He looked in the direction where Gaara had left, with his eagerness to fight surging violently. Another formidable rival.
................
"The Chunin Exams? Teacher Kakashi, do you mean we can participate in the Chunin Exams?"
"Yeah. Just now, the Hokage summoned all the Jonin to recommend candidates for the Chunin Exams. I recommended you guys."
"Really? Chunin! That's right, we're going to be Chunin!"
"Well, you have to pass the exams first..."
"After becoming Chunin, the difficulty of missions will increase, and so will the pay. Ah~ Ah~ What should I buy with the dough? Makeup or clothes?"
"You have to pass the exams first...."
"I'm gonna go to Uncle Ichiraku's and have ten bowls of deluxe ramen!"
"Come on, Naruto. That's so boring. What about you, Sasuke? What do you want to do?"
"For me, I don't have any special interests. I'll just save the money for now."
"I've said you have to pass...."
Kakashi watched the three of them chatting animatedly. He couldn't understand why his prestige among his students was so low. Not a single one of them was listening to him attentively.
"Teacher Kakashi, is that why ninjas from other ninja villages are here?"
"Oh~ You've noticed! The exam for Genin to become Chunin is not only a test of a ninja's strength and growth but also an assessment of the strength of each ninja village."
"Huh~ Why is it so troublesome to gather ninjas from so many countries?"
"Whether they're Genin or Chunin, they are the reserve forces for future wars. This is an important basis for each country's assessment during peacetime. So this exam is very important. You all have to give it your all!"
"Yes, Teacher Kakashi!"
They were only this well - behaved at such times.
..................
"Wow! So many people. Why is everyone standing outside the door and not going in?"
Sasuke and his group had just arrived at the venue for the first exam and saw many ninjas gathered in front of the classroom.
"Get out of the way, losers. This isn't a place for you!"
"How could this be?"
Rock Lee got a solid blow to the face and fell to the ground, looking weak and pitiful.
Humph, this guy is really good at pretending! Sasuke remembered clearly that last time, Lee had stood up for him but ended up giving him a good thrashing, making him realize the harshness of the world.
"Are you okay?"
Sakura stepped forward to check on Lee, whose face was badly swollen. This guy should be a senior from last year.
"Ah... Ah..."
"What?"
"You're so beautiful. Please go out with me! I'll protect you with my life!"
The previously dispirited Lee suddenly jumped up from the ground and confessed his love to Sakura, with her flowing long hair, fair skin, and those peculiarly charming green eyes.
"Eh----------------------"
"How dramatic! He was arguing with the examiner just now, and the next moment he's confessing his love to a girl. That thick-browed guy is really something."
The onlookers couldn't help but sigh.
"Eh! Sorry, I don't like guys with thick eyebrows! Nor do I like round eyes and thick eyebrows!"
The sudden confession almost drove Sakura crazy. She could only reject him patiently, hoping that the guy in front of her would stop pestering her.
"How could that be? But I won't give up. I'll keep pursuing you!"
"Ah!"
Sakura ruffled her hair irritably. Why can't this guy understand that she simply doesn't like his type? His persistent pestering is just annoying.
"Hey, that's enough. Can't you see that Sakura is unhappy? If you keep this up, it's harassment!"
"What a beautiful name, Sakura! I'm just expressing my love to Miss Sakura. It's not as bad as you said!"
"Lee, stop!"
A warning voice from behind stopped Rock Lee from his next move. He looked dejected, his thick eyebrows drooping as he stepped backward.
"Please let us in. There's an important exam coming up!"
"No way!"
Sasuke looked around at the students. Even though some of them noticed it was a [Genjutsu], no one stepped forward to expose it. Presumably, no one wanted to be the first to take the risk.
Ah! And this idiot in front of him! Naruto has never been good at dealing with [Genjutsu]. It seems he needs more training in this area!
Naruto couldn't help but shiver, a chill running down his back.
The two of them started arguing and got really worked up instantly.
"Naruto, stop!"
"But Sasuke's exam classroom is inside. If we can't get in, how can we take the [Chunin Exams]?"
"You big idiot! This is clearly a [Genjutsu], and it's the lowest-level one at that. Can't you even tell? Should I take over the position of [Hokage]?"
"..."
How pitiful!
Why is he always so mean? Whenever there's something slightly off, he always picks on others.
"Sir Examiner, if there's nothing else, please step aside. The exam is about to start. I don't want to waste time here!"
Sasuke pushed Naruto aside, stepped forward, and directly activated his [Sharingan] while looking at the examiners who seemed reluctant to give in.
The dim and alluring light of the [Sharingan] sent a chill down people's spines, and the two examiners couldn't help but take a step back.
Tsk! Is this the legendary genius of the [Uchiha clan], Sasuke Uchiha? The pressure from those [Sharingan] eyes is really overwhelming.
"Are you Sasuke Uchiha?"
Neji bypassed the people in front of him and stood in front of Sasuke, looking at him with the pride of a fellow genius.
"Oh~ You've been observing from behind for so long. Finally decided to show up?"
Sasuke didn't deactivate his [Sharingan] but kept it on as he looked at Neji Hyūga.
As two of the three great [Dōjutsu] in the [ninja world], the [Sharingan] and the [Byakugan], he had never had a chance to compete with Neji using them before. He really wanted to see which [Dōjutsu] was more powerful.
Upon seeing Neji, Sasuke felt an itch to fight as he hadn't had a chance before, so he might as well have a match right now.
"Well~ I didn't expect I'd catch your eye so much. How about finding a place to have a chat!"
"Hey! Where the heck are you guys gonna chat? The exam's about to start!"
The examiner, who was disguised as a student, standing at the door couldn't help getting anxious. These were two of the most outstanding Genin from Konoha. Instead of taking the exam, where were they going to wander off to?
If the higher - ups found out that these two had prevented Konoha's combat power from being fully displayed, they couldn't bear the blame.
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