At the entrance to the arena floor.
"What are you looking at?" Shikamaru asked.
Naruto withdrew his gaze from the spectator stands above. A moment ago, a particular line of sight had made him feel somewhat uncomfortable. But as a recent victor, there were easily eighty, if not a hundred, people in the audience looking at him; he could only sense a general direction for that specific gaze.
"Nothing. Just fight seriously," Naruto said, patting Shikamaru's shoulder.
"Shouldn't you be offering a sincere blessing at a time like this?" Shikamaru had a mouthful of retorts he didn't know where to begin with.
Naruto just smiled faintly and said nothing more. It seemed this fellow still didn't have a clear grasp of his own laziness.
[However, that repulsive gaze…]
Ascending the stairs to the second floor, Naruto formed a hand seal. The Shadow Clone Technique, like the Summoning Technique, had been taught to him by Jiraiya. Perhaps because of his abundant chakra reserves, he had taken a liking to this ninjutsu after getting the hang of it. Deceiving enemies, gathering intelligence, overwhelming with numbers… If he'd had this ninjutsu in his past life, he wouldn't have needed to die so many times.
Leaving a shadow clone holding Kusabimaru to head towards the second-floor waiting room, Naruto's real body took a side path, rushing towards the section of the audience where the gaze had originated.
With his current strength, participating in the Chunin Exams truly felt a bit like crushing rookies. Even if his real body didn't take the field, among all the participants, only Gaara, another jinchuriki, should pose any threat to his shadow clone.
[So this is a jinchuriki? Their sensitivity to ill intent is actually this keen…]
In the rearmost section of the audience, Kabuto, wearing an ANBU uniform he had procured from who-knows-where, mused inwardly. When he saw Naruto glance in his direction, he subtly shifted his eyes to avoid any direct meeting of their gazes. He had every reason to believe that if their eyes met directly, he would be exposed.
[The last source of the gaze was in B-section…]
Naruto's eyes scanned the area, and he quickly moved towards B-section. The spectator stands for this Chunin Exam were divided into four sections: A, B, C, and D. Apart from A-section, which was for dignitaries, entry to the other three sections was by ticket, so it was quite easy for him to blend in.
[ANBU? But that uncomfortable feeling of being watched, and this hostility…]
At the entrance, Naruto only needed a cursory glance to confirm that the source of the gaze from earlier was indeed the ANBU ninja at the back. Ever since reaching an understanding with Kurama, Naruto had strangely found that his perceptive abilities had greatly improved, especially his perception of hostility. Basically, with just one look, he could determine if someone harbored ill will towards him. No, it wasn't just towards him; this ANBU's hostility was directed at all the Konoha ninjas present. And the reason it had been particularly strong towards him earlier… was it because he had just won his match?
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly. After a moment's thought, he didn't step forward to expose him. He was just a genin; his words carried little weight. The other party was a Konoha ANBU; whose words would hold more authority was clear at a glance. Besides, he was also very curious about what could cause a Konoha ANBU to harbor hostility towards all Konoha ninjas.
Ever since learning the truth about his parentage, Naruto's feelings for Konoha had instantly plummeted to zero, perhaps even below. In the past, he might have felt gratitude towards Konoha for the gift of being raised there, thinking of repaying it if the opportunity arose in the future. After all, the debt of upbringing is greater than heaven itself; no matter how hostile those people were towards him, the debt of being raised was the debt of being raised—it could not be erased.
But that was the past. Since knowing his true lineage, he understood: he and Konoha now owed each other nothing. Years of being ostracized, of discriminatory treatment, and the complete disappearance of his parents' mementos… The only reason he hadn't declared himself a missing-nin already was simply because he hadn't yet found a new place to go.
As for helping Konoha? If you repay resentment with virtue, then with what do you repay virtue?
