"I'll leave it up to you, Ino."
Josuke said.
It was Ino's turn to be happy. She grabbed Josuke's hand and led him at a jog to a restaurant.
"Josuke, how about here? Look... what would you like to eat?"
What a coincidence. The two ran into familiar faces again—Shikamaru and Choji. And, even more coincidentally, the two tables were separated by only a single aisle.
Josuke complained to himself about what kind of fate it took to keep running into people like this.
Ino was annoyed, too. How could she keep running into those two wherever she went? They were like ghosts that wouldn't leave her alone. Last time, at least, they'd been farther away. Now she couldn't whisper sweet nothings to Josuke.
Ino grumbled.
"Why are you two here?"
Shikamaru...
How should I know? Why are you asking me?
Shikamaru was speechless. How did he keep ending up as a third wheel wherever he went? It looked like he and Choji were destined to be background characters today.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes at Ino and said helplessly,
"Choji asked me to come. He said this place was pretty good, so we decided to give it a try."
Josuke and Ino sat down. Ino was now furious with the two of them for ruining her plans. She'd already made a note of it in her little book.
Josuke said,
"Come on, Miss, cheer up."
Seeing Josuke comfort her, Ino's mood instantly improved. But thinking about the two third wheels beside them still annoyed her.
There wasn't much to say about the restaurant.
It served things like sushi, yakitori, and sashimi.
The food was delicious, and Josuke really enjoyed it...
After eating, they went out for a stroll before heading back to their respective homes.
The Chunin Ninja Exams arrived as scheduled. Josuke's appearance hadn't caused any so-called Butterfly Effect.
The examinees arrived one after another, and Team 7 showed up under Kakashi's guidance. A few interesting things happened along the way.
First, Rock Lee confessed to Sakura. Josuke wanted to complain: why did everyone like Sakura—no, Sakura the bitch?
Sakura rejected Rock Lee right away. After all, she was devoted to that foolish little brother of his.
She'd stayed true to him even after he put her under Genjutsu, hit her with Chidori, and stabbed her with a Kunai. And you, Rock Lee... hehe.
Rock Lee was emo for a while.
Then he beat Sasuke up. Fortunately, Might Guy arrived in time, or the Uchiha Sasuke would probably have been completely wrecked.
After that came the written portion of the Chunin Ninja Exams.
Honestly, there wasn't much to say about it for Josuke. It was just a bunch of theory and general knowledge questions. The hard part was the arithmetic, but for Josuke, that was as easy as breathing.
Besides, this round tested their ability to gather information, and reasonable cheating was allowed.
So Josuke passed without cheating. He didn't try to hide it, either, openly showing his answers. The examinee beside him craned his neck and copied them like crazy.
When the written portion of the Chunin Ninja Exams ended, the examinees gave Josuke grateful looks.
After that came the survival exercise in the Forest of Death.
After the written exam,
everyone followed the crowd into the hall. Mitaraishi Anko read out the rules and handed out the scrolls. Josuke had thought that their team would get special treatment because there were four of them.
But they didn't. Hah, that surprised Josuke.
The rules were simple.
The 26 teams that passed the first round each had to carry either a Heaven or Earth Scroll and collect the other one. They had to bring both scrolls to the Central Tower, 10 kilometers from the entrance, within five days to pass.
Anyone who couldn't do that, whose teammate died or became unable to continue, or who peeked at their scrolls ahead of time would fail.
And so, the exam began in an instant!!!!!
The four of them immediately rushed into the Forest of Death.
A few hours later,
Team 7 arrived in a forest. Naruto had gone to use the bathroom, but Josuke knew he'd probably already gotten trapped in a snake's belly.
Soon after,
a ninja disguised as Naruto approached Team 7, but they saw through the disguise almost immediately. Sasuke stabbed him with a Kunai, and the ninja fled.
Just then, a mysterious ninja appeared.
He immediately unleashed a powerful pressure on the three of them. He didn't bother hiding his presence and walked straight toward them.
Sasuke and Sakura were so frightened by the mysterious man's pressure that they couldn't move.
Josuke activated his Two Tomoe Sharingan and barely resisted the pressure. He knew exactly who this man was: one of Konoha's infamous trio of gambling, womanizing, and drinking, the Shinobi World's scientist, Snake Uncle. That was him~ (I can't remember if I mentioned how he unlocked the Two Tomoe. I'm too lazy to add it, QAQ, so let's just say I did.)
Among the characters in Naruto, Orochimaru was definitely one of Josuke's favorites. He wasn't purely good, but neither was he purely bad. At least compared to Konoha, Orochimaru was miles better.
There was one thing about Orochimaru that Josuke especially liked: his dedication to science. In ten Naruto fanfics, seven or eight had the characters go to Orochimaru for Hashirama Cells.
And later, Orochimaru had even been redeemed. In Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, he'd become a single parent raising a kid—Snake Aunt. Could you handle that?
Back to the matter at hand.
Josuke sighed inwardly. So strong. Was this Orochimaru? That oppressive feeling...
That killing intent.
Sasuke and Sakura couldn't move.
Josuke stepped forward and called to Sasuke,
"Take Sakura and go first. Protect the scrolls. I'll cover you."
Josuke's words jolted Sasuke awake. He hurriedly stabbed his leg with a Kunai. The sharp pain helped him stay clearheaded for the moment.
Once he'd recovered, Sasuke said to Josuke,
"Okay. Catch up with us as soon as you can."
With that, he took Sakura and left.
Only Josuke remained. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous.
But a hero couldn't flee in the face of danger.
Josuke formed Hand Seals. Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique!!!
He also activated Shadow Clone, and two clones immediately appeared behind him.
At the same time, he used Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire at Orochimaru!!
The Phoenix Sage Fire flew toward Orochimaru like a series of tiny missiles.
Josuke smiled. Now! The two clones ran off in different directions at the same time.
He headed for the meeting point he'd agreed on with Sasuke.
Josuke knew this little trick wouldn't hurt Orochimaru. But slowing down Orochimaru's attack was enough. After all, Orochimaru wasn't going to kill him.
Meanwhile, on Naruto's side.
Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!!
The snake's belly swelled up. Countless Naruto clones burst it open, freeing Naruto.
As for Sasuke, he'd managed to escape Orochimaru's pursuit for the moment, but before he could catch his breath, a giant snake appeared beside him...
Before you continue