"Good morning, guys," Kakashi's lazy voice echoed through the morning air as he dropped down from the canopy, landing gracefully on the wooden railing of the bridge.
"I happened to cross paths with a beautiful white cat on my way here, so I decided to play along with it for a while," the Jonin explained, scratching the back of his neck with a completely blank expression. "But then, a black cat suddenly crossed my path as well, so... I was forced to take the long way around to avoid bad luck, and that's why—"
"Yeah, right! That is a total lie!" Naruto and Sakura instantly yelled in perfect unison, glaring at their instructor with heavily disappointed expressions.
"Ahem!" Kakashi cleared his throat loudly, entirely unfazed by their outburst as he stepped off the railing and onto the bridge. "This is a bit sudden, but... I have officially recommended the three of you for the upcoming Chūnin Selection Exams."
Reaching into his vest pocket, Kakashi pulled out three crisp, folded sheets of paper. "Here. These are your official application forms."
The trio went completely silent, their eyes locking onto the documents.
"That being said," Kakashi added, his tone shifting into a serious register, "these recommendations are strictly voluntary. You guys are entirely free to decide for yourselves whether you actually want to take the exam or not."
He tapped the papers against his palm. "Only those who truly wish to participate should sign the application form and report directly to Room 301 of the Ninja Academy at exactly 3:00 PM, five days from now. That's all."
With his explanation complete, Kakashi vanished in a swirl of leaves.
'The Chūnin Exam...' Naruto thought, staring down at his blank application sheet. A sudden, deep spark of ambition flared within his spirit. He looked over at Sasuke, who was already smirking with a dark, competitive intensity, and then at Sakura, who looked visibly nervous.
A brilliant idea struck Naruto's mind. 'I should go ask Shi Yan if he can help help them too! If he gives them even a fraction of the guidance he gave me, our team will be completely unstoppable!'
Nakamura Mansion
In the grand living room of the Nakamura castle, the other servants had quietly excused themselves the moment they sensed the atmosphere between their master and Rina.
The heavy doors clicked shut, leaving only the sound of heavy breathing and flesh colliding.
Rina was bent over the large ornate couch, her hands gripping the backrest tightly as Shi Yan stood behind her. He had hiked up her maid uniform and pulled her panties aside.
With a deep grunt, he thrust his huge cock into her tight, wet pussy from behind, pounding her relentlessly.
Pah! Pah! Pah! Pah!
"Ahh—! Master—! Too deep—!" Rina howled loudly, her voice echoing through the spacious room as her body shook with every powerful thrust.
Shi Yan's hips slammed against her ass without mercy, his thick cock stretching her completely. He reached forward, grabbing a fistful of her long brown hair and yanking her head back. He leaned over her, forcing his tongue into her mouth in a messy, dominant kiss while still fucking her hard from behind.
After several minutes of intense doggy-style pounding, he suddenly pulled out, spun her around, and lifted her into a full nelson position. Holding her legs up and folded, he impaled her tight pussy on his massive cock once again. Rina cried out as he bounced her up and down, his thick shaft driving impossibly deep with every thrust.
He then lowered her onto the couch and mounted her in missionary. Shi Yan's mouth latched onto one of her breasts, sucking hard with intense force while his hips continued slamming into her. Rina moaned and writhed beneath him, her nails digging into his back.
Finally, he sat back on the sofa. Rina, flushed and trembling, climbed on top of him in cowgirl position. She lowered herself onto his cock and began riding him, her hips moving desperately.
Just as the pleasure was reaching its peak, the door opened slightly. Another young maid peeked in, her face turning bright red at the sight.
"M-Master Shi Yan… Naruto is here to see you."
Shi Yan growled in annoyance. "Tch. Bad fucking timing."
He gripped Rina's waist tightly and started thrusting upward with renewed, brutal force, fucking her senseless.
Rina's eyes rolled back as she howled in overwhelming pleasure. With a deep, powerful groan, Shi Yan buried himself to the hilt and came hard, flooding her pussy with thick, hot cum. The intensity made Rina nearly pass out, her body going limp against him.
Still buried inside her, Shi Yan glanced at the other maid who was standing there frozen. Understanding immediately, the maid stepped forward, dropped to her knees between his legs as he pulled out of Rina, and eagerly took his cum-covered cock into her mouth. She sucked him clean with soft, obedient motions.
Shi Yan smirked, still breathing heavily.
