Passing the Test

"Forget it. It's not important."

Sasuke shook his head and, without waiting for Naruto's reply, deliberately directed his Killing Intent toward the Sound ninja. It was too troublesome—he could just kill them all.

"Sasuke, are you okay?"

Naruto asked worriedly. Even the dumbest person could tell that whatever was on Sasuke's face was far from ordinary.

"Okay? I'd say I feel incredible. That guy's gift is really something."

Sasuke rolled his neck. He had already learned a few things from the Cursed Seal Orochimaru had given him. The power flooding every inch of his body made him realize that his body could become this strong.

"Kiba, Shino, get away from there! You'll get caught up in it!"

Hinata hurriedly called out to her teammates who were still fighting. In her eyes, it was as if a pair of gloomy eyes behind Sasuke were constantly staring at her. The feeling that she was about to be swallowed whole terrified her so badly that she deactivated her Byakugan.

"Damn it, what happened?"

Kiba and Shino immediately retreated to Hinata's side. Both of them had close ties to living creatures. Akamaru, beside Kiba, had crawled into his clothes and was trembling, while Shino's Kikaichū were so frightened that they could not even flap their wings and fell to the ground. Everything spoke of just how terrifying Sasuke was at that moment.

"I'll only ask once. Are you strong enough?"

Sasuke walked up to the three Sound ninja. His Killing Intent alone made Kin, the weakest among them, collapse to the ground. The bandaged man still could not move, leaving only Zaku able to fight.

"You arrogant bastard! If you want to die that badly, I'll tear you to pieces! Vacuum Wave!"

As Zaku formed Hand Seals, an even fiercer gale erupted from his palms. It gouged a deep trench into the ground as it surged toward Sasuke, blasting away all the dirt and rocks nearby. Even tree trunks at the edge split open after being grazed by flying stones, showing just how powerful the attack was.

After the violent storm subsided, Zaku panted heavily. That move had consumed far too much Chakra, but the result was satisfying—Sasuke had been blown away without even a scrap left behind.

"Ha ha! Serves you right! Now you've seen the power of these arms!"

"Looks like you're quite pleased with those arms."

At some point, Sasuke had appeared behind Zaku. Once Zaku had laughed enough, Sasuke took hold of his wrist as if greeting an old friend he had not seen in years, a mocking smile curling across his lips.

"Y-you, how did you—?"

"You took so long to form Hand Seals. You've got no future."

The smile at Sasuke's lips turned sadistic. His hand tightened as though he were squeezing a sponge, crushing Zaku's wrist and the modified device inside it into pieces.

"Ah! Aaaah! My hand!"

Zaku screamed and raised his other hand, firing an Air Slash at Sasuke's head. Sasuke merely tilted his head casually to evade it, then grabbed that wrist as well.

"Oh? You offered me your other hand too? How thoughtful."

Crack.

A piercing sound rang out as Zaku's other hand was crushed as well. He collapsed to the ground, twitching like a cripple. He knew that without both hands, he was useless—a useless man with no future.

"That's it? Why are you all so weak?"

Seeing that no one left on the field could remain standing, Sasuke spoke in dissatisfaction. The violent impulses in his body had yet to fade, and he wanted to do the same thing a few more times.

"Wait, please spare us! I'll give you the scroll—please, let us go."

The bandaged man had finally broken free from Hinata's chakra point strike. He walked up to Sasuke, dropped to his knees, and placed the scroll from his bag on the ground as he begged.

"A scroll? I can just kill you and take it afterward."

Sasuke did not even glance at the scroll. He kicked the bandaged man aside, then slowly walked over and stepped on his neck.

"N-no, please! Spare me!"

As the force beneath Sasuke's foot grew stronger, terror filled the bandaged man's eyes. He kept begging for mercy, while Sasuke seemed to enjoy the feeling, alternating the pressure beneath his foot as he toyed with the man's mind.

"Stop! Sasuke, don't do this! You're really terrifying like this. Please, become the Sasuke I like again!"

Sakura could not take it any longer. Suppressing her fear, she rushed up from behind and wrapped her arms around Sasuke. Sasuke might have been cold, but he had never been a demon who toyed with lives like this. She could not accept this change, and through tears, she begged him to return to normal.

"You're lucky. Get lost before I change my mind."

Sasuke had no intention of letting these people go, but a sudden wave of weakness dispelled the thought. The power of the Cursed Seal was beginning to fade.

"Thank you. Thank you."

The bandaged man hurriedly picked up his two companions and left. After he was gone, the Cursed Seal on Sasuke's body also began to recede, returning him to normal.

"Whew. Are you okay, Dead Last?"

Sasuke walked over and sat beside Naruto. In his memory, this was the first time Naruto had ever been seriously injured. Even when fighting Zabuza, he had not been hurt this badly. Yet the brat was currently leaning against Hinata's soft chest, and who knew how happy he was.

