Within Seven Steps, a Gun Is Fast and Accurate!

"You've still got a lot to learn, but don't worry. I'll get you one someday, too!"

Sasuke's eyes lit up.

"Really? Didn't you say only you could use this thing?"

Uchiha Sora grinned, looking mysterious.

"Don't be ridiculous. I invented it, so who gets to use it is up to me!"

Sasuke suddenly understood, and his young mind was deeply shaken!

"Enough about that. How was your training with Kakashi-sensei today?"

Uchiha Sora grinned, looking full of anticipation.

Sasuke perked right up, like a schoolboy eager to show his parents how well he'd done on his homework.

He quickly raised his right hand. As chakra gathered, bolts of lightning appeared, letting out cries like birdsong!

"Kakashi-sensei taught me Chidori. It's also called Lightning Cutter!"

Sasuke demonstrated it in front of Uchiha Sora.

Uchiha Sora immediately activated his Sharingan and copied it without hesitation.

With the Three Tomoe empowering him, every ninjutsu seemed completely exposed before Uchiha Sora.

He could copy them with ease.

Before long, lightning crackled around Uchiha Sora's right hand, too.

"Big bro, you... what level is your eye at now?"

Sasuke felt a pang of envy.

He'd wanted to show off, but instead, his big brother had learned it on the spot.

Uchiha Sora grinned proudly.

"Three Tomoe. But Kakashi-sensei's pretty good. This must be his signature move, Chidori, right?"

Sasuke nodded excitedly again.

"Yeah!"

"With this, I'll feel even more confident about the Chunin Exams. I bet I've got a hundred percent chance of ranking up."

Uchiha Sora nodded.

But inside, he could only laugh bitterly.

Rank up?

As if!

The whole exam would be derailed, and the Hokage would get killed.

And he was still talking about ranking up.

Still, Uchiha Sora was pleased to see Sasuke getting stronger.

After all, Sasuke would be a powerful ally later on.

Uchiha Sora had always understood that if he could stay strong and the system kept coming through, that would be great.

But becoming stronger on his own would be even better.

Still, the Naruto World was full of cheat-like powers later on. If he couldn't keep up, he'd have to cling to Sasuke.

As he was thinking, bells rang throughout the village.

Sasuke looked even more excited.

"Big bro, it's time! The Chunin Exams start this morning!"

Uchiha Sora came back to his senses. By his count, half a month had already passed.

During that time, the village had held a meeting to give everyone a brief explanation of the exam's key rules.

It was a straightforward elimination tournament.

The ninjas who passed the tests would fight in pairs, two on two.

The winners would advance to the next round, and in the end, a small number of ninjas would be selected to become Chunins.

But Uchiha Sora knew there was no point in memorizing these rules.

Orochimaru was bound to show up eventually.

His mission was to kill Orochimaru!

"Let's go! The exam's starting. Go find your friends, and I'll find my teammates."

And so, Uchiha Sora and Sasuke went their separate ways.

Before long, Rock Lee found him first.

"Best friend! Look at all these people on the road. There's bound to be all sorts among them. I can't wait to see who I'll fight!"

Uchiha Sora smiled.

"Don't worry. Everyone knows how strong you are. Whoever we draw, we're pretty much guaranteed to win!"

Rock Lee grinned and gave Uchiha Sora a thumbs-up.

"My best friend really is a clever man!"

"Teacher Might Guy told me that as long as I don't run into Gaara, I'm sure to win!"

Uchiha Sora complained inwardly.

You might not run into him, but I definitely would later.

Though, maybe not.

If Naruto proved reliable, he could drive Gaara away, just like in the original story.

The problem was, Orochimaru's target was him, and Sasuke hadn't been marked with the Cursed Seal.

In that case, Orochimaru definitely wouldn't give up.

So he had to prepare for a direct confrontation.

Just then, Hinata jogged over from a little way off.

Before she'd even stopped, she panted out, "Sora! I've learned a new skill. I can use Rotation now!"

Hinata was thrilled. Like Sasuke, she seemed to treat Uchiha Sora like a parent.

Uchiha Sora's eyes widened.

What was going on?

Rotation!

In the original story, Hinata shouldn't have been able to learn this yet.

And it was this one move that had led to her defeat at the hands of her cousin Neji.

How had she suddenly learned it?

Could his interference have made Hinata work harder?

For a moment, Uchiha Sora felt that although he hadn't changed much, the plot had still shifted, at least a little.

That only made him feel more pressed for time.

He knew that if he didn't hurry up and get stronger, things would become a lot more troublesome once the plot went off course.

"Not bad! Looks like you've all made progress. We should be practically guaranteed to win this exam!"

Uchiha Sora smiled as he spoke, and the group soon reached the area around the central plaza.

Konoha was huge; after all, it was the strongest village in the Ninja World.

It was divided into residential districts and a plaza area.

The enormous plaza before them was used for events and competitions held in Konoha.

In terms of area, it was roughly as large as dozens of soccer fields combined.

And that didn't even include the surrounding stands.

The place was already packed. The contestants and spectators alike were lined up in long queues.

They could only enter after their identities had been verified.

"Next... wait a moment! Contestants can use the back entrance. Are you three from Konoha?"

The person standing at the entrance was Iruka, who recognized Uchiha Sora and the others at a glance.

"That's me!"

Uchiha Sora waved.

Iruka was practically Uchiha Sora's homeroom teacher, too.

"So it's you! Go on through. There's a back entrance on the left. Your teacher believes you'll pass this time!"

Uchiha Sora nodded. He had a pretty good impression of the people in the village.

He led the group inside the plaza.

The stands were already packed as far as the eye could see.

They included the Hokage in the highest seats, as well as people from Sunagakure.

Others might not know, but to Uchiha Sora, the bald man from Sunagakure was undoubtedly the root of the danger this time.

Uchiha Sora searched the crowd for Orochimaru.

"That guy sure knows how to hide... Never mind. It doesn't matter if I can't find him. When they charge out later, Konoha's strong fighters will hold them off first."

Uchiha Sora wasn't worried. When the sky fell, someone tall enough would hold it up.

The three of them found the contestants' waiting room.

They waited there for a while, and soon the venue was packed with people.