The Completely Changed Preliminaries
Four days later, Chunin Exams, pre-selection round, arena.
"Lin Ke, Lin Ke!"
Uzumaki Naruto shouted as he rushed over, looking quite disheveled, indicating he had been through a lot.
However, he was still full of energy, showing no signs of fatigue.
Lin Ke's eyes scanned all the examinees who had passed through the Death Forest, but Yakushi Kabuto's group was missing. After Yakushi Kabuto's exposure, his teammates Akado Yoroi and Tsurugi Misumi had also mysteriously disappeared—
Either they fled or were silenced.
Originally, there were seven groups, totaling twenty-one people, in the pre-selection round. Yakushi Kabuto withdrew, leaving only eighteen people now, so—
Wait, where are Yuan Wei and Xia?
Lin Ke's expression darkened. Uchiha Sasuke, clutching his neck, walked over and whispered the answer, "They were eliminated in the first written test."
"..."
If he remembered correctly, the first exam was in groups of three. If one person was caught cheating too many times or raised their hand to withdraw, their teammates would also be...
He somewhat helplessly accepted the fact that his two teammates hadn't even passed the first written test, and then asked, "What happened to your neck?"
Uchiha Sasuke moved his hand, revealing the familiar Cursed Seal, and said, "We encountered a guy named Orochimaru in the Death Forest, and he left this on me..."
"He mentioned you." He hesitated slightly.
"He came looking for me before too." Lin Ke wasn't surprised. "He's a rogue ninja on the village's S-class wanted list."
He activated the Mystical Palm Technique and pressed it onto Sasuke's neck, suppressing the active Cursed Seal Chakra inside, and said, "What he left on you is a Forbidden Technique called the Cursed Seal."
"This Cursed Seal seems to react to my Chakra." Uchiha Sasuke felt the suddenly calmed Cursed Seal and the disappearing pain, and said in a low voice, "Whenever I gather Chakra, it tries to seize my consciousness..."
Uzumaki Naruto listened from the side, seemingly understanding but still nodding along, which was truly hard to bear.
"Sasuke, Naruto, the proctors are here!" Haruno Sakura called from a distance, waving her hand.
Not only the proctors, but also the Konoha Village's Jonin leaders, the Third Hokage, and the Jonin leaders from the allied countries.
"I can only temporarily suppress it to prevent it from continuing to cause pain." Lin Ke felt the abnormal flow of fluid on his palm and said calmly, "If you don't want to lose consciousness, try not to gather too much Chakra before I completely deal with it..."
Does that mean I can only use Taijutsu?
Uchiha Sasuke nodded, turned around, and walked towards the group with Uzumaki Naruto, without thanking him, but both his expression and tone were more casual, like treating a friend.
Hatake Kakashi, who had been eavesdropping nearby, walked over and said strangely, "Sasuke's matter, I'm leaving it to you."
It had been more than four days, and this guy had long heard about Mitarashi Anko's Cursed Seal being resolved, so he said this with great relief.
However, for some reason, Lin Ke felt a strange hint of jealousy in his tone...
Must be my imagination?
"First of all, congratulations to you..." After the examinees who passed the second exam gathered, the Third Hokage began his speech.
Even though it was a very serious speech, Mitarashi Anko insisted on winking at him.
Lin Ke wordlessly avoided her gaze, and then saw Asuma with a smile on his face and Yuhi Kurenai smiling beside him. Even Might Guy gave him a thumbs up.
Well, it seemed that he had unknowingly built up quite a network among the Jonin of Konoha Village.
Only Hatake Kakashi, for some reason, looked at him with a strange expression that was hard to decipher.
Soon, the sickly Hayate Gekko jumped out and announced that there would be a pre-selection round, with eighteen people competing one-on-one to determine the winners.
The first pair of combatants was quickly selected: Uchiha Sasuke from Konoha Village VS Kin Tsuchi, a female ninja from the Sound Ninja Village.
"Now, please the two whose names appear above, come forward..." Hayate Gekko said weakly.
Uchiha Sasuke walked forward with a confident smile. Even if he could only use Taijutsu, he didn't think he would lose, especially since his opponent was a woman he had encountered in the Death Forest.
Kin Tsuchi walked forward, seemingly nonchalant, but her slightly hurried breathing and evasive eyes showed that she was very nervous.
She was already like this before the fight even started, so the result was naturally as expected. Uchiha Sasuke easily won. After being specially trained by Lin Ke, his Taijutsu level had slightly increased, but the most important thing was that his physical fitness had improved by leaps and bounds. Even without gathering a large amount of Chakra to use ninjutsu and activate the Sharingan, his pure Taijutsu combat was enough to crush a Genin.
It should be known that it took Yuan Wei and Xia nearly three months to reach this level, but he only took half a month...
His genius was a bit too unreasonable.
"Next match, Haruno Sakura VS Yamanaka Ino." The pre-selection round proceeded in an orderly manner.
The second group saw Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino both faint and drop out.
The subsequent matches completely deviated from the manga, heading towards a strange storyline.
In the third group, Uzumaki Naruto inexplicably achieved victory after exchanging a few moves with a blushing Hyuga Hinata.
In the fourth group, Tenten lost to Nara Shikamaru.
In the fifth group, Inuzuka Kiba lost to Temari.
In the sixth group, Rock Lee defeated Zaku Abumi from the Sound Ninja Village.
In the seventh group, Aburame Shino defeated Kankuro, who hadn't given his all.
In the eighth group, Akimichi Choji, just like in the manga, lost to Dosu Kinuta.
And then, next up was—
"Shua!"
Gaara appeared on the field with a Sand Body Flicker, forming a hand seal in front of his chest with one hand, his eyes filled with indifference. "Come down."
"Looks like we're the only ones left." Hyuga Neji jumped down, full of confidence.
"Do your best! Neji!" Rock Lee shouted from above.
Originally, according to the normal storyline, he should have been lying down, deemed unfit to be a ninja.
[So noisy…]
Gaara's gaze drifted to the second floor, his killing intent causing sand to gradually flow across the ground.
"Alright, the match begins." Hayate Gekko announced and disappeared.
[Byakugan… Open!]
Veins bulged around Hyuga Neji's eyes, turning them a bluish-white color, with faint black pupils appearing within.
[This guy's Chakra is amazing, and, the sand is completely covered in Chakra…]
[A ninjutsu that manipulates sand?]
[His body surface is completely covered in Chakra… Ordinary people can only release Chakra from their hands, feet, and mouth, only the Hyuga can release Chakra from their entire body, so is it a special defensive ninjutsu? So I have to find a way to break through the defensive ninjutsu before I can attack him with Gentle Fist…]
He calmly assessed his opponent, displaying the full effect of the Byakugan.
"Your eyes…" Gaara raised his hand, "are annoying."
"Shua!"
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