Naruto: Boruto Returns to Shippuden

Chapter 50 Preliminary Rounds

"Ahem... Excuse me, after hearing the explanation, does anyone want to give up?... Ahem." Moonlight Gale looked at the examinees in front of him with a serious expression, but he couldn't help coughing as soon as he finished speaking.

The coughing continued for a while, making Boruto a little worried: Hey, is this examiner really okay? It feels like you're the one who most needs to give up!

Moonlight Gale stopped coughing and then said to everyone, "If anyone wants to give up, please say so now, because the preliminary rounds will begin soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion and discussion erupted from the crowd.

"What? Start right away?"

"No way! We finally passed the second exam!"

"This is so troublesome..."

"Uh, what about lunch...?"

However, at that moment, Sasuke suddenly felt a strong pain spreading rapidly from the cursed seal on his neck. This pain made him frown and instinctively reach out to touch the cursed seal.

He clenched his teeth tightly to keep himself from making a sound. The intervals between the cursed seal attacks were getting shorter and shorter, and he didn't know how much longer he could hold on.

Boruto, who was standing nearby, noticed Sasuke's unusual behavior and asked with concern, "Sasuke, are you alright?"

Sakura also noticed Sasuke's condition, and her eyes were filled with heartache. She gently advised, "Sasuke, why don't you give up on this preliminary round? Your physical condition is not suitable for continuing."

"Because, Sasuke, you've been acting strangely ever since you were defeated by Orochimaru. It still hurts, doesn't it? That mark."

Sakura suddenly remembered Sasuke's cold and aloof appearance, covered in cursed marks, and couldn't stop crying, "Please, I beg you, give up, I'm so scared..."

Boruto looked at Sasuke. He knew Sasuke's resentment, but he also understood the efforts they had made along the way.

He said, "We've come this far with great difficulty, and it must be very difficult for us to give up on you suddenly. It's been a long time since we were able to test our strength and fight against the powerful elites from various villages. So I won't interfere too much with your decision. I just hope you won't push yourself too hard."

Sasuke was somewhat surprised by Boruto's understanding, a hint of astonishment flashing in his eyes: "Boruto..."

Nevertheless, Sakura remained steadfast in her opinion, believing that Sasuke should not be allowed to take such a risk under any circumstances.

She said firmly, "No matter what, I will tell the teacher about the mark on your body, so that..." Before she could finish speaking, Sakura was about to raise her hand.

Boruto shook his head slightly at this moment and retorted, "Do you really think the examiners are unaware of Sasuke's situation? Putting aside the fact that Sasuke has always been the focus of attention, how could the examiners be completely unaware of such a significant event as Orochimaru's appearance in the Forest of Death?"

"I suppose the examiners didn't bring this up because they were respecting Sasuke's choice."

Upon hearing Boruto's reminder, Sasuke and Sakura immediately turned their gaze towards the direction where the examiners were.

As Boruto said, they noticed that almost all the examiners' eyes were focused on Sasuke, including the Third Hokage and their Jonin instructor Kakashi.

The Third Hokage, with a pipe dangling from his mouth, said, "Just as I thought."

Ibihi: "What should we do?"

Anko Mitarashi, standing nearby, said without hesitation, "He should be forced to withdraw from the exam, then protected and isolated by the Anbu. We should immediately persuade him to withdraw..."

"He shouldn't be that obedient, after all, that guy... is a member of the Uchiha clan." Kakashi appeared beside him at some point.

Mitarashi Anko roared in fury, "What nonsense are you spouting! Even if we have to use force, we have to stop him! Even if we seal his chakra, the cursed seal will still react and forcefully unleash his power."

"This is a forbidden technique that corrodes the body of the target! It's incredible that this child has endured it; most people would have died long ago! Lord Hokage..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi: "I'm also concerned about what Orochimaru said. Let Sasuke continue the test and we'll observe. But once the cursed seal is activated and there are signs of his power going berserk, we'll stop him."

"But... I understand."

Sasuke withdrew his gaze and said, "This is not just an exam for me. I don't care whether I can become a Chunin or not. I just want to know if I am strong and fight against strong people, so I will not allow anyone to stop me."

Sakura wanted to say something more: "Sasuke..."

Naruto, standing to the side, couldn't help but say, "You idiot, what are you doing, you fool! Sakura was so worried about you..."

As soon as Naruto finished speaking, Sasuke immediately followed up, saying, "I also look forward to fighting you, Naruto and Boruto."

Upon hearing Sasuke's words, Boruto immediately puffed out his chest, confidently patted his chest, and replied, "Me too! Bring it on, Sasuke!"

Seeing their excited enthusiasm, Sakura knew her attempts to persuade them were futile. She shook her head helplessly and said softly, "You guys... forget it..."

Moonlight Gale coughed lightly and said, "So, now no one wants to quit, right?"

"Alright, the preliminary rounds will now begin. The next round will be one-on-one individual battles, which will be real combat-style matches."

"There are exactly 22 people, so there will be 11 battles in total. The winners can enter the third exam. There are no rules. It will continue until one side is dead, falls down, or admits defeat."

"So, if you don't want to die, you'd better admit defeat quickly. However, if I think the outcome is already decided, I will intervene and stop you in order to avoid needlessly increasing the death toll."

As the wall behind the examiner slowly parted to the top and bottom, a huge electronic bulletin board gradually came into view, clearly intended to announce important information and results related to the exam.

"Now, let's reveal the two players facing off in the first match."

The electronic bulletin board screen flickered rapidly, eventually settling on two names.

Uchiha Sasuke VS Akado Armor.

Sasuke's gaze was fixed on the two names displayed on the electronic bulletin board, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth. He hadn't expected it to be so fast.

Crimson Armor: Hmph! I couldn't be happier!

Boruto raised his fist: "Go for it, Sasuke, let's take him down in one go!"

Sasuke also extended his fist and lightly touched Boruto's fist, replying, "Yeah, need I say more?"

Sakura: "Be careful, Sasuke..."

Naruto said casually, "Don't lose in the first round, Sasuke!"