"Sakura-chan!"
Inside the central tower, Ino, seeing the figure of the pink-haired girl, pounced towards her.
"Ino... you stink."
Sakura's nose twitched, and her words instantly petrified Ino.
After a day of rushing around, and encountering several attacks from Ninjas of other countries along the way,
Putting aside the sour smell of dried sweat on Ino's body, there were also remnants from hiding in various miasma swamps, rotten wood, and mud to evade enemy pursuit.
All sorts of strange smells mixed together, making her whole figure like a big golden retriever that just came back from playing wildly outside the village, dirty and messy.
"Wait, in that environment of the Forest of Death, where did you take a bath!"
As Ino approached Sakura, she also caught the fragrance from the other's hair.
Instantly, her green eyes widened.
"Well, Ninjutsu, it's amazing, isn't it~"
Sakura's gaze shifted slightly towards Leviathan standing on her shoulder, then she spread her hands towards Ino.
"Damn Sakura, how dare you say I stink! Watch me get you dirty too!"
A mischievous glee flashed in Ino's clear eyes as she opened her arms and pounced towards Sakura.
Sakura, using her Observation Haki to predict Ino's every landing point, skillfully used Kami-E to dodge Ino's hungry tiger pounce.
Just as the two girls were playing around, all the examinees who had passed the Forest of Death had now gathered, and the Jonin Instructors from various villages had also arrived on the second floor of the tower.
Amidst some commotion, a group led by Hiruzen, the host, with representatives from the three great Ninja Villages, Onoki, Rasa, and Darui, following, walked up to the high platform.
Sakura quickly stopped and went with Ino to assemble inside the main hall.
The formation of examinees was quite large. Including the group initially wiped out while surrounding Sakura, after the second exam ended, 65 examinees remained to enter the third exam.
Hiruzen coughed and began a long speech on the high platform. After getting old, he really liked reminiscing about the past.
The key point was, as the host, he talked about Konoha's past, and the two Kage behind him actually listened.
It's no wonder Onoki and Rasa managed to become Kage… they understood social niceties~
"Cough... Hokage-sama, I'll take over from here!"
Seeing his superior had no intention of stopping, the proctor for the third exam stepped forward.
After all, their time as high-level Ninja was worth tens of thousands of ryo per minute. Being a proctor was already a task where the benefits and efforts were disproportionate.
Now they had to waste time on this meaningless thing, they weren't happy about it.
Seeing someone interrupt Hiruzen's casting, Sakura's eyes lit up.
'Well done, Gekko Hayate! Just for today's action, I'll make sure you live until the next biography.'
"Cough, very well. Then I'll leave the next matter to you, Hayate!"
Hiruzen cleared his throat, a hint of regret on his face as he stepped down from the platform.
"Before the third exam begins, there is one last chance to withdraw. Giving up now will not affect your teammates. Does anyone wish to withdraw?"
Hayate coughed as he announced the pre-exam instructions for the third exam to the candidates.
His gaze shifted between the records in his hand and the examinees below.
"I forfeit!"
Yakushi Kabuto, from within the crowd, chose to forfeit as he had in the past.
Hiruzen on the high platform, paying extra attention to the exam due to the Orochimaru Incident, immediately noticed this guy's information.
Hiruzen silently took a puff of his smoke and handed a document to Danzo.
Understanding his meaning, Danzo quietly disappeared without alerting anyone.
'Hmm, sixty-four examinees remain. The preliminary matches will be conducted using a one-on-one battle format.'
Seeing no one else forfeited, Hayate announced the rules for the third exam's initial test and activated the electronic screen hanging high at the back of the examination hall.
Inside the examination hall now remained five teams from Konoha, three teams from Iwagakure, three teams from Kumogakure, two teams from Sunagakure, and a number of Genin from other small villages.
Sakura casually glanced at the large screen, not caring at all who her opponent was.
