Gathering, Chunin Ninja Exams

Sakura and Sasuke walked toward the bridge along the path by the river, one after the other.

Sakura walked half a step behind and to Sasuke's left, tilting her head as she spoke to him. A carefully arranged smile rested on her face, but faint dark circles lingered beneath her eyes. She clearly had not slept well the night before.

She had probably spent half the night overthinking all sorts of things about Sasuke.

Sasuke had both hands tucked into his shorts pockets, staring straight ahead expressionlessly. His mind was not on what Sakura was saying.

When they reached the bridgehead and saw Naruto already waiting by the bridge, both of them paused.

Sakura's mouth parted slightly, and she instinctively glanced at the sky. The sun had only risen not long ago; it was not even eight yet.

Naruto, who usually arrived at the very last moment, had actually come early and was waiting for them by the bridge today.

Naruto raised a hand and nodded at them in greeting.

The greeting was so brief that it did not even contain a single word, yet his expression was natural. He was neither deliberately slighting anyone nor showing the slightest trace of the blushing, flustered behavior he used to have around Sakura.

Naruto was not trying to act cool. He simply did not know what to say so early in the morning. In the Land of Waves, he could still use their mission status as an excuse, but now that they were back in the village, all that remained when they met again was simple calm.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, his gaze lingering for a moment on the beads of sweat that had not yet been wiped from Naruto's forehead.

This guy trained on his own again.

Sasuke thought to himself. He said nothing, merely nodding slightly in return.

Then he walked past Naruto to the other side of the bridge, leaned against the railing, and continued watching the river as he waited for Kakashi.

Sakura remained where she was, looking at the calm expression on Naruto's face as an unheard one-woman show began in her heart.

Hmph, so what if you got here early? Don't expect me to take the initiative and talk to you...

I still remember your attitude back in the Land of Waves!

This is the last time!

Listen to that tone.

But Naruto hardly looked at me today. Is he deliberately avoiding looking at me?

Back at the Ninja Academy, even if I merely walked past Naruto, he would blush.

Forget it, forget it. I'm not taking the initiative anyway. Not even if it kills me.

Sakura turned her head away, lifted her chin high, flicked her hair, then quickly walked over to stand beside Sasuke. In a sweet voice, she picked up the topic she had left unfinished earlier.

Naruto leaned back against the bridge railing, completely unconcerned, his eyes lightly closed and his breathing even.

One hour later

"Ah, good morning, everyone!"

As the three waited, a voice suddenly rang out without warning. Right after that, Kakashi's figure appeared out of thin air atop the railing at the bridgehead.

He crouched on the railing in an exceptionally relaxed pose, his eyes curved into two upside-down crescents.

"Today, I got lost on the road of life."

"You're lying!"

Sakura's furious roar erupted almost the instant Kakashi finished speaking.

She took a huge step forward, clenching her fists until her knuckles cracked. The veins on her forehead throbbed visibly as she said, "Kakashi-sensei, you use that excuse to brush us off every single time!"

"You got lost last time, the time before that, and the time before that too. Just how many turns have you taken on the road of life?!"

"Now, now, Sakura, don't get so worked up."

Kakashi jumped down from the railing without changing expression, moving with complete composure, as though he had not just been caught lying to his students:

"The road of life is full of twists and turns. It's perfectly normal to lose your way every now and then."

Kakashi cleared his throat, and his tone became slightly more serious. "Although this is a little sudden, I've recommended the three of you for the Chunin Ninja Exams."

As he spoke, he pulled three application forms from his ninja tool pouch and handed them to the three of them.

"The Chunin Ninja Exams?"

Sakura took an application form and looked down at it, her eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"Mm."

Kakashi nodded, his gaze sweeping over the three of them. "A lot of ninja from other villages have come to the village recently. You must have noticed them on the streets these past few days, right?"

Sasuke leaned against the bridge railing, his brows knitting slightly.

Naruto also took an application form and glanced over its contents. His expression remained calm, and he said nothing.

"Let me make one thing clear first..."

Kakashi raised one finger. His tone returned to its usual lazy drawl, but a trace of seriousness showed in his eyes. "This recommendation isn't mandatory."

"The Chunin Ninja Exams are a selection process where you stake your life. They aren't a graduation test at the academy."

"Whether you take part or not is up to you."

After saying that, Kakashi slipped both hands back into his pockets and tilted his head slightly. His exposed right eye beneath his forehead protector swept across their faces.

"If you want to participate, sign your name on the application form. Five days from now, at three in the afternoon, report to Room 301 at the Ninja Academy."

After a pause, Kakashi's tone suddenly turned casual, as if he were merely mentioning it in passing. "That's all. Dismissed."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kakashi vanished into thin air again, not even leaving behind a single leaf.

Only the three of them remained on the bridge.

Silence spread among them. Sasuke lowered his head to look at the application form in his hand, his eyes settling on the space for his name.

He was thinking about the Chunin Ninja Exams.

The Chunin Ninja Exams would gather Genin from every village for several rounds of selection. Without exception, those who made it to the end would be the elites of their respective villages.

That meant he would have many chances to fight truly powerful opponents.

Especially that Sunagakure ninja named Gaara. The aura he gave off alone was on a completely different level from ordinary Genin.

Fighting someone like that would be the best test of his strength.

He needed to become stronger, and he needed to become stronger quickly. Nothing could stimulate growth in strength better than real combat.

At that thought, Sasuke's fingers tightened slightly, pressing several shallow creases into the paper.

Naruto opened the signature section of the application form and wrote the four characters "Naruto Uzumaki" on it.

After signing it, he folded the application form in half and put it into his ninja tool pouch.

His thoughts could not help drifting to the storyline of the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, the Konoha Crush Plan a month later, and the Third Hokage's death.

As he thought, Naruto's mind turned to the Flying Thunder God.

Right, ninja tools.

He had to get the Flying Raijin Kunai made from Chakra-Conductive Metal as soon as possible. The formula carved onto ordinary Kunai would blur and fail after only a few days because of Chakra dissipation. He did not want to teleport during a battle only to find that his destination had long since vanished.

Sakura read through the application form, then raised her head and secretly glanced at Sasuke.

Sasuke's expression was focused, as though something weighed heavily in the depths of his eyes. Without being told, she knew he was thinking about how to become stronger.

Then she secretly glanced at Naruto as well.