"Watch it, watch it!"
In the waiting area for the assessors, Naruto walked back and forth excitedly.
"Naruto..." Shikamaru said helplessly, "Why are you so excited? Don't you feel troubled?"
"Shikamaru, we are going to become Chunin, Chunin!" Naruto hugged Shikamaru and screamed excitedly.
"Idiot!"
"Sasuke, what did you say?" Naruto turned his head and shouted at Sasuke, "Wait, I will kick you away in a while."
Sasuke ignored him directly. In his mind, he recalled what his father and brother said to him before he went out.
[Sasuke, accidents might happen in the finals of this chunin exam. Remember, if a war breaks out, your priority should be to protect yourself. Don't worry about the others. Those friends of yours are either of no importance, or as in Naruto's case, the Hokage already has other plans for him. Understood?]
Sasuke glanced at Naruto. This idiot… will he get into trouble again?
Then, his eyes fixed on the highest platform. There, five figures were sitting in a row.
In addition to the Kage, each had two bodyguards.
However, Funan had only brought his secretary, Yako.
Sasuke felt a pang of worry.
He'd never seen her fight. She's perhaps a jonin at best.
What could she do in an emergency?
"What's wrong, Sasuke?" Naruto looked at Sasuke with a worried look.
Sasuke glanced at him and whispered, "Idiot, I'm worried about the Hokage."
"Funan-aniki?" Naruto was shocked and said in amazement, "What's there to worry about?"
Funan was the Hokage. And this was Konoha. Worry about the Hokage in Konoha?
Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.
The Perverted Sage.
Recently, when he was teaching him to use the Nine-Tails Chakra, he would occasionally show a worried look.
When the two talked, he would be distracted.
That was not typical of the Perverted Sage.
And, on those occasions, his gaze was always fixed in the direction of the Hokage Residence.
Once or twice would be nothing, but Naruto wasn't that dumb. After noticing it a few times, in different places, he connected the dots.
"Idiot!" Sasuke cursed again, thought for a while, and then whispered: "Look at the platform."
Naruto looked at it and said: "There's Funan-aniki and the Kage from the other villages. Wow, they look so cool. One day I'll sit there as Hokage."
Sasuke looked at him speechlessly, and said helplessly: "Don't you remember that recently the other four villages were at war with Konoha?"
"This..." Naruto was stunned, and then shouted: "Do you think they'll start another fight during the exam? Then how are we supposed to become chunin?"
Sasuke sighed deeply.
Naruto quickly came back to his senses and said nervously: "Yes, why is Funan-aniki with those people, and there are no guards around him, where is Kakashi-sensei? He must be told quickly."
"No need!" Sasuke shook his head and said: "What you can think of, can't other people in Konoha think of it."
Sasuke sighed again. If something were to happen, what could he do?
Naruto clenched his fists as he looked at the platform.
"Sasuke, don't worry, I will protect everything in Konoha, and I will never give up."
Sasuke looked at Naruto.
At this moment, he suddenly felt that the other party was very dazzling.
There was no hesitation, only a heart to move forward courageously.
"What an idiot!"
"You are the idiot, bastard Sasuke!" Naruto turned his head and shouted angrily.
Sasuke shook his head and stopped looking at him.
They didn't notice that not far from them, Shikamaru looked at them silently with his eyelids drooping, with a complex look in his eyes.
[Swish!]
A person appeared in the center of the venue.
It was Gekko Hayate, who still seemed to be on the verge of death.
He looked at the Kage, who nodded. Then he turned his gaze to the participants.
...
Not far from Konoha, several figures gathered in the darkness, looking at the village with sadistic and bloodthirsty smiles.
"What a beautiful village. It's a shame it's about to be destroyed."
"How are the preparations?"
"I've been ready for a long time, I can't wait!" One of the figures let out a high-pitched laugh. "I want to plunge my kunai into the bodies of those Konoha shinobi and twist them to my heart's content."
