The Chūnin Exams, huh.
Haruno Sakura held the application form, glanced at the two people beside her, and hesitated.
She was wondering whether or not to apply.
Sasuke was strong—ever since awakening his Sharingan and receiving guidance from Kakashi-sensei, his strength had increased dramatically.
Naruto was even stronger—he was already at a jōnin level.
But herself?
Aside from learning a little bit of sealing techniques from Naruto during their mission in the Land of Waves, her strength hadn't improved much since graduation.
"You don't want to apply?" Naruto noticed the change in her expression.
Sakura looked embarrassed, hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly.
"Kakashi-sensei didn't say anything, but you both know—he's always been fond of testing 'teamwork,'" Naruto said while waving his application form. "So, most likely, the Chūnin Exam will be conducted as a team."
Sakura froze.
"Our mission in the Land of Waves—was that arranged on purpose?" Sasuke, mimicking Naruto, read the fine print on the application and noticed a particularly targeted clause. Naturally, he came to this conclusion.
He had always felt something was off about Kakashi's insistence on continuing that mission.
Naruto nodded. "If you don't apply, Sasuke and I might not be able to either."
Sakura widened her eyes. "How could that be…"
"I hope you'll participate," Naruto said gently. "Of course, since it's my responsibility for dragging you into this, I'll make sure you're safe during the exam."
"Me too," Sasuke added coolly, hands in pockets.
Sakura's face flushed. "I-I understand."
Naruto smiled. "Then see you tomorrow."
With a flash, he disappeared.
Sasuke looked at Sakura. "Are you going to keep being like this?"
Sakura blinked.
What does he mean by "like this"?
"You're not weak," Sasuke said as he jumped up to the wall and looked down at her. "You're just not determined."
"And you have Naruto and me by your side."
"Naruto is strong—jōnin-level strong."
"I'm strong too—I awakened my two-tomoe Sharingan just days ago. Among the Chūnin, I'm considered elite."
Sasuke said no more. He just gave her a meaningful look before disappearing from sight.
Sakura stood there, confused.
Was he blaming her for not keeping up with them?
The next day, at the Ninja Academy.
The trio gathered.
As they walked up the stairs in the school building, they came across a crowd outside Room 301, where two genin were standing guard, turning away incoming Konoha ninjas.
They were disguised "exam proctors" who had set up a genjutsu at the entrance.
However, for testing purposes, the genjutsu wasn't very well-crafted.
Even Sakura could easily see through the illusion.
Just as they were about to move on—
A boy with a bowl cut, in a tight green jumpsuit, suddenly leapt out. Introducing himself as "Rock Lee," he confessed to Sakura and provocatively challenged Sasuke.
After provoking Sasuke into reacting, they engaged in a sparring match.
Rock Lee was strong.
Even with his two-tomoe Sharingan, and even with improvements in both taijutsu and ninjutsu, Sasuke still lost.
This made Sasuke, who had recently become more relaxed after growing stronger, once again fall into heavy thoughts.
He could accept being inferior to Naruto—Naruto was on the level of his brother and Kakashi-sensei.
He could accept being inferior to Haku, who had an extremely rare bloodline limit.
But this bowl-cut, green-suited guy—
Why was he also stronger?
At the entrance to the real Room 301, Kakashi was waiting, just as Naruto had said—this was a team-based evaluation.
Only after confirming that all three were present did Kakashi formally hand them the exam qualification.
They pushed open the door.
The heat and noise from hundreds of gathered people hit them.
Most of them were adults, dressed in all kinds of odd styles, wearing different forehead protectors—mostly ninja from other villages.
There were also familiar faces.
Teams 8 and 10, who had also graduated this year, were there.
These nine people were clearly the youngest among the crowd and instinctively gathered together, chatting excitedly.
Naruto didn't join in.
He was staring in one direction—at one person.
"That guy's strong?" Sasuke asked, following his gaze.
It was a red-haired boy who looked to be around their age, with deathly pale skin, heavy dark circles under his eyes, and a crimson "愛" (love) character on his forehead. He carried a massive sand-colored gourd almost the same size as his body.
"Yeah. He's a formidable one," Naruto nodded.
Now he understood why the village was so eager for him to join the Chūnin Exams.
From that person—
He could sense a "Tailed Beast" presence.
"Stronger than you?" Sasuke asked again, voice heavy.
Naruto looked down and gripped the hilt of the Nine-Tails Blade. "Without using this blade, he's probably about on par with me."
While chatting with Kurama, he had asked about the tailed beasts.
It said the power of a tailed beast was based on the number of tails.
The "One-Tail Shukaku" from Sunagakure was the weakest—it only had one tail.
Sasuke nodded thoughtfully.
Without using the blade?
So, barehanded, Naruto's still at elite Chūnin level?
The dark-eyed ninja sensed Naruto's gaze, looked up, and killing intent burst forth—his chakra stirred, making a sound like something small was rustling.
The two beside him—a boy and a girl—were alarmed, whispering to calm him down.
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
Was the One-Tail's Jinchūriki this hot-tempered?
Just a glance, and he wants to kill?
"Curious about that person?" A quiet voice suddenly spoke in Naruto's ear.
Startled, Naruto instantly stepped back and looked warily at the man beside him.
He was tall, looked like an adult, with pale gray-white hair, wore flat glasses—plain-looking.
"Don't be so tense. I'm a Konoha ninja too—technically your upperclassman. Just call me Kabuto," the man said with a harmless smile, raising his hand.
"I saw you seemed curious about that guy, so I wanted to help."
With a wave of his right hand, a stack of cards appeared in his palm.
"These are something I made—called Ninja Info Cards. They contain detailed data. Want to take a look?"
Naruto studied him, surprised.
This kind of guy… is still a genin?
His chakra wasn't much weaker than Kakashi's, and the way he concealed his presence was so skillful Naruto hadn't noticed him right away.
A definite jōnin-level powerhouse.
"Offering up intel on your own?" Naruto frowned. "So generous? I don't think we've met before."
Kabuto approached carefully. "You don't know me, but I know about you—Naruto Uzumaki, the reformed genius who's risen like a comet."
"And Uchiha Sasuke, a genius on par with you."
Sasuke clenched his fists, not flattered.
Being called on par with Naruto?
When the gap was that wide—that felt like mockery.
Kabuto continued, "You both will become major figures in the village one day. Making connections now only benefits me."
"Wanna take a look?"
"It's not perfect, but it should still be useful."
Naruto looked at him. "Then please, Kabuto-senpai—I'd like to know more about that Sand ninja."
Sasuke leaned in, adding, "And about Konoha's Rock Lee."
Naruto paused, eyes turning to Kabuto again. "And Kabuto-senpai, can we know more about you?"
Kabuto was surprised. "You're interested in me? I'm just a normal genin."
"You're strong," Naruto said bluntly. "You feel no weaker than that Sand ninja."
Kabuto chuckled bashfully, scratching his head. "Aw, you flatter me."
"But you'll be disappointed—I'm really not that good. I've already failed the Chūnin Exam seven times."
"My low presence is just natural—not some powerful technique."
"You're not the first to get the wrong idea."
Naruto stared at him.
Not believing a word.
(End of Chapter)