"First of all, congratulations on finishing the second exam!"

My chest feels heavy as I look around the room at the other examinees. Our team had been the very last to arrive, and just in time, too, as Iruka-sensei had said. We ended the first exam with twenty-six teams, and now, the second with only twenty-five Genin. The other rookie teams and Lee's team made it through, the same with those three Sand Shinobi we'd run into, the team of Sound Shinobi we'd met during the first exam, and that Snow Shinobi team I'd seen the day before the first exam.

Looking closer at them, I realize there's a fourth member belonging to Lee's team, standing at the back of their group. I guess we aren't the only odd group around, then, I think, carefully eyeing the girl to see if I'd recognized her from anywhere. Nope.

"All right, listen up!" Ms. Anko shouts. "Lord Hokage will explain the third exam!" She turns to him. "They're all yours, Lord Hokage."

With a nod, he steps forward to address us.

"First, before I tell you what the third exam entails, I want to explain something about the test, itself," he says. "Listen closely, now. This is something that all of you need to understand, because I'm going to tell you the true purpose of the exams.

"Why, do you suppose, our country holds these exams in conjunction with our allies?" After a moment, I shrug. "To raise the ability levels of our Shinobi, and increase friendship between allied nations, to be sure, but it is important that you understand its true meaning.

"The exams are... so to speak... the representation of battle between allied nations."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Tenten asks.

"Well, if we look at our history, all of the countries that we are currently allied with were once neighbouring nations that continuously fought with each other for power," Lord Hokage says. "In order to avoid destroying the others' military strength meaninglessly, those nations picked champions to do battle in a selected location. That was how the Chūnin Selection Exams originally began."

"That's great and all, but why do we have to go through those exams, then?" Naruto asks. "It's not like we're doing this to pick Chūnin to go fight."

"Now, there is no question that part of these exams selects Shinobi that are worthy of becoming Chūnin," Lord Hokage says. "That's just not the whole story. These exams are to prove that Shinobi can carry the pride of their nations on their backs, and fight against other Ninja for their very lives.

"The pride of... their nations?" I repeat.

"Many leaders and people from prominent countries are invited to attend this exam as guests, and also, possibly, seek Shinobi to work for them. This exam could determine the course of your Ninja work from here on out. Most importantly, these rooters will watch your battles and take note of the strength that each nation and each Ninja is developing. If there is a gap in power between countries, the strong nation is enunciated with job requests for their Ninja, and conversely, for countries that are deemed weak, decline.

"Therefore, the stronger our nation, the better our position when negotiating with neighbouring countries, so it is important that our village shows just how strong our military is."

"The country's strength is the village's strength. The village's strength is the Shinobi's strength, and the true strength of the Shinobi is only proven by being pushed to one's limits in a life-or-death battle. This test is a chance for each nation to display the strength of its Shinobi, and hence, the strength of the nation, itself.

"It is because this is an exam where you must put your life on the line that it has meaning," Lord Hokage says. "It for this very reason and for the strength of the nation that forerunners fought in this exam— truly a dream worth striving for!"

"A dream?" I hear Garasu call out, her tone angered. "Why the hell did you put the word "friendship" in that speech of yours?"

"You've only remembered half of what I said, Miss Fujikaze," he points out. "You also mustn't have the wrong idea about the exam's meaning. This is a custom that is preserved by fighting and dying—in the world of the Shinobi, that is friendship."

She clicks her tongue, too obviously unsatisfied by his answer, and proceeds to glare past him, likely at her Jōnin Sensei. I remember him to be the man I'd spoken to, the night before the first exam. I look past Lord Hokage at him, too, surprised to see him looking right back at me, his eyes smiling. Why me? I wonder. Why not his student?

And then, I recall what he'd said about me reminding me of his sister he hadn't seen in years. And so, I stand up a little straighter, a little more confidently, and hope that he felt pride for her once, if he'd ever seen her like this.

"The third exam is a fight for life," Lord Hokage says, "with the life of the village and your own dreams at stake."

From the front of our line, Naruto chuckles. "Well, he sure convinced me!"

"Any test is fine," Gaara says. "Just tell me what the details of the exam are, already – I can handle anything you throw at me."

