Naruto's quick and easy defeat was unexpected by everyone.
Sakura could no longer stand by and watch. She rushed out.
The result was that she was hit in the abdomen by Neji and knelt on the ground, gagging.
Another swift and easy defeat, more hollow than Naruto's.
Neji didn't deliver a finishing blow to Sakura, but said, "Don't worry, I've only sealed his acupoints and dispersed his vital energy, which is why he can't move. He'll recover after a few hours of rest."
This was probably the charity of the strong towards the weak.
After all, the gap was too large.
The only opponent who could pique Neji's interest was currently being beaten by Lee Rock.
Although Sasuke had activated his Sharingan and could see Lee Rock's movements, seeing them didn't mean his body could keep up.
So, as Lee became more and more excited the more he fought, Sasuke could only stare blankly, watching himself get beaten.
Sasuke was furious, incredibly furious.
He had talked about winning first place in the Chūnin Exam, but now, a random person appeared, and he couldn't even defeat them.
Was he really that weak?
A look of madness gradually appeared in Sasuke's eyes. When Lee Rock kicked him again, he decided not to dodge and instead took the attack head-on, using the force to create distance.
Then, a thunderous sound like a thousand birds chirping suddenly rang out!
Blinding lightning converged in Sasuke's hand.
Although he hadn't fully mastered this move yet, and it might injure himself before hitting the enemy, Sasuke couldn't afford to care anymore.
He couldn't lose, and he would never lose again!
"Chidori!"
Sasuke charged directly at Lee Rock.
At this moment, Lee Rock's face finally showed a serious and excited expression. This was the Uchiha prodigy he wanted to challenge.
Although Sasuke wasn't weak before, something was still missing.
Just as Lee Rock was about to unwrap the bandages on his hands, he heard Tenten shout from behind, "Teacher Guy specifically told us not to use that move!"
Lee Rock's movements froze, and he suddenly became flustered.
But Sasuke wouldn't be polite. By this time, he had already reached Lee Rock.
Screech!
Boom!
A large tree was cut in half and crashed heavily to the ground.
Lee Rock looked at the cut in his ribs with lingering fear, narrowly avoiding the blow.
Fortunately, at the last moment, he opened the first of the Eight Inner Gates - the Gate of Opening - and managed to dodge in time. Coupled with Sasuke's inability to properly control the Chidori, this gave him an opportunity.
Of course, if Tenten hadn't said that last sentence, none of this would have happened.
Fortunately, Tenten also knew she had caused trouble and shouldn't have distracted Lee during the fight. She was now constantly apologizing.
Of course, what she said was true. Teacher Guy had indeed given instructions before the exam began.
At this moment, Sasuke, unable to control his direction, had already knocked himself out. The fight naturally ended.
"That was close, I almost died," Lee Rock said, scratching his head and forgiving Tenten.
Neji's gaze swept over the iron ring engraved with "Root" on Lee Rock's foot and said meaningfully, "If you had taken it off earlier, perhaps you would have dodged more easily and wouldn't have needed to open that."
Lee Rock continued to smile foolishly. "Haha, maybe. But training is something that must be done every day. It's not time to take it off yet."
"Let's go."
Neji retracted his gaze and took the lead.
Tenten and Lee Rock followed leisurely, chatting and laughing.
Even when compared to all the examinees in this session, their team was considered top-tier in terms of strength.
Perhaps only Gaara and his siblings could surpass them.
It could only be said that Naruto's team had extremely bad luck to encounter them at the beginning.
Of course, the protagonist group often had plot armor. Just because they couldn't win this second didn't mean they would never win in the future.
Sakura, struggling to get up from the ground, was in a mess but knew that the situation here was dangerous and someone could appear at any moment.
Moreover, the next person who came might not let them keep the Earth Scroll they held.
So, she endured the sharp pain in her abdomen, found a hidden spot, moved Naruto and Sasuke there, and then stood guard alone, watching her surroundings vigilantly.
Although the survival trial had taught them a lesson from the very beginning, beating them black and blue.
However, Sakura now seemed stronger than ever.
Because after Naruto and Sasuke both fell, she could only rely on herself.
...
Shinji was searching for the little snake everywhere, but so far, he had found nothing.
He did, however, witness a few interesting battles.
Among them, the examinees from Sand Hidden left a particularly deep impression on him.
He finally understood why these people always carried a foul smell of curse spirits.
It wasn't that Sand Hidden had mixed with curse spirits, nor that curse spirits were impersonating Sand Hidden examinees.
Instead, these examinees possessed new types of puppets made from the corpses of curse spirits!
Although it was evident that the craftsmanship was still crude and not refined.
But the power of these new puppets was undeniable.
Besides the original mechanisms, Sand Hidden seemed to have mastered a puppet conversion technology that could retain the curse spirits' abilities from when they were alive.
This made these strangely shaped, bizarre puppets more practical and powerful.
Most of the others targeted by these Sand Hidden examinees were sent away without much ability to resist.
If the first round hadn't been a written exam, with these powerful puppets, these Sand Hidden examinees might have all advanced to the next round.
"As expected, these super ninja villages are not simple. Even Mist Hidden has developed related technology for targeted trained of cursed objects, so it's not surprising that Sand Hidden has developed curse spirit puppets."
But the question was, was this the only trump card Sand Hidden had hidden?
Shinji always felt it was uncertain.
Perhaps this was just to confuse others.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru, who was searching for prey, found the Sand Hidden ninja who had been planted beforehand.
This Sand Hidden ninja didn't know who the person he was looking for was, only that his task was to leave special marks in various places and then quietly wait at the designated location.
This was actually the contact signal pre-arranged by the Kazekage and Orochimaru.
Upon seeing it, Orochimaru followed the trail.
"Speak, what is it?"
The Sand Hidden ninja was stunned upon seeing the person, but immediately recalled the Kazekage's instructions upon entering and directly conveyed the message.
After reading the contents, Orochimaru immediately destroyed it.
"Anything else?"
"No, Lord Kazekage only asked me to convey this one thing."
"Very well, then you can die now."
Orochimaru suddenly attacked. A giant snake immediately bit the Sand Hidden ninja's head and instantly swallowed him.
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