[After Gekkō Hayate coughed a few times...]
[He looked up at the large screen above the dojo.]
[The match list for the third round of the preliminaries was being randomly selected.]
[Everyone's attention was drawn to it as well.]
[Watching the names flicker constantly.]
[The arena fell silent.]
[Soon.]
[The name on the left stopped.]
[Konoha Genin: Kensumi Sumi.]
[Beep, beep, beep—]
[At this moment, the name on the right also stopped.]
[Hidden Sand Village Genin: Kankuro... Sound Village Genin: Dosu Kinuta?!]
[Everyone was stunned.]
[Wasn't the name on the right just fixed on Hidden Sand Village Genin: Kankuro?!]
[Good grief!]
[They aren't even pretending anymore?!]
[Now, the expressions of the invigilators became strange.]
[Almost simultaneously, everyone's gaze converged on Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face.]
[At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was also ashen.]
[He was indeed manipulating the match list.]
[But he wasn't stupid.]
[How could he make it so obvious?!]
[Asuma Sarutobi hesitated to speak.]
[Finally, Gekkō Hayate broke the silence.]
"Will the two participants on the list please enter the arena."
[Whoosh—]
[Even though everyone was dissatisfied.]
[At this moment, they could only comply.]
[This was Konoha's territory, after all.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the large screen above with a grim expression.]
[He couldn't help but feel puzzled.]
[Something was wrong.]
[He had clearly given the order for the suspected spy Kensumi Sumi to face the Hidden Sand Village's puppeteer, Kankuro.]
[Why did it change at the last moment?]
['Is it a malfunction?' Hiruzen Sarutobi could only think so.]
[Whoosh—]
[Kensumi Sumi leaped down.]
[Opposite him, Dosu, with his back hunched, also entered the arena.]
"Hehe... How unsightly, Konoha," Dosu sneered.
[Kensumi Sumi did not voice his opinion.]
[He simply took a fighting stance in silence.]
["Cough, cough..."]
[Gekkō Hayate coughed a few times.]
[Ignoring these matters.]
[He silently raised his hand.]
"Then."
"Third round."
"Begin!"
[Whoosh—]
[As the words fell.]
[Gekkō Hayate used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the arena, leaving the space to the two of them.]
[Kensumi Sumi looked at the hunched Dosu in front of him.]
[He narrowed his eyes slightly.]
['Even if we both serve Lord Orochimaru... I won't show mercy because of it. Under Lord Orochimaru's watchful eyes... I will not lose!']
[Whoosh—]
[Then, Kensumi Sumi was the first to attack.]
['I won't let you make the first move!']
[Kensumi Sumi lunged forward and arrived in front of Dosu.]
"Strike first to gain the upper hand!"
[Bang—]
[A punch swung out like a whip-kick.]
[Kensumi Sumi's body displayed an unusual flexibility.]
[Dosu sneered repeatedly.]
"You talk as if you're certain to beat me."
"How boring. I thought I'd get to meet Uchiha Sasuke early."
"Whatever."
[Thud—]
[He raised his arm to block.]
[Seeing this, a flash of cruelty appeared in Kensumi Sumi's eyes.]
[Swish, swish, swish—]
[In the next second, everyone's expressions changed slightly.]
[They saw Kensumi Sumi's arm, like a snake, constantly extending and then wrapping around Dosu's arm.]
[Dosu was startled.]
[Kensumi Sumi took the opportunity to move behind Dosu.]
[His hands and feet all softened, wrapping around Dosu's limbs like snakes.]
[At the same time, one arm wrapped around Dosu's neck.]
[His entire body... had completely lost its human shape.]
[This was Kensumi Sumi's ability.]
[Softening his body and being able to extend it freely.]
[His whole body was a weapon.]
"I can dislocate all the joints in my body."
"And then use Chakra to manipulate this flexible body."
"If you don't give up, I'll wrap tighter and tighter!"
"Surrender."
"I can easily snap your neck."
[The battle situation changed too quickly.]
[It was only one round.]
[Seeing this, although everyone was somewhat taken aback, they knew the battle was over.]
[However, Kin still stood with her arms crossed, unconcerned.]
"Is that so?"
[Dosu sneered.]
[Kensumi Sumi frowned slightly, sensing something was wrong.]
[Dosu forced his head around to look at him.]
"Surrender."
"This is the opportunity you created for me yourself."
[As he spoke, Dosu's arm, which was wrapped by Kensumi Sumi and pressed against Misumi's ear, moved slightly.]
[Hum—]
[The sound wave device on his arm lightly touched the Konoha forehead protector on Kensumi Sumi's forehead.]
"Resonating Echo Drill."
[Kensumi Sumi's eyes widened.]
[A close-range sound wave attack... it even resonated with his forehead protector.]
"I... I surrender~!!!"
[Kensumi Sumi looked at Gekkō Hayate in the distance.]
[Before he could finish his words.]
[His eyes rolled back, and thin streams of crimson blood leaked from his ears.]
"Oh my~"
"The bones inside your ears don't seem soft enough~"
[Dosu laughed cruelly.]
[Gekkō Hayate: "..."]
['Good thing I didn't move; I was almost ready to stop the fight just now.']
[Glancing at the unconscious Kensumi Sumi, Gekkō Hayate announced the match result:]
"The match cannot continue."
"Winner: Dosu."
[The battle ended very quickly.]
[Dosu didn't even spare a glance at Kensumi Sumi.]
[He turned and walked toward the second-floor balcony.]
[During this, he looked provocatively at Sasuke.]
[Sasuke naturally ignored him.]
[Such a small fry was truly unable to pique his interest.]
"Cough, cough... Now, for the next match."
[Gekkō Hayate coughed twice.]
[Then, he turned around.]
[Indeed, he did not look up at the large screen in the dojo.]
[Instead, he looked undisguisedly at the Strongest Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.]
[This scene left everyone speechless.]
[Uh... brother, do you really not want to see tomorrow's sun?]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: "..."]
[Asuma Sarutobi: "..."]
[Sensing the questioning look in Gekkō Hayate's eyes.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was extremely unsightly.]
[But at this moment, he still had to maintain his persona.]
[Especially... in front of Naruto.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath.]
[He chuckled and said, "The results will be on the screen shortly."]
[Hearing this, Gekkō Hayate nodded, his expression unchanged.]
[He looked up.]
[He saw that on the large screen, the name on the left had already been fixed.]
Uzumaki Naruto.
[Oh?!]
[Everyone looked up.]
"Naruto-kun?!"
[Beep, beep, beep—]
[Soon, the name on the right was also fixed.]
Inuzuka Kiba!
[Inside the Sealing Space, the Great Fox's lips curled slightly.]
[The several Anbu Ninjas responsible for the rigging exchanged glances, thinking of Lady Fox's words, but the target was Naruto...]
[After hesitating for a few seconds, they finally made the change obediently.]
[Ding—]
[Inuzuka Kiba's name flickered...]
[Hidden Sand Village Genin: Temari.]
[Fourth Round—]
Uzumaki Naruto vs Temari