A Roller Coaster of Emotions
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh--!
Naruto stared at the blank exam paper in front of him, and a desperate roar erupted from his heart!
Oh no! I can't do a single question! What do I do, what do I do, what do I do! Naruto could already picture Sakura's fury. Her eyes would be wide open like saucers, her eyebrows would be as thick as fingers, raised high, and her gaping maw would stretch to her ears, with five-inch-long fangs dripping saliva, before she bit him down head and neck in one gulp!
Crunch! It tastes like chicken, and it's so crunchy!
Naruto shuddered and quickly shook his head to banish the terrifying thought. △The top said that although Sakura was ferocious, she probably wouldn't use her Transformation Technique to turn into a monster and devour him... However, if he dared to let the image of Sakura from his mind escape, oh no... Sakura really would transform into that form and bite him to death! If she knew that he was the one who caused everyone to fail the first exam, even if she didn't bite him to death, Sakura would still teach him a lesson with her "iron fist of love."
In recent years, Naruto has developed a strong physique under Sakura's guidance. Within Team 7, Sakura Haruno, the woman at the top of the food chain, treats the lower-ranking Sasuke and Naruto very differently. Towards the always indifferent and calm Sasuke, she tirelessly uses various methods to train him, trying to break his Sasuke face and elicit expressions of joy, shyness, embarrassment, and so on. As for Naruto, the master of facial expressions and a master of self-destruction, she uses various loving actions to help Naruto correct his mistakes through pain and understand the right path in life.
From this perspective, Sakura truly went to great lengths for Naruto. In a sense, Naruto's habit of breaking his habit of graffitiing on the Hokage Rock and other large-scale pranks was also thanks to this woman's tyranny.
Unaware of Sakura's painstaking efforts, Naruto was still fretting over his exam. He could understand the individual words on each of the nine questions, but when put together, they left him completely bewildered. Naruto racked his brains, trying to recall what he had learned at the Ninja Academy. Suddenly, he realized that Sakura seemed to have explained most of this to him. That's right, Sakura had indeed explained similar questions! Naruto desperately tried to remember the answers. Then he recalled the scene from back then.
He had already fallen asleep after Sakura read the question aloud, so he didn't hear the answer.
So here's the question: what happens if all three of them fail the exam by handing in a blank paper? The answer to that question is too heavy, so Naruto quickly changed the subject: how can you avoid handing in a blank paper if you can't answer a single question? In despair, Naruto immediately thought of the answer: cheat. Sitting to Naruto's right is Hinata. At this Hinata, Naruto is unaware that this shy girl secretly likes him. The rather oblivious Naruto still thinks Hinata is just a very shy girl.
Hinata's feelings for Naruto weren't swayed by Sakura's words. Given their personalities, even without the incident in the original story, Hinata would have been attracted to the sunny and passionate Naruto, especially since he had been thoroughly disciplined by Sakura and now used his time for Naruto to train diligently. Although he was known as the worst student, it was only because the exam tested his weakest Clone Technique Jutsu; Naruto was actually very skilled in Taijutsu and other Ninjutsu.
Such a capable man was naturally more appealing to Hinata. Seeing Naruto scratching his head, his test paper still blank, she knew the questions were difficult even for her, and given Naruto's personality, he probably hadn't solved a single one. When Naruto's sly eyes fell on Hinata's test paper, the girl mustered her courage and secretly showed it to Naruto, saying, "Naruto... do you want to copy my test paper?"
However, Hinata and Naruto's sweet interaction ended with Naruto worrying about being discovered, making Sakura, sitting in the back row, secretly anxious. She hadn't helped Naruto, wanting to leave the opportunity for Hinata. Neither of them realized the true meaning of the exam. Hinata, capable of answering the questions herself, wouldn't risk cheating. If she activated her Byakugan now, she would see that the other examinees were already using all sorts of tricks. Hinata also failed to realize that it was precisely because her method of helping Naruto cheat was so low-level that her beloved rejected her help.
Should she remind her? Sakura hesitated. The Byakugan's ability is convenient for cheating on her own, but difficult for helping others cheat. So Hinata probably didn't have a better way, which is why she chose this clumsy method.
After thinking for a moment, Sakura infused Chakra into the ink, controlling it to move in front of Hinata and transform it into characters, thus communicating with Hinata. Hinata was slightly surprised, then nervously glanced back at Sakura, gently shaking her head to indicate that she had no better way.
The first exam finally came to an end with Naruto's bold words.
