Chapter 210: The Rookie 12 Gather, and Their Leaders are All Girlfriends
Akiyama Makoto, watching from behind, suddenly realized something was wrong.
The Konoha Rookie 12... had just gathered!
His four girlfriends were leading their teams. Each team had three people. That made exactly twelve.
This made him seem a little out of place.
Fortunately, he had already given his four girlfriends a heads-up to ignore the "Karin" he had transformed into. Otherwise, with their current curiosity, they would definitely be pulling him aside to ask all sorts of questions.
Soon, Tenten and the others also noticed that the twelve of them who had gathered were, more or less, acquaintances.
So, Tenten spoke up directly. "It seems we all know Makoto-kun. Is there anyone here who doesn't?"
The remaining eleven people looked at each other, also surprised to discover this fact.
"Interesting, interesting," Kiba said, his hands clasped behind his head. "I was just wondering what to do if I ran into you guys. But now that we're all friends, what are we supposed to do?"
"Friends, huh... what a drag," Shikamaru sighed. "But you can rest assured, Kiba. We won't have a chance to conflict for now. According to tradition, infighting is usually saved for the third round."
As expected of a strategic genius, he had clearly gathered intelligence in advance.
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Shikamaru, does that mean you've already figured out what the first exam is?"
"How is that possible, idiot? That kind of thing is top secret. If I knew, I'd have already been dragged away by the Anbu for questioning."
Shikamaru was only telling half the truth. He really didn't know the specific content, but by asking the older ninja what past exams were like, he could make a good guess.
"In that case, doesn't it mean we can all cooperate in the first and second rounds?"
Ino looked around at the other ninja excitedly, feeling that everyone else's teammates were more reliable than her own.
Neji frowned and looked at Hinata, originally intending to refuse.
But Tenten cut him off. "Alright! In any case, if we all advance, we'll have a chance to fight sooner or later. So why fight amongst ourselves now?"
"Come, come, let's vote. The minority obeys the majority."
Tenten was the first to raise her hand, followed by Ino and Sakura. Hinata also quickly followed.
Ino shot a glare at Shikamaru and Chōji, and the two of them obediently complied.
Kiba and Shino weren't ones to spoil the mood, so they also raised their hands, although no one was looking in Shino's direction.
Naruto laughed. "Since we're all friends, then I'll just wait until the finals to beat you all!" He also raised his hand, then looked at Sasuke.
Sasuke looked helpless, still putting up a final struggle. He glanced at Rock Lee and Neji, instinctively feeling that these two "seniors" were very strong.
Rock Lee was also looking at Sasuke. He had originally wanted to challenge him, but seeing that the ninja from his own village were now united, the fire of youth in his heart immediately ignited.
"Alright! Is this the Will of Fire that Guy-sensei has taught us? Then let us work hard together, and we will all see each other in the finals! Not one of us will be missing!"
He then raised both hands high, and while he was at it, he pulled Neji's hand up as well.
Eleven pairs of eyes stared at Sasuke. Even he, who was used to being cool and aloof, felt a little awkward at this moment and could only raise his hand.
From behind, Makoto couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't expected that, because of his existence, the Rookie 12 would become friends so early. Even though they were just friends who only knew each other's names, it was a better start.
After the twelve of them got to know each other, Rock Lee was too embarrassed to challenge Sasuke. As for confessing to Sakura, he didn't even look at her, clearly and deliberately keeping his distance.
What a good bro!
Makoto secretly gave him a thumbs-up. Just for this sense of propriety, he would have to treat his injuries properly later.
But without the pressure from Lee, would Sasuke's and Naruto's taijutsu be able to keep up?
Oh well. That's not my problem.
The current Sasuke and Naruto were much stronger than in the original plot. If their strength couldn't even get them through the second round, then he could only say they were too unlucky.
The Rookie 12 walked forward, talking and laughing, and finally arrived in front of Room 301.
During this process, he had sensed the chakra of Kurenai, Kakashi, Guy, and Asuma. This meant they were all hidden behind the scenes, secretly observing their squads.
