Team Seven was advancing through the woods, jumping on branches—Naruto in the center, Sakura on the left, and Sasuke on the right—in a reversed V formation. They tried to catch up to Naruto when they saw him pursue the snake summoner, but in the end, Naruto just returned, dusty and exhausted, holding the two scrolls needed to complete the exam. Since then, Sakura kept peeking at him from time to time, while Sasuke tried to muffle his jealousy, their lives still very much at stake.They chose to rush to the central tower without taking a break, as the danger of encountering that weird friend of theirs still lingered.
Inside the inner sanctuary, Ellias Marrow studied the aftermath of the intense battle. Naruto's bones were riddled with thousands of microfractures due to the intensive use of Gessō Garu. Its reason to be was now beginning to manifest results—while keeping Naruto alive and boosting his fighting power, it was steadily wearing out his body.The Fox-Artist noticed that each time his host got hurt, his organism sped up recovery, and when the body sustained too much stress, its activity increased as well—but at a cost. Uzumaki's genes were wonderful, but everything had a limit. Naruto's telomeres were taking a hard hit each time he used the Bunny Style taijutsu. At this rate, he wouldn't live past thirty, and he'd become a cripple in five or ten years. If he pushed things even further, surviving past fifteen would already be a miracle!
Elias found out he could use his chakra to restore the used and worn-out telomeres, but why would he? A fox's burrow was always temporary, and he could already use the Cosmos to restore and create organisms. The life spark inside of him was an astonishing miracle—a miracle no human was aware of yet.
And then, more and more microfractures appeared in Naruto's legs, spine, and pelvis. After a few days without action, they were a little restored, but still at a huge cost. And then his right fist cracked.
Team Seven managed to arrive at the tower on the second day and were greeted by a scroll-summoned Iruka-sensei. They were able to rest for three days, as they had to wait for the remaining teams to arrive before advancing any further. Sasuke kept training, but Naruto—usually energetic—was now much more lethargic. No one found it strange, as he was the one who had spent the most energy. Sakura was more sympathetic toward him, as the orange-haired boy kept falling asleep just a few hours after waking up.
Then, there was a meeting in the tower's hall as the second trial officially ended.
"First things first, I have to congratulate you for passing the second trial!" said Anko, energetically. "Now stay focused—Lord Hokage will present the third trial!"
"Do you know why this exam gathers ninja from all the countries within our alliance?" Asked Hiruzen, his missing arm hidden within his specially modified robes. "Is it to strengthen the bonds of friendship between our nations? To improve our ninjutsu standards? It would be naïve to think so. In truth… it is a war on a very reduced scale between the allied nations. If you consult the historical scrolls, you'll see a long, bloody chain of conflicts between neighboring countries, each trying to claim dominance. To avoid the cost of another war, we chose this method—to decide the victor of the conflict here. This is why the Chūnin Exams were created."
"This is bullshit! Isn't it supposed to choose the chūnin?" Yelled Naruto indignantly.
"It is indeed a sure way for us to evaluate ninjas, and I won't deny the selective nature of the trial—but before anything else, you are all here for the prestige of your countries. This is why ninja attend these trials with their lives on the line.
Multiple lords, daimyō, and other prestigious figures will attend the final stage of the exam and witness your battles and much will depend on the outcome! Mission orders will be sent to the strong, while the weaker nations will struggle to get any. The stronger countries will contend with their neighbors to gather even more power, and grab it without a second thought, while affecting the global foreign policy.
The power of a country equals the strength of its hidden village. The power of a village lies in the strength of its ninjas. And the true strength of a ninja only shows in a fight where their life is at stake! That is why they will come to watch you. That is why you must shine!
This exam has meaning only if you fight with your life on the line. Your predecessors fought to become chūnin with that dream in mind!" Said Hiruzen, a trace of satisfaction buried deep in his eyes.
Indeed, all the attendees were convinced—and just like that, they accepted the risk, ready to wager everything and shed blood.
Then, with a puff of smoke, Hayate Gekkō appeared—the examiner and referee for the trial. And that's how everyone discovered that before the third and final test, something had to be fixed: the first trials had been too easy, and too many candidates had qualified. They would now have to undergo preliminary matches.
The card-making ninja, Kabuto, gave up without a fight, while the others chose to continue.
Hinata got beaten up by her cousin. Ino and Sakura were both disqualified. Sasuke won in less than a minute. Shino blew up the arm of a Sound ninja. Kankurō murdered a masked Konoha shinobi using his puppet. Temari cheesed her way through Tenten, and Shikamaru did the same against another Sound ninja.
Naruto unilaterally beat Kiba using Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and Gessō Garu, but when he landed the final blow, his right hand broke! Still, he qualified regardless and was led by Kakashi to a medical ninja.The most striking event of the day, however, was the fight between Rock Lee and Gaara. The Jinchūriki crushed the poor fighter after toying with him the entire time—giving the illusion he was struggling, when in truth, he wasn't.
Enjoying the steady decay of his host's health, Elias noticed something unusual. Gaara possessed inside him a core similar to his own—the core of the sealed One-Tailed Bijū, Ichibi… or as the former persona of the Nine-Tailed demon knew him: Shukaku.
Our sweet and adorable fox licked his lips as he foresaw something that made him hungry: a way to escape his fate. A means to build himself in the shape he chose, not in the mold the world had chained him to! A way to defy any higher being that might have created him. A way to outrun the haunting sensation from his past life!
He saw the opportunity… to become a self-made man!