Thinking about this…
Everyone had a look of "What the hell?!" on their faces.
Young Obito: "He definitely wasn't watching us! He doesn't even know about this!!"
Itachi Uchiha: "...."
Minato Namikaze: "....."
Adult Kakashi: "..."
This genius is driving me crazy.
Sakura: "What do we do?!"
Naruto: "In the past, when we time-traveled to other parallel worlds, it was always to resolve that world's regrets. But now, the masked guy shows up, and not only did he fail to resolve anything, he ended up killing people!!"
"Calm down, calm down. Panicking won't help." Adult Kakashi pressed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
"Kakashi-sensei, can you show a little urgency?!" Sakura joined in the panic.
Adult Kakashi shrugged helplessly. "But panicking won't change anything."
The chaotic situation had him itching to read a book just to calm his nerves.
Even Minato Namikaze looked grim this time. "Looking on the bright side, we can only hope that a future A-rank mission will take us back to that exact point in time…"
Itachi cut straight to the point: "But what are the odds of that happening...?"
Maybe one percent of one percent?
"..."
Silence fell over the group.
Afterward, Team Minato attempted to contact the masked man through various means, but all efforts went unanswered.
Three days later, the third round of the Chūnin Exams—the final martial arts match—commenced.
Surprisingly, only Gaara and his Sunagakure ninja had passed the second round. The rest were all Konoha ninjas, and every single one was a rookie taking the exams for the first time, just like Naruto and the others?!
Seeing Gaara again after some time, his transformation was striking. First, the bloodthirsty aura had vanished from him. Second, the dark circles under his eyes seemed to have faded somewhat. He was also much more courteous toward his teammates, Temari and Kankurō.
When he saw Naruto, he even nodded proactively in greeting.
This made Naruto pause for a moment, though true to his nature, he immediately flashed a huge grin.
The Kazekage and Hokage took their places.
What truly lifted Konoha's spirits was seeing Jiraiya and Tsunade—both long absent from the village—now standing beside the Hokage and Kazekage. Having these two as the Hokage's protectors brought a profound sense of reassurance.
Since the third exam itself involved relatively few participants, the Daimyō from each nation also arrived early at the viewing stands.
Minato Namikaze, Obito Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Rin Nohara, and Mitsuki had their seats arranged near the Daimyō, ensuring that if any unexpected events occurred, they could help protect the Daimyō and Konoha right away.
The group of Genin, with thousands of spectators watching, stood ready as the names for the matchups were drawn.
"First match—"
"Tenten VS Sakura Haruno."
"!!"
Naruto and the others froze. The first match was Sakura?
Sasuke: "Not many made it this far. Some dropped out during the meetings these past two weeks. Only fifteen competitors remain. Either way, the three of us will likely be in the early rounds."
"Second match—"
"Naruto Uzumaki VS Kiba Inuzuka."
Kiba: "...."
People nearby turned to look at Kiba Inuzuka, their eyes filled with anticipation for his match against Naruto.
Well, to be honest, the looks were mostly filled with schadenfreude.
Kiba stared at Akamaru on his head, a bitter expression on his face.
"If this had been before, hearing I'd drawn Naruto, I would've been super confident, saying I'd definitely beat that guy who's dead last in the entire grade."
Hinata quietly tapped her fingers: "Go, Inuzuka."
"Hinata..." Kiba was speechless. "If you weren't glancing Naruto's way, I might believe you meant it."
Shino Aburame: "Just forfeit if you can't handle it. And if you ask why..." He pushed his small sunglasses up. "Life comes first."
Hinata protested softly, "Even if Naruto's gotten stronger, he wouldn't really hurt Kiba. It's just..." Kiba's odds were admittedly a tad low.
"Round Three—"
"Neji Hyūga VS Hinata Hyūga."
Obito, Kakashi, and Rin, seated in the stands, watched the arena's large screen with excitement.
Rin: "They're Might Guy and Kurenai's students!"
"A clan showdown in the very first match?" Obito slumped lazily in his chair. His past experiences left him still harboring some resentment toward Might Guy. "I'll bet the mission reward for a D-rank mission—Hyūga Hinata from Team Kurenai wins!"
Kakashi shot him a glance. "Betting blind without knowing the situation? On Konoha's D-rank mission reward or the mission scroll's D-rank reward?"
Seeing his eager expression, Rin couldn't help but stifle a laugh.
Obito shrieked, "Of course Konoha's D-rank fee! D-rank missions on scrolls are rarer than A-ranks—I don't have that much mission fee to gamble!!"
"Fine, then I'll bet on Neji Hyūga to win."
Both turned to look at Rin Nohara.
Rin didn't want to bet against them. "I'm guessing Sakura will win?"
"Neji Hyūga and Tenten are in the same class, one year above Naruto and the others," Kakashi explained.
Obito: "But Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura shouldn't lose to them."
"Yeah." All three were confident about that.
"Fourth Match—"
"Temari VS Choji Akimichi."
