Naruto composed himself. As Sasuke lay unconscious after being defeated, Naruto emerged proudly, and when he returned, he was carrying the "Heavenly Scroll."
Sasuke and Sakura, who had regained consciousness, initially thought he had stolen the scroll from another team by himself. However, they did not expect it to have been obtained from a previous version of Naruto himself.
Afterward, they gathered the "Earth Scroll" and headed directly to the central tower.
It didn't take long before they encountered the representative Kabuto on the path.
Unfortunately, Kabuto, who had intended to observe Sasuke's condition during the battle, found no opportunity, as many other teams had already been defeated by a previous version of Naruto.
Soon, Team 7 arrived at the central tower and entered. After simultaneously opening the Earth Scroll, Naruto summoned Iruka, who had been waiting for them.
Iruka encouraged them and explained the inscriptions on the wall that warned of the third Hokage's words for the new participants in the Chūnin Exams.
Then, Naruto and the others entered the "Bido Hall."
...
Meanwhile, Kabuto, the representative, chose to enter through another door and spoke to Orochimaru, who was waiting for him, with suspicion:
"Lord Orochimaru, something unusual seems to be happening in the 'Forest of Death.' Many teams have been eliminated in a strange manner, yet the scrolls they held have not disappeared."
Orochimaru nodded with a grim expression and said, "I've noticed this situation as well, but I haven't been able to locate the killer. It seems that the collapse of Konoha this time will be quite exciting."
...
As in the original plot, Mitarashi Anko had discovered Orochimaru and was defeated by him before reporting this terrifying information to the third Hokage.
At the same time, the third Hokage had arrived at the central tower and dispatched a large number of Anbu ninjas to search for Orochimaru in the "Forest of Death."
Although they couldn't find Orochimaru, they discovered that many teams had been destroyed in an unnatural way.
After receiving this information, the third Hokage pondered briefly. He suspected that Orochimaru was behind it, but didn't fully understand his goal.
"Ah, it seems Konoha is about to experience a difficult period!" sighed the third Hokage, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Any news of Jiraiya?" the third Hokage asked a nearby Anbu ninja.
"We found Lord Jiraiya, and we are trying to convince him to return to Konoha," replied the Anbu ninja, kneeling.
"I hope Jiraiya arrives in time," the third Hokage murmured, puffing on his pipe, his eyes filled with uncertainty.
"Sir Hokage, in the 'Forest of Death,' the only survivor is a red-haired girl from the 'Kawa-Yin' village. The remaining teams have already entered the central tower. Should we start the third exam early?"
Mitarashi Anko asked.
The third Hokage thought for a moment and nodded, saying:
"Then let's start early, and wrap things up quickly so we can search for Orochimaru and prepare properly."
...
Team 7 and the other teams that had successfully reached the central tower gathered in the "Bido Hall."
Naruto counted those around him. There were four teams out of the 12 small teams, including his own, Gaara's, and Kabuto's teams—six teams in total, with 18 Genin standing there.
There were also Jonin and other supervisors standing nearby.
"Now, the third exam will be explained by Lord Hokage!" Mitarashi Anko said to the Genin.
The third Hokage stepped forward, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked seriously at the Genin, saying:
"The third exam will begin now. Before we proceed, I want to clarify something important about this exam."
"The purpose of our joint exam with our allies is for friendly cooperation and mutual development, but if you think that is the goal, you are terribly mistaken."
"In fact, the true goal of this exam is to showcase the battle between the allies!"
"From a historical perspective, our allies are neighbors embroiled in continuous wars. Later, to avoid these ongoing wars, they chose this method."
Many of the Genin were in turmoil. In their view of the world, there was no concept of war, and they never expected that the Chūnin Exams, which they thought would be a display of strength, would actually be related to wars between countries.
"This exam is not just about selecting Chūnin; it's also a test for the ninjas representing their countries and fighting for them."
