"This is where we part ways," Naruto said to Hinata and the others.
After reaching the central tower, each of them had to go through a separate door. Their journey together ended here.
"Yes, thank you for everything along the way, Naruto-kun," Hinata said shyly and politely.
Naruto nodded, then pushed open the door and led Team 7 into the room.
Hinata and the others opened a different door and went in as well.
"What's that?"
The moment Sakura stepped into the room, she saw a big scroll hanging on the wall.
"If there is no Heaven, seek wisdom to prepare; if there is no Earth, pursue gain through movement; if both Heaven and Earth scrolls are opened, the path of danger leads back to the right way. That's the ultimate lesson—become someone who can lead!"
"Some words are missing, but it's clearly talking about the scrolls. It's telling us to open both the Heaven and Earth scrolls!"
Hearing that, Naruto took out both scrolls—handing one to Sakura and one to Sasuke.
After getting the scrolls, Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other, then opened them at the same time.
"What is this?"
Sakura stared at the "person" character written on the scroll, confused.
Suddenly! The "person" character on both scrolls bulged and started to release white smoke!
The moment Sasuke saw the smoke, he realized what was happening. "Sakura, I think this is a summoning jutsu! Throw it away!"
Sakura reacted quickly and, together with Sasuke, tossed the scrolls aside.
Boom!
As the jutsu activated, a bigger burst of smoke exploded—and a figure slowly appeared!
"That shape…"
"Iruka-sensei?"
"Why are you in there?"
The three of them stared at Iruka with different expressions on their faces.
"Yo, long time no see."
Iruka smiled at the three of them, his gaze lingering on Naruto for a second longer.
"Judging by how calm you look, I guess it wasn't too hard? I'm surprised you made it through the second exam this fast!"
It was only the second day of the second exam, and Naruto's team had already arrived—this was sooner than Iruka expected.
"It was alright," Naruto said calmly.
Sakura and Sasuke were both still shaken up from the whole Orochimaru incident, so they didn't respond to Iruka.
"You're still as distant as ever, Naruto," Iruka said with a smile as he looked at Naruto. "But you seem more mature than before. That's a relief!"
Relief, really?
Naruto complained in his head.
Normally, the ones welcoming the teams that passed the second stage of the Chunin Exams should've been Mitarashi Anko's subordinates, not Iruka!
The only reason Iruka was here… was because he had personally asked Anko to let him come.
The reason... was, of course, Naruto.
Even though Naruto didn't need much worrying these days, Iruka still wanted to be part of his journey to becoming a Chunin. He wanted to see Naruto's growth with his own eyes!
"Haha, alright, let's get to the main stuff! As the messenger for your second exam!"
"Messenger?"
"Yep! First of all, congrats on passing the second round of the Chunin Exams! And next… is this!"
Iruka looked at the scroll behind him and said, "This is a message from the Hokage about what it means to be a Chunin. I'm going to explain it to you."
"Can I skip it?" Naruto raised his hand.
"Nope!"
Iruka shot him down without hesitation, then got serious. "Listen carefully, Naruto! Being a good Chunin isn't just about being strong!"
Naruto looked helpless. Great, here comes the lecture…
"In the scroll, 'Heaven' stands for the mind, and 'Earth' stands for the body! Without Heaven, you must rely on learning to develop wisdom and find the best ways to complete missions!"
Iruka continued, "And without Earth, you have to train your body to make up for a lack of stamina! Sakura, this is something you need to pay special attention to!"
"Yes!" Sakura scratched her head and gave an awkward laugh.
"If you have both mind and body, then no matter how dangerous the mission is, you'll be able to push through and complete it!"
Iruka went on, "The missing character on the scroll stands for the 'person' in Chunin. This survival training was to test whether you have the basic skills to be one."
"A Chunin is a team leader! I hope that when you take on missions, you'll truly understand the importance of both knowledge and strength! Never forget this lesson about being a Chunin—and keep taking on tough challenges!"
"Lastly, good luck in the third round, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto!"
Sakura felt fired up after hearing Iruka's words.
Sasuke didn't take in a single word.
Naruto sat there silently with a blank face.
So Iruka really came all the way here just to guilt trip me?
All that talk about wisdom and strength—wasn't it just telling them to do missions properly?
But aren't missions basically just working for the village?
You think I really want to work for you forever?
"Iruka-sensei, I'm more curious about where we'll be staying these next few days than the third exam. We still have four days left, right?" Naruto asked flatly.
"Yes, there are four days left…"
Iruka looked a bit sorry as he said, "I really wish I could treat you all to some Ichiraku Ramen right now, but until the third exam is completely over, you're not allowed to leave the tower."
"So that means we'll be stuck in this tower for four whole days?"
Sakura looked like she was about to break down. "I haven't showered in a whole day and night, and I've been sweating like crazy. A lady needs to shower!"
"Don't worry about that," Iruka said with a smile. "There are rooms arranged for you to rest in, and there's hot water for bathing. If you need clean clothes, I can help bring you some too."
"Really? Thank you so much, Iruka-sensei!!" With the shower and fresh clothes problem solved, Sakura felt even more grateful toward Iruka.
Iruka-sensei is really such a kind and gentle teacher~
Sakura thought to herself.
They arrived at the resting area.
Sakura was the first to rush off to take a shower, while Naruto and Sasuke sat on their own beds.
After sitting for a while, Sasuke suddenly stood up and said to Naruto, "Come train with me. Bring 2,000 ryo!"
Naruto glanced at Sasuke, then opened his wallet and counted.
With over 100,000 ryo in savings, he felt pretty confident.
"I want to rest right now," Naruto replied calmly.
Sasuke stood there stunned for a second, then turned and left without saying a word.
Naruto watched him go, shook his head, and told AI-chan to start playing the *Naruto* anime.
"I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"
"..."
"AI-chan, it's Hokage, not Pirate King!"
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