"So you were hungry too?" he said, voice low and teasing. "Come to my room tonight. I'll show you a good time. You can bring Rina as well. The more the merrier."
He gently pushed the exhausted Rina off to the side. "Now go send Rina to her rest room and send Naruto to pavillion."
The maid nodded obediently, helping the dazed Rina up and guiding her out.
Shi Yan casually reached into his spatial ring, pulled out fresh clothes, and dressed himself with calm elegance, as if nothing had happened.
___
"Absolutely not."
The rejection was instant, flat, and entirely merciless.
Inside the luxurious courtyard pavilion of the Nakamura estate, Shi Yan reclined elegantly across a grand velvet sofa. He wore a loose-fitting, immaculate white silk robe that hung open slightly, displaying his physique. He casually plucked a plump, purple grape from a silver tray, popping it into his mouth with absolute grace, completely oozing the detached aura of an immortal.
"But Shi Yan!" Naruto pleaded, stepping closer to the couch. "They are a bit weak right now! After your help, our entire team would become unbelievably strong!"
"So what?" Shi Yan mocked, letting out a low scoff as he turned his golden eyes toward his friend. "With my advanced knowledge and specialized methods, I could literally train a common donkey to become a world-shattering beast. Does that mean I am obligated to go around helping every random animal in the village?"
He reached over, taking a slow, elegant sip from a glass of freshly pressed orange juice.
"Listen to me carefully, Naruto. I only chose to assist you because you are my best friend. I don't give a single flying fuck about that screaming, pink-haired idiot Sakura, nor do I care about that arrogant, brooding little Sasuke. Let them get thoroughly beaten into the dirt by foreign ninja; who cares? Besides... it's not like you are actually going to become a Chūnin this year either."
Naruto blinked, his chest puffing out as his pride flared. "What?! Do you honestly think I'm not strong enough to pass?!"
"Strong?" Shi Yan laughed softly, a brilliant smirk gracing his handsome face. "How could you possibly not be strong after receiving the inheritance of my Asura Overlord Demon Body Art? Physically, you can easily crush anyone in your peer group. But the reality is that you are still a complete, certified knucklehead and knuckleheads don't make Chūnin in these peaceful, bureaucratic times. That rank requires political tact and analytical maneuvering, neither of which you possess."
Naruto's face fell, his shoulders slumping in immediate, heavy disappointment. "So... I shouldn't even bother joining the exam?"
"Why on earth wouldn't you?" Shi Yan countered, his golden eyes flashing with a sudden, deeply amused anticipation. "Since when has the high probability of failure ever stopped a loudmouth like you from charging forward? Besides, this specific Chūnin Exam is bound to become incredibly interesting. Go out there and show the entire world exactly what you can do. I'll see you in the finals."
Shi Yan set his glass down, a devious smile playing on his lips. "I recently caught wind of a report that Hiruzen is actively planning to invite a massive enclave of prominent nobles and feudal lords from the capital to witness the final tournament matches this year. It is going to be quite a magnificent, spectacle... and I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Five Days Later — The Ninja Academy
The five days of preparation evaporated in a flash. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura arrived at the Ninja Academy, stepping through the main doors and quickly making their way up toward the designated third floor.
As they reached one of the upper hallways, they noticed a massive, dense crowd of foreign applicants gathered outside a classroom door. At the center of the commotion, two older, disguised Hidden Leaf Genin were violently delivering a physical beatdown to a boy dressed in a green spandex jumpsuit.
"So, are you runts seriously sure you're going to attempt the Chūnin Exam with that pathetic level of skill?" one of the gatekeepers mocked, throwing the green-suited boy across the floor.
"Maybe it would be for the best if you worthless runts just quit right now," the second man sneered, crossing his arms. "You're nothing but green-assed brats, after all."
"Please, just let us through," a young girl with brown hair tied into two neat buns buns stepped forward, her voice pleading as she tried to defuse the blockade.
"Wow, that is incredibly mean..." a random applicant muttered from the back of the crowd, shivering under the hostile atmosphere.
"Listen to me, we're actually being nice to you!" the first gatekeeper explained loudly, staring down at the crowd. "The Chūnin Exam is an incredibly high hurdle. Every single year, we have seen countless people permanently quit being ninja as well as people being completely disabled for life just because they recklessly took this exam without being prepared! Furthermore, a Chūnin operates at the absolute tactical level of a unit leader. Mission failures, the horrific deaths of your beloved subordinates... it is all part of the absolute responsibilities of a leader! Do you honestly think a fragile brat like this can handle being a Chūnin? What's so bad about us weeding out those who won't pass anyway?!"