Shikamaru glanced at the three siblings over there, then looked at Choji beside him, still munching on potato chips.
"Good luck. That woman's tough to handle." He looked lazily up at the clouds. "Women are the most troublesome. Hope they don't pair me up with a woman."
"Fifth Match—"
"Sasuke Uchiha VS Rock Lee."
Sasuke against that thick-browed guy?!
Naruto and Sakura turned to look at the watermelon-headed kid standing beside Neji Hyūga.
"That guy's pretty strong, dattebayo!" Naruto said.
Sasuke: "And last time we met, he didn't even use his hidden trump card."
Sakura nodded, "That's true."
While they discussed, Team Might Guy was also talking about Sasuke Uchiha.
Neji: "Be careful, Lee."
Tenten: "Yeah, that Sasuke Uchiha won't be easy to deal with."
"Sakura-san is also very strong. You should be careful too, Tenten." Rock Lee had seen Sakura fight against the Sound Ninjas.
"As Sakura-san's admirer, I'm happy she's so powerful. But as your opponent this time, Tenten…"
"Yeah, I know."
"Match Six—"
"Gaara VS Kankurō"
The moment he heard the pairing, Kankurō froze.
Tsunade: "What the hell! Gaara and Kankurō right off the bat?"
"Over there…" Gaara gestured toward the Hyūga siblings. "Konoha has an internal match too."
After spending these two weeks together, Kankurō wasn't as afraid of his younger brother anymore. He rubbed his face and looked at Gaara. "Just go through the motions a little. If not, I'll forfeit."
Naruto also turned his gaze toward Gaara's group. "I thought I'd be facing Gaara…"
"You already fought him once," Sasuke said. "Either me or that thick-browed Rock Lee will advance. After that, there's at least a fifty-fifty chance I'll face Gaara."
"Fifty-fifty? You think you'll lose?" Naruto asked incredulously.
Sasuke retorted, "What are you thinking! I said there's a fifty-fifty chance I'll face Gaara, and a fifty-fifty chance I'll face you! You're such a moron!"
Realizing Sasuke was actually looking forward to fighting him, Naruto felt a little thrill inside.
"Same here. I hope we get to fight!"
Minato Namikaze sat in the stands with Obito and the others, watching Naruto and Sasuke interact. The old father felt a bit of satisfaction in his heart.
"Match Seven—"
"Ino Yamanaka VS Shino Aburame"
"Ugh—" Ino grumbled, "That bug guy!"
"Shino seems pretty strong," Chōji remarked, munching on potato chips as he watched the Aburame ninja playing with his insects.
Shikamaru: "Ino, you're at a disadvantage against him. Shino's weapon is insects. You can't use Mind Body Switch Technique on every single bug. Just do your best."
Ino nodded. "He's my worst nightmare!!"
The thought of a swarm of insects swarming toward her made Ino's scalp tingle.
"That's all."
Genma Shiranui finished announcing the matchups.
Shikamaru raised his hand: "Wait, I don't have an opponent."
Shiranui Genma replied:
"Since the numbers are odd, you're the one left over."
Shikamaru snorted in annoyance, "What do I do then?"
"Since luck is also part of strength…" Shiranui Genma's particularly slacker-like demeanor mirrored his own.
"Shikamaru Nara wins by default."
"?!?!"
Shikamaru: "Seriously?!"
Naruto stomped his feet above, "Hey! How's his luck so good?!!"
Though the crowd murmured, this was merely the preliminary round. Qualifying as a Chūnin depended on performance in the advancement matches and finals.
Seated at the highest point of the arena were the Fourth Kazekage and the Third Hokage.
Rasa glanced at Jiraiya and Tsunade behind the Third. As a long-serving Kazekage, he instantly saw the hidden intricacies at play.
"Did you receive some intelligence? Summoning the Sannin back just to guard the Hokage? Seems like overkill."
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled. "I hear Orochimaru's been restless lately. The Kazekage should stay vigilant too."
"Orochimaru is one of the Sannin too. A lot has happened in the Land of Fire these past years." Rasa nodded. "On my way here, I was ambushed by Orochimaru and a young ninja named Kimimaro. Thankfully, my future son arrived in time. Otherwise, my chances of defeating both of them simultaneously wouldn't have been even fifty-fifty."
Jiraiya: "Orochimaru's original plan was to impersonate you in Konoha while simultaneously issuing false orders to the Sunagakure ninja of the Land of the Wind. He intended for them to coordinate with the Otogakure ninja to attack Konoha from within."
Rasa nodded. He had partially suspected this himself.
In the spectator seats, Young Kakashi confirmed with Obito once more: "Nawaki, Kimimaro, Dan Katō—you've locked them all in Kamui's dimension, right?"
"Yeah, don't worry." Obito: "Minato-sensei is watching me operate it."
"Good."
Minato: "Now we just wait for Orochimaru to show up. We've got him trapped like a turtle in a jar."
…
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