I'm in Konoha, and I started with Ashura Chakra.

Chapter 51 Backroom Dealings, A Cruel World

Apart from Yagyu, there were twenty-three candidates who passed the second exam.

Of these twenty-three people, only six were not Konoha ninjas; the rest... were all Konoha genin!

First, there are the twelve young heroes, who occupy all twelve spots.

Because of Kiba Inuzuka, two of his teammates also passed the second exam, making a total of fourteen spots.

Kabuto Yakushi and his teammates were Orochimaru's spies planted in Konoha, taking up three of the spots.

The Sound Ninja trio has been defeated by Yagyu, but three Sound Ninja from the Sound Village still passed the second exam.

Clearly, during these five days, Kabuto Yakushi had learned of the deaths of Tosu and the others and had informed Orochimaru.

These three Sound Ninja were planted by either Kabuto Yakushi or Orochimaru.

The purpose was to allow Orochimaru to appear here openly and legitimately.

Since the Sound Ninja trio hadn't returned to report, Orochimaru didn't know whether Sasuke Uchiha had used the power of the Cursed Seal or whether he liked the gift he had given him, so he came specifically to see Sasuke Uchiha's reaction.

The twelve Konoha 11, Yagyu and Kiba's two teammates, Kabuto and his teammates, three Sound Ninja and Gaara and his siblings... exactly twenty-four people!

"Ahem... I am the examiner for this exam, Gekko Hayate."

After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished his speech, Hayate Gekko appeared instantly with a form in hand. However, his dark circles and weak appearance made the examinees doubt his status as a Jonin.

Ignoring their stares, Moonlight Gale pointed to the large screen on the wall and said, "Your names will be displayed on the screen in a moment, and then we'll do a random matching process. Those whose names are displayed, stay here; the rest of you, go to the second-floor stands and wait."

"Before the knockout stage begins, I need to confirm if anyone has chosen to forfeit?"

No sooner had Hayate Gekko finished speaking than Kabuto Yakushi, who had been hiding in the crowd, stepped forward and raised his hand, saying, "I choose to abstain!"

"Your name is... Yakushi Kabuto. I understand. You can leave now."

Hayate Gekko glanced at the form in his hand, then nodded, crossed out Kabuto Yakushi's name, and said, "One person has chosen to abstain, so..."

"I also abstain."

"Me too."

At this moment, two Sound Ninja suddenly stepped forward and also chose to abstain.

Seeing this, many Jonin showed strange expressions.

However, upon seeing the bandages on the two Sound Ninja, a sudden realization flashed through his mind.

They didn't know much about this newly established village.

Judging from the appearance of these two Sound Ninja, they must be very weak.

Reaching this point is already their limit.

The withdrawal of two Sound Ninja also diverted a lot of attention from Kabuto Yakushi.

"I understand, you can all leave now."

Moonlight Gale crossed out two more names and said, "Three people have abstained, leaving 21 candidates. One person will receive a bye in the end."

"If no one withdraws, then I will declare the knockout stage open."

Moonlight Gale deliberately waited a few seconds, and after seeing that no one had abstained, he took out his walkie-talkie and notified the proctor backstage: "Let's begin!"

Swah——

The large screen on the wall lit up instantly.

The names of twenty-one Yagyu characters appeared one after another on the screen.

After all the names were displayed, a giant VS appeared.

Names flashed continuously on both sides of VS.

Soon, the two names were finalized, and they were—

Uchiha Sasuke VS Red Copper Armor!

Upon seeing these two names, Yagyu smiled inwardly.

They claim it's random matching, but this is clearly a rigged operation.

If Sasuke Uchiha's name hadn't been mentioned in the first match, Yagyu might have thought it was just a coincidence in the original story.

But now, just like in the original story, it's explained that Hiruzen Sarutobi deliberately arranged this so that Sasuke Uchiha could go down and seal the Heavenly Curse Seal as soon as possible.

"Sasuke Uchiha and Akabane Armor, please stay here. The rest of you, please wait on the second-floor stands."

As the sound of Moonlight Gale faded, Yagyu and the others walked up to the stands and came to the side of the Jonin who was giving instructions.

Kurenai Yuhi gave the three of them a thumbs-up again and said with a smile, "Well done. After this exam, I'll treat you to barbecue."

"Thanks to Hinata's Byakugan and Shino's insects, we don't need to search for the target or the central tower," Yagyu said with a smile.

Hinata smiled shyly, while Shino Aburame said calmly, "Yagyu's illusion technique is the key."

"No need to be modest, all three of you performed very well."

Kurenai patted Yagyu and Shino Aburame on the shoulder, then put her arm around Hinata's shoulder and said with a smile, "Let's watch the match first, see how you compare to the others, and get a feel for your opponents' abilities beforehand."

"Yes."

The three Yagyu nodded in agreement, then either stood or leaned on the railings of the stands, looking down at Uchiha Sasuke and Akabane Armor standing facing each other.

Red Copper Armor was Kabuto Yakushi's teammate and one of Orochimaru's spies planted in Konoha.

As luck would have it, Orochimaru's chess piece just happened to be matched with Uchiha Sasuke.

Yagyu couldn't help but chuckle to himself. As expected of master and disciple, the two of them had intervened in this matchmaking process with great tacit understanding.

The battle began quickly, but it ended just as quickly.

Just like in the original story, Sasuke Uchiha is temporarily unable to use the power of the Sharingan due to the cursed seal, and can only fight against the Red Copper Armor using the basics of the Ninja Academy.

However, because the Copper Armor has chakra absorption capabilities, Sasuke Uchiha, who was already weakened by the cursed seal, found it difficult to defeat the Copper Armor in a short time.

Just as the cursed seal was about to spread, Sasuke Uchiha suppressed it with his willpower and defeated the Copper Armor with his self-created Lion Barrage.

It seems that Class 7 encountered Class Might Guy in the main building and got a lecture from Lee when they left.

Seeing that Sasuke Uchiha defeated the Copper Armor without using the Cursed Seal, Orochimaru became even more eager for the vessel.

After the battle, Sasuke Uchiha was taken away by Kakashi Hatake to a secret chamber to seal the cursed seal.

Seeing this, Orochimaru quietly left.

The screen flickered again, and the names of the second round of matches were quickly displayed.

Aburame Shino VS Takuto!

"We're doomed. Our opponent isn't Naruto. We're definitely out now."

A wail suddenly erupted from the other stands.

Then, Kiba Inuzuka's civilian teammate next to him started yelling, covering his head with his hands.

Upon hearing this, Naruto immediately retorted angrily, "Hey, what do you mean by that?"

Takuto did not respond to Naruto, but with the encouragement of Kiba Inuzuka and another female teammate, he bravely faced Shino Aburame.

As it turned out, Shino Aburame won the battle with ease.

Unless a commoner ninja gains the favor of a supervising Jonin, receives investment from the village to become a Chunin, or exchanges merit points for ninjutsu scrolls, it's considered quite good if they can learn one or two ninjutsu techniques from a supervising Jonin in their lifetime.

Moreover, the amount of chakra possessed by ordinary ninjas is pitifully small.

In the original story, Sasuke Uchiha only used a C-rank Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, which greatly surprised Kakashi Hatake.

A commoner ninja at this age doesn't even have enough chakra to use a C-rank ninjutsu.

Takuto wasn't instantly defeated by Shino Aburame, who had been trained by her family since childhood and was capable of using various insect-related secret techniques. This was because Shino Aburame was holding back.

This world, where bloodline reigns supreme, is just that cruel!

(End of this chapter)