10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven
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[Uchiha Sasuke's POV]
Naruto had always been a mystery. I had made my peace with that piece of information. However, I wanted to know how he got such a terrifying killing intent. I could remember the day Zabuza took a step back upon being exposed to his killing intent. Zabuza was a veteran who had seen the worst in humanity. It makes you wonder how terrifying you have to be to frighten him.
I looked around the hall and saw a lot of shocked faces. Some of them were so terrified that they fell on their butt. The siblings from Suna looked relatively fine. The girl and the guy with a clown face were sweating, but they were faring well. The red-haired kid, Gaara, looked unperturbed, but he was glaring intensely at Naruto. In short, Naruto got everything under control.
Bam!
"Gosh, I'm glad we made it in time!"
Another team entered the room, attracting everyone's attention. I didn't need to look to figure out which team it was.
"Huh? Why is everyone so quiet?" Ino looked around in confusion before her eyes lit up as they landed on Naruto. "Ah, Naruto-kun! I know you are going to be here."
She scooted over, leaving her teammates behind. Naruto looked tired. He looked the same at a glance, but those who had spent enough time around him could tell he was not that excited to meet the energetic blonde. A smirk crept up my face. It was always good to see him suffer because of a girl.
"Yahoo! We made it! Thanks, Hinata. If it wasn't for your Byakugan, we wouldn't make it in time!" Kiba's team entered the room, adding to the rowdiness. "Ah, Naruto! I knew you guys would be here too!"
"Hello, Naruto-san, Sasuke-san, and Sakura-san," Shino greeted us politely with his flat tone.
"H- Hello, Naruto-kun," Hinata muttered with a red face.
"Well, hello…"
Naruto's response was noncommittal. I could understand him. I wouldn't be too enthusiastic if I had a girl hanging on my back. Given how he valued his personal space, it was quite surprising that he hadn't swatted Ino away.
"I think you guys should be quiet," an elder Konoha Genin with grey hair warned as he approached us. "You are irritating the other Shinobi," he gestured at the foreign Shinobi looking at us.
"Are they?" Naruto asked nonchalantly, causing the older Genin to stiffen.
"Well, keeping quiet is just common courtesy," the older Genin explained while fixing his glasses.
"Sure," Naruto shrugged. Turning to us, he said, "You guys have your fun. I will be talking to the Suna team."
Shrugging Ino off, he walked to where the Suna Genin were standing. Ino seemed irritated but didn't chase after him. Only Naruto could nonchalantly walk into such a hostile area. A cough turned our attention back to the older Genin who had reprimanded us earlier. For some reason, he seemed relieved.
"Anyway, do you know what is the strongest weapon Ninja can have?" he asked with shining eyes.
"Information," I answered simply.
"Correct! You must be Uchiha Sasuke. Nice to meet you. My name is Yakushi Kabuto."
I looked at the offered hand and then shook it briefly. Something about this guy was off.
"Kuhum! Anyway, as an experienced Genin, I am here to share some information with you my fellow Genin."
"Experienced? You are talking as if this is not your first time participating in Chūnin Exam," Sakura remarked.
"Correct! This is my seventh time!" he proudly exclaimed.
"That is not something you should be proud about," Ino said in bafflement.
"Hahaha! Anyway, look at these!"
He took out a bunch of blank cards and showed them to us. I initially thought he was messing with us, but when he channeled his Chakra into the cards, my interest was piqued. An image appeared on the card along with some details. The image belonged to the red-haired Suna Genin, Gaara.
"Gaara of The Desert. He is the most dangerous Genin in the exam," Kabuto said solemnly. "He has 1 A-Rank Missions under his belt, 3 B-Rank Missions, and a bunch of C-Rank Missions. The rumor has it he has never been touched and always does his Missions alone."
"That's crazy…" Ino remarked as she glanced at Gaara who was quietly observing Naruto while he was talking to the Suna Kunoichi. "How can he be so strong?"
"Well, he has a very good control over sand. His defense is said to be impenetrable."