Well, that's a little cocky, I remark in my thoughts. I'd apparently been staring, though, so my disdain for his comment doesn't go unnoticed when he glances over his shoulder and over at us – at me. My eyes widen before I'm able to tear myself away to instead stare into the back of Sakura's head.

"Very well, then! Now, listen closely! I'll be telling you what will be on the third exam."

A tall Leaf Jōnin suddenly appears in front of him.

"My Lord, before you do," he says to him, "please allow me, Hayate Gekko, proctor of the third exam, to speak first."

"So be it," the Lord Hokage replies. The mysterious Jōnin stands to his full height to look out at us.

"It's nice to meet you," he says. The proctor attempts to stifle a cough, but it breaks through, leaving him hunched over and hacking. "There is something that—" he coughs again "—I'd like for all of you to do before the third exam."

Poor guy, I think.

"Uh... we have to have a preliminary exam before the real one."

My lips part from their frown. "Y-You're kidding," I breathe.

"Preliminary?!" Shikamaru repeats angrily. "Just what the hell do you mean by that?!"

"Excuse me, sir," a voice pipes from Lee's team's line. Her hand is raised high, but I can just as easily see her trembling, and her left arm is almost too obviously broken. "Could you tell us why exactly we have to have a preliminary exam? We can't just move on and prepare for the final exam?"

"Well, you see, the first and second exams were too easy. The thing is," he goes on, "we never expected so many of you to be here. According to the rules of the Chūnin Exams, "a preliminary round can be held at any stage to reduce the number of candidates remaining"."

"B-But is that even fair?" Sakura asks.

"It's just that, at this stage, we need to speed things up a bit," Mister Hayate explains. "As Lord Hokage said, a lot of important guests will be watching; we can't afford to waste their time. They've come to see only the best. So, if there are any of you who feel that you're not in a top, physical condition, now's your chance t-to—" and he buckles over, mouth covered as he coughs into it.

Speaking of top, physical condition...

"So, if there are any of you who don't feel up to this, now's the time to bow out. The preliminaries will start immediately."

"Come on!" Kiba shouts. "You mean right now?!"

"We barely survived the last exam!" Ino adds in a whine. "Don't we get a break?!"

"Man, what a drag," Shikamaru groans.

"Hey, when do we eat?" Chōji asks. From where I stand, the number of nervous gulps outnumber the smirks.

"Oh, yeah. The winners will be determined on one-on-one combat, sudden death," Mister Hayate adds. "But like I said – if there's anyone who doesn't feel up to it, raise your hand."

... truth be told, my head isn't really in it for a preliminary round. I can't seem to shake the exhaustion in my body from being asleep for so long, and... I can't stop thinking about Mara. Watching the body language of my three teammates ahead of me, it's too clear that they're having thoughts, perhaps second thoughts, too.

This would be my first one-on-one fight since being in the Land of Waves. Judging by how terrible Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura look, I sincerely believe that this won't be their first fight. Whatever happened in the last four days, I couldn't be there to help them with it. I can't disappoint them a second time. So, if they decide to move forward, I'll be there with them, this time for sure!

With a hushed gasp, Sasuke suddenly crumples forward, clutching his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" I whisper-hiss over Sakura's shoulder, stepping out of place. "What happened to him?"

"He's been like this ever since he tangled with Orochimaru," she answers through her teeth. "Sasuke's got to quit!"

"Orochimaru? Is that someone you guys fought?" Sakura nods once. "Sasuke, if you're really in that much pain, then... please, maybe you should quit?" But he was just fine a moment ago is the thought that has me ending my sentence in a question. Sasuke winces once more, this one more violent than the first. In the corner of my eye, I catch Naruto turn around to us.

"It's that mark he put on him," Sakura says, "isn't it, Sasuke?"

"Mark?" I repeat nervously, and from where I stand, I give him a once-over with my eyes. "What mark? Sakura, what's going on?"

"I-I-I don't know!" she hisses in response. "But if he keeps denying it, t-then..." She wrings her wrists and shuts her eyes. "Sasuke... please quit! I-I'm scared, and you know as well as I do that... you're in no condition to keep on fighting!"

"Sakura, shut up!" Sasuke snaps. I notice the other teams beginning to get curious.

"Do you think I'm blind or something?" she retorts.

"That's enough, Sakura," he insists.

