Without Plot Armor, How Can We Compete on the Same Stage?

The day of the Chunin Exams

"Sasuke, you're here early."

"Yeah."

They had agreed to meet at two. The moment Naruto arrived at the academy, he saw Sasuke leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, apparently having arrived quite some time ago. Hearing him approach, Sasuke gave a slight nod and answered calmly.

"Something on your mind?"

"I was just thinking that people from outside the village are really strong. I don't know if I stand a chance against them."

Sasuke had grown dissatisfied with his own strength. Both Haku and Gaara were the same age as him, yet their strength was terrifying. Although he had never faced Gaara directly, his sixth sense told him that if they really fought, his chances of winning would be slim. The power of Fire Style was no longer enough; he needed a stronger, sharper single-target ninjutsu.

"So you're getting stage fright?"

"Can't you say something nicer?"

Naruto's blunt words struck right at Sasuke's heart, and he shot him an irritated glare.

"Don't worry about it. Nobody said we had to fight alone. I believe our team is the strongest. With you by my side, I'd dare challenge any enemy—that's my Ninja Way! Besides, we have Sakura too. Her punches hurt like crazy."

Naruto smiled knowingly and lightly tapped Sasuke's shoulder with his fist. Things he could not accomplish alone could be done with his companions.

"Then start by clearing that ramen-filled brain of yours. Don't just charge in recklessly. It'd be a real joke if you weren't defeated by a strong enemy but got yourself killed because of your own stupidity."

"Hehe~"

"I wasn't complimenting you! What's with that embarrassed look?!"

"Sorry I'm late. Are you two fighting again?"

Sakura came running over, panting heavily. Girls always had things to take care of—makeup and hair, neither could be skipped.

"Hmph. There's nothing to say to a Dead Last like him."

Sasuke turned his head away and ignored Naruto. Still, the worry in his heart had eased somewhat. Teaming up with an idiot had its benefits.

"Alright, let's go in together. Team Seven has arrived!"

Sakura had long grown used to the relationship between those two. Linking arms with both of them, she led them into the academy and headed straight for Room 301.

"Please, let us in."

Outside Room 301, a girl with two buns in her hair held an injured companion and pleaded. Yet the two ninja guarding the door refused to budge.

"Such a crude Genjutsu."

Sakura murmured under her breath. Their Genjutsu was so low-level that it could be seen through at a glance.

"The Chunin Exams aren't a game for brats like you. Once you become a Chunin, you'll be someone at the level of a squad leader. A leader must bear responsibility for the deaths of their subordinates and the failure of their missions. Brats like you can't handle that."

"If you want to go in, defeat me first."

The youth transformed from a Chunin made an unreasonable demand. The reason they had cast the Genjutsu here was to make unqualified Genin retreat in the face of difficulty—the first test from their own side.

"In that case, I won't hold back."

Sasuke knew the man was not an examinee. The urge to exchange blows with a strong opponent sent him charging forward, and the two traded several moves.

"That guy still loves showing off as much as ever."

Naruto ignored Sasuke and shifted his gaze to someone else.

"Neji, are you still refusing to turn back?"

"None of your business."

"You've got some nerve saying that. Hinata may not say it, but she's always thinking about you. You're her only Brother."

"Naruto, I believe I told you before: the gap in status between the Main Family and the Branch Family cannot be crossed. I will obey Lady Hinata's orders, but I will not get too close to her."

Neji gave Naruto a cold look, his words utterly devoid of emotion, as though the Hinata he spoke of were a stranger.

"Damn it, you twisted bastard. If you make Hinata cry, I'll definitely beat you up."

"You've been saying that since we were kids. Aren't you tired of it?"

"Naruto, do you know him?"

Sakura saw Naruto return in a bad mood after speaking with that Byakugan boy and asked curiously.

"That guy is my Future Brother-in-law, Neji Hyuga."

"Mm, don't know him."

"He graduated a year before us and has already been a Genin for a year."

"From what you said, does that mean he and Hinata don't get along?"

"I don't know! That's what makes it so frustrating. They were fine when they were little. I don't know when this guy started distancing himself from Hinata. I asked him about it a few times, but he wouldn't say anything. It's so annoying!"

"Geez, things in big families really are hard to understand."

"I'm so pissed off. The angrier I get, the hotter it feels. I'm going to buy some popsicles to cool off. Seriously."

