The next day, the second exam officially began. Since Orochimaru was not involved this time, Team 7 easily passed the exam and entered the preliminaries.
Something very interesting happened during this time.
The Sound Ninja trio voluntarily found Nis's group of three and handed over their scrolls, directly making Nis's team the first to enter the preliminaries.
"Why are there still so many people? This is such a hassle."
Nara Shikamaru stood in the queue, looking at the examinees who had passed the second exam, his face full of helplessness.
"21 people, huh... Just like the original, Kimimaro and his team replaced the Sound Ninja trio..."
Zhong Chen, with a black mole beneath his left eye, stood among the jonin leading the teams, looking at the examinees below, a slight smile playing on his lips.
With Kimimaro's trio participating this time, he wondered how the Hidden Leaf Village would arrange the matches.
"Ahem... The third exam will begin shortly. Before I explain, I must first make one thing clear to all of you."
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, stood before the many examinees and spoke with a serious expression. The examinees below immediately became serious upon hearing his words.
"The true purpose of this exam."
"Why is the joint Chunin Exam held?"
"It is for the friendly coexistence between various countries and to improve the skill level of ninja. This is its true meaning."
"If you misunderstand this, it will be very troublesome."
"This exam can be said to be..."
At this point, Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, slowly exhaled a plume of smoke, and then continued with a sharp glint in his eyes:
"A microcosm of battles between nations."
"What does that mean?"
Tenten, standing in the crowd, couldn't help but ask directly.
"Historically, the various countries that exist today were once neighboring countries constantly at war. To avoid mutual destruction, they specifically designated this battleground."
"This is the origin of the Chunin Selection Exam."
Hearing this, Zhong Chen looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen's back and curled his lip in disdain.
It sounded good, but he hadn't seen this thing actually have any use. For true peace, it would only be possible if the world was unified by someone.
This 'someone,' I, this great person, will reluctantly take on the role for now. You natives don't need to thank me.
"Why would..."
As Naruto asked, Sarutobi Hiruzen launched into another long tirade about love and peace, making Zhong Chen yawn in boredom.
This old man was almost one-thousandth as skilled as him in simple storytelling. Truly not to be underestimated.
Finally, as a guy who looked like he was about to kick the bucket stepped forward, Sarutobi Hiruzen's speech finally concluded.
"Hello everyone... *cough cough*... Before the third phase begins... *cough cough*... there's something everyone needs to complete."
"*Cough cough cough cough cough*..."
"Yo-ho, this guy isn't going to just keel over, is he?"
Zhong Chen looked at Gekko Hayate, whom many netizens jokingly called the true protagonist, with a teasing expression.
What people remembered most about this guy wasn't his combat power; after all, someone who could be instantly defeated by Baki didn't have much combat power.
What people remembered most was that this guy had a beautiful girlfriend—the key point, a beautiful girlfriend—the kind he couldn't forget even after he died.
"I really don't know how Uzuki Yugao fell for this guy. Was it a hero saving the damsel in distress moment when they served in the Anbu together? Tsk tsk tsk."
After muttering, Zhong Chen clicked his tongue, looking exasperated, as if the world was incredibly unfair to him.
Following Gekko Hayate's explanation, the numerous examinees understood why there were preliminaries, and Kabuto, as in the original plot, still chose to withdraw.
The remaining people could then be divided into ten groups for combat.
The first match was still Sasuke Uchiha against Akado Yoroi. Without the Curse Mark's troubles, Sasuke easily defeated his opponent and successfully advanced.
"That's great, Sasuke-kun!"
"Sasuke-kun is truly so handsome!"
"Hey, Ino-pig, Sasuke is my teammate, you don't need to celebrate!"
"What did you say, you wide-forehead!"
Sasuke, who had just returned to the stands, heard the two arguing and couldn't help but frown. He crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, and remained silent.
"Let's begin the next match."
As Gekko Hayate's voice faded, the names of the combatants on the display screen began to scroll rapidly. In a moment, the names of the two opponents appeared before everyone.
Hong Ninja Nis VS Aburame Shino.
Seeing the names, Zhong Chen immediately became interested and said to the Little girl beside him:
"Nis, oh, this is a guy covered in bugs, covered in bugs, you know."
After speaking, Zhong Chen even pretended to shiver comically, wanting to see if he could scare the Little girl.
"Chen Gege, I've grown up! This kind of trick to scare children won't work on me!"
Hearing Nis's words, Zhong Chen looked down at the Little girl who only reached his waist when she stood on tiptoes. "Grown up," indeed.
However, Zhong Chen didn't retort. He just smiled, gently stroked her little head, and softly said:
"Alright, Nis has grown up. Go on then, and be careful."
"Mm, don't worry, Chen Gege!"
The Little girl nodded heavily, hugged a blue Slime doll, and ran down the stairs with her short legs.
"Wow, it's that cute Little girl from Rainbow Ninja Village!"
"So cute!"
"I really want to take her home and raise her."
All the female ninja present stared at the Little girl holding the doll, their eyes sparkling.
Even an introverted girl like Hinata Hyuga couldn't help but frequently glance over.
"Sigh... Women are such a hassle. This is an opponent, you know."
"Although it's not good to say this, go Shino! Don't be too harsh!"
Aburame Shino, who was wearing sunglasses and acting profound, heard the voices from the stands and his mouth twitched involuntarily.
Why was his opponent such a cute child? He couldn't bring himself to attack.
"Wow! Big brother, your outfit is so cool!"
Nis stood not far from Aburame Shino, looking at his attire with curiosity.
"It's fine..."
Aburame Shino simply replied with two words.
"Damn it, what's with this guy acting all cool? How dare he answer Nis's question so simply? Contact Sakazuki, I'm going to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village! Deploy troops, deploy troops, let me go!!!"
Zhong Chen instantly bristled upon hearing this, trying to rush down with all his limbs. Karin and Kimimaro on the side quickly grabbed him, quietly persuading:
"Lord Chen, calm down! Calm down! It's not that serious, it's not that serious!"
"Let me go, I'm going to challenge him to a duel!!!"
Kimimaro, while holding Zhong Chen, sighed in his heart, *Lord Orochimaru, Lord Zhong Chen is too difficult to serve!!!*
Fortunately, Zhong Chen was just messing around. After Gekko Hayate announced the start of the match, he stopped his antics, making Karin and Kimimaro breathe a huge sigh of relief.
At this moment, Nis and Aburame Shino stood opposite each other in the arena. Neither made the first move, and they stood like that for two minutes.
"You two, please engage quickly. Time is precious."
At Gekko Hayate's urging, Aburame Shino finally raised his right hand, while Nis also pulled out a spatial capsule and held it in her hand...