"You will have a chance."
...
"Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyuga Neji!"
The order of battles was as in the original timeline.
The difference is that this time, Naruto did not use the power of the Nine-Tails, but defeated Hyuga Neji with his own strength.
From the platform, the Kage watched the fight with interest.
"The Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki?" The Raikage said in a muffled voice: "He has such strength at such a young age."
Funan smiled and said: "The son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina can't be a fool."
The other Kage all smiled and said nothing.
Funan said meaningfully: "Do you think it still makes sense for this chunin exam to continue?"
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Chakra gathered in an instant, suffocating people.
After a long silence, Mei smiled and replied, "Of course. I am intrigued by the power of the Uchiha clan. The next fight is between your son, Kazekage, and the heir of the Uchiha clan, right?"
"That's right." Rasa replied without raising his head. "Gaara is not only my son; he is also the Jinchuriki of One-Tail."
Mei smiled slightly, staring at the venue with bright eyes, and said, "In this case, I'm even more interested."
Seeing this, Funan smiled and said, "Okay, continue!"
The tension on the platform eased, but the atmosphere remained charged, as if a storm were about to break out.
...
Sasuke stared coldly at the boy in front of him.
Gaara!
This boy was said to have become the Hokage's disciple due to the special relationship between Sunagakure and Konoha.
In Sasuke's mind, there was no room to consider the guy in front of him as one of his own.
Defeat him!
With determination and efficiency, prove to everyone that the Hokage was wrong.
Who didn't dream of being Funan's disciple?
However, he had chosen someone from another village and had not yet taken on a second disciple. This had caused discontent among many of Konoha's shinobi.
When this confrontation was confirmed, several approached Sasuke with a single request: to teach Gaara a lesson.
...
Gaara frowned as he looked at Sasuke. He didn't understand where so much resentment came from.
But he was not someone easily intimidated.
Why should he endure this disdain for no reason? Did this boy from Konoha really think he had no character?
On the contrary, Gaara's character was anything but docile.
The endless sand began to spread out.
Temari and Kankuro were a little puzzled.
What's going on? Weren't they supposed to hold back a little even when fighting seriously?
After all, since Gaara was the Hokage's disciple, it would be inappropriate for him to humiliate someone from Konoha in front of him.
However, what was happening didn't seem like a simple friendly confrontation. Both Gaara and that Uchiha boy were completely serious, their gazes said it all: they were ready to defeat the other without mercy.
Their movements were deadly and ruthless.
"Trouble..." Temari whispered softly.
"Yeah." Kankuro also had a headache and said, "Didn't Gaara agree?"
"He just broke his promise, so what?" Temari sneered, "You still dare to trouble him, believe it or not, he will send you to the hospital and let you take a few months off."
Kankuro: "..."
"Alas!" Temari sighed, looked at the platform worriedly, and murmured, "Compared to this, I am more worried..."
"What are you more worried about?"
"No... nothing important."
"Don't keep things to yourself. You can tell me, right?" Kankuro frowned, feeling offended. Unlike Naruto and the other genin, he was already almost sixteen and was about to come of age. What reason was there for his sister to hide anything from him?
After a brief hesitation, Temari whispered, "Actually..."
...
Meanwhile, Sasuke and Gaara exchanged attacks with increasing intensity.
Within seconds, they had already exchanged dozens of blows, leaving Hayate, the referee, completely baffled.
These two seem to be stronger than him!
'If I had known earlier, I would have let Kakashi be the referee.'
Both fighters already possessed the power of a jonin, and as they fought with all their strength, their techniques and their immense chakra left all the spectators stunned.
How is it possible that they are only twelve years old?
Even the Kage on the platform couldn't help but widen their eyes in surprise.
Mei said meaningfully: "Kazekage, you have a successor."
Rasa said lightly: "After all, he is the Hokage's disciple. Such a performance is only natural."
Funan looked at Rasa curiously. Something about his words seemed strange to him.
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