[A/N: I'm going to speed things up even more in this chapter, omitting several fights, I don't want to spend another ten chapters on that.]
The ending of the fight between Ryuta and Lee was unexpected: a double elimination.
The reason? Time. They couldn't stay there in the arena waiting for Ryuta to wake up, after all, Jugo wasn't Netero, who had cultivated patience by spending years in nature throwing 'grateful' punches. After half an hour without managing to wake Ryuta, they were both eliminated.
Leaving Lee completely shocked.
Neji had a good fight, but lost, Lee won, but couldn't wake his opponent up, so he lost too.
In the end, Tenten, who was in the waiting room, almost wanted to hit Lee on the head with a stick.
Now, from their team, she was the only one left!
Thus, despite Lee's enthusiastic protests being silenced by the cold glint in Orochimaru's eyes, Lee could only leave the arena dejectedly as Tenten entered.
She completely ignored the idiot, restraining herself from hitting him on the head a few times.
Right in front of her was her opponent, the ninth and final match of the first phase, Tenten vs. Totchi from Takigakure.
Totchi felt that Taki had been very unlucky, Fuu had given up, Kun too, and he was the only one left.
The fight between him and Tenten was the most boring one so far.
Even the audience seemed bored.
Totchi, having witnessed Konoha's previous battles, chose a defensive stance.
Tenten, whose fighting style consisted of throwing weapons, threw weapons from left to right, trying to hit the man.
At first the fight was spectacular, with hundreds of weapons flying around, but over time, Totchi's escape and Tenten's pursuit became... tedious.
Half an hour later, Tenten was breathing heavily, while Totchi, who had expended less energy, was only sweating a little.
So, when he placed the kunai against Tenten's neck, she could only bitterly give up.
Totchi knew he had fought cowardly, but he wanted at least one victory for Taki, and so he succeeded.
In the end, from the first phase, the winners were Nanami, Suigetsu, Karin, Hinata, Shino, Choji, Ranmaru, and Totchi.
Four from Oto, three from Konoha, and one from Taki.
The overall result was unexpected, due to the limitations of the exam itself, otherwise, the outcome would have been different, Lee would have passed, Hinata wouldn't have had the opportunity to turn the tables, and Nanami wouldn't have made Fuu give up with her "tantrum."
Soon the competitors for the second phase were announced: Nanami vs Suigetsu, Karin vs Hinata, Shino vs Choji, and Ranmaru vs Totchi.
Even in the first phase, it was clear how the fights would progress if everyone gave up when they lost.
Nanami didn't stand a chance, nor did Hinata or Totchi.
Shino vs Choji... Choji was really unlucky, Shino's bugs work better with large, slow targets, Choji is both.
As soon as Nanami entered the arena, her eyes still red from crying, she simply raised her hand and gave up, causing Suigetsu to raise an eyebrow.
Karin and Hinata's fight was sad.
Hinata advanced, trying to close the distance, but she was quickly trapped by Karin's chains.
Karin squeezed until she gave up, it took quite a while, but she wasn't as stubborn as Nanami.
The fight between Shino and Choji went exactly as expected. Choji tried to fight back, even briefly entering his 'giant butterfly mode', but he was only drained faster as Shino escaped and absorbed his chakra with the insects.
In the end, Choji was as tired as an old dog, and quickly gave up.
Shikamaru and Asuma, seeing this, sighed, it was a shame, but it was to be expected.
The final fight was even quicker, as soon as he saw Ranmaru's red eyes, Totchi stood still for a moment. Before waking up, Ranmaru told him to give up. Totchi tried to fight, but Ranmaru caught him in another genjutsu.
After the third time, sweating profusely, he gave up with a wry smile.
Ranmaru simply smiled gently and thanked him.
The second phase was much milder than the first, leaving the audience somewhat unhappy, except for Choji's fight, seeing a giant like that was truly eye-opening.
In the third phase, something interesting finally happened, Suigetsu vs. Karin and Shino vs. Ranmaru.
As soon as they stepped onto the field, Suigetsu's easy smile faded. He had been training with Karin for years, they both knew each other's techniques and powers.
Fighting each other with everything they have could demolish this arena.
Karin was the first to speak. - Let's decide without using the cursed mark.
Suigetsu thought for a moment and agreed.
The audience was already excited, two students of Jugo, this fight promised to be much more interesting.