The Meaning of Heaven and Earth

"Treating sealing jutsu as a tool..."

Sakura followed Naruto's line of thought: "Almost all sealing jutsu are quite stable. If one could utilize that flexibility... no, it still feels far too difficult."

Naruto: "It is difficult. My mother even said that even among the Uzumaki Clan, who are the most proficient with sealing jutsu, no one could have created this kind of technique."

Sasuke: "But Master did it."

"According to Master, he used technology from another world. Although I cannot understand or master the technology itself, I can learn the sealing jutsu created through it."

Naruto explained: "The effect of the sealing jutsu is also simple; it just seals the chakra we refine within our cells directly into those same cells. As long as we continue to refine chakra as much as possible, the chakra constantly accumulating within the cells will have the effect of tempering them. However, to prevent the cells from collapsing under the strain, the sealing jutsu consumes a portion of that chakra to ensure the cells remain in a normal state."

After hearing Naruto out, Sakura was stunned.

She wasn't surprised by the training method itself, but rather by the courage of Naruto, who dared to practice it and even use it in actual combat: "If I did as you said, the slightest carelessness could cause my body's cells to collapse, and the tissue structure might just turn into minced meat. Even if the cells could be kept stable, the constantly accumulating chakra would generate high temperatures and roast the cells."

"My mother felt the same way at first, which is why she refused to let me try it no matter what."

Naruto smiled and said: "Master spent a week proving it was safe before my mother finally agreed."

"Hmm..."

Sasuke pondered for a moment and asked: "If we want to learn it, do we have to specifically study sealing jutsu?"

"You can if you want to, but it doesn't matter if you don't."

Naruto: "This sealing jutsu isn't a ninjutsu or a genjutsu; I can help apply it to you directly."

Sakura felt a bit uneasy: "You're going to do it? Are you sure nothing will go wrong?"

"Of course not!"

Naruto was full of confidence: "Master taught me hand-in-hand, and I've experienced it myself. Even Master doesn't know this sealing jutsu better than I do!"

"By the way, you've been calling it 'sealing jutsu' this whole time."

Sasuke asked: "Does this sealing jutsu not have a name?"

"It doesn't."

Naruto said helplessly: "Master says he suffers from a naming disability. The only thing that isn't quite a name is 'Training Seal No. 1', or 'Seal No. 1' for short."

"No. 1?"

Sasuke pressed: "Does that mean there's a No. 2, No. 3, or even more?"

"There are No. 2 and No. 3, but no more than that."

Naruto said: "The effects of No. 2 and No. 3 are too strong, and I still have trouble controlling them, so they aren't good for combat. If you want to try, we can wait until the Chunin Exams are over, and I'll help you apply No. 1 first."

"Apply..."

Sakura hesitated: "Does this training sealing jutsu really have to be applied directly to the body?"

"Of course not."

Naruto knew what Sakura was worried about and said: "Just like the forehead protector I gave Kakashi-sensei, as long as the sealing jutsu can make direct contact with our bodies and be controlled through chakra, it will be fine."

Thus, Sakura and Sasuke both decided to give it a try.

The three of them rested on the spot for five minutes until Naruto's stamina was fully recovered.

"The commotion from the fight just now was a bit loud."

Naruto scanned the surroundings: "There are three teams approaching now, and two teams hiding nearby... they are Team 8 and Team 10, so we shouldn't have to worry too much."

"Just in time."

Sasuke looked eager to try: "Let's snatch a Scroll of Earth and head to The Tower as soon as possible."

Naruto: "Yeah, let's go."

Shortly after, they encountered a team from Otogakure. Before they could even figure out the Otogakure team's fighting style, they had already knocked all three of them out and searched the scrolls hidden on their bodies.

"Luck is on our side; it's a Scroll of Earth."

Naruto put the scroll away: "A team is coming, let's go."

With the scroll in hand, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura picked up their pace. After thirty minutes, they successfully arrived at The Tower. The teams that had been pursuing them were forced to stop—without collecting the required scrolls, stepping into the vicinity of The Tower would trigger the elimination criteria.

"Although we grew up in the village, there are so many places here we've never been to."

Naruto looked around the interior of The Tower: "It feels like this place was built many years ago. If it weren't for these Chunin Exams, I wouldn't have even known such a place existed in the village."

"In the past, we were always at the Ninja Academy, and we'd go home to train after school. We never had the time to wander around places like this."

Sasuke was also observing his surroundings: "Why isn't there a single teacher here? We've already met the requirements for the second exam, so we should have passed."

"Look, there's something written on the wall over there."

Sakura pointed to the wall nearby where a scroll was hanging, and she read aloud: "'If there is no [Heaven]...' I understand now, this is telling us to open the scrolls."

"That must be it."

Sasuke recalled what the proctor Anko had said when the second exam began: "We have arrived at the 'mission location' according to the 'mission requirements', so opening the scrolls now shouldn't result in elimination."

The two scrolls were placed on the ground and pushed gently. Before the scrolls could finish unrolling, the three of them stepped back a few paces to maintain a relatively safe distance.

The scrolls unfurled completely, revealing only a few characters. Sasuke recognized the meaning of these symbols: "It's a summoning formula; someone is coming."

The characters on the scroll gradually bulged, detaching themselves from the parchment and emitting white smoke. Finally, the smoke swirled and condensed with a "poof," revealing someone they were familiar with: "Yo, long time no see!"

"Iruka-sensei?"

Naruto was stunned for a moment, but immediately understood: "Is Iruka-sensei the one responsible for meeting us for this exam?"

"That's right. According to the arrangements made by the Third Hokage, many chunin in the village are responsible for greeting the candidates who pass the exam."

Iruka smiled and said, "However, it is purely a coincidence that you ran into me."

"Ha, looks like our luck isn't bad!"

Naruto laughed happily: "Then Iruka-sensei, let's get straight to the point. You can just take us directly to the venue for the third exam!"

"Don't be in such a rush. The second exam lasts for a full 120 hours. Even though you passed early, you still have to wait until the time is up, or until all the remaining teams have either been eliminated or passed. Besides, your second exam hasn't completely ended yet."

Iruka explained patiently, pointing to the words on the wall: "You opened the scroll after seeing these words, right? In fact, these words are also the Third Hokage's insights into what a 'chunin' is—the [Heaven] among them refers to the human spirit, symbolizing wisdom; [Earth] refers to the human body, symbolizing physical strength."

"When carrying out missions, a chunin is someone who can act as a 'team leader.' When necessary, they have an obligation to guide others in the team to take action, so possessing a certain degree of wisdom is very important. In addition, as a team leader, having enough physical strength to complete the mission is also a must."

"Being able to pass the exam so quickly and looking quite relaxed shows that all three of you have reached the chunin level in both wisdom and physical strength. I am proud of you!"

The affirmation from an elder made all three of them break into happy smiles.

Afterward, under Iruka's guidance, the three of them came to a room inside The Tower to rest and wait for the second exam to end.