Chapter 108: Before The War
The emergence of Orochimaru, not at all, brought too much impact. Sarutobi Hiruzen still has no plans to terminate the Chunin Exams but simply doubles his vigilance.
And after Orochimaru left the Forest of Death, Hinata, Sasuke, and Sai also passed the second stage exam without any problems.
Along with the others, they successively arrived at the Central Tower of the Forest of Death.
....
The third stage of the battle against spar officially began.
With the emergence of the butterfly effect Li Yaoxiang in this life, there have been no small changes to the entire exam.
First of all, the most impressive thing is, of course, Haruno Sakura.
In the original work, until this point in time, Kakashi, the instructor, had taught Naruto, Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura hadn't taught any Ninjutsu or Taijutsu except for stepping on water and climbing trees. --I don't know if it was because of Konoha's advice at Kakashi; that's why he was a real novice tutor, not good at teaching.
Naruto of this life did not stay in Konoha to graduate, and Li Yaoxiang did not have the opportunity to check through the crystal ball. However, whether Kakashi is entrusted or not, it is an indisputable fact that he wasted Haruno Sakura's innate talent.
Haruno Sakura in this life is very different!
She took the place of Hinata and joined Inuzuka Kiba and Class 8 of Aburame Shino.
Kurenai Yuhi became her mentor.
In addition to teaching her a lot of Genjutsu, Kurenai even taught her a lot of the Medical-Ninjutsu. This led to the fact that Ino, who was supposed to be comparable to Haruno Sakura, would lose to Haruno Sakura in this life.
The only constant is, Haruno Sakura's affectionate target is still Sasuke.
She didn't contact Sasuke pretentiously, but Sasuke was just like the original work; he didn't care for her.
~
Secondly, it was the battle between Rock Lee and Gaara.
Unlike original work, Gaara was not beaten by Rock Lee, who opened the four doors in embarrassment. Naruto's influence on him is not just a personality change, and there are also many changes in strength.
A few years ago, Naruto had already cracked his Absolute Defense with speed. He sees Naruto as a competitive opponent, so how could he not strengthen his own shortcomings?
This led Rock Lee in this life to lose very thoroughly.
However, due to the change of Gaara's character, Rock Lee in this life did not leave with severe injury as the original work. It's just that he couldn't succeed in playing handsome in front of Haruno Sakura, causing him to be depressed for a while.
~
Then there is the battle between Hinata and Hyuga Neji.
Not surprisingly, Hinata, who Naruto greatly influenced, won this victory.
Also, because of the outstanding performance of Hinata in this life, Hyuga Neji not at all despised this Main House Eldest Young Lady. However, he still had the resentment buried in his heart.
That's all.
The preliminary selection of the third stage exam has officially ended, and the official selection will begin in 1 month.
...
After the exam of the third stage, Naruto has been suppressing the urge to meet Hinata and Sasuke, and suddenly, Sarutobi Hiruzen sent an Anbu on the morning of the 3rd day summoning Naruto to Hokage Residence.
Naruto didn't refuse because he had nothing to do.
There was no rejection.
Naruto didn't expect that he would see a scene that made him very happy when he stepped into the Hokage room!
Sasuke and Hinata were also in the Hokage room!
As soon as Sarutobi Hiruzen saw the arrival of Naruto, he laughed and said to Hinata and Sasuke: "Hahaha, hey, the acquaintance you want to meet is here."
It is different from Sarutobi Hiruzen's fake expression; Sasuke was full of provocative looks at this masked guy while Hinata was stunned for a moment and then quickly recovered her indifferent expression.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up from his seat at this time, walked to Naruto's side, walked over Naruto's shoulder, walked him to Hinata and Sasuke, and said, "Who is it I wonder? Who is it? Could it be Akatsuki...?"
Naruto didn't care what the old fogey said next to him; when he saw Hinata and Sasuke, he was really excited.
What is suppressed is not suppressed.
'Don't care!'
'I haven't seen you guys for so long!'
Naruto's hand slowly reached the mask.
He immediately took it off!
'Oh! Oh!'
'Surprised?'
'Not surprised?'
'Hehehe!'