As expected, the Chūnin Exam had begun the moment they stepped through the door.
Those who couldn't see through the genjutsu on the second floor, or who couldn't reach the classroom for some reason, would be directly disqualified.
The best proof was that when he tried to enter the exam hall alone, he was stopped by Kakashi.
"I'm sorry, little girl from the Hidden Grass. The exam must be taken in teams of three. If you're the only one left, then regrettably, you'll have to be disqualified."
He just smiled and didn't answer, quietly waiting.
Soon, his two "teammates" caught up. Seeing him, they bowed to him submissively. This scene made Kakashi frown. But he didn't say anything more and moved out of the way. What reason did he have to care about the affairs of the Hidden Grass Village?
The large exam hall was already packed. When he entered, he was immediately surrounded by a large group of people.
He naturally chose to ignore this and looked curiously in one direction.
There, Kabuto was selling his ninja info cards. With his knowledge, he had won the admiration of the Rookie 12.
He also went over curiously. "Can I have a look?"
"Huh? You're—"
Kabuto looked at him with a puzzled expression, then his face broke into a smile. "Then who do you want to see? Is there an opponent you're concerned about?"
"I want to check my own. And... is there a card for Akiyama Makoto here?"
Kabuto was even more surprised. "There's no one by that name among the participants this time. As for you—Karin, right? Your hair is too conspicuous."
Kabuto took out Karin's card. The data on it was quite dismal. As for his own card, Kabuto naturally didn't have one, or at least, didn't take it out.
He was just testing to see if Kabuto had investigated him. At least for now, it seemed he hadn't.
As for why he was doing this, wasn't he afraid of arousing Kabuto's suspicion? The answer was simple. The story of him saving Karin in a "hero-rescues-the-damsel" fashion was probably already known throughout Konoha. If she wasn't interested in him or pretended not to know him, that would be strange.
He looked at Karin's card. The data was miserable, basically at an entry-level. He then handed the card back, found a seat in the corner, and sat down, waiting for the exam to begin.
In private, however, he had been using his sensory ability to perceive Kabuto. Only after confirming that he was not suspicious did he begin to participate in the exam with a playful attitude.
Throughout the exam, the most conspicuous one was still Naruto.
He started by pointing at everyone and shouting, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm definitely not going to lose to any of you!"
This was followed by a retaliatory attack from the Sound Village ninja. And Kabuto, playing the role of the "good senpai," naturally had to step in and protect his juniors. As a result, his glasses were shattered by a punch from his own subordinate, and he knelt on the ground, vomiting.
He gave full marks for Kabuto's acting.
However, the Rookie 12 of this time was different. Naruto directly created shadow clones and charged. Sasuke was already forming hand seals for a Fire Style jutsu. As for Sakura, she had taken a step back, ready to cast a genjutsu at any time.
Just as a conflict was about to break out, the Konoha Chūnin team appeared and stopped them.
"Genin! Are you that impatient to start fighting?"
Morino Ibiki's face was dark. "Or would you rather I wait until you're done fighting before I start the exam? But let me warn you, the consequence of obstructing the exam is a trip to the Torture and Interrogation Unit with us."
"Let's just hope you can come back alive."
The killing intent of the Chūnin was terrifying, and most of the genin obediently sat down.
But the ones involved, apart from Kabuto, seemed as if they hadn't felt a thing. After all, Team 7 had already defeated Zabuza. How could a few Chūnin possibly scare them?
However, Sakura still pulled Sasuke and Naruto back and apologized to Ibiki, thus ending the conflict. But from her expression, he knew that she had already memorized those guys' faces and was planning to get her revenge later.
Then, the Chūnin Exam officially began.
Ibiki announced the rules, which were exactly as he remembered.
Except for Naruto, who had no confidence in the written test, everyone else had already begun to write furiously.
Even he had started to do the questions. He also wanted to test how many points he, someone who had never been to the Academy, could get.
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