"Never heard of it." Both girls shook their heads simultaneously.
"See? I told you not to join obscure, rotten organizations like that. Not only do they not pay, but they also force you to join..."
"And our lousy King, all he does is spout slogans all day, saying things like 'humans are unsafe, only by sacrificing freedom for security, and everyone living in an orderly world, can peace be achieved!'"
These days, slogans absolutely had to include "peace," otherwise, if you went too far, you wouldn't even have a chance to whitewash yourself.
At the same time, Naruto also implied that his organization had a King, and naturally, there couldn't be "under" without a King.
As for who the King was? Naruto didn't know, he only knew his man was named Luffy.
With "under" there must be "over," and there were many people "over" the King.
Things like Emperor, Venerable, Immortal, Saint—all those titles had to be added. He'd read so many novels, he could come up with a pile of unique ones.
Seven people? That was the bare minimum. There had to be at least ten people. Don't think it's too many; you have to consider the ninja world bigshots' tolerance levels. People who could accept a ten-member Akatsuki organization in the ninja world wouldn't care if there were an unknown number of Seven Warlords.
Whether it was eleven or twenty-one people was up to Naruto himself. Besides him, only Hinata knew that these were, in fact, just one person.
Naruto conveyed information through Sakura and Ino's mouths; they could only passively accept it. Although they didn't want to listen, this situation was beneficial to them.
Time passed bit by bit. Sakura's stab wound had healed, and Ino's injury was even simpler; if not for the fear of infection in the harsh desert environment, two band-aids would have sufficed.
Feeling they had recovered enough, Naruto spoke for a while longer, then strode towards Choji's tent.
Seeing his movement, Ino vigilantly asked, "Hey, what are you doing?"
I'm not doing anything. He's too fat, not to my taste.
"Time's up. Time to retrieve my marinated dog food."
Kimimaro's hardest tail bone had ultimately been fed to a dog implying dog food, so Choji, this biggest chunk of meat, couldn't escape either.
"You!" Ino was instantly furious, a kunai flying from her hand.
She understood what "marinated dog food" meant, but she had also been knocked out last night, which meant I was also dog food at first, and then got discarded?
This delicate, fair-skinned lady is even worse than Choji in your eyes?!
A woman's focus is always so inexplicable.
"Clink."
Naruto rotated the knife in his hand with a casual flick, deflecting the kunai.
Then, a furious Ino threw a large wave of kunai, moving as fast as bullets.
Ino's abilities didn't have much offensive power, so she prepared a lot of ninja tools; otherwise, she could only play support throughout, which would make the gaming experience very poor.
"Clink, clink, clink..."
The twin blades in his hands spun into a circle, deflecting all the kunai. Some of them were deflected towards Sakura, who was charging forward.
With quick eyes and hands, he spotted a kunai with an explosive tag attached by a wire. Naruto sidestepped other attacks, delivered a slash, and the kunai was neatly sliced into two halves by the blade, flying past him.
With his current physique, let alone a kunai, he could slice bullets.
Loosening his grip on one knife, he snatched the explosive tag, threw it towards Sakura, then re-gripped the falling knife before it dropped ten centimeters. Naruto retreated while deflecting kunai.
His movements were fluid and seamless.
Sakura: "???"
Why are you throwing the explosive tag Ino threw at me too?
Sakura's gaming experience was extremely poor, but with the explosive tag about to detonate, she could only dodge.
"Boom."
The explosion interrupted the two girls' attack. Naruto had also retreated to Choji's tent, turned, and slashed his knife from top to bottom, cutting open the fat boy's dwelling.
He sheathed the knife back on his back, then hoisted Choji onto his shoulder and ran.
There were only two ways to get Sakura to Neji: drive them away or guide them. Driving them away didn't guarantee which way they would run, so Naruto chose to guide them.
When planning, he already intended to carry Choji. Yaezakura was his wife, and he couldn't bring himself to carry a man, so he switched to another male.
Naruto's upbringing taught him that men and women should not touch. He and Ino were both thin and not close, so it was awkward to touch.
He was familiar with "Sakura-bro," but he was afraid of pain.
"Don't run!"
"Chase!"
The plan was successful. Konoha's Twelve Rookies cared deeply about their comrades. Now that Choji had been kidnapped, even if it was a trap ahead, they would chase.
The Chunin Exams Marathon arc officially began!
Naruto ran in front, and the two of them chased behind.
Naruto kept running, and they kept chasing.
Then, Ino discovered she couldn't keep up... and he was carrying Choji!
Due to certain irresistible forces, Choji was even fatter than in the original story, and his weight had risen sharply. This was even after he couldn't get Naruto's barbecue after graduation, otherwise he'd be even fatter.
Choji was fat, but Naruto indicated it was "easy peasy."
