Three days later, in a room at Konoha Hospital.
Sasuke slowly opened his eyes.
"Hey, Four-Eyes, you finally awake? How are you feeling?"
Naruto squinted at Sasuke, his face full of concern.
But Sasuke could clearly see how exhausted Naruto looked. Thick dark circles surrounded his eyes.
"Sasuke-kun, you'd better thank Naruto properly for taking care of you these past few days!"
"He hasn't had a decent night's sleep in three whole days because he's been looking after you."
"I asked Hinata to make you some Vitality Replenishing Soup to help restore your chakra, and Naruto even fed it to you one spoonful at a time."
"That's why you recovered and woke up so quickly."
Lin Fan said with a smile from the other side of the bed.
"Hmph. Who said I needed him to look after me? That dead-last is just being presumptuous."
Sasuke raised his chin and spoke with a haughty air.
"What? So all my kindness went to waste?"
"So it turns out I was the fool all along!!!!"
"If Big Brother Lin Fan hadn't asked me to take good care of you, I would've dumped you in the wilderness and left you to fend for yourself, you stuck-up jerk."
Naruto rolled his eyes and shouted angrily at Sasuke.
He felt like his lungs were about to burst with rage.
Lin Fan simply watched Naruto and shook his head with a smile.
What could you do? You two were a couple, after all.
You had to take good care of the wife you'd picked yourself, even if you had to do it through tears.
Whoosh!
Just then, Kakashi suddenly appeared in the room using the Body Flicker Technique.
"Hmm, Sasuke's finally awake. Looks like you've mostly recovered."
"But I have to warn you: don't enter Lin Fan's genjutsu again to upgrade your Sharingan. Doing so could cause irreparable harm to your body and mind."
Kakashi spoke sternly to Sasuke.
He was the first to experience just how powerful Lin Fan's genjutsu was.
Even with books to keep him company, he'd had nightmares every night these past few days.
The Third Hokage had told him to keep a close eye on the three young members of Team 7.
If Sasuke really discovered something alarming in Lin Fan's genjutsu, it could spell major trouble.
"Oh, got it."
Sasuke replied coolly.
"And Lin Fan, your genjutsu puts a tremendous strain on your body too. Remember not to rely too much on those eyes."
Kakashi lightly tapped Lin Fan with his right fist.
Lin Fan nodded as well.
"All right, now I have something important to discuss."
"I've recommended that the three of you take the Chunin Ninja Exams. Here are your application forms. Whether you sign up is up to you."
"The Chunin Ninja Exams? If even I, the future Hokage, don't take part, what's the point of holding them?"
Naruto squinted and grinned.
After handing the application forms to the three of them, Kakashi took out Jinling Pool Creature and began reading intently.
Then he disappeared from the room using the Body Flicker Technique.
Sasuke had recovered, so Naruto yawned and left the hospital to go home and catch up on sleep.
Soon, only Lin Fan and Sasuke remained in the room.
"Lin Fan, was everything you showed me in the genjutsu real?"
Sasuke asked urgently.
"I'm not entirely sure whether everything you saw in the genjutsu was real."
"I can only tell you that my genjutsu uses the pain points in someone's heart to create a fitting scene and strike with precision."
"As for whether that scene is real or an illusion, you'll have to investigate for yourself."
Lin Fan spoke earnestly.
Of course, he knew that the black hand gouging out the eyes in the illusion represented Danzo, that old schemer.
But the gap between Sasuke and Danzo was still far too great. Telling him the truth now wouldn't be a good idea.
It would also squander Itachi's painstaking efforts for his little brother.
"I understand. You've already helped me enough by awakening my Two-Tomoe Sharingan."
"I'll train hard and become stronger. Then I'll uncover the truth behind the clan's massacre myself!"
Sasuke said, brimming with determination.
That afternoon, Sasuke immediately completed his discharge paperwork after he had recovered.
The three members of Team 7 gathered outside the hospital and headed together for the Chunin Ninja Exams registration office.
With the Chunin Ninja Exams drawing near, Konoha's population had swelled to several times its usual size.
Among the crowds were many unfamiliar ninja wearing Forehead Protectors from Sunagakure, Amegakure, Otogakure, Takigakure, and Kusagakure.
It was Naruto's first time seeing so many new faces in the village, so he excitedly looked around.
Thud!
A dull thump rang out. Naruto felt the impact and crashed hard to the ground.
"Ow, that hurt! Hey, kid, don't you have eyes?"
"Huh? A Konoha Forehead Protector? A little shrimp like you can be a Genin too? Has Konoha really fallen this far?"
Kankuro said mockingly.
Naruto jumped to his feet. "Who are you calling a little shrimp? You looking for a beating?"
He immediately sprang up and charged at Kankuro, swinging a fist.
Kankuro didn't move. He only twitched his left arm and curled his fingers slightly.
"What?"
The next moment, Naruto's foot slipped and he crashed toward the ground.
Konoha Strong Whirlwind!
Bang!
Kankuro was just about to mock Naruto's fighting skills when the right side of his face suddenly warped out of shape.
His whole body shot into the air, then landed hard in the grass by the roadside.
At the same moment, Sasuke caught Naruto just before he hit the ground.
"Trying to throw your weight around in someone else's village?"
Lin Fan landed steadily on the ground and shouted coldly.
"That speed..."
"He really is an incredible man!"
Watching Lin Fan, who was both powerful and handsome, Temari couldn't help murmuring as her cheeks flushed and her heart raced.
"Motherf—! You little brat, you're asking to die!"
Fuming with humiliation, Kankuro immediately let loose a string of curses.
He yanked the bandages off his back, and the Puppet Crow shot forward.
Black Secret Technique: Handheld Daggers!
Kankuro shouted as blue chakra threads quickly connected to the tips of his ten fingers.
A mechanism suddenly extended a dagger coated in poison from the Puppet Crow's arm.
It thrust rapidly toward Lin Fan's heart.
"Hmph. That's all?"
Lin Fan gave a soft snort and vanished from the spot.
"Taijutsu Body Flicker?"
Kankuro and Temari were both stunned.
Could Lin Fan really be an elite Jonin to move that fast with the Body Flicker Technique?
The next moment, Lin Fan appeared above the Puppet Crow.
Rasengan!
He shouted, bringing the swirling blue chakra sphere in his hand crashing down onto the Crow's head.
Bang!
At the last moment, Lin Fan felt his Rasengan strike a thick Shield of Sand that blocked its path to the Crow.
"Kankuro, stop embarrassing me in other people's villages."
Gaara hung upside down from a tree and spoke coldly.