The Konoha exam arena was buzzing with anticipation. The month-long preparation period for the final matches was finally over.
Daimyo from various nations and the leaders of smaller ninja villages had all arrived in Konoha. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had taken their seats on the viewing platform. The final round of the Chunin Exams would be the deciding factor in which of the genin would be promoted.
Among the genin candidates from Konoha, besides the previous year's rookies, Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga, all the remaining participants were new genin. From the now-famous Team 7 were Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha; from Team 8, Shino Aburame; and from Team 10, Shikamaru Nara. The Sand Village was represented by Temari and Kankuro.
Sakura Haruno had withdrawn from the exam under Kakashi's advice to focus on her medical ninjutsu training. Dosu from the Sound Village had also forfeited for unknown reasons and had since disappeared, leaving exactly eight candidates.
The genin participating in the final matches entered the arena. A single glance at their confident expressions made it clear that each had mastered powerful new jutsu.
However, whenever their gazes fell on Naruto Uzumaki, they would subconsciously frown. The memory of his fight with Gaara just a month ago was still fresh in everyone's mind. A person who couldn't be defeated even by the rampaging One-Tail, Shukaku, was participating in the Chunin Exam as a genin.
Shikamaru Nara couldn't help but complain in his head. No matter how he looked at it, this was just unbelievable. His teacher, Asuma Sarutobi, and his father, Shikaku Nara, had both told him the winner of this exam would almost certainly be either Naruto or Sasuke. And of the two, Naruto had the highest chance of winning.
Shikamaru, chewing on a blade of grass, held his head and muttered to himself, "Ugh, Naruto's in the first match. I just hope he doesn't destroy the venue too badly..." If Naruto flattened the arena with a single Rasengan, the Nara clan's Shadow Imitation Jutsu would require a lot more chakra to extend its range and catch an opponent.
Besides the candidates, a few other people were also on edge.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had already received some intelligence on Naruto from Jiraiya. Unsure of the boy's true strength, he was terrified the little guy might actually tear down the exam hall. Because of this, Hiruzen had given special instructions to the proctor and had the Sealing Team on standby, ready to cast the Four Violet Flames Formation at a moment's notice to prevent any accidents.
The proctor for the final matches was Genma Shiranui. The previous proctors had all been injured during the exams, and without exception, it was always related to Naruto. The most seriously injured, Hayate Gekko, was still hooked up to an IV drip in Konoha Hospital.
One can only imagine Genma Shiranui's mood.
The lazy man, a senbon dangling from his mouth, sauntered over to the group of candidates and raised the list in his hand. "Due to two people forfeiting, the match list has changed a bit. Please confirm your opponents."
"Yes!"
In reality, the match list hadn't changed much. For the entire month, they had all been preparing for their first-round opponents.
Naruto looked at the list, then turned his head to look at Neji Hyuga, who was standing one person away. Meeting Neji's white eyes, Naruto cracked his knuckles. Sasuke Uchiha and Rock Lee's gazes also met, their desire for battle second to none.
Shikamaru looked up at the sky with zero motivation, completely ignoring Temari, who was gritting her teeth on the other side, looking as if he didn't take her seriously at all. Shino Aburame and Kankuro also didn't seem to be getting along.
"Before the exam, I need to announce some prohibitions," Genma said. He took out a piece of paper, his eyes glancing at Naruto as he read softly, "During the exam, no one is allowed to use Sage Mode..."
"Hey, that's completely unfair!" Sasuke Uchiha suddenly interrupted. The rule was obviously aimed at Naruto; everyone else looked confused. Most of them probably didn't even know what Sage Mode was.
Genma looked a bit awkward. "Ahem, this is to avoid unnecessary casualties. After all, the power gap in this battle is too great..." The Konoha ninja didn't believe Neji had any chance of winning. After the preliminaries, the power Naruto displayed when defeating the massive Shukaku had instilled fear in even jounin and special jounin.
Sasuke snorted, looking at the others with contempt as he spoke up for his teammate. "This rule was created just to target Naruto. It's too unfair."
Neji Hyuga looked at the two members of Team 7 and said in a deep voice, "Proctor, I don't think there's a need to prohibit any jutsu."
"That's right, the result will be the same anyway," Sasuke replied, the contempt in his eyes for Neji visible to almost everyone.
"Sasuke!" Naruto smiled helplessly and tugged on his teammate's arm. He looked up at Genma. "Can you tell me which Sage Mode is forbidden? Is it Sage Mode, Sage Fox Mode, or Six Paths Sage Mode?"
Genma was speechless. "..."
How was he supposed to know there were so many different types of Sage Mode?
Genma waved over a chunin, sending him to ask the Third Hokage. The exam could no longer be called fair, which made the proctor feel a bit awkward on the field.
Hiruzen was also a bit lost. After pondering for a moment, he thought that Sage Mode, Sage Fox Mode, and Six Paths Sage Mode all sounded incredibly powerful. The "Professor of Jutsu" suddenly felt his knowledge was insufficient.
The Third Hokage sighed and said to the chunin, "Then ban all of them!"
"Yes, Lord Third!" The chunin left the stands.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, couldn't help but chuckle. "It sounds like Lord Hokage also fears great power?"
Hiruzen replied flatly, "No, I'm just worried that innocent ninjas will die in the aftershocks of the battle."
Unexpectedly, the Fourth Kazekage didn't argue but nodded seriously. This made Hiruzen's heart tighten. Had this fellow Rasa also investigated the power of Sage Mode?
In the entire ninja world, those who could use Sage Mode could be counted on one hand. As far as Hiruzen knew, besides the First Hokage, only Jiraiya and Naruto could activate it. It was practically a power belonging to Konoha, and as Hokage, he didn't want anyone else coveting it.
Back in the arena, after receiving the order, Genma Shiranui relayed the Third Hokage's message to the eight candidates. "Whether it's Sage Mode... Sage Fox Mode or Six Paths Sage Mode, all of them are forbidden." After speaking, a hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes, as if blaming Naruto for being a smart-mouth.
Now, see? They're all banned.
Sasuke was still unhappy. "Hmph, if that's the case, why not just ban the use of chakra for the Chunin Exam!"
"That's fine too..." the boy in the green jumpsuit agreed, then shrank back awkwardly under everyone's gaze and added cautiously, "Sasuke, we're ninjas. How can we not use chakra?"
"Alright, alright," Naruto said, trying to comfort his teammate. "Sasuke, anyway, just as you said, the result won't change no matter what."
"Naruto!" Sasuke was still angry. "I trained hard for a month, not to defeat you while you're in shackles!"
"The result is the same anyway," Naruto continued to reassure him. "Even if I can't use Sage Mode, your chances of beating me are still very low..."
His attempt at comfort backfired.
Sasuke glared at him fiercely. Seeing Naruto was about to continue with more examples, he snapped, "...Shut up!"
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Bonus:
Naruto Uzumaki: Which Sage Mode do you want to ban?
Hiruzen Sarutobi: First, tell me what they do...
Naruto Uzumaki: Sage Mode can destroy Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi: Banned. That's too dangerous!
Naruto Uzumaki: Sage Fox Mode can destroy the Land of Fire.
Hiruzen Sarutobi: ...
Naruto Uzumaki: Six Paths Sage Mode can destroy the ninja world...
Hiruzen Sarutobi: ...