Naruto: I, who didn't want to be hacked to pieces, saved the ninja world.

She glanced at Temari again and noticed that, far from being disappointed by her younger brother's surrender, she seemed...

He seemed somewhat relieved.

What's the situation?

Maki suddenly realized that his three students had become somewhat unfamiliar in the past few days.

"White Cloud Green Leaf wins!"

Hayate Moonlight announced the outcome of the battle.

Shirakumo Aoba glanced at Kankuro, who looked like his wife had died, and then turned and walked back to the audience seats.

"As expected of Aoba!"

Several people stepped forward to offer their congratulations.

"Next match: Rock Lee vs. Gaara!"

Hayate Gekko announced the members for the next match.

"Is it finally my turn?!"

A green-skinned man suddenly darted out from the crowd.

"Xiao Li, keep going! I believe in your youth!"

Naruto gave Rock Lee a thumbs up.

"Naruto, I will definitely win. I have no regrets about my youth."

Rock Lee also gave a thumbs up.

To be honest, the relationship between Naruto and Rock Lee is quite complicated.

Logically speaking, Rock Lee is a year older than Naruto, so he should be Naruto's senior.

But Naruto became Might Guy's disciple earlier than Rock Lee, so he should be the senior disciple.

"If both of my disciples can become Chunin, then I will have no regrets about my youth."

Might Guy looked at his two disciples who shared a deep mutual respect, and tears streamed down his face.

"That might be a bit difficult."

Kakashi's expression was serious.

Asuma, standing nearby, nodded in agreement. "That Gaara doesn't seem like a simple character."

An ordinary genin wouldn't have such a terrifying killing intent.

Even so, I still believe in Xiao Li's youth!

Matt Kay's expression was resolute.

After glancing at the competition list, Baiyun Qingye also thought about it briefly.

"Qingye, what are you going to do?"

Yakumo looked at Shirokumo Aoba, who was about to leave, and asked in confusion.

"I'm going to Sunagakure to buy a bougainvillea. You all stay here and don't move around."

"?"

After saying that, amidst the bewildered expressions of the girls, Shirokumo Aoba walked towards the location of the Sand Ninja trio.

"You bastard, you're not here to mock me on purpose, are you?"

Kankuro looked at Shirakumo Aoba approaching with a very unpleasant expression.

Maki also looked at the other party curiously, but didn't say anything. He also wanted to see what the other party's purpose was.

Shirokumo Aoba ignored Kankuro's clownish behavior and looked at Temari first.

"Temari, congratulations on passing the preliminaries. That wind release technique you used just now was really cool, and the battle was quite exciting."

"Th...thank you."

Temari was stunned for a moment, her cheeks slightly flushed, "Your match just now was also very exciting."

Kankuro: So?

You think it's exciting to see your brother getting beaten up, right?

At that moment, Kankuro felt like he was the outsider.

However, neither of them paid any attention to his thoughts.

Shirokumo Aoba walked over to Gaara again and naturally put her arm around his shoulder.

At this moment, not only Temari and Kankuro, but even Maki's heart was in his throat.

He was genuinely afraid that Gaara would lose control at this moment, causing their village's plan to fail.

However, to his even greater surprise, Gaara did not lose control; instead, he seemed to relax in some inexplicable way.

"Gaara, we're friends, right?"

Bai Yunqingye said softly.

"Friend...?"

Gaara looked completely bewildered; this was a completely unfamiliar word to him.

"Is there...something wrong?"

Gaara felt uneasy, as it was the first time someone had been so close to him, and it gave him goosebumps all over.

"Xiao Li is my friend, so go easy on him later. I'll treat you to dinner."

"..."

After a long silence, Gaara nodded. "Mm."

"Okay, then I'll go back first."

"Aren't we going to watch the game together?" Temari asked instinctively.

"No, thank you. I'll treat you to a meal next time."

"?"

Maki stared blankly at Bai Yunqingye's departing figure.

When did Gaara become someone who can put his arm around people's shoulders?

and……

That's the enemy! With a major battle imminent, our own trump card is siding up with an important figure on the enemy side, chatting happily.

What kind of nonsense is this?

There is a traitor among us!

Come to think of it, the three of them seem unaware of the village's plan this time...

"Kankuro, come here for a moment, I have something to ask you."

After regaining his senses, Maki patted Kankuro on the shoulder.

He discovered that of his three students, only Kankuro was relatively normal.

But Kankuro was also a little confused.

"The match begins!"

As the sound of moonlight and gusts of wind faded away.

The battle between Rock Lee and Gaara is about to begin.

Chapter 258 Orochimaru's Plan

First, Rock Lee's attacks were blocked by Gaara's sand, then he removed his weights, and then he used the Eight Gates.

In the end, Gaara narrowly won.

However, thanks to Baiyun Qingye's reminder, he held back his strength at the last moment.

Rock Lee simply lost consciousness and passed out.

Apart from a few minor fractures, the rest of the injuries were mostly caused by Rock Lee opening the Eight Gates.

In short, both sides were safe and sound.

However, the battle between Rock Lee and Gaara still sparked a lot of discussion.

After all, the strength they displayed during their battle far exceeded the level of a genin.

Even battles between ordinary Jonin wouldn't have such a large scale.

As a result, the onlookers felt that the following matches were rather unremarkable.

Ino, Tenten, and the others also successfully passed the preliminary rounds.

Soon, the preliminary rounds came to an end, and the next step was the draw for the third exam, a one-on-one duel.

After all the ninjas who failed in the preliminary rounds left, the winners stood once again in the center of the already dilapidated plaza.

Tsunade stood on the high platform, surveying the many ninjas still remaining on the field, and was quite satisfied.

Because Konoha had the most people who passed the preliminary rounds among all the ninja villages.

"The third round of the Chunin Exams will be held in three days. These three days are for you to adjust your bodies and gather information about your opponents."

"Next, each of you will draw a slip of paper from the box that Red Bean is holding to determine your opponent."

Compared to the more than one-month rest period in the original work, Tsunade only gave everyone three days to adjust.

It's impossible for her to give the Sand Village so much time to prepare when she knew they harbored malicious intentions.

"I'll bring it over; you can draw lots in order."

With her eyes half-closed, Hongdou walked up to the crowd with the lottery box in her hand.

"The number plates inside are exactly the same as the number of you."