"Kankuro!!"
Only then did Temari react and rush over to where Kankuro had fallen.
Naruto had already held back his kick, but even so, Kankuro still crashed through a wall and collapsed there, completely out cold.
"Kankuro! Are you okay? Kankuro!" Temari held him in her arms, shouting loudly, but no matter what, he wouldn't wake up.
"If you don't want him to die, you'd better take him for treatment right away," Naruto said calmly, looking at her.
"Why?" Temari said in a serious tone.
"What do you mean why?" Naruto said blankly.
"Why did you hit him so hard?" Temari glared at Naruto, one hand holding Kankuro and the other gripping her iron fan.
"Just wanted to teach you outsiders a lesson."
Naruto spoke coldly, "This is the Konoha Village. If you're a dragon, lie low. If you're a tiger, calm down. If you mess around in the Konoha again, deal with the consequences yourselves."
"Let's go, Sakura."
"Ah, right!"
Sakura hurried after Naruto and reminded him, "Naruto, they're from the Sand Village. We don't even know what they're here for yet!"
"They're just here for the Chunin Exams, that's all," Naruto said flatly.
"Chunin Exams?"
Sakura looked confused, but Naruto didn't say anything more.
She'd find out soon enough anyway.
At that moment, a bunch of sand gathered in front of Naruto and blocked their path.
"Another one from the Sand Village?" Sakura noticed the person in front of them was wearing the same forehead protector as the two earlier.
Gaara ignored Sakura completely, his eyes locked on Naruto. "What's your name?"
"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto replied calmly, looking Gaara straight in the eyes.
"Uzumaki Naruto..."
The sand around Gaara floated in the air, and his chakra seemed a little unstable.
But it quickly settled down again.
"I'll remember you, Uzumaki Naruto."
With that, Gaara brushed past Naruto.
In the end, he didn't dare make a move—not just because this was the Konoha Village, but also because of the orders from the Kazekage and his teacher.
"Who was that guy?" Sakura looked at Gaara's back, feeling confused.
"He's with the two from earlier—an opponent in the Chunin Exams," Naruto said calmly.
To be honest, the whole exam didn't feel like much of a challenge to him.
Neji, Gaara—it didn't matter. He could take them down in one move.
But for Sasuke and Sakura right now, those guys were still very tough enemies.
"I'm going to find Konohamaru and the others. If there's nothing else, we'll part ways here," Naruto said after walking a bit farther with Sakura.
Watching Naruto leave, Sakura hesitated for a moment and called out, "Wait, Naruto."
"What is it?" Naruto paused and turned to look at her.
"Well... why did you suddenly come back just now?" Sakura asked shyly, her cheeks slightly red.
"..."
Naruto noticed something strange in her tone, paused for a second, and said, "I thought those two Sand ninja were acting suspicious, so I followed them. Why?"
"Oh~"
Sakura looked a little disappointed, then forced a smile and said, "Nothing, I just thought maybe you came back because you were worried about me."
"Nope!" Naruto shot her down without hesitation.
Even though he did come back because he was worried she might get into trouble with Kankuro and Temari, he wasn't about to admit it now.
Because Sakura's attitude was weird!
He definitely didn't want Sakura to fall for him.
"Well, thanks anyway, Naruto!"
"If it weren't for you, I would've been bullied by those two Sand Village ninja for sure!"
Even though she got an answer, Sakura kept smiling to hide her disappointment.
Naruto could tell that Sakura was feeling down, but he didn't know how to comfort her.
"No need to thank me," he said coldly, then turned and walked away.
Sakura watched Naruto's back as he walked farther and farther away. She opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, said nothing.
"I already liked Sasuke… and now I like Naruto too... Liking two people at the same time—does that make me a terrible person?"
...
Two days later,
Training Ground Three.
The three members of Team 7 were waiting for Kakashi as usual.
Naruto was sitting on the bridge railing, Sasuke leaned against it, and Sakura was in front of them, complaining in frustration.
"Seriously, he told us to come here super early, and he's the one who didn't show up. I didn't even get to wash my hair!"
"My hair's all greasy now!"
"Naruto, Sasuke, don't you guys think Kakashi-sensei is way too careless?"
"..."
"..."
Sasuke and Naruto didn't say a word. They just quietly watched Sakura vent.
When the situation can't be changed no matter how you feel, staying calm makes it feel a little less bad.
But… if something you really care about is being ruined because of that situation, then it's okay to lose it.
Because people who don't say anything might not get the chance to say anything next time.
"Yo, good morning!"
Kakashi finally appeared and greeted them. "I got lost on the road of life this morning!"
"Stop lying, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura clearly didn't believe him.
"Alright, alright! The truth is, I was late because I recommended you three for the Chunin Exams today."
As he spoke, Kakashi handed out three application forms. "Just so you know, this isn't something you're forced to do. Whether or not you want to take part is completely up to you."
"If you want to join the exam, sign the form and show up at Classroom 301 at the academy, five days from now, at 3 PM."
"Think it over carefully. You don't have any missions these next few days."
"Dismissed!"
After giving them the news about the Chunin Exam, Kakashi left without another word.
The three members of Team 7 all had different thoughts.
Sasuke was looking forward to facing strong opponents in the Chunin Exam. He wanted to become a Chunin and take on tougher missions to sharpen himself.
Sakura was worried about whether she was even qualified to take the exam.
As for Naruto, he checked the mission list from AI-chan.
After their last C-rank mission, AI-chan had posted a new one related to the Chunin Exam.
[Intermediate Mission: Pass the Chunin Exam and become a Chunin!]
[Reward: Max-level Observation Haki, All Stats ×2!]
That's right—if Naruto passed the Chunin Exam and became a Chunin, he could finally get the max-level Observation Haki he'd been chasing!
But this Chunin Exam was going to be full of twists and turns.
Even if he passed every round and beat every opponent, that still didn't mean he'd be promoted.
The Sand Village, Orochimaru, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and even Sakura herself were all big problems!
He still hadn't figured out what kind of role he wanted to play in all of it...
It was just like how Kakashi said taking the Chunin Exam was up to them—but if Sakura didn't go, then he and Sasuke would automatically be disqualified.
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