I'm just going to focus on Ko's team for this or else it'd be super long and go into the final exam for the next chapter
"Alright now pay attention, Lord Hokage is going to explain the third exam to you. You better pay attention maggots." Anko said to the group getting their attention.
"Congratulations on passing the second exam." Orochimaru announced looking around at the worn out genin. "There is something I'd like all of you to do before the third exam. Due to the various participants, we must have preliminary matches to minimize the numbers before moving to the next exam. "
Outbursts had been heard throughout the group demanding an explanation.
"We hadn't expected so many of you to pass the first two exams. According to the rules of the exams, a preliminary round can be held at any stage in order to reduce the number of candidates remaining. During the final exam, there will be important guests watching. We can't afford to waste their time, they only came here to see the best. If there is anyone who feels like they can't continue, you may drop out now."
Many complained about starting the preliminaries so soon but Ko and her team remained quiet as they felt ready and wanted to get on with the exam.
"The rules are simple, there are none. You will fight until one dies or concedes defeat or is rendered physically incapable of continuing the contest. Your proctor Hyate will judge the matches and may step in if he feels necessary in order to avoid casualties. Now it's time to select the first match."
Orochimaru turned to Anko who spoke through a speaker. A monitor appeared from above them turning on and randomly shuffling through the names until eventually choosing the first genin.
Sasuke Uchiha vs Riku Tsuchigumo
Everyone else ascended the stairs to the viewing balcony while the two stayed facing each other.
"You better win Riku. Don't let that Uchiha beat you." Ko told him before going up to the balcony while Niko gave him a smile and followed in suit. Sasuke and Riku glared at each other as they waited for everyone to clear the area. Once the match began, Riku lunged at Sasuke going for a punch but Sasuke easily blocked it returning one.
"Tsk, always charging in first before analyzing." Ko commented as she watched the boys exchange blows.
She had to admit, Sasuke lived up to his clan's reputation. Anko made sure that their taijutsu was up to par over the years and Sasuke was able to keep up with Riku without using his Sharingan. Sasuke lept back weaving signs to form a fireball, an Uchiha signature move. The fire ball flew towards Riku who jumped to the side only receiving a burn on his right leg. He stumbled when he landed but caught himself ready for Sasuke's next move.
Anko's pain endurance training came in handy for when Sasuke attacked Riku again with a kunai purposely aiming for Riku's injured side. Riku didn't even wince when he put weight on his injured leg in order to defend himself. He blocked with his own kunai which looked different from a normal one, he smiled when the kunai collided. Instantly, sparks began to flow from Riku's weapon into Sasuke causing Sasuke to scream in pain dropping the kunai.
"Heh, big mistake when fighting a lightning user; my kunai was made specifically for this purpose. Made out of tungsten; it has a high melting point making it the ideal metal to use for such an attack." Riku said as he kicked Sasuke in the stomach sending him against the wall. Something then sparked in Sasuke; his eyes held anger suddenly changing into the Sharingan. He ran towards Riku engaging in taijutsu once more but with greater speed this time which was what Riku lacked.
Riku managed to dodge the majority of Sasuke's assault but he was starting to lose his stamina. Sasuke jumped into the air spewing more fire which hit Riku's left arm. Riku hid his pain as he weaved more hand signs making lightning form at his fingertips. He held out his uninjured arm making sparks fly towards Sasuke. The jutsu looked amazing to everyone but his team; this was a newly developed technique that was uncontrollable taking up a lot of chakra.
As soon as they were shot, four of the five went astray hitting the wall, one even went towards the spectator balcony causing the genin in the area to scream. Luckily, the last one hit Sasuke's chest causing his teammates to scream his name. Riku smiled triumphantly but soon was shocked when smoke erupted from Sasuke replacing his form with a kunai. Riku was kicked forward then Sasuke appeared under him kicking him up towards the ceiling. As he was in the air, Sasuke appeared above him kicking him towards the ground yelling "lion's barrage".
Riku was kicked to the ground with great force making Niko wince. The battle was over instantly; Riku's previous attack drained his chakra to the point where he couldn't move.
"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha!"
His team cheered while Ko looked down at Riku with disappointment. He lost to a rookie because he didn't think before acting. She watched as the medical team checked over his injuries taking him away on a stretcher.
Anko stood behind her genin only to sigh. "I thought he learned his lesson from our last lesson and that beating I gave him when we returned; that boy."
Everyone looked back up at the screen watching the name shuffle.
"Next match, Shino Aburame vs Niko Rinha." The proctor announced. Ko could see Niko stiffen knowing she had a fear of bugs. She put a hand on her teammates shoulder to comfort the girl.
"Deep breaths, this is a chance to conquer this fear. You're bigger and smarter; incinerate them."
"But,"she started only to be cut off by Ko.
