Only Kids Make Choices

"Now then, the preliminaries for the third exam have officially concluded!"

Gekko Hayate announced.

"The list of candidates confirmed to advance to the third stage of the Chunin Exams is as follows."

"Naruto, Shino Aburame, Temari, Shikamaru Nara, Kiba Inuzuka, Dosu Kinuta, Gaara, Rock Lee, and Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Now, let us invite the Third Hokage to explain the details of the next round."

The Third Hokage cleared his throat.

"On this lovely day, with crisp autumn air and the fruits of spring and autumn alike, we shall welcome the final stage of the Chunin Exams. On behalf of Konoha's ninja administration and the entire organizing committee of these Chunin Exams, I offer my heartfelt congratulations and sincere thanks to every contestant who has successfully advanced! Today, we have all gathered here—"

"Cough, cough."

Sasuke broke into a violent coughing fit and spat out a little more blood.

"Hokage, please get to the point. Sasuke looks like he's about to die."

Shino Aburame said expressionlessly.

The crowd snickered.

The Third Hokage awkwardly rubbed his nose. "In short, the official matches will display your battles to the entire world. I hope that, as representatives of your respective countries, you will all give your all without regrets."

"And the official matches will begin one month from now!"

"Huh? Why do we have to wait that long?"

Kiba Inuzuka asked.

"This is what is known as the necessary preparation period."

"On one hand, there is still much preparation required for the tournament. On the other hand, this is also preparation time for you examinees."

"Can you just say what you mean?"

Temari finally could not resist rudely interrupting.

The Third Hokage remained unruffled and continued, "In other words, this is time for you to know yourselves and know your enemies. Analyze the intelligence on the opponents you encountered in the preliminaries and increase your odds of victory."

"Furthermore, during this month, everyone can continue to improve through training. The greater your progress, the more likely you are to catch your opponents off guard in the official matches."

The moment he heard that, Lee was fired up once again.

He clenched his fists, flames blazing in his eyes.

"Excellent! Then let's keep working hard! In this month, I'll definitely cultivate an even more amazing secret technique!"

"Burn, youth!"

The next day, inside a room at Konoha Hospital.

Team 3 was visiting Neji Hyuga in his hospital room.

After returning home that day, Lee had also pondered Sasuke and Neji's final conversation for a long time.

He said to Neji, "I once heard that fate is like the lines on your palm. No matter how twisted they are, they are always in your own hands."

"Look, the lines on your palm have already been burned away. Starting tomorrow, let everything begin anew!"

With his thick brows and big eyes, Lee held up a thumbs-up. Together with his sparkling teeth, he radiated pure positivity.

"Is that really how you comfort someone?!"

Tenten shoved Lee.

On the other side, Might Guy had been moved to tears by his beloved student's profound words.

"What's so moving about that, hey?!"

Compared to the noisy scene next door, the neighboring hospital room was fairly quiet for the moment.

Sasuke and Naruto lay side by side in two separate beds.

Naruto, whose ribs were fractured, had white bandages wrapped around his chest. Leaning halfway against the headboard, his entire body twisted about like an octopus.

Meanwhile, Sasuke lay silently beneath a light-colored blanket, his face pale.

"Ugh! My back is so itchy. Help me scratch it!"

"You're so noisy."

Sasuke replied.

"Hey! Help me out! It really itches like hell!"

Sasuke simply closed his eyes to rest.

He recalled the Third Hokage's final words. Over the next month, the other contestants would surely train desperately. By then, who knew what new secret techniques they might bring out?

Yet he had just been told that, due to damage to his internal organs, he was forbidden from engaging in strenuous activity for nearly half a month.

As for chakra conversion and extraction, those had been strictly prohibited as well.

That meant he probably could not continue either Taijutsu or ninjutsu training.

At that thought, Sasuke decided to get in touch with the netizens again.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke. I have successfully advanced to the third stage of the Chunin Exams, and now have one month to train. Do you all have any advice for the road ahead?"

At the same time, he briefly added the events of recent days below his question.

He gave a short account of successfully meeting Jiraiya and becoming his student, fighting Neji Hyuga in the preliminaries, and his current injuries.

Before long, some netizens replied.

"Fighting Neji this early?"

HuoHuo427: "That doesn't seem right. I remember Kakashi saying Sasuke at this point wasn't a match for Neji."

Zhang Feng: "The timeline changed early on. Go check the original poster's previous posts—they're pretty interesting."

"Looks like Sasuke in this universe is stronger than his counterpart from the original universe."

Male Rabbit's Feet Fluttering: "Damn, he really became Jiraiya's student? That Old Man is way too easy to fool."

Remembering the elaborate lies he had told at the time, Sasuke's old face reddened.

He waited a while longer, but not one person came forward with any advice. Every last one of them was just flooding the forum.

Einstein Breasts Exposed: "Come on, come on! It's reached your timeline! @Hunshui Moyu"

Lurker for Ten Thousand Years: "What is there to say about training? Since you already became Jiraiya's student, go ask your teacher. Don't bother your bro with every little thing."

System Notification:

You have received a new suggestion: Ask Jiraiya for guidance on training. Adopt and complete this suggestion to receive a D-Rank Scroll.

Squirrel Duck: "I still think going to Kakashi would be better. Jiraiya can't teach Lightning Blade or guide the Sharingan at all. If you ask me, becoming Jiraiya's student was a mistake from the start. Their specialties don't even match."

You have received a new suggestion: Ask Kakashi for guidance on training. Adopt and complete this suggestion to receive a Rank F Scroll.

Hunshui Moyu: "I'm here, I'm here! You guys really don't know how to play this."

"Only kids make choices. Adults take them all! These are teachers, not wives—you should obviously learn from both!"

You have received a new suggestion: Ask both Kakashi and Jiraiya for guidance on training. Adopt and complete this suggestion to receive a C-Rank Scroll.

Sasuke nodded inwardly.

Well said. Only kids made choices!

Just as Sasuke was considering how to shorten his recovery time as much as possible and arrange his training plan sensibly—

Suddenly, the door to the hospital room opened.

"Hm? Who are you?"

Naruto stared at the newcomers in confusion.

They were all dressed in black bodysuits with white sleeveless tops over them.

What was strange was that each of them wore a mask: red-and-white foxes, blue-and-white cats, or bizarre birds with protruding beaks.

"Are you looking for someone? Could you help scratch my back while you're at it?"

The group walked directly to Sasuke's bed. The leader spoke first.

"Are you Uchiha Sasuke?"

"You're Anbu?"

Sasuke did not answer, instead asking a question of his own.

The man nodded. "Come with us."

"What are you doing?! Why are you taking him away?"

Naruto shouted.

Taking away a contestant who was still recovering from injuries in such a hurry looked suspicious no matter how one viewed it.

By then, Sasuke had already sat up in bed. His fingers gradually moved toward the kunai beside the bed as he rapidly considered his options.

"Naruto, don't be rude."

A voice came from the doorway.

Looking up, they saw Team 7's captain, the man known as the "Copy Ninja"—

Kakashi Hatake.