Among those present, only Gaara, the Jinchuriki, could make her look twice if he released the One-Tail.
As for the others, even smurfing participants like Kurotsuchi and Samui still weren't enough to catch Sakura's eye now.
As for Naruto, he still had a long way to go before mastering the Nine-Tails… it was too early to count the Nine-Tails as part of his combat strength.
"First match, Rock Lee vs Akatsuchi!"
Looking at the selection result on the screen, Hayate called the examinees to enter the arena.
Sakura, followed by Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino, retreated to the suspended corridors on either side.
"It's that thick-browed guy again. Who do you think will win this time?"
Sasuke, like Sakura, leaned his hands on the railing, his gaze slightly turning towards the girl beside him.
"Most likely Lee. That master and disciple pair are hiding a very troublesome technique."
Sakura brushed aside the strands of hair falling over her face, seemingly already seeing the outcome.
"That guy? How is that possible!"
Sasuke found it hard to believe, 'This guy, who had almost no Chakra and had once lost to me, could defeat a Ninja with such a powerful aura?'
"Don't rely too much on Observation Haki. Battles are dynamic. Upsets happen quite often, moreover..."
Sakura curled the corner of her mouth, deliberately keeping him in suspense, making Sasuke beside her grit his teeth in frustration.
'Riddler, get out of Konoha!'
In the center of the arena, Lee took a deep breath, slowly turned his head, first sharing an intense look with Guy.
Then, the green-spandex-wearing, bowl-cut-haired youth turned his head towards Sakura, two blushes appearing on his cheeks as he threw a wink.
"Urk…"
Sakura shuddered, pulling Naruto beside her in front of her as a shield just before the heart could reach her.
"Blergh~"
Naruto and Sakura both bent over, leaning on the railing and dry heaving.
Sasuke beside them let out a helpless sigh, while Ino crouched next to Sakura, patting her back to help her catch her breath.
"Akatsuchi, you must fight well! Give those guys from Konoha a bit of... mmph!"
The energetic little princess of Iwagakure, standing on the railing, was just about to deliver a shocking declaration.
Her father and Jonin Instructor, Kitsuchi, hearing his daughter's words, felt his scalp go numb. He quickly covered her mouth and dragged her down from the railing.
"Kurotsuchi, shut up!"
Kurotsuchi pouted, looking at Sakura on the opposite suspended corridor with a fierce expression.
In the center of the arena, at Hayate's command-
Lee quickly assumed a stance and charged towards Akatsuchi.
The tall Akatsuchi formed hand seals and spat out a large amount of earth, forming a rock giant.
[Earth Release: Rock Golem Technique]
The rock giant, capable of both attack and defense, rampaged across the arena, stirring up large clouds of dust.
No matter which angle Lee tried to use to close the distance with Akatsuchi, he was pushed back by the giant's thick arms.
"It's useless. You can't break through my defense. Surrender!"
The good-natured Akatsuchi advised surrender.
After all, from the start of the fight until now, he had rarely taken an offensive stance, wanting to make the Konoha's Ninja before him back down through absolute defense.
Unexpectedly, the opponent was also a very determined Ninja.
If they continued like this, he might have to use offensive techniques. To avoid casualties, he could only offer a reminder.
"No! My Youth won't admit defeat so easily!"
Lee jumped up, flipped several times in the air, and landed on a sculpture on the second floor.
"Guy-sensei! I want to defeat him!"
The youth's passionate shout revealed his fighting spirit.
Standing nearby, Guy, with his arms crossed, was already moved to tears.
"Such is Youth! Lee, take them off!"
Lee, standing on the sculpture's finger, smiled, crossed his legs, and lifted his leg weights.
"They're just two weights. What effect could they have?"
Kurotsuchi on the viewing platform showed a puzzled expression, but then her mouth fell open.
Lee threw the two weights down from the sculpture. They smashed through the floor, sending up a large cloud of dust.
Now, let the second round begin!