"In the upcoming third exam, there will be many parties involved, including big names and famous figures, who will come to watch your battles."
"Strong villages will receive more missions, while weaker villages will get fewer."
"At the same time, this is also a declaration of strength and potential to the other nations."
Many of the Genin felt uneasy hearing this.
Inuzuka Kaja asked loudly: "So why do we have to fight seriously?"
The third Hokage continued in a deep voice:
"Because the strength of a country is the strength of the ninja village, and the strength of a ninja village is the strength of its ninjas. Only through desperate battles will you reveal your true strength."
"In other words, this Chūnin exam is a stage for each ninja village to show their power to the others! It won't mean anything unless you fight for your lives!"
After the third Hokage finished speaking, the hall fell into silence.
Only Gaara murmured: "Then hurry up and start this exam that costs our lives."
The third Hokage, with a grim expression, said, "Alright, I'll begin presenting it now... Aahhh."
He pretended to cough, and immediately, Hayate Gekkō, the referee, appeared and kneeled before him, saying:
"Sorry, Lord Hokage, I'll be the referee for the upcoming exam."
The third Hokage nodded in approval. "Alright, it's up to you."
Hayate Gekkō stood, his eyes sunken, as if suffering from tuberculosis, and he coughed heavily before saying to the Genin:
"The remaining number of contestants is small, so we need to do a preliminary elimination to reduce the number of contestants for the third exam. After all, the important figures who will come to watch the matches have precious time, and we can't afford to delay the matches. There must be time limits."
Some of the Genin were unhappy hearing this. They had put in so much effort to get here and didn't expect to undergo any preliminary eliminations.
Hayate Gekkō ignored their complaints and continued:
"Aahhh, is there anyone who feels unwell and wants to withdraw? Aahhh."
Everyone frowned when they heard that. It seemed that the person who was unwell was "Hayate Gekkō" himself.
Naruto also looked on indifferently. Wasn't there anyone else in Konoha? Why was this sickly person chosen to be the referee?
He didn't know what was so special about Uzui Shian. He didn't seem attractive, his body was weak, and his strength wasn't impressive.
After Hayate Gekkō finished speaking, Kabuto, the representative, raised his hand and said: "I want to withdraw. I feel unwell now, and I don't think I can participate in the upcoming battle."
After saying this, he turned and left without hesitation.
The third Hokage glared at Kabuto and muttered, "I've seen him here several times before!"
Mitarashi Anko quickly flipped through Kabuto's file.
The representative Kabuto had taken the Chūnin exam six times, but each time he withdrew midway, and his performance in the ninja school and after graduation was mediocre.
The third Hokage heard these words and stared at Kabuto's back for a few moments before nodding.
Naruto understood what Kabuto was thinking. His mission of gathering information had been completed, and he would defect from Konoha in the next phase, so he didn't care about what Konoha would investigate against him.
After Kabuto's withdrawal, Sakura continued to try to convince Sasuke to withdraw from the exam, having been disturbed by the strange curse mark.
Anko, on the platform, also wanted to force Sasuke to withdraw to protect him. She didn't believe Sasuke, who had gained Orochimaru's power, could continue.
However, this suggestion was rejected by both Kakashi and the third Hokage.
With a grim look, Sasuke stared at Naruto, who was standing in front of him, and then fell silent for a moment before stopping Sakura's small attempt to convince him.
He believed that after gaining Orochimaru's power, he would gradually become stronger and be able to find Itachi for revenge. But he hadn't expected that he couldn't even defeat Naruto.
This made him feel frustrated and angry, and he coldly said to Sakura:
"Don't worry about it! I have to say, I'm the avenger. The most important thing for me in this exam is to fight against other ninjas to prove my strength!"
Sakura showed sadness on her face.
"Aahhh, then, is there anyone else who wants to withdraw? If not, we'll begin the elimination soon!" asked Hayate Gekkō.
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