The strength of the Sound Ninja Trio was not weak among Genin.
Zakku Abumi's palms could emit sonic waves, Kin Tsuchi could use Genjutsu with her bells, and Dosu Kinuta's arm guards with holes could emit sonic attacks.
The three of them had undergone body modifications and were not comparable to ordinary people.
In the original story, Sakura was beaten badly by the trio, Xiao Li didn't fare well helping out either, and Team Ten was also bullied in their fight. In the end, it was Sasuke's Curse Mark eruption that resolved the problem.
Now, Shikamaru and Choji were not much different from the original. Although Ino had started training earlier, she was still struggling and was at a disadvantage against the Sound Ninja Trio. However, according to Shikamaru, they ultimately relied on Sasuke's swordmanship to defeat the opponents, and their Team Ten's help was for naught.
"Sasuke? It seems he's improved quite a bit after fighting Orochimaru."
Natsuki was not surprised by this. Some geniuses quickly improve after battle, and Sasuke doing so was not outrageous.
When Shikamaru and the others heard that Natsuki had repelled Orochimaru alone, they were incredibly shocked, clearly having severely underestimated Natsuki's strength as well.
However, having such a powerful friend and comrade also made them happy.
If they encountered danger in the future, they just needed to stick close to him.
On the last day, Team Seven finally arrived looking battered. The group of Kabuto Yakushi, Akadō Yoroi, and Misumi Tsurugi also arrived together. After it was confirmed that no more examinees would arrive, the second stage of the Chunin Exams finally came to an end.
Those who passed were: Team Seven's three, Team Eight's three, Team Nine's three, Team Ten's three, Team Guy's three, Otogakure's three, Kabuto Yakushi's three, and Gaara's three, a total of twenty-four people!
Apart from the extra Team Nine, the passing situation was the same as the original plot, quite a bit more than expected.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, saw that most of the passing examinees were from Konoha, and was immediately beaming with a wide smile. He also came out and spoke a lot of nonsense, talking about the significance of the Chunin Exams and peace in the Ninja World. But it was just a show of strength like a military parade, spoken so grandiosely.
Fortunately, Hayate Gekkō, looking somewhat weak, jumped out and stopped Sarutobi Hiruzen's lengthy speech, beginning to announce the screening rules before the third stage of the Chunin Exams.
Because the third stage of the Chunin Exams was for important figures to watch, too many people would definitely not work, so there had to be a screening round. Simply put, it was a draw to fight, eliminating half the people. Of course, anyone who wanted to withdraw could do so now, otherwise, if they got beaten badly later, it wouldn't matter.
Just when everyone thought no one would withdraw, Kabuto Yakushi raised his hand.
Naruto still expressed disapproval. Clearly, Team Seven was able to complete the second stage of the Chunin Exams this time with Kabuto Yakushi's help. Of course, Kabuto Yakushi's main purpose was to collect information on Sasuke, not out of kindness.
Kabuto Yakushi said that he was actually already quite beaten up, and continuing the exams would only result in losing, so it was better to withdraw.
Only then did Naruto have nothing to say.
However, Natsuki looked at Kabuto Yakushi walking away and felt that he still needed to be wary, after all, this guy was Orochimaru's confidant and capable of doing anything.
So a Chakra thread extended from his forehead, connecting to Yamashiro Aoba, transmitting a message in Morse code: "Aoba-sensei, this Kabuto Yakushi has participated in the Chunin Exams multiple times without passing. Now he doesn't look seriously injured but gives up so easily; it feels very suspicious. I feel like he's not here for the exams but to collect information, perhaps he's a spy."
Yamashiro Aoba was startled and immediately manipulated his Chakra thread to respond: "I will pay attention. You focus on the exams."
Only then did Natsuki feel relieved and looked at Hayate Gekkō.
After Hayate Gekkō announced the match rules, he began pairing up the remaining examinees.
First match, Inuzuka Kiba vs. Yamashiro Rinne!
All the examinees left the arena and went to the second floor to watch, leaving only Inuzuka Kiba and Yamashiro Rinne, as well as Akamaru the dog, and Hayate Gekkō, who was the referee but was practically coughing up his lungs.
As soon as the referee announced the start, Inuzuka Kiba spoke harshly, telling Yamashiro Rinne to surrender.
Yamashiro Rinne naturally wouldn't give up easily and even assumed a stance to attack.
Seeing this, Inuzuka Kiba immediately threw smoke bombs to obscure vision, wanting to win by relying on his and Akamaru's sense of smell. However, when the person and dog rushed into the smoke, an extremely foul odor immediately filled their nostrils.
Then Akamaru directly fainted on the ground, and Inuzuka Kiba was also critically hit.
When the smoke cleared, they saw Yamashiro Rinne holding an opened can of fermented herring in his hand, the smell of which was incredibly pungent.
Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru couldn't even stand Naruto's farts, and now suffering the painful blow of the fermented herring can, they were even more miserable. The only outcome was defeat.
Their team leader, Kurenai Yuhi, held her forehead: "A keen sense of smell is indeed an advantage, but sometimes it can be a fatal weakness. Yamashiro Rinne clearly had information on Kiba and Akamaru and prepared the fermented herring can in advance. Kiba couldn't help but lose!"
Shino and Hinata also didn't know what to say and could only mourn for Inuzuka Kiba.
And Kato Megumi was smug, clearly Yamashiro Rinne's victory made her proud.
Next up was the second match, Akadō Yoroi vs. Sasuke Uchiha.
The current Sasuke hadn't been given the Curse Mark, his Chakra usage was normal, and his Sharingan combined with Hatake Swordmanship was incredibly fast. Even though Akadō Yoroi could absorb Chakra, he was quickly defeated by Sasuke.
Third match, Zakku Abumi vs. Shino Aburame, Shino won.
Fourth match, Kin Tsuchi vs. Shikamaru Nara, Shikamaru won.
Fifth match, Dosu Kinuta vs. Choji Akimichi, Dosu Kinuta won.
Sixth match, Misumi Tsurugi vs. Kankuro. Although Kankuro's mummified body hidden behind the puppet's bandages was exposed earlier, he still achieved victory with his excellent puppet jutsu.
Seventh match, Sakura Haruno vs. Kato Megumi, it was completely without suspense that Kato Megumi won.
And in the eighth match, Hinata Hyuga vs. Neji Hyuga.
This was originally quite a spectacle, after all, it was the Hyuga Main House versus the Hyuga Branch House, but the current Neji was different. He didn't say much to his cousin. Both activated their Byakugan and fought with Eight Trigrams Palm. Neji had the upper hand, pointed out Hinata's pressure points, and then directly held a Kunai to Hinata's vital spot. The referee naturally could only announce Neji's victory.
Indeed, talking less during battle makes it end faster.
Hinata didn't even get Naruto's encouragement before losing. The key was that the current Neji was not as aloof as in the original story, nor did he say harsh words. He had even helped deal with Orochimaru earlier, so even if Naruto wanted to cheer for Hinata, he wouldn't yell at Neji, thus avoiding a lot of trouble.
The good news was that Hinata wasn't seriously injured.
In the ninth match, Temari vs. Tenten, which in Natsuki's eyes was a fated battle.
Temari's Wind Release fan originally completely countered Tenten's Ninja Tools throwing, but Tenten was not that simple now. Seeing her Ninja Tools throwing being countered, she decisively changed tactics and directly used Six Styles for close combat. She even defeated Temari without using the Artisan Village Four-Piece Set.