The first fight was quite exciting.
Even the village's Jonin watched with great interest. The taijutsu clash between Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi Akado was clearly on a different level, with Sasuke practically dominating his opponent.
Might Guy walked over to his friend and praised him, "Kakashi, your student is pretty good, isn't he? A hot-blooded youth dedicated to taijutsu..."
"Heh." Kakashi Hatake couldn't help but roll his eyes at him.
Leaning listlessly on the railing, Naruto Uzumaki shouted weakly, "Hey, Sasuke, stop wasting time!"
"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped back.
After every close-range exchange, Sasuke could clearly feel his chakra being drained. He was familiar with this kind of ability. Both his teammate Naruto and Itachi's partner, Kisame Hoshigaki, had similar skills.
"Heh... has this chakra-absorbing ability become a common thing?" Sasuke glanced at the arm Yoroi had just grabbed. His chakra had clearly started to drain from that point.
"You've finally noticed? Hehehe..." Yoroi chuckled with pride. "If this goes on, my chakra will increase while yours just keeps dropping..."
Sasuke sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "The people I hate most are the ones who can absorb chakra... Body Flicker Technique!"
A series of clones appeared on the field, swarming toward Yoroi. To everyone's confusion, each clone launched its own attack.
Watching the group of ordinary-looking clones rush forward and knock Yoroi to the ground, Kakashi sighed softly. "No matter how many times I see it, Shisui's Body Flicker Technique is simply amazing..."
"The technique of Shisui of the Body Flicker?" Might Guy rubbed his chin with interest as he looked at Sasuke's clones. "It looks like this Chunin Exam will be, unsurprisingly, a bit difficult for our team's kids!"
Tenten tilted her head, confused. "Guy-sensei, isn't Sasuke just using the ordinary Clone Technique? Those clones shouldn't have any combat power, right? And even if he used Shadow Clones, they'd disappear after one hit, wouldn't they?"
"No, Tenten," Guy shook his head and explained seriously. "The technique Sasuke is using was developed by a Uchiha genius. He can switch his real body between each of the clones, which means every clone's attack is actually his own attack. It's precisely because that genius's Body Flicker was so fast that he earned the title 'Shisui of the Body Flicker' and became known as the strongest genjutsu user."
In a sense, Shisui Uchiha was the natural enemy of taijutsu users like them.
Tenten only seemed to grasp the first part. After hearing the rest of the explanation, the girl's face was full of question marks. "Because his Body Flicker is fast, he's called the strongest genjutsu user? Is there a connection between the two?"
Might Guy scratched his head. "There... should be, right?"
Besides the Jonin, not many people on the field had heard the name 'Shisui of the Body Flicker'. The supervising Jonin didn't hesitate to give their students a little intel. For example, when Kurenai Yuhi mentioned Shisui, she sighed emotionally, "Back then, Shisui was recognized as the strongest genjutsu user in the entire ninja world. It's a pity he disappeared..."
The group of genin listened with confused faces.
-----
The first preliminary match was over. Seeing the Body Flicker Technique reappear in Konoha right at the start was a good omen for the battles to come.
"Good job." Naruto glanced at his teammate and tossed him a notebook. "Sasuke, since your fight is over, you can gather intelligence!"
"Tch." Sasuke sneered but obediently joined Naruto, leaning on the railing to watch the second match. They both knew that watching others fight was the best way to gather intel, and it was an opportunity they couldn't miss.
The second fight was between Konoha's Shino Aburame and the Sound ninja, Zaku.
Shino won.
Sasuke watched Shino absorb a dense swarm of insects into his body. Just as he was about to ask Naruto a question, he saw a swirling vortex of chakra floating in his teammate's palm. It was the starting motion for the Spiral Shockwave.
Afraid the idiot would cause trouble, Sasuke grabbed his arm. "Hey, Naruto, what are you doing!"
"Researching a new ninjutsu!" Naruto waved his hand, dispersing the chakra. He gave Sasuke a look that clearly said, 'Why are you making such a fuss?' and explained softly, "I just saw that the ninjutsu that guy Zaku used was really peculiar. It gave me another idea for a new jutsu."
"No matter how you look at it, there's no connection between your two ninjutsu!" Sasuke glared at him impatiently.
Naruto, however, began to discuss it seriously. "What do you think about adding Wind Release chakra to the Spiral Shockwave?"
"Not good," Sasuke shook his head, feeling tired. "I can only use Fire and Lightning Release right now. I don't understand your Wind Release ninjutsu..."
Before he could finish, Sasuke's attention snapped back to the arena. The next contestant to appear was Kankuro from the Sand Village.
Kakashi leaned in curiously next to his two students. "That kid named Kankuro, is he a puppet master from the Sand Village? You don't see that profession very often anymore!"
As for why it wasn't seen very often... Kakashi had a pretty good idea.
Sasuke looked down at Kankuro and sneered, his voice low. "Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei. I will inherit the will of Sakumo-senpai and kill all the puppet masters. You won't see any puppet masters in the future, sensei!"
Since he inherited the White Fang's sword technique, he might as well inherit the White Fang's will. Back then, the White Fang of Konoha had used a single short sword to kill two of the Sand Village's greatest puppet masters in the middle of an army, completely turning the tide of the battle.
What a glorious feat. It made the chuunibyou in Sasuke yearn for it.
Hearing this, Kakashi couldn't help but tug at his mask. In his effort to promote his father's sword style, the white-haired Jonin had perhaps embellished the stories a little too much. To be honest, he was starting to regret it.
To Sasuke's disappointment, Kankuro won the third fight. The Sand Village puppet master, however, didn't look particularly happy. That Uchiha kid, the one who had nearly dismantled his Crow puppet, had his eyes fixed on him the entire time. From the look of it, Sasuke wished he could have taken his opponent's place.
"Cough cough... cough... cough cough..." The proctor, Hayate Gekko, stepped forward. After a few light coughs, he read the names for the fourth match from the screen in a low voice: "Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka."
Naruto turned to look at Sakura and encouraged her, "Sakura, do your best! Defeat Ino, and win Sasuke!"
"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped at Naruto. He then turned to look at Sakura, who was staring at him expectantly. "Sakura," he said, "if you lose, don't bother coming back."
Sakura Haruno: "..."
-----
Bonus:
Sakura Haruno: I'm… I'm totally losing it!
Naruto Uzumaki: Don't be like that! Cheer up, Sakura! Beat Ino and win Sasuke!
Naruto claps a hand over Sasuke's mouth.
Sasuke Uchiha: Mmmph mmmph mmmph...
Naruto Uzumaki: Feeling a little motivated now?
Sakura Haruno: Yes, yes!
Naruto Uzumaki: Go, go, go...