"Hmm!"
The muscles on his face twitched as Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He slowly raised his upper body and yawned.
"Good morning! Huh?"
He paused for a moment, looking towards bruised Sakura, silent Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino, who was helping Sakura with her wounds.
"Sakura-chan, what happened to you? Who hurt you like this?"
He jumped to his feet and rushed towards her, showing an angry expression.
Seeing his angry expression, Sakura smiled bitterly and said.
"It's alright, Naruto. I am glad you woke up."
Naruto paused, finding something strange about Sakura's condition, but he looked back at Shikamaru and Choji, asking.
"So, what are you guys doing here?"
"You and Sasuke were sleeping when your team was ambushed. We helped you guys while you were sleeping like a pig."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes with a lazy expression as he said. Then, he stood up and said.
"Since you are awake, we should leave. Ino! Chunin exams are still going."
When he called out her name, Ino dropped Sakura's hair and stood up.
"Goodbye, Big Forehead! Take care of yourself!"
She said before running towards Shikamaru and Choji.
Naruto, confused by this whole situation, looked at Sasuke and asked.
"What the hell happened?"
"Naruto, it's just as Shikamaru said. You and Sasuke-kun got injured while fighting that Kusa-nin."
"Today is the fourth day. You have been sleeping for three days straight. We need to hurry up and get a scroll if we want to pass."
Hearing that, Naruto almost jumped.
"What? I slept for so long. Damn it! No wonder! That was just such a good dream."
"Sakura-chan, you won't believe what I dreamed about. I actually became the Seventh Hokage and Hero of the World."
Sasuke scoffed.
"That's something you can only accomplish in a dream."
"What did you say?"
Naruto angrily folded his sleeves and shouted.
"Hmm!"
Sasuke snorted as he tried to release his Chakra, but suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his neck.
"Hiss!"
"Hey, what's wrong with you? Are those tadpole marks?"
Naruto quickly noticed the change in his expression and asked, showing some worry for his teammate.
"It's none of your business."
Sasuke flared back angrily as he bore the pain of the Curse Seal.
"Naruto, don't disturb Sasuke-kun! That guy did something to Sasuke-kun before he left."
Sakura tried to stop them before they could cause some real trouble. After all, Sasuke couldn't use his Chakra properly.
But since she was in love with Sasuke, she only showed her angry expression towards Naruto.
"Hmm! I understand. Sasuke can't use his Chakra. You are injured. I am the only one who can fight the enemy now."
"Leave the scroll's problem to me! I will find it in no time. By the way, which scroll do we need?"
Naruto asked.
Seeing this, Sakura said.
"Naruto, I'm almost healed. We need to find the Heaven Scroll."
Hearing that, Naruto shook his head and said.
"Sakura-chan, you are still injured. Even after this, there will be another competition, right?"
"So, it's better for you and Sasuke to rest. Besides, I got Shadow Clone Jutsu, remember?"
"Humph! Don't try to act tough, Loser. We saw what that guy did to you." Sasuke snorted.
Sakura nodded and said.
"Yes, Naruto! Don't try to be stubborn. You were screaming when that guy did something to your stomach. Besides, you were also injured in that fight."
Naruto waved his hand and said.
"Are you kidding me? I am perfectly fine. Besides, whatever that guy did isn't affecting me."
"Look!"
[Shadow Clone Jutsu]
As he made the tiger sign and released his Chakra, three shadow clones appeared next to him.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and said.
"You were trying to create more, weren't you, Loser? We all went through similar Chakra Control training."
"Right now, you shouldn't have created only three clones with so much Chakra. It's clear that you haven't recovered."
His words instantly embarrassed Naruto, who didn't think Sasuke would be able to see it.
Yes, while he was molding his Chakra, his control spiked and fell instantly. It was like he was on an adrenaline rush for just a second.
When he was trying to create clones, he only tried creating five. Although he normally would create more, he didn't know why, but he created less.
And, at that moment, his chakra control faltered, and he only managed to create three clones.
He didn't understand what was happening to him. His brain seemed to be constantly absorbing some new information.
The problem was that he ignored it.
There was some important information on his head, but he wasn't thinking about it. But something did affect him.
An extremely realistic dream of being Hokage, marrying Hinata Hyuga, having two children, and living a fulfilling life, before it went down pretty quickly.
It was something Naruto desperately wanted but never had. So, that dream did affect him in more than one way.
For example, he didn't understand why he married Hinata when he clearly loved Sakura.
But in the back of his mind, he simply thought he had given up on her because of her love for Sasuke.
That's how he consoled himself.
While Sakura and Sasuke might treat it as a dream, for Naruto, that was so realistic that it had merged with his instincts.
"Humph, what do you know, teme? I was just getting familiar with my Chakra. I will show you."
[Shadow Clone Jutsu]
Once again, he raised his hands and created nearly ten shadow clones.
Although his Chakra control had messed up, he had a better grasp of his Chakra.
It's like a professional gamer trying to play games with their normal equipment and conditions.
Even if the internet was slow, even if his hardware wasn't good, he would still have the skill of a pro player.
That was Naruto's situation.
"See, teme? I can control my Chakra just fine. Alright, thirteen of you, spread out and find an enemy. After you find them, dispel yourself!"