Chapter 52: Sasuke – You Cheat at Fishing Too?
Boom—followed by a shrill scream.
Not far away, the Sand siblings halted in their tracks. Temari suddenly whipped her head toward the sound, her voice tense.
"What was that noise?"
"Why don't we just go check it out?" Kankurō said confidently.
"That's the Nine-Tails," Gaara said coldly. "Go if you want to die. But if the mission fails, deal with the consequences yourself."
The moonlight filtered into the forest, and Kankurō's face flushed with embarrassment.
"Wait… didn't Baki-sensei say that Nine-Tails brat was lying to us?"
Gaara didn't answer. He just shot Kankurō a chilling look, then turned away without a word. Temari and Kankurō exchanged a glance, helplessness written in their eyes, before hurrying after him.
By the riverbank.
Naruto's ghost-like speed left the three Hidden Mist ninja completely unable to defend themselves, their faces and bodies covered in bruises.
Before long, the Mist-nin were all shocked unconscious. Naruto didn't want to kill indiscriminately during the Chūnin Exams, so he zapped them four or five times. In truth, the Mist-nin had already surrendered and handed over their scrolls by the second round.
But worried they might be faking it, Naruto shocked them two more times until they were foaming at the mouth, only then did he stop.
When the fight ended, Naruto bent down to pick up a kunai, looking a bit disheveled. But it hardly mattered—Flying Thunder God pushed a ninja's strength ceiling higher. To put it simply, even if Obito showed up, he'd still have to eat a couple hits.
By now, several other teams had gathered around, but none dared to make a move.
They had just witnessed what happened to the Mist-nin. Charging in now would be throwing themselves onto the chopping block.
"Naruto's trying to clear the field."
Hiding in the distance, Shikamaru of the Ino–Shika–Chō trio suddenly realized aloud.
"Clear the field?" Ino asked in confusion.
"The rules say that if one teammate dies or is injured to the point they can't fight, the whole team fails." Shikamaru explained, "If Sasuke doesn't wake up tomorrow, then Team 7 will be forced to withdraw."
Hearing this, Ino understood.
Although the exam lasted five days, the very first lesson Konoha taught genin was to cherish their comrades. Sakura and Naruto would never drag Sasuke along to suffer until the fifth day. If he was still unconscious the next morning, they'd likely forfeit so Sasuke could get medical treatment.
"So Naruto and the others only have one night?" Ino asked.
"Yeah." Shikamaru nodded. "That's why Naruto's gambling. He lit that campfire on purpose to lure nearby teams over."
"Wouldn't that just make them more dangerous?" Chōji asked, squinting.
"For others, maybe. But that guy Naruto…" Shikamaru frowned too.
They kept watch the whole night. Nothing happened—no one dared attack Team 7 again.
At dawn.
Yawning, Naruto returned from washing up at the river, only to see Sasuke had opened his eyes, still lying on the ground. Sakura was lightly dozing on the other side of the campfire.
"You're awake?" Naruto picked up a fishing rod nearby. "Hang on, I'll grab you something to eat. I used your fish last night for a midnight snack."
Sasuke's face betrayed nothing, cold and detached, as if he'd stepped into some state of indifference to life and death. Sakura woke at the sound of their voices. Seeing Sasuke awake, she lit up with joy and quickly asked, flustered.
"Sasuke-kun, you're awake? How are you feeling?"
Sasuke still didn't answer, his head tilted slightly as he watched Naruto by the river preparing to fish. When Naruto flicked the rod and instantly hooked a fish, Sasuke's expression finally cracked. He coughed hard before speaking with effort.
"I'm fine. How long was I out?"
"All night," Sakura replied.
Not far away, Naruto was already carrying back a few neatly cleaned fish. His handling skills were fluent—innards, scales, and gills all gone in no time, kunai spinning in his hand like an art.
Sakura got up as well, helping move the firewood pile closer.
"Man, ninjutsu is really handy," Naruto said to himself, back still turned to Sasuke. "Takes one second to light a fire—perfect for travel."
After resting a while, Sasuke struggled to sit up, watching Naruto and Sakura busy themselves.
"You use ninjutsu for fishing too?"
"Nope." Naruto turned to him. "Why would you think that?"
Sasuke didn't answer, only mimicked a one-second rod lift.
"Just practice." Naruto shrugged indifferently. "There are always geniuses in this world. Maybe I just happen to be better at fishing."
At that, Sasuke dropped the matter.
Once the fish were grilled and salted, the three ate. Afterward, Naruto pulled out their scroll.
"Let's go. To the tower."
They didn't linger. After putting out the fire and burying the scraps, the three quickly departed.
The central tower was still some distance away. Sakura suggested a detour, but Naruto argued to go straight through.
"No one came after us even with a campfire burning all night. Taking a detour now will just cause more trouble." Naruto said with certainty. "The safest way is straight ahead."
"Because right now, every team sees us as the troublesome ones."
The three leapt from tree to giant tree trunk, not taking a detour. Just as Naruto predicted, they made it safely to the central tower.
By the time they arrived, Team 8 was already there waiting.
"Naruto! Took you guys long enough!" Kiba barked smugly. "We've been waiting forever!"
"Shut up, Kiba. I'll beat you down later." Naruto, who was on good terms with him, punched him hard.
Team 8 was known among the Rookie 12 as the reconnaissance specialists. They avoided most fights, snagged a scroll quickly, and camped near the tower—like players who dropped straight into the finals zone.
Byakugan, parasitic insects, and Kiba's sharp nose—it was practically cheating with wallhacks. Dodging tough enemies was child's play for them.
"Naruto…kun, you're okay, right?" Hinata asked timidly.
"What could be wrong with me?" Naruto grinned.
Hinata pointed at his clothes. Naruto glanced down at his dirt-streaked self and scratched his head awkwardly.
"Survival training's a little rough. I figured I'd match the atmosphere."
"Tch." Kiba made a face to mock him. "Don't tell me Team 7's been starving since yesterday?"
"Sorry, but I ate so much grilled fish I'm sick of it—fresh and hot." Naruto smirked without smiling, meeting Kiba's jab head-on. The two nearly pressed foreheads together. "What about you? Don't tell me you've been sneaking Akamaru's kibble?"
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslations.
3 new chapters are released daily—thank you for your support!
Powerstone Event: For every 50 powerstones, 1 chapter will be unlocked.)