Hinata slept through the entire afternoon, and Naruto held her the whole time. Afraid of waking her, he didn't dare move.
Hiashi came by during that time, intending to invite Naruto to lunch. But when he saw Naruto holding the sleeping Hinata and not daring to move, he quietly left. As he went, Naruto thought he saw the corner of Hiashi's mouth lift slightly, as if he were smiling.
After lunch, Hanabi came to see them, too. Seeing that her sister was still asleep, she quietly left. Hanabi's expression was strange, but Naruto didn't understand what it meant and paid it no mind.
Hinata slept until dusk before she finally woke up. Seeing her awake, Naruto smiled and said, "You lazybones, you're finally up."
At the teasing look on Naruto's face, Hinata hurriedly sat up from his lap, embarrassed. "Naruto-kun, I slept for a long time, didn't I?"
Naruto smiled. "Yeah, you slept through the whole afternoon."
Hinata exclaimed, "What? I slept that long? Why didn't you wake me?"
Naruto chuckled. "I was happy to see you sleep so peacefully in my arms, Hinata. How could I bring myself to wake you? Besides, it proves something."
Hinata was very embarrassed, but she still asked curiously, "What does it prove, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto said gently, "It proves that I can make you feel safe, Hinata, and that you trust and love me without holding anything back."
His words made Hinata's face turn bright red. She lowered her head and said shyly, "Naruto-kun, you're so mean."
Seeing how embarrassed Hinata was, Naruto laughed and hugged her tenderly. "Let's go get something to eat. You must be hungry." Even more flustered in his arms, Hinata could only murmur, "Mm."
Just then, Hanabi arrived and said impatiently, "Are you two ever going to stop? Come on, Sis. Let's go eat. We're not waiting around for this big idiot." As she spoke, she pulled Hinata out of Naruto's arms and led her inside.
Naruto stared blankly as Hanabi led Hinata away, then shook his head helplessly. Did I do something to upset Hanabi? Why does she dislike me so much?
Good Naruto said to him, "I can't tell if you're really that dense or just pretending."
"What do you mean?" Naruto replied.
"Nothing. Figure it out yourself. You're such an idiot. I can't be bothered with you."
Dark Naruto piled on, too. "With your emotional intelligence, you'd be alone for the rest of your life if Hinata hadn't fallen for you first."
The two of them left Naruto confused and angry. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean? Explain yourselves! Hey!" But neither personality answered him again.
When Naruto saw that they were both ignoring him, he was about to press them for an answer when Hanabi called out, "Hey, big idiot! What are you standing around for? Come eat!"
Naruto had no choice but to give up questioning them. "Coming!" he called to Hanabi, then headed inside.
The next day, Naruto and Hinata were walking through the streets of Konoha. Naruto frowned as he watched the people passing by. "When did so many outsiders come to the village?"
Hinata asked curiously, "Outsiders? What are you talking about, Naruto-kun?"
"There are lots of people on the street who aren't from Konoha. I can tell because they look at me completely differently from the people in the village." Hearing Naruto say that, Hinata felt sad for him.
Seeing her sadness, Naruto smiled. "It's all right, Hinata. It's been so many years. I'm used to it by now. They'll understand me eventually."
Hinata looked at his smiling face and said, "Mm. I believe the people in the village will understand you one day, Naruto-kun, because you're so amazing."
Naruto smiled. "Of course. I'm going to become Hokage, after all."
Just then, Naruto and Hinata ran into Konohamaru. "Boss! You're out for a stroll, too?" he called happily.
Seeing that Konohamaru was with only his two friends and that Ebisu wasn't with them, Naruto asked curiously, "Konohamaru, what are you doing here? And where's Ebisu-sensei?"
Konohamaru said proudly, "We snuck out while Glasses-sensei wasn't looking. I used the Sexy Technique to knock him out. Hahaha! Boss, my Sexy Technique is really good now!"
Naruto smiled. "Really? How about I teach you an even more powerful jutsu in a few days?"
"Really? But why not teach me now?" Konohamaru replied.
"I'm busy right now."
Konohamaru looked at Naruto, then at Hinata beside him. He suddenly understood and flashed a lecherous grin. "Boss, is she your, you know..." As he spoke, he made a gesture that any man would understand.
Seeing the gesture, Hinata lowered her head, blushing. Naruto, however, tapped Konohamaru on the head. "Kid, have you gone three days without a beating? Now you're making fun of me?" Seeing that Naruto was about to hit him again, Konohamaru ran off with his two friends.
Naruto laughed and shook his head, then took Hinata's hand and continued walking. But before they had gone far, he heard people arguing up ahead. He led Hinata over and saw someone holding Konohamaru up by the front of his shirt. Sakura was talking to the person holding him, and it looked like they were arguing.
Naruto was about to step in when Sasuke suddenly appeared from a tree and threw a stone like a shuriken, striking the person's hand and freeing Konohamaru.
