Chunin Exams (1)

As Sakura, the five of them, and Naruto were about to leave, the Hokage's office door was forcefully pushed open—

"Let's have a showdown, Grandpa!" A certain little kid, dressed like a ninja, rushed in. He was so startled by the fierce group of people in the room that his legs went weak, and he stumbled and fell to the ground with a clang.

What to do, what to do, this is so embarrassing, so embarrassing…

Thinking this, Konohamaru suddenly pushed himself up and pointed angrily at the Third Hokage, shouting, "As expected of you, Grandpa, you actually set up such a hidden trap!"

The scene fell silent.

"I'm leaving," Sasuke said, completely ignoring Konohamaru. He walked past the little kid and left the room.

Shikamaru also scratched his head and left, thinking it was best not to bother with such a troublesome brat…

Sakura and Rock Lee followed them out of the room.

Naruto watched Konohamaru with amusement from his spot, thinking this gap-toothed "little brother" was really endearingly foolish… Konohamaru, being ignored, stood stiffly in place.

But soon, the little kid bounced in front of the Third Hokage again, striking a proper ninja pose and saying in a mysterious, deep tone, "Third Hokage, accept my challenge! I, Sarutobi Konohamaru, will definitely defeat you and take over as Hokage!"

From the beginning, the Third Hokage had pulled down the brim of his hat, obscuring his incredibly awkward expression.

"Naruto… Sasuke and the others have already left…" Hinata tugged at Naruto's sleeve. With Konohamaru's dramatic entrance, she didn't know what to do for a moment.

Tsunade and Jiraiya, those two old guys, were naturally different from the youngsters, and could easily see through Konohamaru's little scheme… Sigh, they're all such troublesome brats.

"Then, Kakashi-sensei, Grandma Tsunade, Pervy Sage, Grandpa Hokage… we're leaving!" Naruto waved his hand carelessly, about to leave with Hinata.

Team 7's special mission had ended, and they were clearly going out to celebrate, something Naruto didn't want to miss.

"Konohamaru! Don't cause trouble for Lord Hokage!" Ebisu, the black-clothed, bespectacled private tutor, pushed the door open. Seeing Naruto and Hinata walking towards him, a hint of disgust flashed in his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses.

Hmph… a kid from the Demon Fox clan…

Naruto lowered his head and held Hinata's hand as they left the room.

Behind them, he could hear Ebisu enthusiastically greeting Jiraiya and Tsunade, and Konohamaru yelling at Ebisu…

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Hinata hadn't expected Naruto to take her hand proactively and asked, suppressing her shyness. When that person came in, Naruto's mood seemed to have suddenly changed…

Naruto, it seems you've awakened the Uzumaki clan's ability to sense malice… The Nine-Tails' voice echoed in Naruto's mind.

"Yeah, it's really an unpleasant ability…" Naruto said helplessly.

"What?" Hinata's head tilted, not understanding what Naruto was talking about.

"It's nothing, let's go…" Naruto suddenly realized that he had grabbed Hinata's hand in his haste. He blushed and let go, mumbling, "Let's go find Sasuke and the others."

Hinata also blushed, not daring to look at him, and quietly replied with a "Okay" while looking down.

Naruto scratched his cheek, feeling a little happy in his heart.

After Ebisu dragged Konohamaru away, the Third Hokage placed a stack of documents in front of Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Kakashi.

"Even if we don't consider Naruto's memory intel… at this time, our people have also detected traces of Orochimaru and Sunagakure's actions… He's completely stopped considering me, an old man, as a threat…"

The Third Hokage's face was hidden behind thick smoke, and he said in a hoarse voice.

"Not entirely… I suspect that old guy Danzō already contacted Orochimaru and prepared to give him a clear path," Jiraiya said coldly, flipping through the documents on the Third Hokage's desk with his right hand. "He'll probably remain silent when Orochimaru and Sunagakure make their move."

"Hmph…"

Tsunade was furious hearing about these dirty dealings. A perfectly good Konohagakure was being thrown into chaos by these people.

Kakashi remained silent. The elite ninjas of the village, after the previous ninja wars, Kumogakure's sneak attack, and the Nine-Tails' rampage, were indeed few in number, and for a long time, there had been an awkward gap in talent.

Fortunately… Naruto and the others would soon grow up…

In a small restaurant in Konoha, Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Shikamaru, Rock Lee, and Sakura gathered for a meal.

"Sasuke, did you encounter Zabuza on your mission this time?" Naruto asked Sasuke, who was beside him, while eating.

Sasuke was puzzled, "How did you know?" Then he thought of something, "Right… was this mission originally for our Team 7?"

Hinata curiously looked at the two of them, feeling that sometimes she didn't understand the conversations between Naruto and Sasuke… She ate her food in small bites, secretly observing in her heart which dishes Naruto ate more of.

Shikamaru, sitting opposite them at the round table, noticed Hinata's subtle actions and secretly shook his head, thinking girls are so troublesome…

Naruto nodded. He wanted to ask about the final outcome for Zabuza and Haku, but the words turned over in his chest a few times, and in the end, they only turned into a barely audible sigh.

At this moment, a restaurant server brought over drinks, saying enthusiastically, "Young ninjas, here are your fruit drinks…" They placed them on the table one by one. The new server subtly glanced at Rock Lee in his green jumpsuit, wondering: Why did the boss repeatedly emphasize to be extra careful when serving this watermelon-head ninja…

After eating, they tacitly split the bill.

Before parting, Naruto kindly reminded Shikamaru and Rock Lee, "The Chunin Exams are starting soon, everyone, good luck!" He then smiled at Sakura, who had been quiet, "Sakura, you have to work hard too! I believe you can become a great female ninja like Grandma Tsunade!"

Shikamaru and the others were stunned. This kid is praising us too much out of nowhere. How formidable is Lord Tsunade?

Sakura was also flattered. Naruto, an excellent student even more outstanding than Sasuke, spoke to her like this. This sent a warm current through Sakura's heart, who had been feeling lost, inferior, flustered, and bewildered since returning from the Land of Waves.

She glanced at Sasuke beside Naruto, but he hadn't even looked at her directly. Sakura's eyes dimmed, and she forced a smile at Naruto.

They soon went their separate ways. The three members of Team 7 discussed for a while and decided to go to the mountains for training.

In the forest.

Naruto said to the other two, "Hinata, Sasuke, since a very dangerous person will infiltrate during the Chunin Exams... we have to seize this limited time to train. Especially you, Sasuke."

Sasuke frowned and asked, "What about me?"

Hinata was also puzzled. Logically, she was the weakest in the team, so shouldn't she be the one who needed to train more urgently?

"A large part of that person's objective for Konoha's operation is you. For some reason, he seems extremely obsessed with your Uchiha Clan's eyes... and he's more than ten times stronger than Zabuza!"

Naruto said seriously.

What Naruto didn't know was that... Orochimaru had suffered a great loss from Itachi's eyes before, which led him to start researching the secrets of the Sharingan.

And this research, following the vine, unearthed many sealed, ancient, and incredible secrets.

This was why Orochimaru was fixated on Sasuke, the only surviving Uchiha descendant besides Itachi.

Sasuke clenched his fists. After a life-or-death battle with someone on Zabuza's level, Sasuke deeply understood his current weakness... and now there were even more terrifying enemies?

How did he compare to that man?

When would he have the strength to stand before that man and question him?

"Naruto, let's fight."

Sasuke looked at Naruto and proposed their 2744th battle with a determined gaze.