The sight of Neji's irritating face made Naruto restless, and with the stifling July heat on top of that, he opened the window and jumped out on his own.

"Naruto! That guy, honestly..."

Sakura called out several times, but he did not come back. She turned to look at Sasuke, who was locked in an intense fight with that Chunin. Just as both of their kicks were about to hit, the green-clad boy who had just been beaten suddenly appeared between them and blocked both attacks with one hand each. The Chunin nodded to himself before turning into smoke and disappearing.

"He blocked my attack that easily... This guy is..."

Sasuke frowned slightly. Neither he nor that Chunin should have been weak, yet the arm this guy had used to stop both of their heavy blows had not even budged.

"Lee, this isn't what we agreed on. Didn't you say you didn't want to attract attention and wanted to pretend to be weak?"

Seeing Lee act on his own, Tenten complained. The whole team had gone along with him in pretending to be weak, yet he himself could not hold back.

"Sorry, Tenten, but I wanted to show off in front of the person I like."

The Watermelon-headed boy walked up to Sakura, his cheeks reddening slightly. He gathered his courage and spoke, flashing his gleaming white teeth.

"My name is Rock Lee. Sakura, I like you. Please go out with me."

"...Absolutely not. Your eyebrows are too thick!"

Sakura felt the world spin around her and desperately shook her head, rejecting Lee's confession.

"Sasuke, hurry, let's go."

Seeing that Lee was about to say something else, Sakura hurriedly grabbed Sasuke and ran toward the third floor.

"Eyebrows too thick? orz"

"Alright, come on, let's go."

Tenten pulled up Lee, who was bent over in despair, and pushed him up the stairs.

"Where's Naruto?"

When they reached the third floor, they found themselves in a spacious hall. Only then did Sasuke realize someone was missing and ask.

"He went to buy a popsicle."

"That idiot..."

"Hey, you with the fierce eyes. You there, please wait."

Just as Sasuke was about to lose his temper, Thick Eyebrows's voice came from behind him.

"Huh?"

Veins bulged on Sasuke's forehead. He was already irritated enough, and now this guy who looked exhausting just to be around had shown up, making his gaze several times more hostile.

"Whoa, those really are terrifying eyes. Would you be willing to have a match with me here?"

Lee was startled by Sasuke's expression. He should not have been that annoying, right? Why was Sasuke glaring at him as if they had some deep-seated grudge?

"Why?"

"I want to know whether my techniques can work against the clan known as geniuses."

"So you came for the Uchiha name? You know nothing about the Uchiha."

"Please teach me."

"I'll finish you in five minutes!"

What Sasuke hated most was people using the Uchiha name to test him. He had no intention of holding back against Lee's challenge and swung his fist at Lee's head.

"What?"

The instant Sasuke's fist was about to hit Lee's head, Lee vanished. Startled by Lee's speed, Sasuke immediately scanned his surroundings on guard. He spotted Lee above him, descending with a kick, and hurriedly dodged it.

But Lee's combo did not end there. The instant he landed, he twisted his body and kicked at Sasuke with his right foot from an unbelievable angle. Sasuke knew he could not dodge in time and hurriedly raised his arms to defend himself, but it was too late. He was sent flying with a single kick.

"It worked! Looks like relentless effort truly can surpass genius."

Seeing that his attack had worked, Lee cried out excitedly.

"Sharingan!"

Sasuke quickly climbed to his feet, the two tomoe spinning rapidly in his eyes. He did not know what Lee had done in that instant just now, but with the Sharingan, he could see through everything.

"It's useless. What I use is neither Ninjutsu nor Genjutsu, only pure Taijutsu. Even if you can see it, your body won't be able to react. You can't keep up with my speed!"

Lee showed no fear at the sight of Sasuke's Sharingan. Using his speed to close in, he kicked Sasuke beneath the chin. Sasuke truly could not react in time and was kicked into the air. Then, with a stylish kick, Lee drove him into the wooden floor. Sakura also abandoned the defeated Sasuke and threw herself into Lee's arms.

"Lee, you're so cool! I like you the most! Please marry me."

"Really? Hehehe, of course I can."

"What a simple-minded guy."

Sasuke stood proudly in front of Lee. He had won this match. From the moment he had been kicked beneath the chin, none of it had been real—it had been Genjutsu. Sasuke had deliberately let Lee enter the range of his Sharingan Genjutsu.

