Loot counts as supplies too. That's reasonable, right?

The Central Tower.

"If you lack heaven, you must use this meaning and prepare this knowledge..." Naruto stumbled over the words on the wall, scratching his head. "What is all this supposed to say? I can't understand any of it."

"It's the meaning of heaven and earth." Sakura rolled her eyes at him irritably. "It means we... should open those two scrolls."

Sasuke leaned against the wall, his face still pale. The pain from the Cursed Seal made every nerve throb, but he forced himself to stay on his feet.

"Open them." Son Goten found a comfortable spot and sat down, patting the floor beside him. "We're here already. That's probably how the rules work."

Naruto and Sakura exchanged a glance, then took out the Heaven Scroll and Earth Scroll respectively.

They unfurled the scrolls at the same time.

"Poof!"

Two clouds of smoke erupted from the centers of the scrolls and rapidly merged.

A figure appeared in the smoke.

Iruka stood with his arms folded, wearing his trademark gentle smile. Clearly, he had already prepared a whole speech of heartfelt words.

"Congratulations. The second exam..."

He stopped halfway through.

Iruka's narrowed eyes instantly widened, nearly popping out of their sockets.

He had imagined his students covered in wounds and utterly exhausted, supporting one another as they shed tears of excitement.

But what on earth was this scene before him?

A picnic blanket lay in the middle of the hall.

Son Goten sat cross-legged in the center like a lord, gnawing on a freshly roasted leg of some unidentified animal.

On his left, Sasuke leaned groggily against his shoulder, serving as a human armrest.

On his right, that red-haired girl from another village was blushing as she carefully wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief.

Behind him, Sakura wore a humiliated expression as she pummeled Son Goten's back with her fists.

"A little to the left. Yeah, right in that gap between the bones." Son Goten chewed his meat, giving muffled instructions. "Sakura, you're not putting enough strength into it. Haven't you eaten? You lost the bet just now, so honor it."

"Damn it..." Sakura gritted her teeth, wishing she could smash this bastard's head with one punch. But remembering how badly she had just lost at rock-paper-scissors, she could only swallow her anger and hit harder.

"Um... am I in the wrong room?"

The smile on Iruka's face cracked stiffly, and the corner of his mouth twitched wildly.

Weren't they taking the Chunin Ninja Exams far too lightly?

Other candidates were still fighting to the death over a scroll in the Forest of Death, while these brats were throwing a party here?

"Hey, Iruka-sensei." Hearing his voice, Son Goten lazily raised a hand in greeting. "Perfect timing. Freshly roasted bear paw. Want a bite?"

He held up the blackened piece of meat in his hand.

Veins throbbed on Iruka's forehead in anger.

"Son! Go! Ten!"

His roar echoed through the Tower's hall.

"These are the Chunin Ninja Exams! A selection process where lives are at stake! What do you think this is? A spring outing? A mixer?"

Iruka pointed at the group, his finger trembling with anger. "And what's going on with that girl from Kusagakure? Why is she with your team?"

Son Goten picked his ear, looking completely innocent.

"Calm down, sensei. Anger is bad for your liver."

He swallowed the meat in his mouth and said unhurriedly, "First of all, this really is training."

"Huh?" Iruka let out an angry laugh. "Eating barbecue counts as training too?"

"Of course." Son Goten spouted nonsense with a perfectly straight face. "This is called 'mind cultivation.' Staying composed while surrounded by beautiful girls and delicious food-isn't that the most important quality a ninja can have?"

As he spoke, he casually pinched Karin's cheek. "Look, my heartbeat is perfectly steady right now. I'm not tempted by beauty at all."

Karin let out a soft squeak, her face turning so red it looked ready to bleed, and lowered her head even further.

Iruka felt a tightness in his chest.

This twisted reasoning actually sounds somewhat logical? Like hell it does!

This brat is obviously just using it as an excuse to take liberties!

"As for her..." Son Goten pointed at Karin, his tone becoming matter-of-fact. "She's my loot."

"Loot?" Iruka frowned. "There's no provision for that in the exam rules."

"How isn't there?" Son Goten countered. "The rules say we have to collect the Heaven and Earth Scrolls and survive five days in this brutal forest. So any supplies and weapons we pick up along the way belong to us, right?"

Iruka nodded involuntarily. "In theory, yes, but..."

"There you go." Son Goten interrupted him and pulled Karin into his arms. "This girl is supplies I picked up."

"Not only can she guide us, she can also act as a radar, and in a pinch, she can even be emergency rations... Although I don't eat human flesh, being easy on the eyes can lift my spirits too."

Son Goten patted Karin's shoulder and declared imperiously, "Since she's supplies, what's wrong with bringing her into the Tower? Are you going to confiscate a candidate's legitimate gains?"

Iruka opened his mouth, but could find no rebuttal.

Defining a living person as "supplies"-that way of thinking was simply unheard of.

But he glanced at the red-haired girl.

Not only was she not resisting, she was leaning against Son Goten with a blissful expression, looking for all the world as though she were saying, "I'm his private property."

This was far too absurd.

What were children these days thinking?

"All right, all right." Iruka rubbed his throbbing temples and decided to stop dwelling on the issue. "Whatever the case, you collected the scrolls and reached the Tower within the time limit."

"Congratulations. All of you have passed the second exam."

Hearing the word "passed," Sakura, whose nerves had been taut all this time, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Her hands stopped moving too.

Naruto cheered and jumped up to hug Iruka, only to be pushed away in distaste.

"Don't celebrate too soon." Iruka's expression turned serious. "The third exam is the real challenge. The upcoming preliminary matches will eliminate most of you."

He glanced at Sasuke, who was still asleep, and couldn't help worrying.

"Especially with Sasuke in his current condition... will he really be all right?"

"Don't worry, sensei." Son Goten stood up and casually tossed aside the bone he had picked clean. "As long as he's still breathing, this guy can fight."

"And..."

Son Goten turned toward the doors leading to the Arena, his eyes blazing.

"I also want to see what other fun opponents are coming up."

"Let's go. On to the next level."

Son Goten led the way inside.

Karin still followed closely behind him like a little tail.

Watching the whole group's retreating backs, Iruka sighed helplessly.

"Wait, that girl from Kusagakure..."

"She's mine." Son Goten waved without looking back, his tone firm. "Unless I don't want her anymore, nobody is driving her away."

"Not even if that old Hokage comes."

Those arrogant words echoed through the hall.

Iruka froze where he stood. Looking at that less-than-imposing figure from behind, he suddenly felt that this perpetually grinning student was even harder to handle than he had imagined.

The doors slowly opened.

A clamor of voices and an even more oppressive atmosphere poured through the gap.

That was where the true Asura Battlefield lay.