"...Fried tofu. Do you want some?"

Naruto looked at Sasuke in confusion, completely failing to answer the question.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?"

Sasuke immediately grabbed Naruto's shoulder and asked anxiously. Had the brat been beaten stupid?

"It's nothing. His auditory system was damaged, so he can't understand speech for the time being."

Hinata gently stroked Naruto's ear, helping ease his discomfort. With her Byakugan, she could see his condition clearly. Thankfully, his injuries were already healing.

"You're really a pain."

"Apologize. Did you do something wrong?"

"I meant you!"

"Hehehe, I'm not as great as you say. Since you insist on thanking me, just treat me to ramen."

Seeing Naruto's embarrassed expression, veins bulged at Sasuke's temple. He no longer wanted to say another word to him. It was like talking to a chicken about ducks.

"Sasuke, the person they left behind had the 'Earth' Scroll. Together with our 'Heaven' Scroll, we've completed the mission. That's great."

Sakura picked up the scroll from the ground and handed it to Sasuke happily. All that remained in this exam was to reach the central tower of Training Ground 44.

"Sakura, you worked hard."

Sasuke did not take the scroll. Instead, he reached out and stroked Sakura's pink hair, a fleetingly gentle smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. He knew that while he had been unconscious, this girl had worked very hard too.

"Eh? Sasuke smiled at me? Really? I'm not dreaming? Ouch!"

Sakura caught that brief smile from Sasuke and instantly turned starry-eyed. The strong Sakura vanished without a trace, and she even smacked her injured arm.

"Come to think of it, Team Seven really is weak. As expected of a team with a Dead Last in it—you were seriously injured on the first day. If we hadn't come, you probably would've all died."

"Kiba, stop it."

Hinata spoke softly to stop him, but Kiba, who had always been proud, ignored her.

"So, you've completed your mission too?"

"Of course. We completed it right after entering the exam."

Kiba pulled out a pair of scrolls from his pocket and spoke smugly.

"Then how about a match? One pair of scrolls is enough to pass, but having a few more pairs should attract the examiners' attention better than the others."

"Sure."

Both Sasuke and Kiba hated losing. The instant those words were spoken, the atmosphere between them became tense and hostile.

"Wait! We're truly grateful that you saved us, but please stop! We're all rookies from the same class, and we've already completed the mission. There's really no need to fight!"

Sakura had no idea why the atmosphere, which had been fine just moments ago, had suddenly turned into one on the verge of a fight. She hurriedly stood between them to stop them.

"Exactly. Although grilled meat and pork cutlet bowls are good too, Ichiraku Ramen is still the best."

At some point, Naruto had gotten up from Hinata's arms. He walked over to Sakura's side with an expression of deep agreement.

"!?"

The tense atmosphere vanished. Sasuke and Kiba both stared speechlessly at Naruto, while Sakura shouted, "Idiot!"

"Hm? Weren't you talking about what to eat after the exam?"

"This idiot..."

"Kiba, I don't agree with fighting now either. It'd be bad if both sides got hurt and another team took advantage of it."

Shino still liked to hide his face within his high collar, but that did not hinder his thinking. He stopped Kiba from continuing the confrontation.

"Tch. Then our match can wait until the next round."

"The next round?"

"You don't know? Every Chunin Exam has one-on-one fights to the death."

"Naruto-kun really is a genius at ruining the mood."

Hinata took Naruto's hand and lightly traced characters on his palm to communicate with him. Only she could do that.

"Come to think of it, Hinata, how did you know we were here?"

"Not long after we entered the exam grounds yesterday, we saw flames shoot into the sky. I'm sure a lot of people saw them too, but I thought they might be related to you, so I brought Kiba and Shino over. Just as I thought."

"Hinata, you're overthinking it. How could they possibly have used a ninjutsu capable of causing that kind of large-scale destruction? If they did, I'll eat cat food!"

"Pfft..."

Even Sasuke could not help laughing when he heard Kiba say that, and Sakura covered her mouth as she snickered. No one mentioned that they had done it. Sometimes, it was better to hide one's abilities.

"Since we've all completed the mission, let's get moving. We'll reach the tower before the other teams!"

Thanks to Naruto and Hinata's relationship, Team Seven and Team Eight temporarily formed a small group. This group brought Naruto and the others unexpected convenience. The three of them had perfect scouting abilities and helped them avoid countless enemies. After traveling for two days, they finally reached their destination: a towering, majestic tower standing in the middle of the forest.

The third stage of the exam would also determine victory and defeat here.

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PS: Thanks to readers Bad Boy and fly2803 for the 300 reward, and reader Lost Reader for the 100 reward.