"Since we're deciding a winner, it wouldn't make sense for you to come out completely unhurt, would it?"

Sasuke rubbed the spot where he had been hit. This guy's strength was no joke; it still throbbed faintly. By comparison, Lee was completely unharmed. Sasuke decided to leave him a memento with a kunai. If he dared challenge an Uchiha, he should have been mentally prepared.

"That's enough."

A small windmill that came flying from somewhere struck Sasuke's kunai. Then, a red turtle stepped in front of Lee and spoke in a human voice.

"Who are you?"

"As you can see, I'm the turtle responsible for educating this kid."

"Want to interfere in our match? Fine by me. I've already won anyway."

"Is that really so, young man? Look beneath your feet. If I'd arrived a moment later, you might have been the one seriously injured."

"!?"

Sasuke lowered his head and glanced at his feet. At some point, his left foot had been wrapped in the bandages from Lee's left hand. Lee had also regained consciousness and was currently being frantically lectured by that turtle.

"You bastard! You actually wanted to use that move? Believe it or not, I'll beat you to death!"

"Waaah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

This farce finally came to an end after a larger, greener, bushier-browed kappa gave Lee a lecture. After apologizing, Lee headed to Room 301, leaving Sasuke and Sakura behind.

"Damn it!"

Sasuke slammed his fist into the floor. He hated his own weakness. Before the exam had even begun, he had already revealed Genjutsu, one of his trump cards. But at the time, he simply couldn't use any ninjutsu other than Genjutsu. Even so, he had nearly lost, dealing a heavy blow to his pride.

"Sasuke..."

Sakura knew that Sasuke was prideful and had no idea how to comfort him. Fortunately, a certain idiot returned just in time.

"So cold! What are you doing?!"

Just as Sasuke was fuming, an icy sensation suddenly spread from his neck to his brain. Startled, he came back to his senses and saw Naruto pressing a popsicle against his neck. He snapped angrily.

"Hehe, I couldn't finish them by myself. Let's eat together."

Naruto grinned as he unwrapped the package and sat beside Sasuke. He broke apart the two connected popsicles and, without giving Sasuke a chance to refuse, stuffed one into his mouth.

"Calmed down now?"

"Yeah."

As the ice melted in his mouth, Sasuke's turbulent emotions eased as well. At the very least, his expression no longer looked quite so grim.

"Sasuke, let me ask you something. If you were told to run laps around the school field to train your Taijutsu, how many laps would you run?"

"Twenty? Thirty?"

Sasuke answered uncertainly. Running around a field seemed meaningless to him. Maybe it had some use, but it definitely wouldn't yield as much as doing other things.

"That Thick Eyebrows guy counts in the tens of thousands. He trains nonstop from morning till night. That endless practice is what gave him that kind of speed and strength."

"..."

Sasuke looked at Naruto in disbelief and found that he wasn't joking in the slightest.

"Understand now? You didn't lose unfairly. Compared to him, our training is like children playing house."

"But..."

"I know. His training method doesn't suit us. It's precisely because he understood that he had no talent that he put in hundreds of times more effort than we did. That's why he could beat you."

"How do you know that?"

"He's Neji's teammate. Back when I went to talk to Neji, that guy was training like a demon nearby."

"There are plenty more people like him in the Chunin Exams. Are you scared?"

Naruto dusted himself off and stood up, pointing toward Room 301 not far ahead.

"Hmph, how could I be scared? If anything, I'm getting excited. If I'm not enough on my own, then I'll add you. That thick-browed kid won't be a match for us."

"Now that's the Sasuke I like. Let's go beat them all flat and prove that we're the strongest rookies!"

Naruto nodded in satisfaction and held out his hand to Sasuke.

"Just what I wanted!"

Sasuke firmly clasped Naruto's hand and rose from the floor, walking toward Room 301 with him.

"You two, don't forget about me! Let's work hard together!"

Sakura threw herself between them, wrapping an arm around each of their necks and pulling the three of them close. She felt that neither of them could do without the other; they both needed each other. Sasuke, who had been so irritable just moments ago, had become motivated under Naruto's influence. Naruto's words had affected her as well.

"Ah! Speaking of which, you brought Sasuke a popsicle. Where's mine?"

"Sakura, aren't you dieting? The fat on your stomach and stuff... Ow!"

"A girl's weight is a secret!"

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PS: Thanks to reader Yiqiao Wang Jiangnan for the 100 reward.