Chapter 125: The Preliminaries BeginAlthough the Third Hokage felt a bit displeased, he couldn't lash out in front of so many people. He could only feign patience as he replied, "Haha, it seems you haven't been listening to me very carefully!""I said it at the very beginning! I don't want you to misinterpret the true meaning of this exam. The custom of maintaining a state of balance through life-and-death combat is what passes for friendship in the Shinobi world.""I know you are still young, so what I'm saying might be a bit profound for you. But since you've chosen to become Ninjas, it's necessary for me to tell you about the cruelty of the Shinobi world in advance.""This is a life-and-death battle involving your own dreams and the prestige of your respective Villages."At this moment, another person appeared who didn't give Hiruzen any face. Gaara spoke impatiently and in an extremely rude tone, "What are you doing over there with all that nonsense? Hurry up and state the rules for the third round of the exams!"Just as the Third Hokage's face was beginning to look strained, a Konoha Ninja jumped out, knelt on one knee, and said, "Hokage-sama, please forgive my rudeness, but I will announce the rules to them from here on!"This Ninja looked quite handsome, but he appeared very frail. He had dark circles under his eyes and coughed constantly, looking as if he suffered from a kidney deficiency. This person was the official referee for the third round, Gekkō Hayate.He turned around and said to the crowd, "I don't know if the first and second rounds this year were too easy... *cough cough*... or if your batch is generally very strong... *cough cough*... but it has resulted in so many people showing up here.""As Hokage-sama just said... *cough cough*... many important figures will come for the actual third round of matches, and they don't have that much time to watch the games.""Therefore, we must conduct a selection to reduce the numbers, so that the third round of competition can be completed within a single day... *cough cough*.""It's still not too late to withdraw now. Does anyone wish to do so?"As soon as his voice fell, two people raised their hands: Shizune and Robin. They did this because Naruto had arranged it; he didn't want the two of them involved in these useless battles, frankly being somewhat afraid they might get hurt.And it didn't end there. While everyone was still in shock, two more people raised their hands to withdraw. The crowd looked over and was even more surprised, because one was Yakushi Kabuto, and the other was actually the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hinata!Yakushi Kabuto's withdrawal was naturally arranged by Orochimaru, while Hinata gave up because Naruto had requested it. Naruto didn't want his designated wife to be beaten up here.Since these four people gave up the match, they had to leave the stage. After they left, Gekkō Hayate asked several more times until he confirmed no one else was withdrawing. Coughing, he said, "I announce that the third round preliminaries of the Chunin Exams officially begin.""The following preliminaries will be one-on-one individual battles, meaning you will fight in a real combat format. There are exactly twenty people left, making a total of ten rounds of combat.""The winner of each round will advance to the third exam. Remember, there are no rules. It continues until one side falls or dies, or until one side admits defeat.""*Cough cough*... If you don't want to die yet, please admit defeat immediately! However, if I judge that the outcome is already clear... *cough cough*...""Because I also don't want to increase the body count, I will enter the field to stop the match. Now, the thing that holds your fate is..."At this point, Gekkō Hayate turned to look at Anko. The latter nodded and spoke into the microphone at her mouth, "Open it."As soon as she spoke, a panel on the front wall of the hall slowly rose, revealing a large screen. Gekkō Hayate said, "This is it. On this Electronic Bulletin Board, the two sides for each round will be randomly displayed.""The names of the two contestants will appear there. Well then, it's about to begin! Now, I will announce the names for the first round."As Gekkō Hayate finished speaking, the large screen immediately began to scroll, with the names of the twenty people constantly flashing across it.When it stopped, the two names displayed on the screen were Uchiha Sasuke and Akado Yoroi.Akado Yoroi was one of Orochimaru's subordinates, and he was merely a pawn. But all pawns and small fry share a common trait: they are unaware of their own status.Seeing that his opponent was the target chosen by Lord Orochimaru, Akado Yoroi was extremely excited. He secretly resolved to kill Sasuke during the match so that Lord Orochimaru would value him more.Alas, it must be said that some things are inevitable; when someone is bent on seeking their own death, there's no stopping them.Only a few among these people could actually pose a threat to Sasuke. However, he didn't think that way. In Sasuke's heart, everyone except Naruto was trash.He walked out with a look of indifference. For him, as long as the opponent wasn't Naruto, he didn't care who it was.Gekkō Hayate had everyone go upstairs, leaving the entire floor below to the two of them. Soon, their battle began.Right at the start, Akado Yoroi threw two Kunai. Using them as cover, he condensed Chakra in his hands and rushed forward at high speed, attempting to grab Sasuke.But with his speed and such small tricks, how could it be possible? Sasuke dodged with a few flashes, moving at a speed invisible to the naked eye.Akado Yoroi's specialty Ninjutsu was the Chakra Absorption Technique. Just as its name implied, it could absorb the opponent's Chakra, but his hand had to make contact with the enemy.But now, he couldn't even touch the hem of Sasuke's clothes, let alone anything else. So he stood in place and began to think of a counter-strategy.Looking at the Chakra condensed in Akado Yoroi's hands, Sasuke quickly saw through the trick. He smiled slightly, moved directly in front of him, and grabbed the opponent's neck.Afterward, Sasuke said very arrogantly, "It seems your technique is capable of absorbing other people's Chakra! I didn't snap your neck directly just to give you a chance.""Hurry up and absorb! Let me see just how far you can go!"Facing such humiliation, Akado Yoroi found it hard to accept. "You will pay the price for your arrogance!" He grabbed Sasuke's arms with both hands and began to absorb his Chakra.Sasuke felt it for a moment and suddenly found it boring again, but soon he seemed to think of something fun, and a wicked smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
