Yeah

"I'll listen to you, Ino."

Josuke said.

This time, Ino was delighted. She immediately took Josuke's hand and jogged all the way with him to a restaurant.

"Josuke, how about here? Look... what do you want to eat?"

What a coincidence—at that very moment, they ran into some familiar faces again: Shikamaru and Choji. Even more coincidentally, their tables were separated by only an aisle.

Josuke grumbled inwardly. What kind of fate was this, for them to keep running into each other like this?

Ino was annoyed too. Why did she run into those two everywhere? They were like ghosts that wouldn't go away. Last time had been fine since they were farther apart, but now she couldn't even whisper sweet nothings with Josuke.

Ino said sulkily,

"What are you two doing here?"

Shikamaru...

You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?

Shikamaru was utterly speechless. Why did he always end up being a third wheel? It seemed that he and Choji were destined to be background props today.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes at Ino and said helplessly,

"Choji brought me here. He said this place was pretty good, so we came to try it."

Ino and Josuke sat down. Ino now hated those two to death. Seriously, ruining her good thing—she had already written their names down in her little notebook.

Josuke said,

"All right, princess. Cheer up."

When Josuke comforted her, Ino's mood immediately improved. But the thought of those two third wheels beside them still irritated her.

There wasn't much to say about the restaurant.

It was just sushi, grilled chicken skewers, sashimi, and the like.

The food was delicious, and Josuke really liked it...

After they finished eating, the two went for another stroll before returning to their respective homes.

The Chunin Exams arrived as scheduled. Josuke's appearance had not caused any so-called butterfly effect.

The examinees entered one after another, and Team 7 arrived under Kakashi's lead. During that time, a few interesting things happened.

First, Rock Lee confessed to Sakura. Josuke really wanted to complain—why did everyone like that Sakura bitch—ugh, Sakura?

Rock Lee's confession was promptly rejected by Sakura. After all, she was wholeheartedly devoted to her own stupid little brother.

Even if Sasuke controlled her with genjutsu, slashed her with Lightning Cutter, or stabbed her with kunai, she would remain loyal to him until death. Rock Lee, huh?

Then Rock Lee moped around for a while.

Then he beat Sasuke up.

Luckily, Guy-sensei arrived in time. Otherwise, Sasuke would probably have been crippled on the spot.

After that came the written portion of the Chunin Exams.

Honestly, there wasn't much to say about it for Josuke. It was nothing more than theory questions and common-sense questions. The hardest part was basic arithmetic, but wasn't that easy enough as long as he had hands?

Besides, this round tested their ability to gather intelligence, and reasonable cheating was allowed.

So Josuke passed without cheating at all. He did not bother hiding anything and displayed his answers openly. The examinees beside him craned their necks and copied away like mad.

After the written exam ended, they gave Josuke grateful looks.

Then came the survival exercise in the Forest of Death.

After the written exam,

everyone followed the main group into the hall, where Anko Mitarashi announced the rules and handed out the scrolls. Josuke had originally thought that their group would receive special treatment because they had four members.

But they didn't. Heh, that surprised Josuke somewhat.

The rules were simple.

Each of the twenty-six teams that passed the first round carried either a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll. They had to obtain the other type, then reach the Central Tower, ten kilometers from the entrance, carrying both scrolls within five days to pass.

Anyone who failed to do so, had a teammate die or become unable to continue, or opened their scroll ahead of time would fail.

And so, in an instant, the test began!!!!!

Josuke's group of four immediately charged into the Forest of Death.

A few hours later,

Team 7 arrived in a forest. Naruto had gone off to use the bathroom, but Josuke knew that he was probably already trapped inside a snake's stomach.

Then,

a ninja disguised as Naruto came to Team 7. However, he was exposed almost immediately. After Sasuke stabbed him with a kunai, he fled.

Just then, a mysterious ninja appeared as well.

Right from the start, he unleashed overwhelming pressure upon the three of them. He did not conceal his presence at all and walked straight toward them.

Sasuke and Sakura were so frightened by the pressure radiating from the mysterious man that they could not move.

Josuke activated his two-tomoe Sharingan and barely withstood the pressure. Naturally, Josuke knew who this person was—the scientist of the ninja world, one of the Hidden Leaf Village's three infamous vices, Uncle Snake himself, wasn't it? (I forgot whether I wrote the part where he awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan. Too lazy to add it, QAQ. Just assume I did.)

Among the characters in Naruto, Orochimaru was definitely one of Josuke's favorites. He was not purely good, but neither was he purely evil. At the very least, compared to the Hidden Leaf Village, Orochimaru was overwhelmingly better.

Putting aside everything else, there was one thing Josuke liked most about Uncle Snake: his dedication to science. Out of ten Naruto fanfics, seven or eight would have the protagonist seek Orochimaru for Hashirama cells.

Besides, Uncle Snake was redeemed later on. In Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, he even became a single-parent Snake Mom raising a child. Could you handle that?

Back to the point.

Josuke sighed inwardly. So strong. Is this Orochimaru? That sense of oppression...

That killing intent.

Sasuke and Sakura did not dare move.

Josuke stepped forward and shouted at Sasuke,

"Take Sakura and leave first. Protect the scroll. I'll cover your retreat."

Josuke's words snapped Sasuke awake. He hurriedly stabbed his own leg with a kunai, and the intense pain allowed him to temporarily remain conscious.

The clear-headed Sasuke said to Josuke,

"All right. Hurry and meet up with us too."

With that, he grabbed Sakura and left.

Only Josuke remained behind. It would have been a lie to say he was not nervous.

But a hero could not run away in the face of battle.

Josuke formed hand seals. Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique!!!

He then activated the Shadow Clone Technique, and two clones immediately appeared behind him.

At the same time, they launched Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique!! at Orochimaru.

The Phoenix Flower flames flew toward Orochimaru like tiny missiles.

Josuke smiled. This was the moment. The two clones fled in different directions at once.

He himself headed toward the evacuation point he had agreed on with Sasuke.

Josuke naturally knew that such a small trick could not possibly hurt Orochimaru, but slowing Orochimaru's attack speed would be enough. Besides, Orochimaru was not going to kill him anyway.

As for Naruto's side.

Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!!

The giant snake's belly immediately swelled. Countless Naruto shadow clones burst its stomach apart, and Naruto escaped.

Over on Sasuke's side, although he had temporarily escaped Orochimaru's pursuit, before he could even catch his breath, a giant snake suddenly appeared beside him...