Chunin Selection Exams

With no civilians slowing them down, Team 7 traveled at the pace expected of ninja. It took them just one day to return from the Land of Waves to Konoha.

"Let's split up here."

At the intersection nearest the village gate, Kakashi pointed toward the Hokage Building. "I'll go report on the mission first."

Sakura looked toward her home. "I'll head back and let my family know I'm safe."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance, then pointed toward the market. "How about we celebrate completing our first C-rank mission with a little feast tonight?"

"My place is spacious, and there aren't any neighbors nearby," Sasuke said. "It'll be perfect for the party."

"Sounds good. I'll handle the cooking," Naruto said.

"I'll help," Sakura offered.

"Then I..."

"Kakashi-sensei, leave the party to us."

Sakura interrupted him. "You've been working hard lately, and you still have to report on our mission. There's no need to trouble yourself with something as small as a party. Just make sure you come on time."

Kakashi smiled and gladly accepted his students' kindness.

That night, at the Uchiha Compound.

The usually quiet place was a little livelier than usual, with the sound of people and the warmth of company.

After wrapping up their thrilling C-rank mission, Team 7 returned to the quiet routine of training and D-rank missions.

But no one complained. Because the D-rank missions were simple, they had enough time and energy to train every day. Besides, the pay wasn't bad, and it was enough to support their daily training.

Recently, most of Naruto's daily training had consisted of repeatedly practicing a particular set of movements. Sasuke and Sakura had tried it too, but it hadn't done much for them. Later, they learned that the movements were a specialized training method designed by the master according to Naruto's physical condition. Completing one set correctly was enough to finish a round of Qi Refining while training both body and mind. It was convenient and efficient.

After testing his own chakra nature, Sasuke focused all his energy, aside from basic physical training and Qi Refining, on practicing Chakra Nature Transformation.

Naturally, he used Shadow Clones to maximize his efficiency.

As a result, Sasuke had to replace his three daily meals with specially made Military Ration Pills just to keep his chakra and stamina recovery barely on par with how quickly he used them up.

Sakura's situation was a little different from Naruto's and Sasuke's. Whether it was the effect of practicing Qi Refining lately or the result of finally benefiting from eating well every day, her physique underwent a dramatic change one day. Her strength, which had been only a little greater than an ordinary person's, suddenly doubled overnight, reaching a level close to Strength of a Hundred.

After examining Sakura, the master confirmed that she had a special constitution of her own, which had been strengthened by several different factors.

After that, Sakura worked to adapt to her greatly increased strength while studying all kinds of medical knowledge.

As the days of training went by, Sakura felt that her total chakra seemed to be gradually increasing too, though so little that it might have been her imagination.

Watching his students train hard and improve every day put Kakashi under a lot of pressure. To preserve his dignity as their team leader and teacher, he cut down on his "reading" time once again and increased the intensity of his training.

Just two days ago, Kakashi had received the "Sealing Headband" Naruto had made. It hadn't worked as well as expected—not enough to seal away the Sharingan completely—but it had reduced the ongoing chakra drain by ninety percent.

That gave Kakashi the long-missed feeling of having chakra to spare. In addition to putting him in a good mood, it made him dig out the family sword techniques he'd abandoned many years ago and practice them a few times. Ideas for new jutsu also kept popping into his head.

"You did a great job with today's mission too."

Kakashi smiled as he praised them. "There aren't any suitable missions tomorrow, so there's no need to meet up. You've made a lot of progress with your training lately. If you're feeling tired, taking a break wouldn't be a bad idea."

Naruto (saluting): "Understood!"

Sasuke (coolly): "Got it."

Sakura (obediently): "All right, Kakashi-sensei."

With that, all three of them dispelled their Shadow Clones at the same time.

"So you sent Shadow Clones again today, huh?"

Kakashi spoke in the voice of a lonely old man. He was about to head home when he suddenly heard an eagle cry overhead. He looked up instinctively, then lowered his head a moment later and sighed. "Sigh, things are about to get busy again..."

Then he headed for the Hokage Building.

About half an hour later, nearly all of the village's well-known jonin had gathered in the Hokage's office.

Third Hokage: "You all know why I asked you to gather, don't you?"

The jonin:

"It's that time of year again."

"You notified the other countries in advance, didn't you? Some of them have already arrived."

"Did you call us here because you've decided when to hold it?"

The Third Hokage exhaled a cloud of smoke. "A week from now."

"That soon..."

"The village has been quiet lately, so we might as well get it over with quickly."

The Third Hokage explained, "I hereby officially announce that our Hidden Leaf Village will hold the Chunin Selection Exams on July 1, seven days from now."

The assembled jonin answered in unison: "Yes!"

In the woods on the outskirts of Konoha, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were doing their daily training.

A few minutes earlier, the information sent back by their Shadow Clones had distracted them, but they had already refocused.

Suddenly, Naruto sensed a chakra that was unfamiliar yet somehow familiar. He turned to look toward Konoha Gate as Kurama's voice sounded in his mind: [Tch, that stinking tanuki.]

Naruto asked silently, "Tanuki?"

[One-Tail. That guy looks just like a fat tanuki.]

Naruto: "A Tailed Beast? So he's another village's Jinchuriki? I thought they wouldn't let Jinchuriki leave their villages so easily."

[That means Sunagakure has something more important to worry about.]

Minato's voice sounded in Naruto's mind too: [Don't let your guard down, Naruto. My instincts tell me the people from Sunagakure are definitely up to something.]

Naruto took a deep breath and continued training. "The master said that as long as you're strong enough, you can find a way to handle any unexpected situation."

As Naruto and Kurama sensed Shukaku, Shukaku sensed Kurama too. "That feeling... That stinking fox! Should I go over and see..."

But then Shukaku remembered that he hadn't yet made peace with his current Jinchuriki. They didn't even talk most of the time. "That Gaara guy wouldn't listen to me, even if I spoke first or swallowed my pride. Tch, forget it. I'll let that stinking fox off for now."

Still, he carefully sensed the other chakra.

"That stinking fox didn't come looking for me. He must have run into a Jinchuriki who's just as hard to get along with as mine."

Thinking that, Shukaku suddenly relaxed a little.

Two days later.

As usual, Team 7 gathered at the Hokage Building.

"Unfortunately, there are no missions today."

Kakashi said, "And there won't be any missions for at least half a month."

"That long...?"

As soon as Naruto muttered this, he realized what it meant. "Is something going on in the village?"

"The village is holding the Chunin Selection Exams in five days. It'll be busy then."

As Kakashi spoke, he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right. You're eligible to take part too. Do you want me to sign you up?"

Sasuke answered instantly. "Yes!"

Sakura hesitated. "We haven't even been Genin for six months. Isn't it too soon?"

"If Kakashi-sensei brought it up, he must think we're ready."

Naruto guessed, "Besides, I have reason to suspect that Kakashi-sensei has already signed us up."

"You saw right through me."

Kakashi calmly took out three forms and handed them to them. "These are the registration forms. If you want to take part, sign your names and bring them to Classroom 301 at the Academy on the morning of July 1."

"That's all I have to say. I've got other things to do, so I'll be going."