Chapter 29: This One

Several days later, the second exam finally came to an end.

The Third Hokage and the team leaders from each village entered the central tower’s main hall.

Once all candidates who passed the second exam had gathered, Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat and began his usual rambling speech.

Aside from encouraging the candidates and slipping in his own propaganda about the Will of Fire.

The gist was: since the third exam would involve dignitaries from various nations, Konoha decided to hold a preliminary round to eliminate some candidates and shorten the schedule.

Finally, after a long-winded tirade, Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent.

At that moment, a thin-nosed ninja with heavy dark circles under his eyes leapt down from the stands and landed steadily before the candidates.

It was Gekko Hayate—whose girlfriend was really pretty!

He lifted his head slightly and coughed a few times.

“I am Gekko Hayate, chief examiner of the preliminary round.”

“The third exam is an individual contest. If Itachi feel unable to compete, raise your hand to withdraw—Itachi have three minutes to decide.”

A silence fell over the candidates.

Probably because Dosu had vanished.

After Gekko Hayate spoke, no one immediately chose to withdraw.

But as time passed, some candidates gradually raised their hands and opted out.

Suddenly, Rojie’s gaze shifted.

He noticed that Sakura from Kakashi’s team had directly chosen to withdraw.

Rojie remembered that earlier that morning, just before the second exam ended, the three of them had rushed to the central tower barely in time to pass.

Compared to the original timeline, the injuries on Team Seven were clearly worse.

Naruto, thanks to the Uzumaki clan’s astonishing recovery, showed little visible damage—only his clothes were torn and ragged, making him look disheveled.

Sakura’s injuries, however, were obvious: her entire body was wrapped in bandages, her skin seemingly corroded by some acidic liquid, horrific to behold.

Sasuke’s injuries were relatively lighter than Sakura’s; though bandaged, the amount of wrapping was minimal.

But he kept his head lowered, his body trembling slightly, as if enduring immense pain.

It seemed the Snake Lady had already left her mark of love on Sasuke.

Rojie guessed that his own confrontation with Orochimaru had prematurely exposed him, alerting Konoha's high command.

This left Orochimaru with neither the time nor patience to slowly mold Sasuke as he had in the original timeline.

He’d gone harder.

Poor Sasuke.

But then… was this my fault?

Rojie muttered to himself, then quickly dismissed the thought.

Impossible—I could never be the one to blame.

I, Rojie, am the immaculate, non-stick ninja of the shinobi world.

It’s all that evil old bastard, Danzo’s fault!

Rojie sneered, blaming the First Hokage for it all.

The Hokage was born to take the blame!

Then Rojie turned his gaze to the arena’s large screen.

He didn’t mourn Sakura’s departure for even a second.

Next to enter the arena was…

Uchiha Sasuke!

Rojie couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.

If this draw wasn’t rigged, he’d eat his own head.

Sasuke was clearly in poor condition—so they put him on first.

Otherwise, he’d have withdrawn before the match even started.

If that were true, Sasuke’s opponent must be a pushover.

Sekiya had already entered the Dragon Chamber to attain enlightenment.

So who replaced Sekiya…?

It was indeed Lei Menyue!

Lei Menyue himself was completely stunned, eyes wide, face filled with disbelief.

What?

I’m fighting Uchiha Sasuke?

He never expected to be the first to fight.

And his opponent was Uchiha Sasuke—the top student of their year.

But after noticing Sasuke’s odd condition, Lei Menyue suddenly felt a strange surge of confidence.

Just like when he faced Dosu.

He mentally calculated.

Hmm, if Uchiha Sasuke were at full strength, I might not be able to beat him.

But this Uchiha Sasuke is half-dead.

My win probability is at least 70-30.

I’m seven, he’s three.

This one’s a guaranteed win!

The match began.

Uchiha Sasuke and Lei Menyue stood at opposite ends of the arena.

Sasuke kept his head down, trembling slightly, as if struggling to suppress the pain from his cursed seal.

Lei Menyue gripped a kunai in one hand and a shuriken in the other, his eyes brimming with confidence.

He stared fixedly at Sasuke, as if he could already see the glow of victory.

The legendary top student Uchiha Sasuke was about to become his humble defeated opponent.

Lei Menyue could barely contain his smug grin.

He roared loudly and launched the first attack.

Several shuriken shot toward Sasuke like falling stars.

Immediately after, Lei Menyue gripped his kunai, tapped the ground lightly, and rushed toward Sasuke at speed.

Just as everyone thought the famed Uchiha was about to fall to an unknown rookie—

Sasuke suddenly lifted his head.

In that instant, his eyes turned blood-red, the Sharingan pattern clearly visible, radiating eerie light.

Lei Menyue had never seen the Sharingan before; his heart jolted, and his steps slowed involuntarily.

But Sasuke gave him no time to react.

In a flash, Sasuke dodged the incoming shuriken effortlessly.

Almost simultaneously, he appeared before Lei Menyue, raised his right leg, and kicked straight into his abdomen.

The force was immense—Lei Menyue was sent flying into the air.

Before Lei Menyue could recover,

Sasuke leapt high into the air, following right behind him.

It was a pirated Shadow Dance Leaf.

Lion’s Continuous Strikes!

Sasuke growled, his legs striking like raindrops—each kick landing heavily on Lei Menyue’s body.

Lei Menyue had no chance to defend; the relentless barrage left him dazed and unconscious within moments.

Only then did Sasuke slowly land on the ground.

He pressed one hand against the back of his neck, gasping heavily.

Gekko Hayate appeared at just the right moment.

He glanced at the unconscious Lei Menyue, then at the exhausted Sasuke, and announced loudly: “Match over! Uchiha Sasuke wins!”

Yamashiro Aoba, the sensei of Rojie’s team, stood nearby. Seeing this, he awkwardly turned his head away, his face burning with embarrassment.

Before the match began, he too had assumed his student Lei Menyue could easily defeat Sasuke, given his poor condition.

He knew Rojie and Hachikumo’s strength well—he was certain they’d pass the preliminaries.

Thus, all three of his students would advance.

That would have been a great honor.

But he never imagined Lei Menyue would lose so decisively—without even getting a chance to release a Lightning Release jutsu. It was utterly humiliating.

The disgraceful Lei Menyue had already left the arena.

Next to appear…

Was Rojie.

His opponent? The hardworking genius, Konoha’s spandex-wearing weirdo, the high-start-low-finish youth—Rock Lee!

Rock Lee’s Youth Full Power Shinobi Legend.

Ongoing serial!

(End of chapter)