"Chunin Exams?"
Naruto mulled it over again. Chunin Exams. He hadn't misheard.
Chunin Exams? Given their age and strength, was it for selecting Chunin? But why were there ninjas from other villages?
A phrase suddenly popped into Naruto's head: Joint Exam of Nine Schools!
What "Joint Exam of Nine Schools," "Joint Exam of Five Schools"! Naruto recalled distant memories. Because his high school had a good reputation, he seemed to have passively participated in such exams during his high school years. Although nothing changed except the test papers, "Joint Exam of Five Schools," "Joint Exam of Nine Schools"—just listen to the names; they sounded so cool.
Drawing an analogy from those grand joint exams, Naruto started to understand this Chunin Exam. Just as he was feeling sleepy, a pillow appeared; he was just wondering where to make a name for himself, and now the opportunity had arrived. This exam was practically tailor-made for him, Naruto Uzumaki.
Why call it the Chunin Exam? It was clearly his, Naruto's, stage to show off his strength! This time, he, Naruto Uzumaki, was going to make a splash, becoming the sole protagonist on the stage! He'd totally steal the show!
He'd announce to the world: "I, Naruto Uzumaki, am here, dammit!"
Just then, Temari seemed to remember she had a brother. She immediately ran over and pulled Kankuro out of the wall.
"Don't move, cough cough, I think I broke a bone~" Kankuro wailed, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Naruto glanced at them, feeling rather awkward. Friends from afar come, let's break their bones first? This wasn't the hospitality of the Eastern Great Nation...
But he absolutely couldn't be blamed. Who told them to grab Konohamaru as soon as they arrived? That was his beloved little brother. It wasn't that he couldn't beat them up, but they'd have to pay more.
"Here."
Naruto tossed over a Happy Pill.
It was a No. 16 Happy Pill, capable of restoring 625 HP, perfect for Genin at their peak. Temari deftly caught it, seeing a red pill with "16" marked on it. As the Kazekage's eldest daughter, she naturally recognized what it was. Although Sunagakure was poor, the Kazekage had gritted his teeth and purchased quite a few Happy Pills for this exam. But one's own pills were never as good as someone else's.
"Kankuro, quickly eat it. It's a No. 16 Happy Red Pill."
After he took it, clack clack—his bones self-corrected. In a moment, Kankuro was fully recovered. Happy Pills might not be effective for other ailments, but for internal and external injuries caused by attacks, they were a miracle drug.
Kankuro glared hatefully at Naruto, intending revenge. His hand even moved towards Crow, but remembering the guy's monstrous strength from earlier, he instantly caved.
"What? You still want to attack?"
Sasuke emerged from the side, holding two stones in his hand, his warning clearly implied. Seeing Sasuke, Temari's eyes lit up again.
Why does Konoha have so many handsome guys? Unlike Sunagakure, where everyone's a weirdly dressed roughneck.
"Who are you?" Kankuro figured he couldn't beat the blonde guy from earlier, but you? He gripped Crow tightly again.
Just then, Naruto suddenly looked up at the large tree. In his sensory perception, chakra-infused sand was gathering there. Instantly, a figure appeared.
"Kankuro! Stop it, you disgrace to the village."
"Gaara."
Seeing this Kankuro guy sweat nervously, Naruto wondered if this newcomer was really that scary. He sensed him again.
This violent chakra, is it a Tailed Beast? So you're a Jinchuriki too.
Naruto sized up the newcomer: friendly red hair, a tattoo of the character 'love' on his forehead, heavy dark circles under his eyes like he hadn't slept, and a huge gourd on his back.
That tattoo, how much love are you lacking?
However, as a Jinchuriki, this guy's strength shouldn't be weak. Naruto mentally marked his chakra. If they clashed later, he'd get a taste of his strength.
Since there was nothing else to do, Naruto prepared to leave. Konohamaru was also begging him to play ninja games, which just made him exasperated.
"Hey, what's your name?" The red-haired guy suddenly called out to him.
"Naruto Uzumaki. And you?"
"Gaara."
"Alright, I look forward to seeing you at the exam!" Naruto was quite sincere; he genuinely wanted to go up against Gaara. Since they'd sent a Jinchuriki, Sunagakure must have gone all out.
Sasuke, beside him, was quite disgruntled: Why didn't he ask my name? Am I not worthy?
At the same time.
Kakashi and a group of squad leaders who were jōnin were summoned. The Hokage-sama officially announced the Chunin Exams to be held a week later. Under the Third Hokage's greetings, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, and Kakashi Hatake each recommended their respective genin teams to participate in this Chunin Exam.
This decision shocked many other squad-leading ninja. Generally, newly graduated ninja usually only participated in the Chunin Exams in their second year of graduation; it had been like this for the past five years. But this year's new graduates were all recommended by their senseis to participate in the Chunin Exams? Was this not disregarding the students' abilities for the sake of reputation?
"Please wait!"
Iruka stepped forward urgently, loudly reprimanding, "They are only newly graduated genin! Although they are all very talented, the Chunin Exams are still too early and too brutal for them!"
"Are you trying to ruin these children?"
Hearing this, Kakashi felt quite helpless. How long had it been since Iruka updated his data? His version was too outdated. Were the 'children' he spoke of still children?
Naruto: "I can beat at least 100 Irukas."
Sasuke: "I can beat 10 Irukas."
Even Sakura: "I can beat 1 Iruka."
You, Iruka, are a Chunin, so why can't those kids be too?
After the three new jōnin's persuasion and Iruka's insistence, the Hokage agreed to arrange a special exam for these new graduates.
Time flew by, a few days later.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all received their Chunin Exam application forms from Kakashi. The three had different thoughts. Sakura didn't seem very confident. Naruto wanted to tell her that strength was relative. Like an exam: he and Sasuke scored 100 points, while Sakura only scored 80 points, making her feel inferior. But if she looked at other teams, good heavens, there were piles of failing grades, with 50s and 60s flying everywhere.
You, Sakura, are a big shot!
Naruto didn't need to persuade her about this. When the exam came, Sakura would gain confidence after a fight. The three disbanded. Sakura was so anxious she didn't even ask Sasuke out, just went home alone. Sasuke also disappeared directly, seemingly to train harder.
Only Naruto wandered around idly. When he walked by the river, he actually saw his three little brothers playing ninja games again.
"Boss Naruto, play with us."
Naruto looked up at the sky. It was only around nine o'clock, so he had time, but he couldn't say he had time. These little guys would definitely want to play ninja games with him, and it would last all day. Last time, he fell for it and, constrained by the little guys' enthusiasm, played for an entire day. It was quite boring. It would be better to sleep in at home and play cards with that stinky card shark Kurama. With some added stakes, he could definitely mess with him all day.
"Sorry, I'm probably going to train soon?"
"What? You can't play ninja games with us?" Konohamaru was incredibly disappointed. Last time, the game was a hundred times more fun with big brother there.
"It's only nine o'clock, aren't you going to school?"
"But Boss, today's the weekend."
Uh... is it?
After graduating, he no longer paid attention to what day of the week it was. Except for Thursdays.
Suddenly, a strange ninja wearing a Hidden Rain headband appeared, attempting to abduct Moegi. But when he tried to leap again, he found his feet firmly bound by ropes made of earth.
"Iruka-sensei, what are you doing?"