Hiruzen Sarutobi froze for a moment, not quite understanding what Naruto meant.
"No, I'm telling you to take the Chunin Ninja Exams, not become a team leader."
"No, no, no."
Naruto grinned and wagged a finger.
"I mean I'll lead a group of rookie Genin as a Genin myself, and take the exams with them while I'm at it. Doesn't that solve everything?"
A row of black lines appeared across Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead.
"When has a rookie soldier ever led other rookie soldiers? Besides, contestants need to have completed at least eight missions. You haven't even gone on one yet."
"What kind of problem is that? I'll just lead them through eight missions. How hard could that be?"
Naruto waved a hand, looking utterly unconcerned as he tilted his head at the old man.
"You don't seriously think I can't teach a bunch of brats, do you?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi said heavily, "This has nothing to do with strength..."
A Supervising Jonin was built up through mission experience. They could spot a Genin's flaws at a glance, then correct them.
Strength alone was nowhere near enough.
Not to mention Naruto was a Jinchuriki. How could Hiruzen Sarutobi dare let him run wild outside? The original plan had been for Kakashi to keep an eye on him.
"Our village has never had such a rule before."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a frown.
"How about this? You can just put your name on a team. I'll pick two of the strongest candidates to partner with you, and they can handle the missions."
All he needed was for Naruto to appear at the exam venue. Mu didn't care whether Naruto completed missions or not.
Naruto had originally been treated as this examination's trump card.
The direct descendants of every major clan would be stuffed