If Anything Happens to You, I'll Destroy the Whole World

"Hinata." Naruto called Hinata's name deeply, making her tremble. Then he said, "Can you help me apply some medicine?"

A moment ago, Naruto had been worrying about the whole world. The next moment, he had lifted his shirt and revealed the wound beneath his ribs.

Hinata became even shyer, not daring to look at him directly. She first averted her gaze, then secretly stole a glance, only to discover that white vapor was rising from the wound beneath Naruto's ribs, like white steam.

Under Hinata's stunned gaze, Naruto's wound rapidly healed at a visible speed, leaving her completely transfixed.

"Hm?" Naruto did not understand, so he looked at his ribs and immediately frowned in dissatisfaction. That damn Nine-Tails fox, its chakra leaked out again! And at such a crucial moment, too. Couldn't it wait until Hinata finished applying the medicine before leaking out... Nine-Tails! You bastard must be jealous of me...

"Haha." Naruto laughed awkwardly, lowered his shirt, and said apologetically, "The wound suddenly healed. Looks like I don't need medicine after all."

Naruto was crying inside, silently shedding tears in his heart.

"As expected of Naruto-kun. You really are different from everyone else," Hinata said with a smile.

Naruto suddenly became very serious. Leaning close to Hinata, he said, "When you take the second exam later, if you encounter a Sand Ninja, make sure you don't get near him."

"A Sand Ninja?"

"He has a gourd on his back, red hair, and the character for 'love' carved on his forehead. His name is Gaara," Naruto said. "If you see him, run. Run as far away as you can."

"Is he very strong?" Hinata nodded. "But since Naruto-kun says so, I won't go near him."

"Very strong. More frighteningly, he has no humanity," Naruto said worriedly. "If you run into him, abandon Shino and Kiba Inuzuka..."

At the words abandon her companions, Hinata froze. Shino and Kiba Inuzuka were both her teammates in Team Eight, and the three of them had even gone on missions together.

Naruto directly pulled Hinata into his arms and said, "Sorry, I said something stupid. If anything happens to Shino or Kiba Inuzuka, I'll kill Gaara and avenge them. But if anything happens to you, I'll destroy the whole world."

Held in Naruto's arms, Hinata did not dare move. Her head felt dizzy, as though everything had come too quickly and too soon, leaving her at a loss.

"Eh?" Naruto touched Hinata's forehead and said worriedly, "You're burning up! Do you have a fever? I'll take you to find a medical ninja!"

"No! I'm fine." Hinata turned and ran away, leaving behind Naruto with a strange look on his face.

The second round of the Chunin Ninja Exams officially began. A total of fourteen teams entered the Forest of Death through different entrances. Their goal was to seize scrolls and ultimately reach the tower.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura moved swiftly through the jungle when Naruto suddenly made a hand signal, making Sakura tense up at once. The three stopped and waited for Naruto's next instruction.

Sakura warily scanned their surroundings but found nothing unusual, so she asked, "Naruto, are there enemies nearby?"

"Probably not." Naruto tilted his head. "We just came in. We haven't even gone more than a few steps. How could we possibly run into enemies?"

"Then why did you stop?!" Sakura roared.

Sakura's voice was so loud that Naruto's eardrums hurt from the shock. He could only explain, "If we move at a normal speed, we'll definitely run into enemies."

"The Forest of Death is a perfectly circular map, with the tower at its center. The fourteen teams enter from different points along the outer edge. When everyone heads toward the center, we'll definitely meet."

"So we just slow down. As long as we move slowly, we'll naturally miss them," Naruto laid out his strategy.

"Idiot." Sakura retorted, "If we don't encounter enemies, how are we supposed to steal scrolls? We only have a Heaven Scroll. We still need an Earth Scroll."

"Don't worry. Look at Sasuke. He completely agrees with my strategy." Naruto pointed at Sasuke.

"Right, right, Naruto's right." Sasuke hurriedly nodded. "We'll do as Naruto says."

Sakura sighed. Even Sasuke had agreed with Naruto, so there was nothing she could do. After all, she listened to Sasuke very well too.

Thus, for the time that followed, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura proceeded at a snail's pace, as if they were sightseeing. They sneaked past fierce beasts and detoured around poisonous insects.

Although the Forest of Death was filled with danger everywhere, most hazards could still be avoided as long as they remained careful and cautious. Along the way, they encountered scares but no real danger.

After a day had passed, Naruto's team was the slowest of all, left far behind by everyone else. Naturally, they did not encounter any opponents or battles.

However, when they passed through a grassland, they happened upon some severed limbs. They likely belonged to unfortunate Genin examinees who had died in the bellies of beasts.

By the second day, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were resting beside a river. Naruto had gone into the river to catch fish, Sasuke sat by the riverbank, and Sakura returned carrying some fruit.

"Sasuke, these are the fruits I picked. I already washed them." Sakura offered the wild fruit in her hands to Sasuke, but Sasuke turned a deaf ear.

"Sasuke?" Sakura found it a little strange and called again, "Sasuke, these fruits are safe. Back at the Ninja Academy, I heard the teacher say that this kind of fruit can be eaten in the wild."

Sasuke still ignored her, staring blankly into space by himself.

"Sakura, you're back." Naruto walked over carrying a large fish. He grabbed the fruit from Sakura's hands and started chewing on it, saying, "These fruits are pretty good. The juice is quite sweet."

"Naruto, what's wrong with Sasuke?" Sakura pulled Naruto aside and spoke mysteriously. "I keep feeling like Sasuke has been different from before these past two days."

"Isn't this just Sasuke? What's different about him?"

"He really is different." Sakura said anxiously, "Even if Sasuke didn't talk to me before, he wouldn't ignore me like this."

"Uh..." Naruto thought for a moment. Before Sasuke and Sakura got married, did the two of them even talk to each other...? I seriously can't remember...

Naruto put on a sour expression and said, "You and Sasuke never talked much to begin with. This is normal. You're overthinking it."

"Hehehehe..." A string of chilling laughter came from afar. Naruto and Sakura were instantly alarmed, especially Naruto, whose hand holding the large fish was trembling.

So he finally came. Naruto thought, I couldn't avoid this trial after all.

"It's already the second day, and you're still crawling along here. You really made me work to find you." A female ninja from the Hidden Grass Village emerged from the woods.

It was Orochimaru! I traveled at the slowest possible speed and could avoid everyone else, yet I still couldn't avoid Orochimaru! One of Konoha's legendary Three Ninja had still come looking for us.