At that exact moment, Team 7 navigated through the back of the crowd. Sasuke and Sakura prepared to step forward, but Naruto suddenly stopped dead in his tracks right at the top of the staircase.
"Hey, where on earth do you guys think you're going?" Naruto called out, his voice loud and incredibly calm. "This is only the second floor."
"What?!" The entire crowd let out a collective gasp of shock, turning around to stare at the blond boy.
Realizing their deception had been thoroughly exposed, the two disguised gatekeepers smirked. With a sudden ripple of chakra, they unraveled their illusionary Genjutsu, causing the classroom door sign to violently blur before changing back to its true designation: Room 201.
The brown-haired girl, Tenten, quickly lifted up her teammate, Rock Lee, while a tall, pale-eyed youth dressed in traditional robes began walking slowly toward Naruto.
Because Naruto had been practicing the Asura Overlord Demon Body Art, and achieved a Stage 2 Bone Forging refinement. The pure, dense spiritual composition of his body granted him resistance against all low-level illusions. The Genjutsu hadn't fooled his senses for a single second.
"Hey, you there," the pale-eyed boy spoke up, his sharp eyes locking onto Naruto's face. "What is your name?"
"Neji-san..." Lee tried to whisper from the floor, but Neji casually raised his hand to cut his teammate off, keeping his focus entirely on the rookie.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto declared smoothly.
Internally, however, Naruto was practically screaming with pure, unadulterated joy. 'Hehe! Look at that! Every single one of them is staring directly at me right now! No, stop it, Naruto... wipe that stupid grin off your face and look completely cool. Remember Shi Yan's lessons! What did he call it again? Aura harvesting? Aura planting? Well, whatever it is... my aura right now must look magnificent!'
"You are a fresh rookie, correct?" Neji asked, his voice analytical. "How old are you?"
Naruto crossed his arms, adopting a highly dignified, lofty expression that he had meticulously copied from Shi Yan. "You ask far too many questions for someone who hasn't even had the basic manners to offer his own name first. How remarkably rude."
Neji's stoic expression almost visibly twisted with irritation at the blatant disrespect. His eyes narrowed. "I am the previous year's graduation Rookie No. 1. My name is Hyuuga Neji." He stepped closer. "So... I will ask you once more: how old are you?"
A brilliant, confident smile broke across Naruto's face as he spun around, beginning to walk away toward the upper staircase alongside Sasuke and Sakura. He called out over his shoulder:
"Old enough to completely beat the previous year's Rookie No. 1."
Neji froze, a dangerous, cold aura exploding from his frame. Off to the side, Sasuke turned his head back one final time, his dark eyes locking onto Neji as he silently evaluated Neji Hyuuga.
Outside Room 301
Arriving at the true third floor, Team 7 spotted a familiar, silver-haired figure leaning lazily against the wall right beside the doors of Room 301.
"I see you have decided to come as well, Sakura," Kakashi spoke up, a soft curve visible beneath his mask. "Now, the three of you can formally register for the Chūnin Selection Exam."
Sakura blinked, thoroughly confused. "Wait... what do you mean by that, Sensei?"
"In absolute reality, from the very start of the registration process, only full three-man squads are legally permitted to apply and take these exams," Kakashi revealed, adjusting his headband. "An incomplete team can never register."
Sakura's eyes widened. "But Sensei! You explicitly told us the other day that the final decision to take the exams was entirely up to the individual's own free will!"
"Yes... I did," Kakashi shrugged.
"Were you... were you lying to us?!"
"Yes, I was," Kakashi stated plainly, turning his head to gaze out the large glass window beside him.
"I knew for a fact that Sasuke and Naruto would easily sign their forms and come here. But if you had lacked the genuine will to apply, and you had only forced yourself to come here half-heartedly because Sasuke or Naruto asked you to... it would have resulted in a total disaster on the field. You would have been participating for their sake, rather than your own."
Kakashi turned his single eye back toward them, his gaze softening with a deep, paternal pride.
"What if only Naruto and Sasuke had turned up here today? I would have stopped their examination registration right at this door. I wouldn't have felt like letting them advance a single step beyond this point. But... the three of you came here entirely on your own terms. Sakura! Naruto! And Sasuke!"