For Naruto, this exam was like a rollercoaster ride. First, he was agonizing for half an hour over not being able to write the answer and the fear of being caught cheating. Then, Naruto was overjoyed and relieved to receive Sakura's answer, which saved him from a desperate situation. Immediately, he was dealt a heavy blow by Ibiki Morino's tenth question. Finally, just as Naruto was about to face the challenge head-on and uphold his Ninja Way with a do-or-die spirit, he discovered that the answer to the tenth question itself was this kind of attitude of facing challenges head-on, and he was praised by the examiner on the spot.
The ups and downs of life are so exciting! On the way to the Forest of Death, Naruto kept smiling smugly. Sakura, feeling impatient, didn't care about him. It was rare for Naruto to be praised, so she let him gloat for a while. The thought of possibly encountering Orochimaru soon made Sakura feel very down.
If she chose not to participate in the exams, would she be able to avoid Orochimaru? Sometimes Sakura couldn't help but wonder this. But upon closer reflection, she knew it was impossible. Even if she didn't participate in the first year, what about the second? The supposedly strongest Team 7, and the supposedly talented Sakura, if she didn't even dare to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams, what would others think? Not to mention, Sakura herself couldn't overcome her own fear; constantly choosing to run away would cast a shadow over her mind. How could she become strong without the mindset of a strong person?
Orochimaru's Konoha Crush Plan was twofold: to take revenge on Konoha and to obtain Sasuke. Therefore, as long as Sakura was with Sasuke, she would inevitably face Orochimaru sooner or later, and avoiding the Chunin Ninja Exams was pointless.
Even Naruto managed not to back down in the face of battle, so how could Sakura be any less capable than Naruto! Recalling Naruto's earlier words, Sakura suddenly felt herself inspired by him, and her spirits lifted. Perhaps, this was the charm of Naruto as the protagonist! Sakura gradually understood why Naruto in the original work received so much recognition!
After receiving the scrolls, the three arrived at the entrance. Sakura glanced at the still calm Sasuke and the energetic Naruto, her smile brightening as the gloom on her face vanished, replaced by a confident look. She led the way through the entrance.
I'm all ready... Bring on any difficulties and dangers, I'm not afraid of you! With this in mind, Sakura led the two into the Forest of Death.
A great battle between hunters and the hunted has officially begun.
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Sakura was suddenly awakened from her deep sleep. She was now inside the giant tree, in a tree hole that had been temporarily opened by the water blade. Through the faint light shining through the ventilation vent, she could vaguely see Sasuke and Naruto sleeping on the other side of the dark tree hole.
Sakura felt her head was in a fog, her thoughts were frozen and unable to function. After a while, she realized that she wasn't at home, but in the Forest of Death.
She slowly stood up, clenched her fists, and felt the strength in her body. Her depleted physical strength had only recovered to about 20-30%, and her whole body ached. This was a side effect of being forced to wake up without getting a full rest after the battle.
What happened? Sakura tried hard to recall everything that had happened before. After taking a few deep breaths, her mind finally cleared, and the scenes from her memories surfaced in her mind.
Previously...
After entering the Forest of Death, Sakura and her two companions found a river and followed it towards the tower.
As evening approached, the three of them stopped to prepare dinner when Sakura suddenly sensed something was amiss.
"Sasuke, Naruto! Wait, something's wrong!" Sakura suddenly said uneasily, "It seems... someone is watching us!"
Sasuke frowned, about to speak, when three ninjas suddenly sprang out from the hidden part of the forest not far away. They weren't wearing Forehead Protector, and judging from their attire, they were probably Genin from Amegakure.
"Hmph—" the tall young man in the lead sneered, "Your senses are pretty sharp, you ghosts, you actually discovered us! Too bad, you can't win a battle with just your senses. If you want to save your lives, you'd better hand over your scrolls obediently!"
Sakura snorted coldly. She had already spotted these people, but she was pretending not to know because she wanted to stop and rest before dealing with them.
"Get out of my way... I don't have time to waste on you weaklings!" The growing sense of crisis made Sakura lose her patience, and she said impatiently. Had Orochimaru targeted her? Sakura forcefully suppressed the urge to run away. She knew she didn't have any special escape skills; a Genin had no chance of escaping Orochimaru. Besides, there were enemies right in front of her.
Taking a deep breath, Sakura calmed her quietly trembling body.
Orochimaru, huh... Let me see just how terrifying you are.