Five days had passed, and only twenty-six teams, including Daniel's, had successfully completed the exam. All those who passed stood in the hall, anticipation buzzing in the air. Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, stood before them, ready to address the gathered genin.
"Welcome to the Chunin Exams," he began, his voice carrying authority. "You have all trained hard to get here, and now is your chance to prove yourselves. Remember, this is not just a test of your abilities, but also of your character. Show us what you are capable of..."
As Hiruzen continued his speech, the genin stood in excitement and anticipation. Daniel, however, found it hard to stay focused. "That was one hell of a speech," he thought, yawning internally.
"I will now explain to you the third exam," Hiruzen said, and the mood in the room shifted as more people started paying attention.
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Isn't the point of this to select a Chunin?" Naruto protested, echoing his sentiments from the original story when Hiruzen spoke about the exams being a miniature war between the allied lands.
"Forgive my intrusion, Lord Hokage, but..." Hayate interrupted the Hokage's speech.
"Haa. Finally," Daniel murmured, relieved.
"Before we start the exam, there is a preliminary exam," Hayate announced, causing a small ruckus among the applicants.
"Preliminaries!" Shikamaru protested, his voice filled with exasperation.
"Well, to be blunt, there's a little bit too much of you, and according to traditional rules, when there are too many participants, we hold prelims to reduce the numbers," Hayate explained, quieting the crowd but creating tension and anxiety among them.
"Okay, good. Now, those who don't feel like they're up to the challenge can step forward before we begin," Hayate noted.
"Wait, we start now?" Kiba commented, startled.
Amidst a small pause in silence, Kabuto raised his hand, indicating his decision to drop out. This disappointed Naruto a little, just as in the original story.
"I see one person is dropping out. The rest of you can wait there as we call out the names of the participants," Hayate said, drawing their attention to the screen above. The names flashed: 'Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi.'
The screen above displayed the names: 'Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi.' The room buzzed with anticipation as the first match of the preliminaries was about to begin. Sasuke stepped forward, his expression determined, while Yoroi smirked confidently.
"Good luck, Sasuke," Naruto called out, his voice filled with encouragement.
"Be careful," Sakura added, her concern evident.
Sasuke wary of his curse mark and recalling what Kakashi told him in not using his Sharingan, he rubbed his neck as he weighted the approach he should take. "Begin!"
Yoroi's hand glowed with chakra as he prepared to launch an attack. He threw a couple shuriken with Sasuke barely evading falling to the ground.
"He's fast," Sasuke thought, his mind racing, as Yoroi swiftly closed the distance while Sasuke was on the ground throwing a heavy punch. Sasuke rolled as he used the momentum of his roll to trip Yaroi as he grabbed his arm pinning him down.
Sasuke winced, feeling his energy being sapped away. "Damn it," he muttered, pulling back and creating distance between them. He knew he had to end the fight quickly before Yoroi could drain more of his chakra.
Seeing Sasuke weakened Yaroi charged as he grabbed Sasuke's head and continuing to drain his chakra in a struggle Sasuke kicked Yoroi to create distance.
Sasuke gritted his teeth, feeling his strength waning. "I can't keep this up," he thought, desperation creeping in. Just then, he remembered "I'll use that"
Yoroi charged again bent on completely draining Sasuke's chakra, as he closed the distance Sasuke kicked Yoroi on his chin sending him flying up "Lion Combo!" he shouted, launching into a series of rapid attacks.
Yoroi struggled to keep up, each strike from Sasuke landing with precision. The final blow sent Yoroi crashing to the ground, unable to move. Sasuke stood over him, breathing heavily but victorious.
"The winner is Uchiha Sasuke," Hayate announced.
Exhaustion caught up with Sasuke glanced at his teammates, who were cheering for him. He allowed himself a small smile, but his mind was already on the next challenge. The preliminaries had just begun, and he knew the road ahead would only get tougher.
Rewrite this to the format of a light novel ' The preliminaries unfolded just as they had in the original tale. Shino's battle against Zaku was a spectacle of strategy and skill, each move calculated and precise. The crowd watched in awe as the match reached its climax, with Shino emerging victorious.
Now, the atmosphere in the arena shifted. All eyes turned to the next contenders: Naruto and Kiba. Naruto's usual carefree demeanor was replaced with a look of fierce concentration, while Kiba, with Akamaru by his side, exuded confidence.
"You're going down, Naruto!" Kiba taunted, his sharp eyes gleaming with determination.
Naruto clenched his fists, a determined grin spreading across his face. "We'll see about that, Kiba!"
The proctor signaled the start of the match, and Kiba wasted no time. He and Akamaru charged at Naruto, their movements synchronized perfectly. Naruto unlike in the original was more calm, he react to Kiba's advance, dodging and giving Kiba a back kick sending him sprawling.
Standing up, Kiba dusted himself, "Lucky shot. I'm just getting started!"
With a burst of chakra, Naruto created multiple shadow clones, surrounding Kiba and Akamaru. The arena was filled with identical Narutos, each one ready to fight. Kiba's eyes narrowed as he tried to discern the real one.
"Akamaru, let's show them our strength!" Kiba shouted. Akamaru transformed into a clone of Kiba, and the two launched into their Fang Over Fang technique, spinning like drills and tearing through the clones.
Naruto watched, his mind racing. He needed a plan. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He transformed into Akamaru, blending in with the chaos. Kiba, unable to tell the difference, attacked his own partner by mistake.
"Gotcha!" Naruto reverted to his original form and landed a solid punch on Kiba, sending him reeling.
Kiba growled, his frustration mounting. "You're not going to win, Naruto!" He lunged again, but Naruto was ready. Thinking he got the real one Kiba sneaked up on Naruto only for him to puff in smoke.
Kiba held in confusion, Naruto seized the opportunity, gathering his his chakra to his fist. "Take this!", his fist connecting with Kiba's lower back "Uzumaki fist"a he yelled as on connection Kiba was struck by an impact force knocking him out cold.
The arena fell silent for a moment. Naruto stood victorious, panting as grinned from ear to ear.
"Akimichi Choji vs Daniel Mohale" the next match was announced