What should have been an ordinary duel turned into a one-sided thrashing at Meihui's hands. At their current level, Naruto and Sasuke were no match for him; he utterly crushed them.
Even as he beat them up, Meihui kept saying it was for their own good, that today's pain would drive them to keep moving forward.
Naruto and Sasuke were speechless. They had seen shameless people before, but never anyone this shameless.
And so, Naruto and Sasuke settled into a simple daily routine: wake up, eat, get beaten up, go on a mission, get beaten up, rest, get beaten up...
In short, over the past few days, the happy couple had endured more pain than anyone their age should have had to bear.
But the two found joy amid the suffering, because they discovered that their strength really was increasing dramatically by the day.
After the group completed a few missions, Meihui grew stronger and stronger.
He had already reached Jonin level, but he had so many trump cards that he might even be able to hold his own against someone at Kage Level.
That day, after Meihui finished beating up Naruto and Sasuke, Kakashi arrived.
Meihui counted on his fingers as though divining the future and guessed that Kakashi was about to bring up the Chunin Ninja Exams.
Sure enough, he was right.
"Everyone, come over here. I have something to announce."
"These are the invitations for this year's Chunin Ninja Exams. You're strong enough to qualify now. If there are no objections, go ahead and sign."
Kakashi handed the invitations to the three of them, and they signed without hesitation.
"I hope you all succeed in becoming Chunin. Train hard over the next few days."
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei," the three replied in unison.
They trained for a little longer before deciding to get something to eat.
They headed into the village to find somewhere to eat and, as luck would have it, happened upon Kankuro from Sunagakure bullying Konohamaru.
Seeing Naruto and Meihui arrive, Konohamaru shouted excitedly.
"Big bro! Big-big bro! Hurry and save me!"
Seeing someone bullying his little follower, Naruto charged straight at Kankuro without a second thought, determined to teach him a
lesson.
Kankuro saw an idiot charging toward him and was just about to strike when Sasuke swooped in with a stylish save from up in a tree.
Tossing a stone in his hand, Sasuke stared coldly at Kankuro.
Watching Konoha's king of show-offs do his thing left Meihui rather speechless, but that same display got Temari from Sunagakure a little excited.
Temari looked at Sasuke, then at Meihui and Naruto, and finally at Kankuro, unable to hold back a sigh. Comparing goods made you want to throw the inferior ones away; comparing people was enough to drive you mad.
Just as Kankuro was about to lose his temper again, Gaara spoke.
"Stop. Don't forget what we came here for." Gaara glanced at Sasuke in the tree.
"Interesting. What's your name?"
But before Gaara could finish speaking, Meihui suddenly appeared beside him with the Body Flicker Technique and pressed a kunai against his neck.
Gaara was astonished. His sand hadn't emerged to protect him. He hurriedly mobilized his chakra, and only then did the sand slowly come out.
"Hey, you're a little too cocky. I won't allow anyone to be cockier than me."
Seeing a kunai held against Gaara's neck, Temari and Kankuro feared for their younger brother's safety and tried to move in to save him, but Gaara stopped them.
"Stay back. You're no match for him."
"Interesting. Very interesting. You're even stronger than that guy. I'll remember you both."
Gaara turned into a sand clone and dispersed, then reappeared beside Temari and Kankuro.
"I'm looking forward to these Chunin Ninja Exams more and more. You're strong. Wait for me. Don't die too soon."
"Maybe killing that guy will finally earn me recognition."
With that, the three from Sunagakure left.
"Come on, let's go eat. Our opponents this time should be interesting."
At Meihui's words, Sasuke curled his lip in displeasure, making it clear he thought he had this in the bag.
Naruto was brimming with enthusiasm too, eager to show what he could do in the exams.
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