Six days passed in the blink of an eye.
The first round of the Chunin Exam was set in Classroom 301 on the third floor of the Ninja Academy.
When Tejima Shinichi leisurely arrived at the entrance to the school building with Kobayashi Ken and Sato Yu, less than sixty minutes remained before the exam began.
"Shinichi, aren't we a little late?" Kobayashi Ken scratched his head anxiously as he looked at the somewhat deserted entrance. "I think a lot of people have already gone up. Let's hurry!"
Tejima Shinichi glanced up at the school building, his steps remaining unhurried.
"No need to rush. As long as we get there before the deadline, it's fine. Getting there early doesn't mean you'll pass the exam. Relax."
Sato Yu was comparatively calm, but he nodded in agreement. "Shinichi is right, Ken. Keeping a steady mindset is more important. But... we probably should head up now."
Tejima Shinichi nodded, and the three of them finally entered the school building.
The moment they reached the turn in the stairs leading to the second floor, they saw a group gathered in the corridor ahead.
It was Team 7's Uzumaki Naruto, Second Pillar, and Haruno Sakura, along with Team 3's Hyuga Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee. The six of them seemed to have only just run into one another, and the atmosphere was somewhat delicate.
Just as Tejima Shinichi and the other two were about to approach them, a breeze carrying the fresh scent of green leaves blew in from nowhere, stirring up a faint mist and blurring their vision for an instant.
In that brief haze, the thick-browed boy in the green jumpsuit—Rock Lee—had already stepped in front of Haruno Sakura!
He stared intensely at the startled Sakura. "My name is Rock Lee! You're Sakura,