Sakura shakes her head. "I'm sorry," she says, slowly raising her hand, "but I can't let you do it to yourself. I'm going to tell them about that mark!"

It ends up being Kabuto's hand that reaches full height first.

"Okay," he says, "you got me! I'm out."

"B-But Kabuto—""Yakushi of the Leaf Village, right?" Mister Hayate says, cutting Naruto off and jotting something onto the paper on his clipboard. "Okay, you can go on and step back." Kabuto nods.

"Gotcha."

"Hold on a second!" Naruto calls after him. "You can't quit! I don't get this – what's going on?!" Kabuto stops, looking over his shoulder at him and frowning.

"Oh, Naruto, I'm sorry," Kabuto says, "but my body is just too beat up – I can't help it. The truth it, ever since the orientation when I got messed up with that Sound Village team, I've had no hearing at all in my left ear. And now, to have to put my life on the line? To fight again, without a break? I just can't do it."

"Um... for what it's worth, Kabuto," I pipe from Sakura's side, "again, I wanted to thank you, for what you did for my friends. You were there for them when I couldn't be and helped them out, so... if you ever need a favour, then... you've got one of mine."

"Thank you, Kari." The corners of his mouth rise quickly. "You truly are a kind person."

Kabuto waves at us from over his shoulder before finally leaving the examination room. Mister Hayate coughs, and we return to attention.

"Now, then," he says. "Does anybody else want to quit?"

As Sakura's hand continues upward, something inside me just... feels like I have to stop her, and I do. She whirls on me, eyes wide, but before she can say something at me, I speak.

"It's clearly a big deal, whatever happened to you all these past four days," I say quietly, so only reaches my team's ears. "And as much as I agree with you, Sakura, that he should quit... it's just not our place to decide for him." I meet Sasuke's eyes and nod. A simple gesture, but he nods back, and turns to the front of the room, silent. 

"I just don't get it!" she says, her voice a raised whisper. "Just what is he trying to prove?! Am I supposed to just watch him get himself torn apart?"

"We won't have to do that," I promise her, taking her hands and squeezing them. "Let's just believe he'll be okay and believe in him." She turns all the way around to me, her lower lip quivering in her frustration. "It's just not our place."

I spot the two male members of Garasu's team limp out of the examination room together, supporting the other with their injuries. She, however, looks perfectly unharmed.

"As I said before—" Sakura had just begun dabbing at the corners of her eyes when Sasuke starts speaking "—I'm an avenger. For me, this is something much more than an exam. Whether I become a Chūnin or not means less than nothing to me.

""Am I as strong as I can be?" All I want is the answer to that." He looks me in the eyes once more, his message clear as day to me. "The best of the best... are all here. This is the path that I walk. Not a single person alive can change that."

"Man, when do you ever quit?" Naruto demands of him. "Why are you biting Sakura's head off? It's just because she cares about you!"

I sigh, feeling caught in the middle. It's not our place, but it's still our job to care.

"Naruto, you're one of the ones I want to fight the most."

Naruto's frustration quickly switches to shock and awe at Sasuke's words. Maybe, and I wonder because he'd been so quiet up until now, they're the words he needed to hear.

"All right, then," Mister Hayate says. "We'll begin the preliminary round. This round will consist of individual, one-on-one combat, at full battle intensity. This is not an exercise.

"There are twenty-four of you left, which means that there will be twelve even matches. The surviving candidates of these twelve matches will advance to the third exam. As for the rules, there aren't any. You will fight until the other dies, concedes defeat, or is rendered physically incapable of continuing. Those who are losing are urged to concede immediately to avoid a fatal accident.

"Furthermore, as proctor, I have an unlimited amount of leeway for these matches." He coughs. "I might occasionally intervene if the match seems helpless, to save as many lives as possible.

"Now, it is time to see what fate has been chosen for you." Mister Hayate glances his shoulder at the wall above Miss Anko. She speaks a command into a strange contraption on her face, and a large panel slides from its place on the wall, revealing a computer-like screen.

"The names of each two opponents are chosen completely at random. Before each match, these names will appear on the board behind me. So, if there's nothing more to say... let's begin. In a moment, the names of the first two opponents will appear."

I swallow.

SASUKE UCHIHA

VS

YOROI AKADO

Updated March 1st, 2022 | 2,653 words