"This..." Sasuke hesitated, uncertain how to explain. "I remembered something important. Anyway."
Following the memory that had just surfaced in his mind, Sasuke bit his right finger and drew a line of blood across his left arm. He quickly formed hand seals and slammed his palm downward:
"Summoning Technique!"
Bang!
After a burst of smoke cleared, a middle-aged monkey with a bored expression appeared.
The creature stood about half a man's height, with a hunched posture and a gentleman's flat-top hat perched on his head. The dark brown fabric couldn't hide the dirty tea stains scattered across it.
He wore an ill-fitting, wrinkled old windbreaker that made him look rather comical.
"Well, your summoning technique was quite impressive. But this..." Naruto and Sakura struggled for words, both expressing their shock at what the Uchiha clan had produced.
"Hey, you're the one who summoned me, right?"
After spotting the Uchiha family crest on Sasuke's back, the sly monkey paused for a moment and muttered to himself: "The Uchiha clan?"
Soon enough, he returned to his weary demeanor: "Tell me, what do you want me to do?"
Hearing this, Sasuke quickly pushed past his embarrassment and explained the current Chunin Exam situation and the rules of this particular test.
While listening, the monkey produced a small pipe and began smoking.
Watching the exchange between man and monkey, Naruto leaned close to Sakura's ear and whispered mischievously:
"Think Sasuke got brain damage from Orochimaru?"
Sakura didn't reply, her face equally dark with concern.
After a while, the monkey grasped the situation and nodded: "Then, leave it to me!"
With that, the cunning monkey formed hand seals and transformed into Naruto.
"Ah?! Why did you turn into me?!"
Naruto exclaimed in surprise, bending down dramatically to point at his doppelganger.
"Ah?! Why did you turn into me?!"
The monkey repeated Naruto's words, mimicking his movements perfectly.
"What are you doing? Stop copying me!"
Naruto waved his hands frantically, looking ready to fall backward.
"What are you doing? Stop copying me!"
The fake Naruto copied him flawlessly again.
"Sasuke!"
Naruto shouted in fury.
"Sasuke!"
After the fake Naruto finished mimicking, he continued, "Alright, I've got it down pretty well."
He looked up at the sky: "I haven't been out and about for quite some time. Is it autumn already?"
With several leaps, he vanished deep into the forest.
"Hey, what's that guy planning to do while pretending to be me?"
Sasuke was equally stunned and could only say: "This is the first time I've summoned him too."
"What!" Naruto protested indignantly.
---
"Senior! Save me!"
The disguised monkey, appearing as Naruto with blood covering his face, staggered toward a Konoha ninja camp.
"Stop!"
The leader, a young genin wielding a scythe, gestured for Naruto to halt where he stood.
But the fake Naruto pretended to lose his balance and fell forward, causing the scroll hidden in his shirt to tumble to the ground.
There were three of them!
"Kamano."
Another brown-haired young man's eyes suddenly gleamed as he whispered a reminder to the lead genin.
"Please, senior, I just want to hide here for a while." Naruto hurriedly gathered the scrolls back into his arms, feigning composure.
When no one responded, Naruto walked to a corner, crouched down, and tried to hide.
Silence stretched between the four ninja, each harboring their own thoughts.
Finally, the brown-haired young man approached and said, "You're one of this year's rookies, right?"
"Yes, senior, do you know me?" Naruto asked timidly.
You little demon fox, who doesn't know you?
Kyouichi Morikawa, the brown-haired young man, continued gently: "Why are they chasing you? Where are your teammates?"
"I... I took their things and got separated from my companions," Naruto replied.
Morikawa's suspicions were confirmed. Whatever he took, it was definitely stolen!
"What did you get? Let me see," Morikawa said, trying to sound casual.
Naruto lowered his head and remained silent.
"Hey! Boy! Hand it over if you know what's good for you!" Morikawa suddenly raised his voice, making Naruto flinch.
"Morikawa!" Kamano, who appeared to be the captain, scolded him.
"Hand them over now!" Morikawa showed his fierce side, his tall frame looming over Naruto.
"He's still a child!" Kamano also stood up.
"As ninja, age doesn't matter!" Morikawa shot back without turning around. "This is the opportunity heaven has given us! Don't you want to become Chunin? Doesn't your left leg still hurt?!"
In their previous battle, Kamano's left leg had been injured, making the already difficult exam even more challenging.
Hearing this, Kamano hesitated as well.
"Hand them over! I'll spare your life!" Morikawa approached Naruto with a kunai.
"I... I can trade with you, okay? Three scrolls, just exchange for one!" Naruto seemed to steel his resolve and clutched the three scrolls to his chest.
Morikawa reached out to grab them, but Naruto jumped back and declared fiercely: "Don't push me too far! No matter what, I'll fight to the death here!"
Seeing that Morikawa didn't advance further, Naruto shouted loudly: "Damn it, these three in my hands! They're all Earth Scrolls. I only need a Heaven Scroll now—give me a Heaven Scroll, and I'll leave immediately."
Naruto held them out from a distance, and Morikawa took a closer look. Sure enough, there were three identical Earth Scrolls.
Morikawa laughed bitterly: "Are you an idiot? You need a matching pair of scrolls to be useful. If I give you the Heaven Scroll, what good are multiple Earth Scrolls?"
On the other side, Morikawa was furious. This stupid demon fox kid had actually stolen three duplicate Earth Scrolls!
Damn it, the one his team possessed was also an Earth Scroll.
Morikawa's mood at that moment was like finding a stack of hundred-dollar bills on the street, only to discover they were all worthless practice notes!
"I just wanted to see what you took. We're seniors from the same village. Would we really bully a junior and steal your scroll?"
Morikawa felt deflated and spoke dismissively to Naruto.
"The people chasing you must have moved on by now. Get out! Don't stay here with us."
Morikawa despised this sneaky brat from the bottom of his heart.
Naruto turned to leave, took two steps, then stopped and turned back: "I, Naruto, am not an ungrateful guy! Since you helped me, please accept an Earth Scroll!"
Morikawa and the others found themselves amused. They hadn't expected this demon fox boy to be honorable in his own way.
At this point, Naruto approached them like a newspaper delivery boy, pulled out a scroll, and offered it to Kamano.
"No, we don't need this," Kamano declined.
"Take it, take it! Our team also has an Earth Scroll. These things are just like what senior said—if you can't pair them up, no matter how many you have, they're really useless."
"It's really not necessary. Our team also has an Earth Scroll."
"Huh? But senior just said—"
Previously, Morikawa hadn't denied having a Heaven Scroll, and during their conversation, he had seemed to hint that his team possessed one.
"Really, Anri, show this kid."
The fake Naruto's heart sank. He had assumed the scroll was with Kamano, but it turned out to be with the female ninja who had remained silent the entire time.
At that moment, the female ninja was also amused by Naruto's foolish appearance and laughed aloud. She reached into her shirt and pulled out their Earth Scroll: "Here, look."
"Oh man, it really is an Earth Scroll," Naruto complained as he moved closer to examine it. "Damn it, it's like I've stumbled into an Earth Scroll nest!"
As he spoke, he pulled out his three Earth Scrolls, creating quite the display.
Everyone was entertained by his silly behavior. The fake Naruto's eyes shifted, and he thought to himself: Now.
"BOOM!!"
A massive explosion erupted near the camp.
"They're coming!" Naruto shouted in panic, and in his frantic state, he slammed his head into the female ninja's chest.
"Hey!"
The scrolls in both their hands scattered across the ground, mixing together.
"Damn it!"
Naruto cursed angrily, grabbed one at random, and quickly fled the scene.
---