But it was at this very moment.
A shout suddenly came from a tree on one side.
"Stop, Kankuro."
Upon hearing this, Naruto seemed to have already sensed who had arrived and immediately turned his head.
There stood a boy with a gloomy face and thick dark circles under his eyes, and a red "love" character on his forehead.
On his back was a huge gourd with some cracks.
Upon seeing the newcomer, Kankuro below immediately became terrified and hurriedly explained, "Gaara listen to me! It was they who provoked us first..."
Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking...
Gaara, standing atop the tree, coldly rebuked, "Shut up, or I'll kill you here."
Faced with the reprimand, and especially when Kankuro sensed the killing intent emanating from the other party, he immediately shut his mouth.
After doing all this, Gaara turned to Naruto and said in a deep voice, "I'm truly sorry."
He apologized on the surface, but secretly he was analyzing the other party, not only noticing the chakra threads but also being able to easily dodge them while quickly closing in.
He subdued Kankuro directly; this guy is very strong!
After giving it a solemn look, he transformed into dust and landed on the ground, asking the question earnestly.
"I am Gaara of the Sand Village, the Sand Blast. I am very interested in you. May I know your name?"
When asked, Naruto could only smile warmly and say, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I hope to see you during the Chunin Exams."
"I'm really looking forward to it too."
Having said that, Gaara turned his head expressionlessly, walked in front of Kankuro and the other man, and said coldly, "We didn't come here to play. It's time to go."
I watched them leave.
Naruto then snapped out of his daze, turned around and smiled at Konohamaru behind him, reminding him, "Let's go, aren't we going to eat barbecue?"
"Okay, big brother."
Upon hearing this, Konohamaru also snapped out of his daze.
The two left together and went to the yakiniku restaurant run by the Akimichi Clan in the village. After queuing up, they ate a serving of yakiniku.
Then they parted ways.
Naruto returned to the meeting point and greeted Sasuke and the other man. Then Kakashi appeared in front of the three of them.
After handing the application forms to the three individuals, he explained, "This is an application form for the Chunin Exams. Of course, it's not mandatory; whether you want to participate or not is your own choice."
If you're planning to participate, then come to classroom 301 at the Ninja Academy in five days. Consider these last few days a holiday for you."
"The Chunin Exams?"
Sakura was slightly dazed. Had she only recently become a genin and already had to take the chunin exams?
Looking at Sasuke and the other person in front of him.
Her spirits had plummeted. Could she really catch up with those two?
As for Naruto, he already knew about the Chunin Exams, so he didn't pay much attention to it. He simply put away his application and prepared to leave.
But Sasuke, who was beside him, quickly asked.
"Naruto, do you want to go to the training grounds to train?"
"Oh well."
Naruto didn't refuse, and the two left together again in front of Sakura.
Sakura was left standing there, questioning her existence.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye.
It wasn't until the morning of the fifth day that Naruto met up with Sasuke, who had also arrived, and the three of them entered the Ninja Academy together.
However, after arriving on the third floor...
A crowd had already gathered outside room 301, and two figures stood blocking the entrance.
Those who tried to approach were immediately driven back by the two men. Only after intimidating everyone did one of them speak.
"The Chunin Exams aren't open to just anyone; quite a few people give up becoming ninjas because of them."
Another person followed suit.
"Leaving you here now is our last act of kindness."
Everyone present was indignant at the sight, but no one was willing to step forward and be the first to speak out.
Just when the situation reached a stalemate...
Naruto pushed through the crowd and asked, "Could you please dispel this genjutsu barrier? I'd like to go to the third floor to check in first."
"You've already seen through it? But just seeing through it isn't enough."
He was about to attack when, in the instant he raised his hand, Naruto's Tri-Pronged Kunai was already pressed against his neck.
This move shocked everyone present, some of whom didn't even see what had just happened!
Naruto was the center of attention, calmly asked, "Could you please dispel the genjutsu now?"
Feeling the cool touch on his neck, the man couldn't help but sigh, "He really isn't someone to be underestimated."
Faced with the kunai at his neck, he had no choice but to break the genjutsu, and all he received in return was a thank you from Naruto.
Then Naruto led Sasuke and the other man to the actual third floor. As they crossed the corridor and pushed open the Gateway at the end, they stepped inside.
The place was already packed with people.
Before anyone could react, a shy voice suddenly came from beside them, "Naruto and Sasuke, you're so late."
Upon hearing this, Naruto turned to look.
He then saw Ino Yamanaka rushing towards him and almost instinctively dodged to the side, but Sasuke behind her wasn't so lucky.
Ino pounced on him.
Sasuke was speechless, but Ino leaned against him and said with a smile, "It's not bad to hug Sasuke instead of Naruto, after all, I've been looking forward to it for a long time."
