Uehara Naraku is about to arrive at the central tower!
The news brought by Inuzuka Kiba made everyone present a bit tense; he's a man whose battle time is calculated in seconds.
Everyone here, after encountering Uehara Naraku, couldn't withstand even one round and were all instantly defeated.
Even Rock Lee, who still had a bit of fighting spirit, was affected by the heavy atmosphere and squatted in a corner by himself.
After a moment of dejection, Rock Lee suddenly became excited and said, "Wait… if the Seventh Class encounters Uehara Naraku, wouldn't Sakura be in great danger!"
"Huh?"
Everyone looked at the suddenly excited Rock Lee in surprise.
Rock Lee stood up sharply, clenched his fists tightly, and shouted, "I've figured it out! I'm going to save Sakura!"
"Don't be impulsive, Lee!"
No one had time to stop Rock Lee.
On the other side.
The Seventh Class and Uehara Naraku were also approaching the vicinity of the tower, with so many teams gathered here that traps were almost unavoidable.
"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
A gust of wind suddenly kicked towards Uehara Naraku's head, and a passionate voice echoed in everyone's ear: "I won't let anyone harm Sakura!"
Bang!
The attacker flew back with even greater speed!
Uehara Naraku slowly retracted his fist, looking speechlessly at Rock Lee who attacked him: "What's wrong with you?"
Other Genin also came rushing in.
Upon seeing this, Uchiha Sasuke couldn't help but raise his eyebrows: "Haven't you gathered the complete scrolls? Why aren't you going to the tower?"
Uzumaki Naruto scratched his head and said with a laugh, "Hahaha, it seems like only our team will pass this exam!"
"..."
The group of nine didn't pay them any attention, instead, they turned to look at the young Rain Village Ninja beside them, each subconsciously swallowing hard.
Uehara Naraku squinted his eyes, waved amiably at them, and greeted them warmly: "Long time no see, did you miss me?"
"..."
The air remained silent.
Only Akamaru in Inuzuka Kiba's arms whined a few times.
Uehara Naraku's figure instantly appeared beside Inuzuka Kiba!
A flash of astonishment crossed everyone's face, as Hyuga Neji's fists tensed instantly; Uehara Naraku's speed was so fast that even he didn't catch it!
Uehara Naraku affectionately petted Akamaru's head, looking at the trembling little dog, he chuckled softly: "I greeted you, so cheer up a bit and give me some face!"
"…Hel…Hello there!"
Inuzuka Kiba, with a forced smile on his face, retreated a few steps while holding his dog.
The others wore ugly expressions; on the first day of the exam, this guy named Uehara had beaten them to a pulp, how could they be happy?
"Alright, no more teasing you."
Uehara Naraku twisted his wrist, scanning the people present as he said, "Now you can go to the tower to complete the exam. I hope one cute little fellow meets me in the third exam."
As he finished speaking, the smile on Uehara Naraku's face appeared more gentle, but in the eyes of others, it seemed like a devilish grin.
Nara Shikamaru slowly lowered his head, hiding the expression on his face: "Is this Chunin Examination all orchestrated by this guy behind the scenes?"
Rock Lee, being straightforward, directly asked, "Hey, can I ask why you're doing this?"
"Of course, because it's fun!"
Uehara Naraku turned his head to look at Rock Lee, speaking very plainly: "Defeating geniuses through one's own efforts, don't you find that interesting?"
Rock Lee was momentarily stunned, then suddenly gave a thumbs-up and smiled broadly: "You're right, surpassing geniuses through effort is the most interesting!"
"Indeed!"
The smile on Uehara Naraku's face grew even brighter.
But the people around them looked at Rock Lee as if they were looking at an idiot—no, this guy really seemed to be an idiot!
After Uehara Naraku departed in the direction of the tower, the Konoha crowd gradually relaxed, each letting out a sigh of relief.
This crop of Genin had long been harvested by Uehara Naraku, so he didn't linger. Therefore, Uehara was unaware that the Seventh Class was desperately trying to clear his name afterwards…
Yes, the Seventh Class was trying to clear his name.
Whether it was Uchiha Sasuke or Haruno Sakura, they understood that after Uehara Naraku had beaten up everyone except them, he wasn't malicious. He just wanted them to be more vigilant against Orochimaru, lest they meet their doom.
Otherwise, why didn't Uehara kill them?
As for Uzumaki Naruto, he couldn't tell right from wrong and eventually chose to trust his teammates, joining in clearing Uehara Naraku's name.
Who knows if, when the three members of the Seventh Class truly see part of Uehara Naraku's real self in the future, their young hearts might be hurt…
In any case, with Uehara Naraku taking away Kaguya Kimimaro and Haku, the second stage of the Chunin Examination was finally able to conclude smoothly.
