Ibiki Morino returned to the Tower inside the Forest of Death. After locating Anko Mitarashi, he accompanied her and a group of proctors outside the Tower.
Uzumaki Sōnagi immediately realized upon seeing Ibiki Morino and Anko Mitarashi approaching with their team that his plans to eliminate lower-ranked Genin would now be impossible.
Putting on an act, he sneered mockingly, "Well well, if it isn't our esteemed examiners? Looking for me? What's up?"
Anko Mitarashi glared coldly, "You actually have the nerve to ask? Right now, you and your teammates are to return to the Tower! If you don't, the three of you will be disqualified!"
Sōnagi replied sarcastically, "Tsk tsk, we were only collecting scrolls. Is Konoha really this bad at playing fair?"
"You little brat really know how to push buttons!"
Anko Mitarashi rolled up her sleeve, clearly ready to fight.
Unfazed, Sōnagi egged her on, "What's wrong? Can't handle the heat and want to start swinging? Come on then, let me see just how shameless you Leaf ninjas can be."
Anko Mitarashi flushed red with anger. She had initially only wanted to scare him a bit, but now she genuinely wanted to punch him.
Ibiki Morino stepped forward to block her, "Enough already."
Turning serious, he addressed Sōnagi, "You're deliberately disrupting the exam order. Your strength is clearly far beyond the Genin rank, yet you chose to enter as one. We could overlook that, but what we cannot accept is you actively eliminating other examinees through unfair means.
You're to enter the Tower immediately. We won't impose punishment this time — consider this a warning. But continue down this path and you'll face immediate disqualification for deliberate sabotage."
Sōnagi shrugged, "Fine, fine, I should've known better than to bother showing up here in the first place. I may be young, but I'm clearly cut out for the Genin rank. If you weren't ready for real competition, you shouldn't have held the exam at all. Kimimaro Kaguya, Jugo Tenbin, come back inside with me before they kick us out."
Hearing this, Kimimaro Kaguya and Jugo Tenbin rejoined Sōnagi, walking arrogantly into the Tower behind him.
At this point, even Ibiki Morino and the proctors behind him were visibly twitching with frustration.
That little punk was just insufferable.
Inside the Tower, Sōnagi's team handed over their scroll to an examiner. Their registration confirmed, they had officially cleared the first round.
They also reunited with Sakon's trio.
Kidomaru smirked, "Took you long enough."
Sōnagi puffed his cheeks, "Don't get smug. We could've gotten here earlier if we cared, but waiting around for five whole days? That's just dead boring. We needed a little fun — took out a bunch of teams out there.
Sigh… two more days left. There might still be many who make it through. Another elimination round — what a pain in the ass."
Tayuya shrugged coolly, "More rounds? Whatever. Easy work, either way."
Uzumaki Sōnagi shook his head. "This place is damp and stifling, with nothing decent to eat, swarming with mosquitoes—this dump! You actually like staying here?"
Tayuya replied naturally, "Obviously we don't like it, but there's nothing we can do about it. If there's no alternative, we just have to accept things as they are. Whining never gets you anywhere anyway."
Uzumaki Sōnagi sighed, "You're right. These Konoha guys really are a pain in the neck. They don't even realize I'm helping them out. Why not knock off early for once?"
...
One day remained until the final deadline.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had already arrived at the Tower ahead of time.
Hiruzen asked, "How many teams have passed so far?"
Anko Mitarashi responded, "Five teams totaling fifteen people have passed. Probably about three more teams will make it by the end of tomorrow."
Hiruzen continued, "How many Konoha ninja have passed? Do you have a list?"
"I do."
Ibiki Morino handed the list to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Looking at the names on the list, Hiruzen smiled contentedly.
Team Naruto Uzumaki and Team Neji Hyuga had already reached the Tower.
In Hiruzen's eyes, both Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga had strong chances of victory, perfectly showcasing Konoha's strength.
Among the remaining three teams, two were from Otogakure—Team Uzumaki Sōnagi and Team Sakon.
The final team was Gaara's squad.
Hiruzen considered how he must prevent any encounter between Naruto Uzumaki or Neji Hyuga and Oto ninjas before the second official examination began.
After observing Team Uzumaki Sōnagi's abilities through the crystal ball, he couldn't determine whether Naruto or Neji could defeat them.
He'd already sent someone to mess with the electronic display—no need to worry about Naruto or Neji running into Uzumaki Sōnagi's team during the extra matches.
The day passed quickly.
Inside the Tower, an idle Uzumaki Sōnagi received notice that the exam had ended and they should assemble at the Tower's first floor.
"Hmph, finally it's over. I was about to die of boredom."
Uzumaki Sōnagi rose from his bed, descending to the first floor with Kimimaro Kaguya and Jugo Tenbin.
Seeing numerous Genin lined up downstairs, Uzumaki Sōnagi's face wrinkled completely: "So many people! With us, that makes thirty total? Looks like extra matches are unavoidable."
As the trio joined the crowd formation, a massive puff of smoke appeared before the statue.
Except for Ibiki Morino and Anko Mitarashi, all other proctors were present, including Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru, Chinya, Kakashi, and various team-leading Jonin who had passed the first round screening.
Anko announced, "First, congratulations everyone for passing the first exam. Now please welcome the Hokage to explain the second round arrangements."
Hiruzen explained the reasons for hosting Joint Chunin Examinations—essentially allowing each country and village to showcase their strength through representation.
As expected by Uzumaki Sōnagi, additional matches indeed followed.
Random one-on-one battles would determine advancement—winners progress while losers or draws get eliminated.
The sudden death match started right away, and contestants could back out without affecting others since it was a solo battle.
In the end, four people withdrew due to injuries, leaving a total of 26 participants in the sudden death match.
The first match was Uzumaki Sōnagi, and his opponent was actually Kidomaru.
Facing Uzumaki Sōnagi, Kidomaru naturally decided to forfeit on the spot.
At first, Sōnagi thought it was just a coincidence, but when the third round came, Kimimaro Kaguya ended up in a one-on-one battle with Jugo Tenbin, which made Sōnagi shout that it was definitely rigged.
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