Chunin Exams

The brain is trembling!

White Smoke billows from Naruto's head, his skin burning red.

"Damn it! Why is it so hard to reconstruct a simple penetrating wound?"

His current Power is so weak that it makes him feel uncomfortable and suffocated. The Blood Vessels are no longer flowing with blood, but with boiling guilt. Even the air is shaming him for not being strong enough!

"Ye!!"

Naruto's feverish lungs contract violently, exhaling thick White Steam like a chimney. He gathers energy with the sound, and Chakra almost tangibly sticks to Haku's chest, growing pink flesh bit by bit.

When the last gap closes, a feeling of sublimation surges in Naruto's spirit. His consciousness blurs as he stares blankly, sprawled out in the flower field that is now only gray ash.

Haku slowly sits up, pulls open the left collar of his Kimono, and reaches out to touch it. The originally hideous fatal wound has disappeared.

The life that had ended was forcibly pulled back from the gates of Hell by Naruto's Medical Ninjutsu.

The price, it's clear, is very high.

She smooths her blood-matted black hair, and asks as she breathes, "Why did you save me?"

"How would I know?"

Naruto examines Haku, who is much prettier than Haruno Sakura, and a chill suddenly runs down his spine. Could it be that I was seduced by beauty?

No, impossible!

His Adoptive Father had taken him to a virgin hot spring for a year to train his resistance to beauty.

His heart is already as hard as iron, just like that thing.

Haku opens his mouth to explain, then presses his lips tightly together, looking at the ice being pushed and dissolved by the seawater, as if seeing himself.

A life that no one needs, not knowing where to go even if he lives.

At this moment, a dugout canoe lands on the shore, and Haruno Sakura and Sasuke jump out of the boat, running over quickly.

Seeing Naruto beaten to the ground by a beautiful girl, Haruno Sakura becomes anxious and throws a Shuriken at Haku.

"What do you want to do to Naruto!"

Haku doesn't dodge. The Shuriken in her pupil rapidly enlarges, and at the instant it approaches her nose, a fist with distinct knuckles grasps the short handle.

Haruno Sakura and Sasuke stop, looking at Naruto in confusion.

Haku says blankly, "Why did you save me again?"

"There aren't so many whys." Naruto's eyes contain no thought at this moment.

"Kill when the mood strikes, save when you want to, why do we need reasons for our actions? It's your honor that I took a liking to you today."

A glimmer of light falls in Haku's dark pupils, "Do you... need me? Like Zabuza did?"

Haruno Sakura suddenly becomes nervous.

Naruto! You said you'd wait for me to think about it!

Naruto asks without hesitation, "What did Zabuza have you do?"

"He treated me as a tool." Haku lowers his head slightly, "But, I thought of him as family."

Naruto is stunned.

Tool? Family?

What kind of beastly keywords are these? It sounds like I've heard them somewhere before.

Naruto shakes his head, "I won't treat you as family, and I definitely won't treat you as a tool."

The light in Haku's eyes goes out.

Haruno Sakura, on the other hand, smiles. As expected, Naruto only has her in his heart.

However, Sasuke's gaze suddenly deepens, and he walks up to Haku and crouches down, "I need you."

Revitalizing the Uchiha clan is not something one person can accomplish. After killing his brother, he still needs to build a force.

Haku shakes his head, "Your eyes are very similar to Zabuza's. I already have an unfinished ideal."

Sasuke is cold and rarely takes the initiative. It's rare for him to open his mouth, but he's rejected.

He can't help but look at Haruno Sakura. Is this all he'll ever get, the affection of a flower-obsessed girl with a pretty face?

While he's internally struggling, he sees Haku dart into the forest without looking back. When he returns, he's carrying Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō on his shoulder, handing it straight to Naruto.

"This is too embarrassing. I only saved your life, and you're giving me a gift."

Naruto grins, takes it without ceremony, swings it twice, and says as he carries it on his right shoulder, "Thanks, see ya."

