On the last day, at 10 AM, Feng Zheng, Hodaka, Mieko, and six Kirigakure Genin left the Tower and gathered outside.
They noticed four teams already waiting there. Each team also noticed them and realized Nara Kori had been telling the truth—their scrolls had been stolen right from the start.
However, except for Nara's team, the other three teams were on high alert, preventing any of the teams from suddenly rushing to the Tower.
Unfortunately, the last team did not show up, so they were all disqualified.
Since no fights occurred, the uninvited spectators were quite disappointed.
The Chunin allowed these four teams into the Tower, as they all looked exhausted and injured.
A while later, the last team also entered the Tower. Inuzuka Tsume gathered everyone in the hall where the preliminaries were usually held. She announced,
"All teams that passed the exam, stand here! Hokage-sama will arrive shortly to speak to you!"
The nine Genin stood in a disciplined manner, while the remaining fifteen Genin stood further away. Feng Zheng looked at them and thought,
"It's strange that no one died! It seems Hidden Mist is here to build good relationships, so they didn't kill anyone."
Chunin stood around the hall, and some Jonin Sensei also began to appear. They stood with their Genin squads.
Two Hidden Mist Jonin also stood there. Feng Zheng observed both of them but couldn't recognize either.
Soon, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, arrived. He was accompanied by four Anbu and several Jonin, including Renjiro and Genshu.
Renjiro smiled and nodded at his squad. He had heard they had significantly broken the record.
Feng Zheng observed them and thought,
"Genshu is standing with all the Jonin. Has he been promoted? Or is he just here because his students are? As for the Anbu, one looks like Kakashi. I don't recognize the rest."
Just as Feng Zheng was observing everyone, Hiruzen walked to the front of them. Inuzuka Tsume said,
"Listen up, you brats! Hokage-sama is here to explain the details of the third stage of the Chunin Exams."
Hiruzen stood before the children, carefully observing them, and thought,
"Only three Genin from our Village passed, while Hidden Mist has six. It seems the rebel faction is eager to project a good image. Well, I can let them win this round, so their leader will owe us a favor. Even if they win, considering they are at war, they won't be able to steal Konoha's missions."
A moment later, he spoke,
"Congratulations on passing the second round of the exam."
Then he looked at Feng Zheng, Hodaka, and Mieko and said,
"Congratulations on breaking the record and becoming the fastest team to pass the second round of the exam."
The Genin who had not passed were surprised to hear this. After all, they were the youngest team.
The Hidden Mist Genin and Jonin also looked at them. Although they cursed a few times while looking at Feng Zheng.
However, Feng Zheng was excited to hear it.
"Great! I didn't expect him to say that. Now I can make my request without embarrassment! It will also feel very natural."
Hiruzen continued,
"Before explaining the third stage, I will first explain the true reasons behind these Chunin Exams..."
He explained in detail how the exams replaced war and why Genin needed to give their all, just as he did in the 'Naruto' manga.
Everyone listened intently. Feng Zheng also listened carefully, but for a different reason. He was looking for loopholes in Hiruzen's speech that he could use later to persuade him.
After Hiruzen finished speaking, Feng Zheng sighed inwardly.
"I barely remember the dialogue from the 'Naruto' anime or manga now. Besides the major events in each arc, I seem to have forgotten most of it. But there's nothing I can do about it. After all, I haven't watched 'Naruto' for several years in my previous life."
After Hiruzen finished explaining, Inoichi Yamanaka stepped forward and said,
"I will be the proctor for the third round, and now I will explain the details."
"The third round will be a simple knockout tournament. The matches will be held in one month, with important figures such as Kage and Daimyo in attendance. You will fight alone; your team will no longer be able to help you. As long as you lose any match, you will be eliminated, and the winner will continue to fight other winners."
Upon hearing this, some Genin were excited and eager to show off their skills.
Feng Zheng looked at his teammates. Both were very excited, and he thought,
"What's so exciting about a fight held for the entertainment of some rich old men?"
On the Hidden Mist side, Rintaro seemed very excited. He looked at Feng Zheng and thought,
"You must win until you fight me. I will make you pay a hundredfold for those four sleepless nights!"
Then Inoichi Yamanaka picked up a box and said,
"Everyone, take a piece of paper from this box."
Everyone picked up a folded piece of paper. After drawing his paper, Feng Zheng stood beside Mieko.
Inoichi Yamanaka said,
"Open it and tell me the number on your paper, starting from 1."
Sakai Yumi, "1."
Kuhaku Rou, "2."
Hyuga Hodaka, "3."
Matsushita Satoru, "4."
Kido Kohaku, "5."
Uchiha Mieko, "6."
Satsuma Rentaro, "7."
Suzuki Feng Zheng, "8."
Yuuki Shinichi, "9."
Inoichi Yamanaka wrote down everyone's names next to their numbers and displayed a chart of the matchups.
He announced,
"The matchups are as follows: Sakai Yumi VS Kuhaku Rou, Hyuga Hodaka VS Matsushita Satoru, Kido Kohaku VS Uchiha Mieko. Since we have nine members, numbers 8 and 9 will have an extra match. So, the first match will be Suzuki Feng Zheng VS Yuuki Shinichi, and the winner will face Satsuma Rentaro."
Feng Zheng thought,
"An extra match? It shouldn't be a problem. But why are my matchups so difficult? The first round is against an Ice Release user. Then it's Rintaro, who seems to be the strongest among the Kirigakure Genin, and after that, I might have to fight Mieko. All three of these matches will be tough. However, in the finals, I should be fighting Hodaka. If I still have Chakra by then, that battle will be easy."
The others were also thinking about their matchups. Inoichi Yamanaka asked,
"Do you have any other questions?"
Kuhaku Rou asked,
"Since this is a tournament, will only one person become a Chunin?"
Feng Zheng looked at him, puzzled.
"Just like Hiruzen's speech, is this question asked every time?"
Inoichi Yamanaka shook his head and replied,
"No, we will decide whether to promote you to Chunin based on your performance in the battles. If you perform well, you might be promoted even if you don't win any battles. So it's possible for everyone to be promoted, or for no one to be promoted. Are there any other questions?"
Seeing that no one else had questions, Feng Zheng raised his hand and said,
"Um... I have a question for Hokage-sama."
Inoichi Yamanaka was very surprised. Renjiro raised his eyebrows, not understanding what his student wanted to ask. Genshu, however, had a very bad feeling.
"He's not going to...?"
Hiruzen showed a kind smile and said,
"Ask away, Feng Zheng."
Feng Zheng looked at Hiruzen's smile, and a very innocent smile appeared on his face. He innocently asked,
"Hokage-sama, since my team broke the previous record by such a large margin in the second round of the exam, will we receive any rewards?"
