#64 - Chapter 64: Konoha's New Golden Flash Preliminary
The expressions of most of the examinees who watched Naruto's fight and their Jonin instructors became serious.
Because after this battle, they could see that Rock Lee's strength was definitely not weak!
That kind of speed would give even ordinary Jonin a headache.
But such a person couldn't even manage to injure Naruto when facing him!
He couldn't even touch him!
This guy named Uzumaki Naruto was unbelievably fast, he was simply – Konoha's new Yellow Flash!
“Gaara, are you confident in dealing with that guy?” The Sand Village Jonin, Maki, asked, looking at Gaara, who was trembling slightly.
But the response he received was Gaara's morbid and excited gaze.
Even Maki couldn't help but drip cold sweat when he saw this look.
Although he felt that he might not be able to win against Naruto, Gaara was different after all... he had that guy inside him.
After Naruto's match ended, the remaining examinees were only Hyuga Neji, Inuzuka Kiba, Gaara, and Yakushi Kabuto!
As the names on the electronic bulletin board jumped, the matchup list for the remaining two matches quickly appeared.
Hyuga Neji versus Inuzuka Kiba!
Gaara versus Yakushi Kabuto!
“It's finally our turn to go on stage, Akamaru!”
“Woof!”
Naruto glanced at the inexplicably excited Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.
This guy doesn't think he can be Neji's opponent, does he?
Two minutes later, Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru fell to the ground in an extremely miserable state.
The duo didn't even use Fang Passing Fang before being dealt with by Neji's Gentle Fist.
“The eighth match is over, Hyuga Neji wins!”
“......”
Looking at Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru returning with their tails between their legs, Naruto was speechless.
They were so high-spirited when they went on stage, but they were so embarrassed when they were instantly defeated!
With the end of the eighth match, only the final preliminary match remained.
And when Gaara, with a face full of murderous intent, met Yakushi Kabuto, who had a friendly smile, the result was...
“I give up!”
Hayate Gekko had just announced the start of the match when Yakushi Kabuto raised his hand and withdrew from the match.
And the reason for giving up was very simple, he felt that he was not Gaara's opponent.
Although some people felt ashamed of Yakushi Kabuto's behavior, this reason barely made Yakushi Kabuto's withdrawal from the competition a little more reasonable.
However, because Yakushi Kabuto had repeatedly withdrawn from the Chunin Exams, he still attracted the attention of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
“I've seen that person several times already. He also withdrew from the exam last time. What exactly is he thinking?” Hiruzen Sarutobi looked puzzled.
“Hey... Anko.” Ibiki Morino reminded Anko, who was still stunned.
“Oh... yes!”
Anko Mitarashi hurriedly took out the register and flipped to Yakushi Kabuto's page, “Yakushi Kabuto, according to the information, he has failed the Chunin Exams for six consecutive times.”
“What is his background?” Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression became serious as he looked at Anko Mitarashi.
“He performed very ordinarily as a student, barely passing the graduation exam after three attempts. After that, he completed 2 C-rank missions and 14 D-rank missions, with no particularly noteworthy combat experience. However...” Anko Mitarashi hesitated.
“However, what?” Hiruzen Sarutobi pressed.
“However, before he went to school, do you still remember? The boy who was brought back in that Battle of Kikyo Mountain,” Anko Mitarashi said in a deep voice.
“I see, is it him?” Hiruzen Sarutobi asked as if remembering something, “I remember he was adopted by our medical Jonin. What was the name of that medical Jonin, and how is he now?”
“Nono Yakushi, sacrificed.”
The heavy answer made Hiruzen Sarutobi silent for a long time, until Hayate Gekko stepped forward to break it.
“Lord Hokage, a total of 9 people have passed this preliminary round. According to the rules of the third exam, one person will have a bye. What do you think?”
“A bye...”
Hiruzen Sarutobi bit his pipe and thought for a while, “There can be no bye in the third exam. Choose one from the examinees who failed the preliminary round to participate in the third exam.”
“Choose from the people who failed the preliminary round?”
Hayate Gekko looked at the list of those who failed the preliminary round and said with some difficulty, “Akado Yoroi, Zaku, Tsurugi Misumi, Haruno Sakura, Tenten, Kin, Rock Lee, Inuzuka Kiba, Yakushi Kabuto, a total of nine people. If we randomly choose one from them, I'm afraid it will cause dissatisfaction among the others.”
“First ask if any of them want to give up. If they still want to participate in the later exams, let them compete again,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
“Okay...”
Hayate Gekko, who took on this difficult task, gathered the nine failed examinees and asked them if they wanted to give up.
In the end, Haruno Sakura, Yakushi Kabuto, and Tenten all chose to give up!
That left six people out of the nine!
Choosing one out of six was still quite difficult, but the situation became clearer after they fought another match.
Akado Yoroi vs. Zaku, Zaku wins!
Tsurugi Misumi vs. Kin, Kin wins!
Rock Lee vs. Inuzuka Kiba, Rock Lee wins!
Then Rock Lee defeated Kin and Zaku again, passing five levels and defeating six generals to enter the third exam, becoming the tenth person to participate in the third exam!
This preliminary round took longer than expected, and Naruto didn't expect that there would be a preliminary round within the preliminary round!
He remembered that the original preliminary round also ended with nine people passing, but the number was not increased. Instead, one group completed the match first, and then competed with another person...
To be honest, this kind of rule is unfair. After all, one person has to fight twice in a row, which consumes a lot of that person's chakra and stamina.
If it weren't for Dosu trying to find Gaara to court death, Shikamaru might not have had the chance to become a Chunin.
I wonder why the preliminary round changed this time... Could it be because Rock Lee wasn't seriously injured?
“Congratulations on passing this preliminary round, but there is still a month before the official third exam begins!” Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
“A month? Why so long?”
“It's to have enough time to invite the daimyo and famous people who are about to come to watch the competition, and also to give you more time to prepare.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a deep voice, “In the previous preliminary round, you didn't know the abilities of your opponents, but in the next competition, you will know yourself and your enemy. You can use this month to improve yourself and conduct targeted training against the opponents you already know! To increase your chances of winning.”
Hearing this, many examinees looked at Naruto and Gaara.
One of these two had never made a move, and the other's move was equivalent to no move at all, so there was no way to target them!
“Then next, we will draw lots.”
After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, Anko Mitarashi walked towards them holding a box.
“Come, come, come, one sheet per person, no extra!”
From left to right, each examinee drew one of them, and soon it was Naruto's turn.
“Little Naruto, congratulations on passing the preliminary round~” Anko Mitarashi winked at Naruto.
Naruto rolled his eyes at her, said 'thank you', and then expressionlessly took a piece of paper from the box and opened it – 7!