Naruto and Hinata went over to Konohamaru. "Are you all right?"
When he saw Naruto, Konohamaru said happily, "Naruto-nii, you're here! I'm fine, it just hurts a little."
Seeing that Konohamaru was all right, Naruto looked at the two people. If he wasn't mistaken, they were Kankuro and Temari—Shikamaru's future wife and brother-in-law.
Sasuke also came down from the tree and joined Naruto. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I was just passing by. What about you?" Naruto smiled.
"Same."
Just then, Kankuro said, "Two more brats. I hate brats the most." He pulled the puppet off his back.
Temari exclaimed, "Kankuro, you're not going to use Crow, are you?"
At that moment, Gaara appeared. He said coldly to Kankuro, "Stop it, Kankuro. You'll bring shame on the village."
Kankuro hurried to explain when he saw Gaara. "Gaara, listen to me. They started it."
Gaara's face was full of murderous intent. "Shut up. If you say another word, I'll kill you."
Kankuro hurriedly put his puppet away, frightened. Gaara turned to Naruto and Sasuke. "I'm sorry. We were in the wrong."
Sasuke ignored Gaara and said to Naruto, "I'm heading out. Don't forget to meet us on the bridge at dusk. Kakashi has something to tell us."
"I know," Naruto replied. Sasuke nodded and turned to leave.
Gaara asked, "What are your names? I'm interested in you."
Sasuke said coldly, "If you want to ask someone's name, you should give yours first."
"Gaara of the Sand," Gaara replied.
"Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke said coldly, then left.
Naruto smiled. "Hello, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. It's nice to meet you, Gaara. Well, I should be going, too." He took Hinata's hand and left.
Gaara watched Naruto and Sasuke walk away, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage looked at the jonin gathered before him. "For this Chunin Ninja Exam, we'll hold a joint exam here in Konoha with Sunagakure of the Land of Wind and several other shinobi villages. Please recommend the subordinates you consider suitable."
Only four of the jonin stepped forward: Kakashi, Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, and Might Guy.
Guy stepped forward and said to the Third Hokage, "I, Might Guy, recommend my subordinates from Team 3—Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and Lee—for this Chunin Ninja Exam."
Asuma stepped forward. "I, Asuma Sarutobi, recommend my subordinates from Team 10—Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi—for this Chunin Ninja Exam."
Kurenai Yuhi stepped forward. "I, Kurenai Yuhi, recommend my subordinates from Team 8—Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, and Shino Aburame—for this Chunin Ninja Exam."
Kakashi stepped forward. "I, Kakashi Hatake, recommend my subordinates from Team 7—Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki—for this Chunin Ninja Exam."
As soon as the four had finished, Iruka, standing beside the Third Hokage, said excitedly, "I object! I'm sorry, Lord Third, but everyone being recommended except Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and Lee from Team 3 is my student. Naruto and the others are still rookies who just graduated from the academy. How can they take the Chunin Ninja Exam?"
Kakashi looked at Iruka. "Iruka-sensei, they may be your students, but now they're our subordinates. You don't know how much Naruto and the others have improved since they left your care, so how can you say they aren't ready for the Chunin Ninja Exam?"
Iruka said nervously, "But, but they're still children!"
Kakashi smiled. "Children? When I was Naruto's age, I was already a jonin."
Iruka was about to keep arguing with Kakashi, but the Third Hokage spoke up. "That's enough, Iruka-sensei. As for whether Naruto and the others are capable of taking the Chunin Ninja Exam, their instructors are the ones who know best."
Iruka could only reply helplessly, "I understand, Lord Third."
The Third Hokage smiled. "All right, then it's settled."
Naruto and Hinata walked around until dusk, when Naruto parted ways with her and went to the bridge. By the time he arrived, Sasuke and Sakura were already there.
Sakura complained, "You're so late, Naruto. Even if you were out with Hinata, you didn't have to stay out this long."
"Sorry, but I was giving you and Sasuke a chance to be alone together, Sakura." Naruto's words made her face turn bright red.
Just then, Kakashi arrived. He handed each of them a form and said, "I've recommended you for this Chunin Ninja Exam. If you don't want to take part, you don't have to come."
Sakura exclaimed, "The Chunin Ninja Exam? Sensei, isn't it too soon?"
Kakashi smiled. "You don't have to take it if you don't want to. It's not mandatory."
Sakura breathed out in relief, then asked Naruto, "Are you going to take it?"
Naruto smiled confidently. "Of course. It's a rare opportunity."
Sakura turned to Sasuke. "Are you going to take it, too?"
"Of course," Sasuke replied coolly. "I won't lose to that idiot Naruto."
Naruto was just about to argue with Sasuke when Kakashi said, "All right, that's it. Go home. If you want to take the exam, meet at the gathering place tomorrow at nine. Go home and think it over."
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance, then went their separate ways. Sakura watched them walk off, as if she had made up her mind about something. Then she set off for home at a brisk pace.
Before you continue