Sasuke was dumbfounded for a moment, "So, it turns out to be you... no wonder strength is so strong. How, Naruto, in the past few years, your training must not have stopped? I tell you, if you didn't become that big fox, you might not be my opponent."
Sasuke is still Sasuke.
As always, he refused to accept defeat, and he treated Naruto as an opponent and wanted to defeat him.
Naruto didn't see the overjoyed expression in his imagination and was slightly confused, but Naruto still responded very quickly: "Of course I don't fall behind! There will definitely be opportunities for you to see and see in the future!"
Finished.
Naruto turned his attention to Hinata.
But when Naruto saw the appearance of Hinata expressionless, his face collapsed instantly, and his mood fell. However, he still barely squeezed out two words: "Hinata..."
"Welcome back." Hinata nodded, then said to Sarutobi Hiruzen aside, "Hokage, if there is nothing important, then I will say goodbye."
"Well, go." Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed calm on the surface but actually observed Hinata's every move.
It didn't take long for Hinata to cross Naruto.
It was Sasuke's turn to put his hands in his trouser pockets again. When passing by, he did not forget to say provocatively: "I hope you will not let me down."
.....
In the Hokage room, only one awkward scene remained.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood beside Naruto while Naruto stood there stunned, his mind blank.
Sarutobi Hiruzen patted Naruto's shoulders: "Hahahaha, it's okay, Naruto. Maybe it's been a long time since they saw you, so this is the case. It will be better if we get along for a while."
Naruto's mind buzzed.
He did not listen to Sarutobi Hiruzen's words at all.
He took a step.
Paused.
He took a step.
Paused.
He was leaving Hokage Residence.
...
At the same time, in a hot spring shop not far from Hokage Residence.
Outside the fence of the female bathhouse, a guy with white hair and a bundle of big scrolls is squatting! This person is one of the Sannin of Konoha, Jiraiya, who has just returned!
The dull Naruto happened to pass by after leaving the Hokage Residence… But unlike the original work, Naruto cannot see anyone in his mind at the moment. He didn't find Jiraiya's existence at all, and he just passed Jiraiya in a daze.
Jiraiya, who was initially focused on 'taking materials', frowned. The afterglow of the eyes swept towards the passing Naruto, and he stopped 'collecting materials'.
A flash appeared in front of Naruto, both hands on the hip said with a smile: "Hahahahaha! Smelly Brat, do you know that you are blocking this Sir's way!"
Naruto ignored him. He just moved a little bit to the side and crossed Jiraiya again.
Jiraiya was a little embarrassed. But still not giving up.
Another flash appeared in front of Naruto: "Hey! Smelly Brat, do you know who this Sir is?"
Naruto's eyes were hollow, and he looked up towards this guy in front of him.
Naruto did not speak.
Jiraiya was stunned for a while but then quickly regained his signature posture: "This Sir is the Mount Myōboku toad elf, the Immortal Daoist, who is also known as Toad Sage—!"
Naruto's eyelids are half-open: "Is there anything you need? Can you not block my way if it is okay?"
Seeing Jiraiya not speak, Naruto crossed him again.
Jiraiya, who couldn't pretend, finally became unable to bear, rushed to Naruto's side, followed Naruto's pace, and said, "Hey, Smelly Brat. Are you called Uzumaki Naruto? I'm your father's teacher. It's not an exaggeration to call me a teacher, do you know?"
Naruto stopped and looked towards Jiraiya coldly: "What qualifications do you have for me to call you like this?"
Jiraiya was speechless. He stared at the back of Naruto leaving.
....
After a while, in the Hokage room.
Jiraiya pressed his hands against the table and made a loud 'pop' sound: "Old fogey! What the hell is going on! Why did Minato's child become like that?!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, then he showed a look of compassion to the world. He told Jiraiya about Naruto's experience and the fact that Naruto has been away from Konoha for several years.
"Damn it!" Jiraiya's face was close to Sarutobi Hiruzen again, "How can you treat Naruto like this?! He is Minato's child?!"
"Hey, our original intention was also for Naruto's good. I didn't expect Naruto to misunderstand us too deeply. For the sake of the safety of the village, we had no choice but to make this choice." Sarutobi Hiruzen has an expression he also didn't like.