The high-level officials of Konoha outside the Forest of Death also breathed a sigh of relief.
Over the past few days, the Anbu and examiners responsible for monitoring the Forest of Death were probably the most tense. They not only had to watch out for Orochimaru but also worry about the outcome of the Heaven and Earth Scrolls competition.
After all, the presence of Kaguya Kimimaro and Haku significantly reduced the probability of other Genin completing the exam. If only three Rain Village Ninja were left to appear in the Chunin promotional battle in front of the Daimyo and Ninja Village leaders for the third stage, Konoha would lose face!
Fortunately, these fellows had some sense of restraint.
As Uehara Naraku entered the tower, one team after another followed into the tower to complete the exam and advance to the next individual battle stage.
However, due to the intense battles over the past few days, only six teams made it to the next round.
The Hidden Rain Village, Uehara Naraku, Kaguya Kimimaro, and Haku.
Konoha Village, Hyuga Neji, Rock Lee, Tenten; Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura; Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji; Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino.
The Hidden Sand Village, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro.
Among them, only the teams from the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Rain Village advanced purely by strength. Gaara nearly single-handedly crushed all their enemies.
Kaguya Kimimaro and Haku from the Rain Village even blocked the tower for four days, restricting any ninja from entering, demonstrating combat strength even more formidable than the Hidden Sand Village.
Not to mention, they still had Uehara Naraku, who was half-heartedly crushing weaker opponents.
The newcomers from Konoha advanced by relying on their excellent teamwork to fend off numerous rivals.
Yakushi Kabuto did not advance.
Since Kabuto had multiple roles, not only did he have to help Orochimaru with intelligence transmission, but he also had to assist Uehara Naraku in taking away Karin, leaving him with no time to spare for the Chunin Examination.
Outside Konoha Village.
The Hidden Grass Ninja, who had been eliminated in the second exam, left this heartache-filled place grumbling and blaming each other, eventually shifting all the blame onto Karin.
After all, Karin's status was the lowest, wasn't it?
"Damn it, it's all your fault, you useless idiot!"
"Keeping her is just a waste of the village's food!"
"We failed the Chunin Examination because this woman is useless. The village will definitely execute her as the culprit!"
A Grass Village Ninja grabbed Karin's hair and slapped her face, saying coldly, "You're dead if you go back. If we abandon you here, maybe you might survive!"
"Hehehe, are we really going to ditch her? Why not we…"
A Shuriken suddenly shot out, hitting the lewd Grass Village Ninja!
From the bushes emerged a white-haired ninja wearing a hood. He adjusted his glasses on his nose and looked at the injured Karin with a hint of regret: "What a waste of a treasure!"
Intercepting these Grass Village Ninja was none other than Yakushi Kabuto.
As a graduate student under Orochimaru, Kabuto understood the value of the Uzumaki Descendants very well. Their chakra reserves were abundant, and their physical resilience was strong, allowing them to easily master Fuinjutsu as they grew up.
Especially a ninja like Karin, who had innate strong healing abilities, was even more precious!
"Who are you…"
The Grass Village Ninja asked in panic about Kabuto's identity, but before they could finish a sentence, Kabuto was already moving through their ranks, and the blue-green chakra streaked across their throats!
After killing everyone, Kabuto approached Karin and extended his hand: "Come with me. A certain gentleman ordered me to pick you up, and from now on, no one will dare to bully you."
"..."
Karin trembled slightly, slowly raising her head to look at Kabuto, as if she saw a beam of light behind him.
Karin blushed a bit and, seeing the warm smile on Kabuto's face, slowly reached out her hand and placed it in his.
"Thank you."
"It's all right. I'm just following orders."
Kabuto smiled and patted Karin's red hair gently, saying softly: "Don't worry, we mean no harm."
"I know…"
Karin nodded and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Karin didn't tell Kabuto that this was actually the first time in her life she was receiving someone's kindness.
Although many later referred to Kabuto as a spy and a master of deception, Karin still stubbornly believed in the warmth Kabuto gave her at that moment.
"Where… is the gentleman you mentioned?"
Karin carefully wiped the dirt off her face and said softly: "Do I need to meet him now?"
"Not yet."
Kabuto pushed his glasses, which reflected a glint of light: "He's probably participating in the third preliminary match of the Chunin Examination right now!"
"Participating in the Chunin Examination?"
Karin's eyes showed a bit of surprise, her teeth lightly biting her lip. So the one who arranged for her rescue from the clutches of evil was only a Genin?
Kabuto seemed to see through Karin's thoughts and showed a bit of longing on his face.
"Don't underestimate that gentleman. He's someone who can topple this world all by himself!"