"Bai Hao-kun!"
Seeing Bai Hao appear, Sakura and Ino immediately waved their hands together.
"Bai Hao-kun, sit here!"
"Sit here!"
"Big Forehead, you want Bai Hao-kun to sit next to you.
Are you going to block Bai Hao-kun's view with your big forehead?!"
"Ugly monster!
Bai Hao-kun won't be in the mood to watch the match with you around!"
"Who are you calling an ugly monster?
You big forehead!"
"I'm talking about you, you ugly monster!"
The two women glared at each other simultaneously.
A scent of gunpowder instantly filled the air.
Seeing this, Bai Hao expressionlessly pulled Ino up and placed her to the side.
Then he silently sat down between the two women.
"Bai Hao-kun!"
Seeing this, the two women immediately leaned in from either side.
They took advantage of Bai Hao while bickering with each other.
Bai Hao felt speechless.
"Who chose this seat anyway?"
He sighed inwardly, then silently looked towards the competition arena.
Eleven people were standing there at the moment.
The one missing was the protagonist, Naruto.
"The first match is Naruto against Zaku Abumi of the Hidden Sound Village, there shouldn't be any suspense."
As Bai Hao was thinking, he suddenly heard a loud "bang."
Then Naruto flew in from the main entrance.
His body scraped the ground, and he glided all the way, "face-planting" as he rushed towards the other contestants.
"Alright.
That's very Naruto."
Chapter 24: First Round, Orochimaru's Plan! [Fourth update, seeking fresh flowers and collection]
With Naruto's appearance, all the participants were present.
However, the match did not start immediately.
It was only after the "Kazekage" took his seat on the main platform that the Third Hokage announced the start of the competition.
The first match was Naruto against Zaku Abumi.
There was nothing particularly noteworthy about it.
So, Bai Hao began to observe the main platform and the audience stands.
"The Kazekage is indeed Orochimaru.
Many Ninjas are hidden in the audience stands.
It seems he still wants to cause trouble.
As for Konoha...
The Third Hokage has indeed strengthened the guard force.
I remember in the original work, the Third Hokage's only guard was Special Jonin Namikaze Raidō.
This time, however, there are three.
Namikaze Raidō is still present.
Another is his good partner, Yamashiro Aoba.
And one is wearing a mask.
He appears to be an Anbu Ninja.
The surrounding defenses are also good.
It seems the Third Hokage is truly taking this seriously."
Ever since Bai Hao told Sarutobi Hiruzen that he might die at Orochimaru's hands,
the Third Hokage began to investigate the matter.
After some investigation,
he discovered that Orochimaru was indeed secretly making some small moves.
Moreover, he had been in overly close contact with the Sand Hidden Village.
It seemed they were preparing to carry out some major operation together.
Therefore,
after he convened the other three Konoha High-Level Executives for discussion,
it was decided to strengthen defensive measures during the Chunin Exams.
After all, they could not possibly cancel the Chunin Exams.
They could only strengthen their defenses to deal with the situation.
Fortunately, there was ample preparation time.
Otherwise, they would not have been able to mobilize enough Jonin.
...
After observing the main platform, Bai Hao turned his gaze to Kakashi.
Ever since Kakashi suspected that Obito was still alive,
he had entered a state of self-isolation.
Like now,
he appeared to be watching the match,
but in reality, his eyes were unfocused, staring blankly at some point.
"I wonder if Kakashi has thought things through after all this time?"
Bai Hao took a glance and then looked away.
Instead, he turned his attention to the match itself.
Naruto was indeed Naruto.
Even fighting Zaku Abumi, he managed to make it a thrilling battle.
First, he was thoroughly beaten by Zaku Abumi,
then he managed a comeback from near-death.
"If he had mastered the Rasengan earlier, the battle might have ended long ago."
Bai Hao silently sighed.
The second match was Kankuro against Shino Aburame.
Kankuro forfeited without even fighting.
Seeing this, Bai Hao secretly glanced at Shino.
He found that Shino remained expressionless, showing no sign of anger.
The third match was Tenten against Shiro Matsuno.
Shiro Matsuno was an unremarkable Konoha Genin.
He was easily defeated by Tenten.
The fourth match was Temari against Shikamaru.
Shikamaru, relying on his exceptionally high intelligence,
successfully defeated his opponent.
The fifth match was Sasuke against Dosu Kinuta from the Hidden Sound Village.
Because Sasuke was currently the "only" survivor of the Uchiha clan,
most of the people who came to watch the match were there to see him.
Therefore,
his match drew quite a lot of cheers.
The result, naturally, was an easy victory for Sasuke.
He didn't even need to use the Chidori he had just learned throughout the entire match.
After the match,
the last match of the first round, Gaara against Hinata Hyuga, also began.
...
"The first round is finally almost over.
There are so many participants this time, I can't wait any longer."
On the spectator stand,
Kankuro complained while stroking his Puppet.
"Once Gaara wins this match,
then we can enter the second round.
Naruto Uzumaki versus Shino Aburame, Tenten versus Shikamaru,
Sasuke versus Gaara.
This tournament is really long~
We still have to wait a long time before the plan can begin..."
"Kankuro, calm down."
Maki glanced at Kankuro, then turned his gaze back to the competition arena.
"Everything will proceed according to plan.
We must trust Gaara.
This match will end quickly."
...
At the same time,
on the main platform,
Orochimaru was staring at Sasuke, who had just finished his match.