The atmosphere surrounding the Chunin Exam grew increasingly intense.
Konoha was becoming livelier by the day as well.
"Gaara, there's such a strange shop here. Let's go in and take a look!"
On the street, Temari carried a large fan on her back and pointed excitedly at Invincible Scratch-off.
Gaara turned his head expressionlessly. Without saying a word, he walked straight into the shop.
At that moment, several ninja from other villages were also gambling inside.
Seeing Gaara looking as though his father had just died, they all cast him cold looks.
"Boss, how much are these? Give me two to try!"
Temari asked excitedly.
When it came to new things, girls were always more excited than boys.
Seeing flashes of golden light occasionally flicker beside them before some strange little item appeared out of nowhere, she grew even more impatient.
Wu Di unhurriedly explained the rules to her, and she said eagerly,
"Then give me three of the hundred-yuan ones first, so I can get a feel for it!"
"Alright." Wu Di pulled out three scratch-off tickets from behind him and pushed them before them.
The three sat side by side. Before long, Temari's scratch-off ticket flashed with golden light.
A feather-covered fan floated out of it.
Wu Di quietly explained, "This is called Zhuge's Feather Fan."
"Using Zhuge's Feather Fan to cool yourself will temporarily increase the user's intelligence."
Temari was stunned. She hurriedly grabbed the fan and gave herself a light wave.
In an instant, she felt as if her mind had entered an ethereal state.
The sensation was simply wonderful!
It was truly addictive.
At that moment, an item also floated out of Gaara's scratch-off ticket.
It was a cute cat tail.
Wu Di barely held back his smile.
That was because this cat tail looked far too much like Shukaku's Tail.
Gaara frowned. "What is this thing?"
Wu Di softly explained, "It's called Shukaku's Tail."
"If you wear it according to the instructions, it will temporarily increase your attack power..."
Before Wu Di could finish, Gaara's face had already twisted viciously.
The One-Tailed Tanuki was sealed within him.
Ever since childhood, the One-Tailed Tanuki had kept him from sleeping peacefully night after night.
Now he had actually scratched off an item from that tanuki. How could he not be furious?
"You..." Gaara gritted his teeth as Chakra spilled from his body.
The sand in his gourd gradually began to drift out.
Seeing this, the ninja scratching tickets all retreated from the shop.
The Chunin Exam had not yet begun, and none of them wanted to get injured now.
Wu Di calmly watched the scene before him and let out a helpless sigh.
Within this tiny patch of land, he was an invincible true god.
For Gaara to cause trouble here was like an old man hanging himself—he was tired of living!
He slowly raised a hand and formed seals with ease. "Wood Style: Thousand Years of Impalement Technique!"
In an instant, more than a dozen wooden stakes shot out from all around the little shop, pinning Gaara firmly in place.
No matter how he struggled, it was useless.
Wu Di sneered. The impalement technique was the First Hokage's ultimate skill; how could it be broken so easily?
Then, the floor tiles beneath Gaara's feet suddenly cracked open.
A wooden stake shaped like a human hand suddenly shot out and struck deep into his chrysanthemum.
Gaara's eyes immediately widened.
Wu Di said calmly,
"With the Chunin Exam so close, if you don't want to lose your eligibility because of this, don't cause trouble in my shop."
"If you keep making trouble, I won't mind skewering you and roasting you with cumin and chili powder!"
Beside him, Temari and Kankuro realized things had gone wrong. Having also glimpsed Wu Di's strength, they quickly apologized.
"Sorry, sir. We didn't mean to cause trouble. Could you please let Gaara go?"
Wu Di snorted coldly. His hand seal changed slightly, and all the wooden stakes vanished in an instant.
Gaara clutched his chrysanthemum. The more he looked at Shukaku's Tail, the angrier he became, so he simply threw it down in the shop and left without it.
Temari and Kankuro helped him out of the little shop.
When the onlookers outside saw this, they covered their mouths and snickered.
That posture was truly a sight to behold.
As long as he stayed in that state, wouldn't there be one less opponent during the Chunin Exam?
Wu Di watched their retreating figures, then glanced at Shukaku's Tail on the counter and gave a soft snort.
"Go on, find your original owner!"
As though it were sentient and could understand human speech, Shukaku's Tail flew straight out of the little shop.
"Pff!"
A muffled impact sounded from several dozen meters away.
Then came Gaara's utterly miserable scream.
Looking closely, Shukaku's Tail had embedded itself perfectly into his chrysanthemum.
The people around them immediately sucked in a breath of cold air.
"Today is the first day of the Chunin Exam. All genin taking the exam, don't let me catch you cheating..."
At the front of the room, Morino Ibiki sternly explained the rules of the examination hall.
The examinees below wore varying expressions.
Some, such as Naruto, did not even listen. He simply lay on his desk and slept soundly.
He could not answer any of the questions on the test paper anyway, so listening would have been pointless.
Then there was Gaara.
After the chrysanthemum crisis, he had not dared get out of bed for two days straight.
If it were not for the Chunin Exam today, he would probably still have been lying face down in bed.
A thick sponge cushion had been laid across his chair.
His expression was one of extreme suffering.
"I announce that the first stage of the Chunin Exam begins now!"
Following Morino Ibiki's command,
all the examinees picked up their pens and began writing nonstop on their papers.
Before long, he suddenly shouted, "Shin-chan Nohara, eliminated for cheating!"
A ninja dressed in red with a round, bald-looking head stood up and asked foolishly,
"Hey, how did I cheat?"
A trace of viciousness flashed through Morino Ibiki's eyes as he grabbed Shin-chan Nohara's wrist.
A neatly folded cheat sheet fell from his sleeve.
Shin-chan Nohara sighed. "Hey, I told her cheating like this wouldn't work, but Misae insisted on making me do it! I'll never trust Misae again!"
"Take him away!" Morino Ibiki barked.
Two ninja came forward from the back and directly hauled Shin-chan Nohara away.
"Hey, I'll be back!"
With one person caught, the remaining examinees became even more cautious, yet they still could not escape Ibiki's sharp eyes.
The main purpose of this exam was not to assess their scores at all.
It was to see how they would cheat under these circumstances.
As long as they were not caught by the proctors, they would pass.
Morino Ibiki's gaze swept over the entire room before stopping on Naruto.
He sighed.
With Naruto in this state, even if he handed in a blank paper, he would surely still pass.
At the same time, Ibiki was somewhat surprised.
According to the files, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke were on the same team as Naruto. Why were those two answering so smoothly?
Sakura in particular seemed not to need any time to think at all.
Sakura kept her head lowered and wrote furiously.
She was so excited inside that she could barely contain herself.
The pen she had scratched off from a ticket was simply too useful!
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