"Do you have information about Uzumaki Naruto?" I asked curiously.
"Oh, your teammate? He is very famous among the Jōnin, but I am not sure if the information I have on him is everything."
Interesting.
"Anyway, here you go. Uzumaki Naruto. Intelligence: 5. Strength: 3.5. Speed: 3.8. Stamina: 4. He is said to be well-versed in Ninjutsu, a master at Taijutsu and Bukijutsu. His ability is reflected in his record. He has 2 A-Rank Missions under his belt, 3 B-Rank Missions, 12 C-Rank Missions, and a lot of D-Rank Missions."
"That seems to be up to date," I remarked.
"Eh, not really." Kabuto waved his hand before whispering conspiratorially, "He has done a lot of independent missions. No one knows the rank of the missions he took."
"I am sure it is just D-Rank Missions," I said with a quirked eyebrow.
"I heard rumors saying that the Hokage personally gave him the missions."
I frowned lightly, suddenly recalling the time when Naruto excused himself from training. Kakashi didn't say anything about it. I had thought that he let Naruto off the hook because of his capability, but given Kabuto's information, there was a high chance that it was because he was off to do a mission. I knew I shouldn't just trust rumors, but it made too much sense.
"Do you have any information about the villages participating in the exam?" Shikamaru asked, pulling me out of my musing. "I see some new villages here."
"Well, I have information about the recently established Otogakure, but you don't have to worry about them. It is a minor village, after all."
Kabuto's casual disregard for the mentioned village caused three Genin to look his way with hostility. My reflex was triggered the moment one of the three lunged at Kabuto. I pushed him out of the way and blocked the arm the Genin swung. He was shocked that I managed to block him but quickly smirked as he glared behind me.
"Gahak!"
Kabuto keeled over as if he had been hit. I furrowed my brows in confusion. I was sure the guy didn't hit Kabuto. As I wondered what the Oto Genin had done, he opened his mouth.
"Don't you dare cast us, Otogakure, aside! We may be a small village, but we will crush every one of you here. Carve it in your mind. Otogakure will stand on top! Not even Konoha, the so-called strongest village could stop us."
The guy reminded me of the annoying persona Naruto had assumed during the academy days to hide his ability. I scowled and kicked the guy in the stomach. He took a few steps back while clutching his stomach. When he stopped moving, he glared at me hatefully. His two teammates stepped in front of him, ready to attack me.
I was about to make a move when I felt a hand on my shoulder. The Oto Genin also stomped their urge at the appearance of the person beside me.
"The proctor is here, Sasuke. Let's not make a scene."
"Tsk. I know."
The proctor entered the room a few seconds later. The Oto Genin kept their glare on us but eventually moved to the corner of the room wordlessly.
***
[Uzumaki Naruto's POV]
I leaned on my seat as Ibiki explained the rules of the written exam. Looking around the room, I found some Genin who remained calm. I doubted they already knew the purpose of the exam, so they must have planned to cheat from the very beginning. My teammates remained unfazed as they saw the question sheet. They were nerds, so they could answer the questions even without cheating.
I believed I could also answer the questions, but I didn't bother to open the question sheet. First of all, I was already a Chūnin. Second of all, I knew the question paper was just a gimmick. So, to kill time, I meditated. I had the Chakra Control Seal to help me control my Chakra, but it wouldn't hurt to improve my natural Chakra control.
"For those of you who are not sure if you are going to pass the exam, you may exit the room. Stay if you are sure, but remember that you can never be a Chūnin if you fail."
Before I knew it, Ibiki had finished his anti-pep talk. I opened my eyes and coincidentally met his gaze. He had an acknowledging look and I immediately concluded that he knew my real rank. Sarutobi seemed to have announced it to other Jōnin. I guessed it was only proper since I was about to reveal my real rank.
"Now, for those who stay… congratulations! You pass to the next stage of the exam!"
"Yahoo! I told you not to be discouraged!"
Almost half of the class passed. I guessed Kiba's pep talk worked as well as the original Naruto's.