Walking to the shore, he remembers something and suddenly turns around, "Do you know where Gato is?"

"I killed him."

Naruto says "Oh," jumps onto the boat, and can't understand.

The Teammate died, so he killed the employer?

But that employer wasn't a good thing either.

Why take on missions then?

Naruto stopped thinking, no longer delving deeper. These tangled and stifling thoughts would only reduce his strength.

Using his large blade as a paddle, he huffed and puffed as he rowed the boat, as if he had inexhaustible energy.

The bridge reconstruction was completed smoothly in three weeks.

The only ones who came to cause trouble were the plundering Pirate Group, all of whom were repelled by the Fishermen's Militia organized by Naruto, who even managed to rob them back.

Naruto deeply understood that before the world changed, no one could save anyone else. Only self-reliance could ensure survival.

It was like feeding a stray Dog a ham sausage on the roadside; it might be full today, but tomorrow it would still be a stray, continuing to compete with other strays for food.

Before returning to Konohagakure.

Sasuke, who had mastered Tree walking, finally couldn't resist and, under Kakashi's witness, engaged in a practical battle with Naruto.

At the start, he activated his one-tomoe Sharingan, awakened by the hatred of his clan's destruction, successfully capturing Naruto's movements.

But unfortunately, even though he could see every punch Naruto threw and where he aimed, he couldn't keep up with the movements.

He lost thoroughly.

"Sasuke, try your best to catch up to me."

These words became Sasuke's nightmare, waking him up in fright several times in the middle of the night.

After returning to the village, Team Seven once again entered the realm of D-rank missions.

Naruto, who had emptied Hiruzen Sarutobi's pockets of 500,000 Ryo, no longer lacked money and wanted to refuse to participate, but Kakashi, citing the need to build experience, advised him to continue.

At the same time, Naruto noticed many strange people every time he went to buy groceries. Judging by the patterns on their Headbands, they were all Ninja from other places.

There was an air of impending storm.

On the last day of June, with no missions and no training, Team Seven gathered, and Kakashi took out three application forms with the character "Chūnin" painted on them and sealed with Fire lacquer.

"I've recommended you to participate in the Chunin Exams. The unfamiliar Ninja who have recently appeared in the village are your enemies in the exams."

Kakashi glanced at the three's expressions. "I'm warning you in advance, there will be life-threatening danger. Decide for yourselves whether to participate or not."

Haruno Sakura's eyes were hesitant, while Sasuke directly took an application form.

Kakashi handed the remaining two to Naruto, then turned and waved his hand. "If you're sure you want to participate, fill in your names and submit them to classroom 301 by 4 PM tomorrow."

Naruto naturally handed out the form, but Haruno Sakura didn't reach out to take it. "What? Are you scared?"

Haruno Sakura nodded; her instinct had always been to be close to Naruto. "My strength hasn't improved much since graduating from the academy. Those Ninja from other villages are much older than us and look very strong."

Naruto's height had now exceeded 1.6 meters. He reached out and ruffled Little Sakura's pink hair. "Then give up."

Haruno Sakura nodded. Naruto was really so gentle.

Sasuke put his hands in his pockets. "Didn't you guys notice? Those Ninja from other villages are all in groups of three? That must be a requirement for participating in the exams."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Of course, I know."

Sasuke's pupils were as gloomy as if covered in a layer of gray fog. "So, Little Sakura giving up means we have to give up too. I can't give up. I must participate. I'm already thirteen years old!"

"Little Sakura, you're very smart. Your analytical skills are the best in our entire grade. I need your help. Accompany me and participate together."

Haruno Sakura heard Sasuke say he needed her for the first time. She bit her lip lightly, nodded, and made a sound of agreement, reaching out to Naruto, who was holding the application form. "Give it to me."

Naruto's face darkened, and even the sunlight couldn't illuminate his features clearly.