𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐀 𝐇𝐘𝐔𝐆𝐀 𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐍

The Third Exam, Pt. 1

The next day, Hanara was in the fighting arena that the third exam was going to take place in. She was standing in a line and was in-between Shino and Shikamaru, just to be able to say she wasn't avoiding him. Hanara looked through all the examinees and narrowed her eyes.

'Naruto, Sasuke, and Dosu aren't here. I wonder what happened.'

"Your opponent isn't here," Shino commented.

"Mn," Hanara nodded, "If he doesn't come here soon I may be given an automa-"

There was a huge thud that made Hanara cut herself off. She turned to see what caused it and saw Naruto face-planted in front of the entrance.

"What the heck did he get into this time?" she mumbled under her breath.

"Oh man, what a drag," Shikamaru sighed.

"Ahhh! Guys, run! You won't believe this, but there's a huge herd of stampeding bulls coming this way!" Naruto yelled as he forced himself onto his feet.

"Yeah, you're right, Naruto. I don't believe it," Shikamaru said.

"Naruto, think for a second," Hanara told him, "Do you hear them? No. They might have been chasing you but the ninjas at the front would've taken care of them."

"Oh that's true," Naruto said before his eyes took in the other competitors, "Hey, where's Sasuke?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "No clue."

"Yeah, that Sound ninja, Dosu, is missing too," Hanara informed them.

"Hey, quit the fidgeting, you three," the proctor (Hey, where's that Hayate dude?) demanded, "Stand up straight and present yourselves proudly to the spectators."

Hanara straightened herself up after checking herself over. She had decided to ditch the bandages on her forehead today, instead opting to tie her forehead protector there. It made her feel a bit different but was overall more comfortable. She didn't have to deal with the metal bouncing on her collarbone every time she ran.

"Welcome to all!" the Hokage announced, standing up from his seat at the top of the stadium, "Our deepest thanks to you for coming to the Village Hidden in the Leaves for this year's Chunin Exams. We have reached the final competition which will be between the nine candidates that have made it this far. We ask that no one leaves until the competition is complete. Now, everyone enjoy!"

'Nine competitors? Is it Dosu or Sasuke that won't make it?'

The proctor turns to face the competitors and pulls out a slip of paper, "I'm Genma. I'll be your proctor today. Look over this piece of paper, there's been a slight change in the matchups. It's set now, though, so take one last look at the matchups."

'Everything's the same except I'm fighting whoever wins Shikamaru's match first instead of fighting Dosu. What happened to him?'

"Uh, Mr. Genma, question," Naruto said, raising his hand.

"What is it?" Genma asked.

"I was wondering, what will happen to Sasuke if he doesn't show up?" Naruto questioned.

"If a candidate is not here by the time their match comes up, they forfeit the match," Genma responded.

You could hear Naruto's gulp.

Genma then addressed all the contestants, "Listen up! The terrain is different but the rules are the same as the preliminaries'. That is, that there are no rules. The match will continue until one of the candidates acknowledges defeat or dies. That being said, if I think a match is over, I will step in and end it. No arguments allowed, understood?"