he immediately fell into disadvantage.
Enhanced by Swift Release, Yomi's movement speed, attack speed, and reaction speed all increased. His already swift sword art became even more unpredictable. Within a few moves, he knocked the tachi from the Cloud ninja's hand and thrust his sword towards the Cloud ninja's throat.
"Swish!"
Proctor Taruī appeared in the arena, kicking Yomi's tachi away and saving the terrified Cloud ninja.
"Match over. Yomi wins,"
Taruī announced, giving Yomi a cold look.
Yomi returned the gaze indifferently, sheathed his tachi on his back, and jumped back to the arena's stands.
The final match: Samui's brother, Atsui, vs. a member of the Rock ninjutsu team.
Atsui was a young man with the character 'Heat' tattooed on his arm. He used a relatively rare Fire Release nin-taijutsu sword style in the Cloud Village.
Each of his moves was accompanied by fluctuating flames attached to his tachi, making them extremely difficult to defend against.
His Rock opponent was the defensive member of his team, specializing in defensive Earth Release and less proficient in offensive ninjutsu. He could only passively defend against Atsui's attacks.
However, constant defense inevitably leads to failure. Under the high-intensity assault, Atsui found an opening and pierced the Rock ninja's chest with his sword.
With Atsui's victory, the first round of the third exam concluded. The matchups for the second round, the quarter-finals, were also determined:
[No. 1] Omoi vs. [No. 2] Roy
[No. 3] Uchiha Kazuhiko vs. [No. 4] Kōya
[No. 5] Shō vs. [No. 6] Natsumi
[No. 7] Yomi vs. [No. 8] Atsui
"...The above is the matchup list for the next round. The matches are scheduled for 8 AM three days from now, here at this same venue. We hope all examinees can adjust their condition over these three days and bring us even more spectacular matches..."
Proctor Taruī gave a lengthy speech, announced the time and place for the next round, and only then was everyone dismissed.
As the sole remaining Konoha participant, Uchiha Kazuhiko received special attention from the Jonin team leader. He was granted a sum of activity funds and the opportunity to choose an A-rank ninjutsu.
Reviewing the ninjutsu he had mastered, Uchiha Kazuhiko noticed he had the fewest Water Release techniques. Thus, he chose the Water Release technique: [Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique].
After memorizing the Great Waterfall Technique's training method, Uchiha Kazuhiko didn't rush to practice it.
After all, A-rank ninjutsu couldn't be learned in just two or three days. Rather than waste time on it, he decided to rest well and adjust his condition to its best.
Using the activity funds, he purchased a large quantity of refined iron blocks as food for the small Pixiu.
He then took it to play in the mountains and forests outside the Cloud Village, only returning to the arena to compete after the three days had passed.