My Techniques are a bit off

Four Days Later – Chūnin Exams, Preliminaries, Arena

"Link! Link!"

Naruto Uzumaki yelled as he ran over, his clothes torn and muddy, a clear indication of the trials he had endured in the Forest of Death. Yet, despite his appearance, his energy was as boundless as ever.

Link's gaze swept over the remaining participants who had passed the second stage. Kabuto Yakushi's team was missing, along with Yoroi Akadō and Misumi Tsurugi.

"They must have fled or been silenced after Kabuto was exposed," he thought.

Originally, the preliminaries were meant for 21 participants across seven teams. With Kabuto's team gone, that left only 18 contenders.

Wait, where are Iris and Ami?

Link's face darkened. Sasuke Uchiha, holding his neck as he approached, provided the answer in a low voice. "They were eliminated during the first written exam."

"…"

If he recalled correctly, the first round required teamwork. If even one team member was caught cheating too often or chose to forfeit, the entire team was disqualified.

"So they didn't even make it past the written test…" He exhaled, accepting the reality. "What happened to your neck?"

Sasuke removed his hand, revealing the familiar curse mark. "In the Forest of Death, we encountered someone named Orochimaru. He left this on me."

After a brief pause, he added, "He mentioned you."

"He's approached me before," Link said calmly. "He's an S-ranked rogue ninja listed in the village's bingo book."

Activating the Mystical Palm Technique, he pressed his glowing hand against Sasuke's neck, suppressing the curse mark's violent chakra. "This is a curse mark, a forbidden jutsu," Link explained.

"It reacts to my chakra," Sasuke said, feeling the pain and turmoil subside. His voice was low as he continued, "Whenever I gather chakra, it tries to take control of me."

Naruto stood nearby, nodding along with a clueless expression, clearly not understanding but eager to appear supportive.

"Sasuke, Naruto! The examiners are here!" Sakura Haruno waved from the distance, calling them over.

Not only were the examiners present, but also the jōnin who had accompanied their teams, the Third Hokage, and several foreign jōnin from allied nations.

"I can only suppress the pain temporarily," Link said, withdrawing his hand. "If you don't want to lose control, avoid gathering too much chakra until I can deal with it completely."

"Does that mean I can only use taijutsu?"

Sasuke nodded slightly, showing understanding. Though he didn't express gratitude, his demeanor was less guarded—almost friendly.

Kakashi Hatake, who had been eavesdropping, walked over. "Sasuke's situation is in your hands."

Link glanced at him, noting the odd undertone in Kakashi's voice. Was that… jealousy? No, it had to be a misunderstanding.

"First, let me congratulate you all…"

The Third Hokage began his speech, addressing the remaining participants. Despite the solemn tone, Mitarashi Anko was making exaggerated faces at Link, winking playfully from across the room.

Link sighed and averted his gaze, only to see Asuma Sarutobi grinning at him, Kurenai Yuhi smiling politely, and even Might Guy giving him a thumbs-up.

Unwittingly, it seemed he had cultivated connections with many of Konoha's jōnin.

Only Kakashi's gaze remained ambiguous, carrying that same unreadable intensity.

Soon after, a pale-looking Hayate Gekko stepped forward to announce the preliminaries: a series of one-on-one matches to decide who would advance to the finals.

The first match: Sasuke Uchiha vs. Kin Tsuchi of the Otogakure.

"Now, will the participants whose names appear step forward…" Hayate announced weakly.

With a confident smirk, Sasuke walked to the center. Even with his curse mark limiting him to taijutsu, he didn't believe he could lose to an opponent he had encountered in the Forest of Death.

Kin tried to maintain a calm demeanor as she approached, but her rapid breathing and evasive gaze betrayed her nervousness.

The outcome was predictable. Sasuke won effortlessly. Thanks to Link's training, his taijutsu had improved significantly, and his enhanced physical prowess made him a force to be reckoned with, even without ninjutsu or the Sharingan.

While Iris and Ami had taken three months to reach a similar level, Sasuke had achieved it in just two weeks. Truly, a prodigy.

The next match: Sakura Haruno vs. Ino Yamanaka…

The preliminaries progressed steadily.

Sakura and Ino's match ended in a double knockout, disqualifying both.

From there, the battles deviated from the original manga:

Naruto Uzumaki won against a blushing Hinata Hyūga after a few awkward exchanges.

Shikamaru Nara defeated Tenten with his wits.

Kiba Inuzuka lost to Temari.

Rock Lee defeated Zaku Abumi from the Otogakure.

Shino Aburame bested a holding-back Kankurō.

Chōji Akimichi lost to Dosu Kinuta, as expected.

Finally, the last matchup was announced: Gaara vs. Neji Hyūga.

"Sand!"

Gaara appeared in an instant, his sand-based teleportation leaving trails on the arena floor. His hand rose to form a seal, his expression icy. "Come down."

"Looks like it's just us left." Neji jumped down with a confident smirk.

"Good luck, Neji!" Rock Lee shouted enthusiastically from the balcony.

In the original timeline, Lee should have been lying in the infirmary by now, disqualified and severely injured.

"So noisy…"

Gaara's gaze shifted to the balcony, his killing intent seeping into the air as sand began to swirl menacingly around him.

"Alright, begin!" Hayate declared before vanishing.

"Byakugan… Activate!"

Neji's veins bulged around his temples as his Byakugan activated, his pale eyes scanning Gaara's chakra.

"His chakra is immense… and the sand is infused with it. A sand-manipulation jutsu, perhaps? His entire body is covered in chakra—a defensive technique?"

Unlike most shinobi, whose chakra flowed primarily through their hands and feet, the Hyūga clan's mastery allowed them to emit chakra from their entire body. Neji quickly deduced that defeating Gaara would require breaking through this defense.

"Your eyes…" Gaara muttered, raising his hand. "I hate them."

"Sand!"