[Looks like there's going to be a good show in these Chunin Exams…] Naruto glanced towards the highest point of A-section, at the Fourth Kazekage seated beside the Third Hokage. If he remembered correctly, the reason Konoha and Sunagakure were allies was entirely because Konoha had thoroughly thrashed Sunagakure during the Third Great Ninja War before they signed the alliance treaty.
Meanwhile, the match below was gradually reaching its climax.
Whether it was the Aburame clan's insect-controlling techniques or the Nara clan's Shadow Imitation Technique, both left all the spectators in awe. Especially the layers upon layers of strategy, one linked to another, employed by both sides, made everyone keenly feel the inadequacy of their own intellect.
"An exciting match," Kamizuki Izumo remarked.
"Yeah, regardless of the outcome of this match, two Chunin spots are definitely reserved for them," Hagane Kotetsu nodded. The biggest difference between a genin and a chunin was that a genin was a subordinate, while a chunin was already considered a leader. Strategy, planning—things rarely emphasized by genin—were the core indicators for judging whether a genin could become a chunin.
"I think it's three," Izumo said, shaking his head slightly. "Although leadership ability is an important criterion for judging if a genin can become a chunin, strength is also a factor that cannot be ignored. Uzumaki Naruto's strength, which is so overwhelming that it completely dominates his genin peers, is entirely sufficient for promotion to Chunin."
Kotetsu pondered for a moment, then also nodded slightly. Indeed, when a ninja was sufficiently powerful, so-called strategy and leadership ability became almost dispensable.
"But it's hard to say for sure," Izumo suddenly added.
"Hm?"
"Uzumaki Naruto's identity…" Izumo said vaguely.
"…Why think so much? Your position dictates your thoughts. That's not something for us to worry about," Kotetsu suddenly chuckled.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
Shikamaru looked at the kikaichu beetles that had completely surrounded him and couldn't help but swallow. He had reason to believe that if he uttered those three words, the mouthparts of these little darlings would bite down hard on him.
Aburame Shino's fingers twitched slightly. He was trying, trying hard to break free from the Shadow Imitation Technique. Although he had been extremely careful, when facing Shikamaru's monstrous intellect, some things couldn't be avoided simply by being careful enough. In fact, the reason he was caught now was entirely because his excessive caution had been exploited by Shikamaru. The one fortunate thing was that when Shikamaru had immobilized him, his kikaichu had also completed their encirclement of Shikamaru.
Currently, both sides had entered a bizarre stalemate. Aburame Shino didn't dare to command his kikaichu to attack Shikamaru because he worried his own mouth might uncontrollably utter the words 'I give up.' Shikamaru, similarly, didn't dare to force Shino to surrender, as he didn't think he could withstand being devoured by the kikaichu.
The audience in the stands also hadn't expected such a stalemate to occur. Their prediction instincts flared up instantly, and they all began guessing who the eventual victor would be.
"I think it's Shikamaru," Ino stated.
"Quite the opposite, I think it's Shino. What do you think, Hinata?" Izuno Akigiku said.
"Shino will win!" Hinata said softly. She and Shino were teammates; how could she not side with her teammate?
"Not fair!" Ino grumbled, slapping Choji, who was munching away beside her, soundly on the arm. "Choji, who do you think will win?"
"Shino," Choji said with a grin.
"What nonsense are you talking?" Ino was instantly displeased. What kind of unbelievable teammates had she ended up with?
"Ino, you still don't understand Shikamaru," Choji said, shaking his head slightly.
"I give up!" Shikamaru announced, raising his hand.
"…Why?" Aburame Shino looked at him, puzzled. If they had continued the stalemate, he wasn't necessarily guaranteed to win.
"I ran out of chakra," Shikamaru said with a carefree smile, releasing his Shadow Imitation Technique.
"Is that so…" Shino's tone was unreadable. He didn't believe that someone with Shikamaru's intelligence would make such a rudimentary mistake. Proper chakra management was a required lesson for every ninja.
"Aburame Shino wins!" The proctor announced the result in a timely manner.