As they were talking.
The others also came over; they were all familiar faces from their former Ninja Academy classes.
The group couldn't help but start chatting.
Meanwhile, Asuramaru inside Naruto yawned boredly, watching the little commotion in the classroom.
Until the door was pushed open again.
Numerous examiners entered the room, among whom the chief examiner, with a scarred face and wearing a black headscarf, looked at the chaotic classroom and spoke coldly.
"I am Ibiki Morino, the examiner for the first round of the Chunin Exams. If you guys from Sound Village don't want to be eliminated immediately, you'd better behave yourselves."
I'm here to inform you all that private fights are strictly prohibited without the examiner's permission. Anyone who disobeys me will be immediately disqualified from the assessment!
Chapter 250 The Forest of Death
After a brief explanation, everyone present was deliberately seated by Ibiki Morino, who dispersed the three-person group.
He then went to the front of the classroom, wrote the rules on the blackboard, turned around, and said in a deep voice.
"This written test is worth ten points, with each question worth one point. In addition, I will personally create the final tenth question."
Scoring proceeds in descending order, and the final pass/fail result is determined by the total score of the three-person team.
Of course, if one person scores zero, all three will be eliminated simultaneously, and the same applies to anyone who cheats!
The time limit is one hour.
"Now, let the exam begin!"
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone in the classroom who was taking the test began to answer the questions.
Looking at the nine questions on the answer sheet.
For Naruto now, it was no challenge at all; he easily picked up a pen and wrote down the correct answer.
Then came the tedious waiting time.
During the competition, some people gave up and left, while others were caught cheating.
Pressure weighed on everyone's mind.
Just at the last moment, seeing that time was almost up, Ibiki Morino spoke up in the classroom to attract everyone's attention.
"Everyone look at me. Now you need to choose whether or not to answer the tenth question. If you don't answer, you will be disqualified from the exam."
However, if you choose to answer the questions but fail to do so, you will be permanently disqualified from the Chunin Exams!
The words had barely left his mouth.
Everyone present was shocked, and one of them angrily cursed, "How could there be such a stupid rule!"
But this only prompted Ibiki Morino to sneer.
"You don't have to answer. You can leave anytime now." Amidst the other person's sneer, many people in the examination room chose to leave.
A moment later.
Looking at the remaining examinees in the examination room, Ibiki Morino's previously sneer suddenly vanished, and he calmly announced...
"It seems you have all made your choices, so I hereby announce that all 78 people present have passed the first test!"
Those who didn't choose to leave felt relieved, even Naruto was a little surprised, but didn't care too much.
After Ibiki Morino explained the ins and outs of the test, a figure suddenly burst through the window in everyone's sight.
He landed on the podium and pulled back the curtain.
"I am the examiner for the second test, Mitarashi Anko. Now is not the time to be happy. Everyone, come with me!"
"But with 78 people, there are still 26 teams left, that's quite a lot."
The newcomer was a girl dressed in a mesh top and wearing a coat. She directly addressed the group in front of her, issuing a warning.
"The second exam will be held tomorrow. As for the location and time, you can ask your team leader Jonin."
The following morning.
Everyone arrived at the edge of the Forest of Death near Konoha as scheduled. They found the area blocked by barbed wire, with a sign that read "No Entry".
Meanwhile, Mitarashi Anko, who was serving as the examiner, stood in front of the barbed wire fence and explained to everyone.
[Transfer Station for Misanthropic Novels: 2948327800]
"This is the examination ground known as the Forest of Death, which has a total of 44 entrances and is 10 kilometers away from the central tower."
Before you begin, you need to sign a guarantee, because anything can happen.
The content of this assessment is a scroll-grabbing battle. There are a total of twenty-six teams. I will allocate one Heaven Scroll to each of the thirteen teams, and the other thirteen teams will receive Earth Scroll.
The qualification requirement is to possess the Heaven and Earth Scroll and then arrive at the tower located in the center. You are not allowed to view the contents of the scroll before arriving at the tower.
The exam will last for five days!
If there are no objections, the exam will begin after the guarantee is signed!
After briefly explaining the exam rules, the guarantee was distributed to everyone present, and once signed, the distribution process began.
These 26 teams were divided into 44 entrances.
As the gate opened, all the genin participating in the assessment entered.
As Naruto stepped into this Forest of Death, he asked himself, "Asuramaru, can you help me pinpoint the enemy's location?"
In response, Asuramaru retorted irritably, "You don't need to ask me every time. I'll let you know in advance if anyone gets close."
"Thank you!"
After replying in his mind, Naruto and the others continued deeper into the Forest of Death, but they hadn't gone far.