"No buts, get him in a genjutsu and you'll win. You've got this." Ko said with a small smile still seeing a nervous expression on Niko's face because of her lack of confidence.
The two faced each other waiting for the match to begin; Ko could see Niko shaking with fear. When the match began, Niko jumped back taking the defensive just as Shino's bugs emerged from his skin making everyone show disgust. Niko shuttered with disgust as they swarmed around the rookie all making their own sounds making it sound like they were cackling. Shino commanded his insects to attack Niko who let out a squeal as she dodged them.
"They're a rare species of parasitic beetle that attack their prey in a swarm eating its chakra. An army of this size will suck you dry in less than a minute. Your only option is to forfeit the match. Judging by your facial expression, that would be your best bet." Shino said educating her on her other opponent but the look on her face only worsened.
"I wish you didn't tell me that." She responded with her voice wavering.
This match wasn't in Niko's favor, she was more of a close ranged fighter while Shino was long ranged. Shino was also wearing shades making it hard for her to catch him in a genjutsu. Dodging was all Niko could do at this point, but she was losing space; the bugs had taken up almost half of the area. Ko bit her lip as she watched her teammate do nothing but tire herself out. Her confidence and fear were getting in the way of her abilities.
"Come on Niko, face your fear! Don't lose to a rookie like Riku." She thought as Niko dodged another attack but soon was hit when the swarm separated attacking her from both sides. "Niko! Get it together!" Ko yelled to her teammate. "You can do this! You're better than this!"
After Ko's words of encouragement, Niko's expression changed from fear to determination. She reached into her weapons pouch throwing multiple kunai towards Shino who used his insects to protect him but he failed to see the exploding tag attached to them. The explosion disoriented the insects giving Niko an opening, she weaved hand signs blowing fire from her mouth incinerating them and then created a clone to get behind Shino.
When the smoke cleared, she ran towards him engaging in taijutsu. Out of the three, she was the most skilled in taijutsu; Anko made sure to give her enough skill sets to be a useful medic on the team. Shino was also skilled but not as quick as Niko so she landed a few blows. Shino went to summon more insects but Niko's clone sent a fireball to kill them once more then rushed towards him kicking him to the ground making his glasses turn askew revealing part of his eye.
Niko didn't hesitate to ensnare him in her genjutsu which, judging by his lack of movement, she successfully completed. Niko simply walked over and put a kunai to Shino's throat winning the match. She jumped up and down cheering for herself then looked up at Ko who gave her a smile. She excitedly ran up the stairs hugging her teammate with glee making Ko roll her eyes at Niko's childishness.
"Told you, " Ko said to her.
The screen whirled with names again choosing the next match.
"Next up, Ko Yasha vs Rock Lee."
A smile formed on Ko's lips as she looked over at her former classmate. She knew Lee didn't have chakra so he'll mainly use taijutsu. The two descended down the stairs and faced each other. The jonin were eager to watch the fight as curiosity took over them. Orochimaru on the other hand, was nervous for her fight knowing how Gai had trained his student. His daughter was also unpredictable and let her competitiveness get the better of her which what worried him the most.
"I figured we'd have to fight, I'm glad it was sooner." Lee said getting into a defensive stance making Ko get into her own.
As soon as the match started, the two instantly engaged in taijutsu as Ko predicted.
"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee shouted attempting to swing his left to Ko's head which she easily blocked catching him off guard.
"Heh, guess you didn't expect me to block eh?" She said with a cocky smirk grabbing his leg with her opposite hand followed by swinging him around throwing him towards the wall.
Lee flipped in the air landing on his feet and went after her again but it was blocked; both were equally matched able to block each other's blows. Ko jumped back drawing the sword that was attached to her back only to sprint towards Lee. She slashed at Lee over and over predicting his moves landing a few scratches on him. When Lee created some distance between them, Ko didn't hesitate to weave seals while balancing her sword on her shoulder. Instantly, she dropped to the ground placing her palms to the floor making the ground shake.
Lee started to lose his balance stumbling onto the ground so Ko dashed forward kicking Lee in the chest making him tumble across the floor but he caught himself springing off his arm landing back onto his feet. He avoided Ko's sword by jumping up onto the statue which displayed the Ram hand sign.
"Alright Lee, take them off!" His sensei said from the balcony.
"But Gai sensei, you said that was only as a last resort. When the lives of very important people were at stake."
"That's right I did, but this is an exception."
"Really?" He questioned with glee then bent down taking off his orange leg warmers revealing weights only to unstrap them holding them out to his side.
"Ah that is better, now I will be able to move freely." He sighed then released the weights.
All eyes widened when they created craters in the concrete floor signifying how heavy they were.
"Shit," Ko cursed knowing she'd be at a disadvantage now.