Kakashi stepped away from the door handles, waving his hand forward. "I am incredibly glad you came. You are a team that I am profoundly proud of. Now then... go on inside!"
"Heck yeah! Let's do this, guys!" Naruto announced loudly, slamming the doors open as the trio walked past their instructor and into the chamber.
CREAK.
The doors swung open, and the breath instantly caught in Sakura's throat. "W-What is with... all of this?" she whispered, her eyes shaking as she stared at the massive, packed room.
The chamber was absolutely saturated with hundreds of dangerous, foreign shinobi from various hidden villages, all of them radiating a dense, bloodthirsty pressure.
"There are so many of them..." Sakura gulped, her palms sweating. "They... every single one of them looks immensely strong."
Meanwhile, Naruto scanned the wide room, 'I so wanna fight them all.'
"Sasuke-kun! You are so incredibly late!" a high-pitched voice suddenly shattered the tension.
Before anyone could react, Ino Yamanaka came sprinting through the crowd, leaping directly onto Sasuke's back and wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. "I thought I'd finally be able to see you for the first time in ages! I was waiting around in pure excitement!"
Sasuke's face immediately darkened into a furious glare, his muscles tensing up as he tried to shake her off. Ino, however, was completely oblivious to his anger and she completely failed to notice the pink-haired girl standing right beside them, who had instantly transformed into a literal pink demon.
"Get your filthy hands completely away from Sasuke! You damn Ino-Pig!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs, a vein throbbing on her forehead.
Ino let out a mocking sigh, sliding down from Sasuke's back and resting a hand on her hip. "Oh, my, if it isn't Sakura... I see that massive billboard of a forehead of yours hasn't changed a single bit, you total ugly!"
"What did you just say to me?!"
Finding himself completely ignored amidst the girls' loud bickering, Naruto turned around, his eyes scanning the crowd for a very specific, quiet figure.
Right on cue, a familiar duo walked out from the mass of applicants.
"Are you guys seriously going to participate in this bothersome exam too?" Shikamaru Nara asked, letting out a heavy, exhausted sigh while Chouji Akimichi stood right beside him, completely occupied with loudly crunching on a bag of potato chips.
"Yo, Shikamaru! How have you been doing?" Naruto asked, grinning widely.
"Terrible... my troublesome team completely dragged me into this useless exam against my will," Shikamaru sulked, staring over at Ino, who was currently making a series of highly mocking faces at a fuming Sakura. "It's such a drag..."
"Yahoo! I finally found you guys!" Kiba Inuzuka's voice boomed across the hall as he swaggered over, flanked by his teammates Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga. Little Akamaru poked his head out from Kiba's hood, barking happily.
"My, my, looks like absolutely everybody is here," Kiba smiled, pumping his fist.
'Their team is here too... which means Hinatais also participating,' Naruto thought, his gaze immediately shifting past Kiba to lock onto the shy, bluenette girl standing at the back.
"Hinata," Naruto spoke softly, walking right past the boys to arrive directly in front of her.
Deep within his mind, he vividly recalled the conversation he had shared with Shi Yan years ago. Back then, Shi Yan had informed him about the crush Hinata harbored for him.
At first, young Naruto had been completely unable to believe that anyone could genuinely like an outcast like himself. But as the years passed, his sharpened instincts allowed him to slowly see the truth.
He appreciated the fact that she had loved him for exactly who he was, even when the rest of the village looked at him with hatred. Over time, a genuine degree of mutual affection had quietly developed within his own heart.
"Hey, Hinata," Naruto offered a warm, gentle smile. "How have you been doing?"
The moment Naruto's bright blue eyes locked onto her face from such a close distance, Hinata's entire face instantly turned a violent, explosive shade of crimson.
Her hands twiddled furiously, her breathing hitched, and within a fraction of a second—thud.
Her consciousness completely evaporated, and she collapsed flat onto the floorboards.
"Hinata!" Naruto panicked, dropping to his knees as he frantically tried to shake her shoulder. "Hinata! Open your eyes! Oy, Hinata! Wake up!"
Off to the side, Sakura walked over to Ino, pointing a finger at the frantic boy. "Hey... Ino, look over there. I think there is definitely something suspicious going on between those two."
Ino paused her bickering, her eyes widening as she watched Naruto frantically tend to the fainted Hyuuga girl. "Now that you mention it... that's highly interesting."
"This means every single one of the nine Genin rookies is officially taking the exam this year, eh!" Kiba barked out a laugh, drawing