Jiraiya: "What about now?! He came back to report for Konoha, and that means he still has feelings for Konoha. Why did he have that expression after he came out of Hokage Residence?"
Immediately, Sarutobi Hiruzen explained to Jiraiya the relationship between Hinata, Sasuke, Naruto, and others.
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Perhaps it was Hinata's reaction that made him sad. It's okay. It's a child's thing. They'll get along again in no time."
Jiraiya was speechless by anger.
This time, the main purpose of his return is to look for the Child of the Prophecy in the mouth of 'Great Toad Sage'!
'These old fellows make the Child of the Prophecy this way, what can I do?!'
If the old man in front of him weren't his teacher, he really would swear at him!
Knowing that it didn't help, he could only coldly snort in the end while leaving the Hokage room.
...
Time flies.
One month later.
During this month, Jiraiya was trying to get close to Naruto, but Naruto gave him the cold shoulder.
As for Naruto, he still stayed deep and simple.
Apart from sometimes going to exchange messages with Gaara and the others at night, he will stay at home most of the time.
As I said before, the reason is not to let people in Suna Village discover.
Because of this, Even if Naruto wanted to meet Hinata so much, he still tolerated it.
He kept telling himself, as soon as this matter was over, he had to ask Hinata!
Ask her why she treats him like this!
He did not believe that Hinata would forget him!
In this way, the time has come to the day of the trial. Today's meeting place was full of crowds. Compared to when Sarutobi Hiruzen announced Naruto's identity, it was even more lively.
Many Daimyo have come to the scene.
The trial competition also officially started, and at the beginning, there were some boring fights.
The Daimyos didn't pay much attention to the fights. After all, the main purpose of their visit is to see the country army... whose fist is the biggest among the next generation seedlings.
Their concern is only the battle between the most experts.
That is Uchiha Sasuke on behalf of Konoha and Gaara on behalf of Suna Village.
As for the unidentified Naruto, the guy who crushed the opponent, they would not have paid much attention. Anyway, it was just a Chunin Exam. Even if Naruto is excellent, he is just a Chunin.
Seeing this, the organizer of Konoha, of course, wouldn't let these Daimyos wait too long. They soon arranged the start of this battle.
...
At the start of the game, Gaara stood with hands on his shoulders, while Sasuke with hands in his pockets. Both sides are very confident in their strength.
Uncovering the fighting intent on the body, they were looking directly at the other side.
The two are not talkative characters.
As soon as the referee announced the start, the two immediately shot!
Gaara uses sand as usual to attack and defends, while Sasuke has been walking the entire stadium.
Having watched Gaara of Rock Lee's game, of course, he also knows that long-distance attack or ordinary Ninjutsu will not play any role in Gaara. Therefore, he simply performed a melee attack like Rock Lee!
It's just that his speed is faster than Rock Lee, who opened the fourth gate!
Seeing that every attack was about to attack Gaara, Sasuke mocked arrogantly while fighting: "The most expert of the Suna Village is the new generation, right? Is this your only strength? Ah. If you have no stronger means. That's embarrassing. I'm not interested in pestering you anymore. I also want to keep strength to deal with 'him'."
Gaara was still so cold, and his eyes kept following Sasuke's silhouette. At the same time, he didn't forget to tease Sasuke: "You are far worse than 'he'. You are not the most expert of Konoha's new generation, and I am not interested in you."
Sasuke's figure stopped.
"Do you know him?" Sasuke said.
"I heard him mention you. He said your strength is also very strong. It seems that because he hasn't come back after a long time, he was overestimating your strength." Gaara said.
Sasuke's expression!
The left hand is buzzing! The right hand is thundering!
The big names who were present at this scene craned their necks, fearing that they might miss this.
Gaara couldn't help but shrink the pupils, but he quickly restored the natural expression: "I take back the sentence just now. Your strength is very good."
Sasuke grinned: "But I still think, your strength... not great?"
Gaara's mouth twitched slightly: "Stop it. Today is not the time. I will fight you again when I have a chance."
As soon as he finished speaking, the whole meeting place was in a trance...
The audience was wide, and all were sleeping.
.....
Konoha Crush Plan, officially opened!