In an instant, Lee appeared behind her swinging his leg to Ko's right side causing her to fly into the wall making her sword fly away from her. Pain erupted from her right side from the strength of that kick knocking the wind out of her. She attempted to heal herself knowing her rib was either cracked or broken but Lee didn't give her any time. She tried to block his assault, but he was moving too fast. Ko was starting to get frustrated at the situation. She was the number one student in their class where Lee was at the bottom; she couldn't lose to him.
Repeatedly, she was kicked and punched until she had enough. Despite her Father's warning, she used her kekkei genkai making her eyes glow red. Lee, along with everyone else, were stunned by them giving Ko an opening. In his hesitance, she wove signs creating a clone then continued to make more.
"Striking Shadow Snake!" She shouted as snakes came out of her sleeves attempting to wrap around Lee but he jumped out of the way only to be met with Ko's clone who kicked him further from the original.
The rain shinobi's interest peaked as they watched the Hokage's daughter. They were focused on her glowing eyes making smirks appear on their faces. Orochimaru caught this action making him want to stop the fight but he knew he couldn't. He had to be smart and not let his emotions take control.
Ko wove more signs producing a fire ball aiming it at Lee. He went to dodge to the left but the clone was one step ahead. She knew where he was going and grabbed his leg while in mid air swinging his body back towards the flames. Lee maneuvered his body to forcefully kick the flames away which he somewhat did, but the fire still singed his foot. Ko expected him to land on his feet then fall to the ground from the pain but Lee landed on his hands earning a confused look from her.
She had to end this now. Ko put away her sword then reached into her weapons pouch pulling out senbon needles. When she was about to throw them, she saw Lee was going to flank to the left so that's where she aimed. Once they flew through the air, Lee did as predicted flanking to the left only to be directly hit by the senbon. No one would think of using senbon needles in battle but Ko found another use for them; soaking them in poison.
"I have a couple of minutes before the poison kicks in." Ko thought as Lee started to unravel the bandages around his arms.
He looked at Ko with determination in his eyes as he said, "get ready," before suddenly dashing towards her then started to run around her. Her clone attempted to attack him, but it was immediately hit disappearing in an instant.
"What the hell is he doing?" She wondered as she watched his movements carefully preparing for his next attack.
Before she could even defend herself, Lee appeared below her kicking her upwards followed by multiple kicks to get her higher injuring her already cracked ribs in the process. A sharp pain was felt in her chest causing worry; a rib had pierced her lung. Ko coughed when she was kicked again causing blood to spew from her mouth. Her teammates had yelled out for her never seeing or even could imagine their teammate being this injured and so close to losing.
Lee used the bandages to wrap around Ko then grabbed onto her aiming her down as he spun them both around yelling, "Primary Lotus!" They descended towards the ground making Ko land head first onto the surface making her teammates shout even more frantically. Lee landed on the side of the crater stumbling a bit and was out of breath. When the smoke cleared everyone could see Ko laying on the ground with blood starting to surround her head and arm which was visibly broken.
"It's over, I-I got her!" He cheered with victory.
The proctor walked over towards Ko about to call the match until her eyes fluttered open followed by coughing up blood.
"Do you wish to continue?" The proctor questioned.
"Y-yes," Ko gasped at the pain as she rose to her feet.
Her hand glowed green as her hand hovered over her ribs healing them. Lee advanced towards her sluggishly making Ko smirk seeing the poison had taken effect. His attack had also taken a lot out of him making this match easy for her to win. She winced as the pain from her injuries intensified making her realize just how much damage she had taken. She ceased her medical ninjutsu walking towards Lee only to stumble but caught herself.
"I gotta say, you've impressed me no talent overachiever," she said using his old nickname from the academy, "but it's over." Ko took out kunai throwing them at the exhausted genin who tried to dodge but fell to the ground getting hit in the process. "I see the poison has finally kicked in."
"W-what?" Lee questioned in shock.
"Those senbon were coated in poison which paralyzes my opponent after a couple of minutes." She continued to walk towards Lee who kept trying to move but only his lone index finger could twitch. Ko's vision started to waver and she started to sway but still managed to reach Lee putting a kunai to his neck. "I...win." She said just before falling to the ground passing out only to be caught by Orochimaru.
"Great job, as expected." He praised but he was terrified. She was not ready for the real world; she was not going to be a chuunin.
So here are the rest of the pairings if you're curious I made most of them the same
Naruto vs Kiba: Naruto wins
Sakura vs Ino: Tie
Hinata vs Neji: Neji wins
Shikamaru vs Eshima (rain shinobi): Shikarmaru wins
Choji vs Kane (rain shinobi): Kane wins
Tenten vs Kisho (rain shinobi): Kisho wins
I watched the preliminaries again and it was a bit emotional to see where everyone started compared to seeing them in the war and even in the Boruto series T-T they've grown so much!