Sasuke had a dangerously high fever.
Although Sasuke had managed to resist the cursed seal's power, his body's defensive mechanisms activated automatically, causing him to fall ill.
Originally, Naruto had planned to carry Sasuke, but after Sakura insisted, she ended up carrying him instead.
According to Sakura, during the battle, she hadn't been able to help at all, and since Naruto was already injured, she thought it was only right that she carry him.
Naruto didn't mind, so he let Sakura carry Sasuke.
Meanwhile, Hinata, still concerned about Naruto and the others, chose to continue traveling with the group.
On the final day, Naruto and his companions encountered the Amegakure ninja they had met before. After defeating them, they obtained an Earth Scroll and successfully entered the tower, thereby passing this phase of the examination.
However, since too many teams had passed—twenty-two in total—an additional preliminary round was scheduled.
Minato Namikaze was present among many other Jonin, but Shindai wasn't.
At this time, Shindai had already aligned himself with Orochimaru and was studying Naruto's abilities.
As for Naruto and Sasuke, who was still groggy from his fever, they wanted revenge against Shindai but couldn't find him anywhere.
From Shindai's perspective, watching these extra matches wasn't necessary at all. As far as he saw it, if Hinata faced Neji again with her current strength, there was still a large gap between them. However, if she used Chakra Armor, then the advantage would shift to Hinata.
Yet due to the completely randomized matchups in the preliminary rounds, Hinata didn't face Neji. Instead, she came up against a ninja from the Grass Village.
The battle between Rock Lee and Gaara, which Shindai barely remembered, also never occurred, as both ended up facing different opponents.
After the matches concluded, ten people advanced through this stage.
Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, Neji, Shino, Kankuro, Temari, Gaara, Shikamaru, and Rock Lee.
In short, this Chunin Exam had turned into a stage where Konoha and Sunagakure were the main players.
Minato Namikaze, the Hokage, appeared at the arena and felt delighted seeing so many of his village's ninjas pass the exams.
Smiling, Minato said, "First of all, congratulations on passing the Third Exam. Next, I will explain the details of the official matches.
"In the official matches, your battles will be performed in front of an audience. As representatives of your countries, please give it your all without regrets. The matches will begin in one month."
Naruto asked in confusion, "Eh? Not starting right now?"
Minato replied, "No, you must all be exhausted, and this is also preparation time for you—and for everyone else. We will notify the Daimyos and Kage leaders that the preliminaries have ended, and we'll invite them to come and witness the official matches."
You have one month to analyze opponent battle reports obtained during the preliminaries to improve your chances of victory. So far, these have been real battles where you've used various strategies to defeat opponents with minimal cost. However, the official matches will be different—you'll need to show your full power in front of everyone.
To ensure fairness and impartiality, this month is meant for self-improvement. I plan to disband everyone immediately, but before that, there's one thing you must complete right now before the official matches begin.
"You must each draw a slip from the box held by Anko Mitarashi," continued the examiner, "and this will determine who you'll face in battle after one month."
Anko Mitarashi, holding the paper box, said, "I'll bring it over. Draw your slips one at a time—only one per person."
Once everyone had drawn their slips and reported them, team assignments were finalized.
"Now then," announced Minato Namikaze, "I'll announce the match pairings for the official rounds. Ibiki, show them the matchups."
The matchups were: Hinata versus Neji, Shikamaru versus Temari, Naruto versus Gaara, Sasuke versus Rock Lee, and Shino versus Kankuro.
Naruto glanced at Gaara, who remained expressionless and unfazed.
For some reason, Naruto felt they were similar in some way, though he couldn't figure out why.
When Hinata heard her opponent would be Neji, her heart sank. She never imagined she'd end up facing him at all.
Minato continued, "This exam will be witnessed not only by me and other proctors, but also by the Kazekage, the feudal lords who commissioned us, and prominent ninja leaders. The proctors will evaluate you based on your performance during the matches. Those deemed to show chunin-level potential may be promoted, even if they lose in the first round.
In other words, everyone has a chance to become a chunin. But conversely, even winning doesn't guarantee promotion. There could be cases where no one becomes a chunin at all. Victory in the matches simply means you've earned an opportunity to showcase your abilities.
Good luck to you all. I'll see you in a month—dismissed!"
Supported by Sakura, Sasuke walked over to Naruto. "Let's go, Naruto!" His eyes burned with determination; even without asking where, Naruto already knew what Sasuke intended to do.
Find Shindai!
Naruto shared the same thought. It was unacceptable—if it hadn't been for Shindai's interference, they'd have already taken the scroll from the Amegakure genin and reached the tower safely.
As Neji passed Hinata, he sneered, "How impressive for the delicate little lady of the Main Family to have made it this far. A failure remains a failure—character and talent never change. That's why differences exist—because people cannot change. That's why we have labels like 'elite' and 'failure.'"
Everyone judges others—and is judged themselves—based on whether their looks, intelligence, abilities, physique, and personality are considered good or bad. These are things we can't change, and within these limits, people live their lives enduring the corresponding suffering.
Just like I'm from the Branch family while you belong to the Main family. This fact will never change. I've already seen through everything with my Byakugan—I know you're only pretending to be brave. Inside, you only want to flee from this fight with me.
I don't know why Shindai chose you, but even if you wear his armor, you yourself won't change at all. Everything is already destined. Give up. You're not my equal. And if you still insist on fighting...I won't hold back, even if it kills you!
Naruto immediately felt furious upon hearing that. "What the hell are you talking about! Hinata's really strong, so don't underestimate her!"
Neji spared Naruto a glance but otherwise ignored him completely.
This complete disregard made Naruto absolutely furious, and he rolled up his sleeves, ready to charge at Neji head-on.
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