Team 9

The next morning, Kakashi gave the three of them the Chunin Exams application forms. Sasuke was actually reluctant to take part in these Chunin Exams, but retreating was not a solution. Such a chance for real combat was truly rare, and his Sharingan was on the verge of another breakthrough. The growth of his spiritual power had hit a bottleneck—or at least, that was his own guess. His spiritual power had grown through grueling training, but lately, no matter how he trained, it had stopped progressing. It seemed an occasional dose of stimulation was necessary.

But Orochimaru was too terrifying. It would be best to clear the second stage quickly, then they would be safe. As for the Konoha Destruction Plan, to hell with it. Others might not know Konoha's defensive system, but didn't Orochimaru? Did he really think the newly established Sound Ninja and the declining Sunagakure could destroy Konoha? What a joke. Sasuke had found it strange even in his previous life. Orochimaru's goal had only been to kill the Third Hokage. But why? Orochimaru had shed tears in the anime. His own explanation was that he had been too bored and wanted to sleep, but was that really it? He did not care about Konoha's decay. What he cared about was his teacher, slowly growing old in this rotten Konoha before dying of illness. That was something he did not want to see. So wasn't dying in battle beneath everyone's gaze a fitting end? It would let people forever remember that spirited Third Hokage.

Still, whatever his purpose was, Sasuke could not allow Orochimaru to set his sights on him. His stupid Brother had caused trouble, yet he was the one left to bear it. Did they really think he was a soft persimmon? Well, he was a soft persimmon right now. He just hoped his Genjutsu would be of some use against Orochimaru, or he would be in serious trouble.

Sasuke's Genjutsu was all fairly basic. The Uchiha Clan had never shown much interest in Genjutsu, since their Sharingan countered it, and those who awakened the Mangekyo came with two innate abilities of their own. Thus, they had never possessed any high-level Genjutsu, at most some scrolls acquired during missions. None of those were particularly advanced, at best B-rank Genjutsu. Orochimaru's spiritual power was weakened because of his reincarnation issues, but even so, B-rank Genjutsu could not deal with him. Its main purpose was to buy Sasuke time to escape.

The Chunin Exams registration period arrived. After Iruka's test, the three headed directly to the classroom on the third floor on the day of the exam. The moment he entered, Sasuke saw through the Genjutsu. It was completely ineffective against his Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Rock Lee was putting on an act over there. After several years in the ninja world, this was Sasuke's first time seeing Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji together. Team 9 had finally appeared.

"Please let us pass." Tenten stepped forward to help up the knocked-down Rock Lee, then made her request. However, the other party showed no tenderness toward women and kicked Tenten away as well. A group of Genin nearby were murmuring among themselves, but no one was willing to step forward. Some of them might have recognized the Genjutsu, but no one intended to expose their strength. Sasuke had no plans to go up either, lest Rock Lee latch onto him. They could all just wait.

He could wait, but Naruto did not want to. He could not see through the Genjutsu; he simply wanted to get inside.

"Hey, how can you block the door? We're here to take the exam. I'm someone who's about to become a Chunin, so don't waste my time." Sasuke found it embarrassing, so he decided it would be better to step in and smooth things over.

"Undo the Genjutsu. There's no need to show off such a petty trick. Everyone wants to conserve their strength, but that doesn't mean you should just stand around watching or pretend to be weak. You're still playing such a boring game at your age?" As he spoke, he looked toward Rock Lee and the others.

Naruto did not understand what Sasuke meant, but that did not stop him from continuing to show off. "Exactly, exactly. So boring. Yeah, yeah." He let out a deliberately affected sigh.

"Oh? An interesting brat. You actually saw through the Genjutsu. But if you want to enter, let's see whether you have what it takes." With that, the man immediately closed in to attack. Sasuke did not counterattack, instead taking a step back. Rock Lee had rushed forward intending to stop them, but Sasuke's retreat left him directly facing the other man. After exchanging several moves, the two separated and looked toward Sasuke. His Sunglasses concealed his expression, but the curl of his lips made it clear that he was smiling.

What followed was the confession scene that made everyone break out in goosebumps. Rock Lee was truly brave. He confessed whenever he saw a pretty girl; one had to admire his courage. The result was predictable. The way upstairs was cleared, and just as Sasuke was about to lead the others up, Neji called out to him from behind.

"What's your name?" Did all geniuses share this hobby?

"Tell me when you meet me. Maybe we won't even face each other in the competition." Sasuke answered with a smile and left. Naruto and Sakura followed him. Since he had not registered, Rock Lee did not know who Sasuke was and therefore did not challenge him. Even if he had, Sasuke might not have accepted. If they fought in the academy building, he could not use Ninjutsu, and he did not want to expose his Genjutsu. Fighting Rock Lee one-on-one in Taijutsu? Sorry, he did not have that kind of problem.

They strode up to the door of the examination room, where Kakashi appeared. After a pile of nonsense, the three entered the classroom. There were quite a lot of people, but most were merely elimination fodder with no threat whatsoever. Even Gaara was the same. He would not reveal that he was a Jinchuriki yet, so that only left Orochimaru. Had Orochimaru replaced that nameless extra by now?

The door opened again, and Team 9 entered the classroom as well. They did not speak, merely walking to one side and waiting quietly. The rookies, however, had no such awareness. Shikamaru came over to greet them. Then Ino appeared and immediately hung herself off Sasuke's back. Sasuke helplessly rolled his eyes. He could not exactly throw a girl off him. Fortunately, Sakura came to his rescue, and the two launched into the ultimate battle of words. Sasuke used the chance to retreat to the wall, folding his arms as he leaned against it. He had absolutely no interest in what was about to happen. He deactivated his Sharingan and began resting, keeping himself in peak condition to deal with whatever unknown changes might come.

"What's going on? You're taking such a troublesome exam too?" Shikamaru was still the same as ever. Sasuke truly did not know why he lacked all motivation. Had he seen through life already? Kiba was a talkative guy, and he and Naruto started their own battle of words. The noisy group drew the displeasure of everyone in the classroom, but Sasuke did not care. He watched Yakushi Kabuto step out to put on his act. He really was an excellent spy.

Was getting beaten up afterward part of the act too? That was unclear. After all, he was a medical ninja, and his medical skills were certainly not poor. Imitating injuries from an attack would be as easy as turning his hand over.