At twelve, he carried 600 jin (approx. 660 lbs) of weights, adding 200 jin (approx. 220 lbs) each year. By this year, the weights on his legs alone added up to a ton!
After taking off his weights and using Nine-Tails Chakra, carrying Choji was no pressure at all; he still moved with swift, light steps.
Two hours later.
Sakura took out a Military Rations Pill, popped it into her mouth, and bit it with a crunch, then handed one to Ino.
Military Rations Pills were very similar to certain blue pills; eating them would increase stamina and restore chakra. Their side effects were also similar: extreme fatigue afterward, even affecting endocrine function.
They didn't want to eat them either, but if they didn't, they'd lose track.
Biting open the Military Rations Pill, Ino swallowed, suppressing a gulp, "What kind of monster is this?!"
He had been running in the sand for two hours while carrying Choji, and he could still maintain a consistent speed.
"Don't talk, save your energy."
On the other side, Rock Lee and Tenten were hidden between two large rocks. Neji lay unconscious on the ground.
Neji's condition was like a certain slacker who accounted for half of the Hokage's "bed scenes"—his body was overdrawn, and he was deeply unconscious.
Rock Lee surveyed the surroundings and asked, "How is he?"
Tenten wrung out a towel, placed it on Neji's head, and frowned, "I don't know, I'm not a medical ninja."
Why don't I have medical talent?!
Tenten had once studied medical ninjutsu. Her first practical application was on a fish, and then... Guy Sensei had sashimi for lunch.
"If only there was a..." Rock Lee began, then suddenly pressed his ear to the rock wall, signaling Tenten to be quiet.
After listening for a moment, he turned and said, "Someone's coming. I'll go check."
Flipping over and climbing onto the large rock, Rock Lee lay prone, secretly observing the person running in the distance.
A person in red and black tight clothing was carrying... was that Choji? And following him were... Sakura and Ino!
Rock Lee excitedly told Tenten, "You stay here and take care of Neji. I'll be right back."
Rock Lee jumped off the large rock and charged directly towards Naruto.
"Hey!!" Tenten slammed the other towel into the water basin. Couldn't he finish his sentence?
Because Naruto was an actor, Rock Lee easily intercepted him.
Not far behind him, Tenten followed.
Looking at the four people gradually surrounding him, Naruto shrugged half a shoulder, "Four against one? Guess it's no fun then. Anyone brave enough for a one-on-one?!"
Unfortunately, there was no rule for one-on-one fights in the ninja world.
Rock Lee struck first: "Konoha Great Whirlwind!"
First, help Sakura get Choji back so she can help treat Neji.
Choji for Neji.
It was reasonable; after all, the two of them were only missing a "Level 3 Helmet" (figuratively, implying great toughness/defense).
"Bang."
Naruto raised his leg and kicked together with Rock Lee. Their legs collided, and the burst of air created a dent in Choji's face.
The two exchanged less than five blows when Tenten, having thrown two scrolls, jumped into the air: "Lee, back off."
Twin Rising Dragons!
Wanting to heal Neji sooner, Tenten simply abandoned physical attacks. With no leverage in the air, she summoned ninja tools sealed within her scrolls and threw them at Naruto.
Afraid of hitting Choji, the ninja tools were aimed around Naruto, blocking his movement.
The main damage dealer was Rock Lee.
"Eight Gates Release Formation, Third Gate, Open!" For Neji's sake, Rock Lee was also pushing himself hard.
That's why Naruto didn't want to fight Rock Lee. Who could stand him going all out (figuratively, "releasing colorless") in a fight?
"Grab, grab, grab! Since you want to grab him so badly, I'll give him back to you!" With one hand, he tossed Choji towards Sakura, pulling out the twin blades from his back in a fluid motion. He deflected the ninja tools towards Rock Lee, created a certain distance, and then sped away.
The show was almost over; he needed to go get his lunchbox (figuratively, meaning his part was done).
Looking at the flying mountain of flesh, Sakura: "???"
Why me again?!
Just as she was wondering how to catch him, a green light appeared before her eyes.
Catching Choji, Rock Lee turned back and said happily, "Are you alright?"
Rock Lee was truly happy, not because the Sakura he liked had arrived, but because Neji could be saved.
In the original story, Rock Lee liked Sakura and had confessed to her during the first exam. However, in this world, Rock Lee had forgotten during the first exam because he was too eager to fight Naruto. In this exam, due to Neji's situation, he forgot again.
It perfectly aligned with the main theme of Naruto: abandoning love for friendship. As for the consequences of deviating from the main theme, please refer to Asuma.
Sakura replied, "I'm fine, thank you."
"Then please help us treat Neji, I beg you."
Tenten also walked over, "Please."
She showed no intention of picking up the ninja tools on the ground. That pile of trash, how could it compare to Neji?
"Alright." Sakura readily agreed. She was only physically exhausted; she still had some chakra left.
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