Chapter 272: Status Has Risen Again
Naruto didn't stay in Konoha for long.
As soon as the hidden injuries in his hand were healed, Jiraiya took him away from Konoha.
In total, he had only stayed for a little over a week.
Tsunade had thoughtfully given Sasuke and Kakashi a few days off, so that Team 7 could be reunited for a few days. The three students of Team 7 had all changed a lot. Their strength was advancing by leaps and bounds, and their appearances had also gradually shed the childishness of the old Team 7.
What hadn't changed was the bond between them.
As long as they stood together, they would feel a sense of warmth.
After Naruto left, Kakashi and Sasuke's vacation also came to an end.
"Hn... after a few days off, I feel like my bones have gone lazy!" Standing at the Konoha gate, Kakashi said lazily, his dead-fish eyes drooping as he looked at the mission brief.
"You're the only one who's like that, Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke said, checking the equipment on his body while complaining. "Today's mission, let's finish it quickly. The rest of the time, I'm going to train!"
A drop of cold sweat trickled down Kakashi's face.
How come Sasuke's style of speaking is getting a bit like Gai's... He's too motivated!
He must have been provoked by Naruto and Sakura, right? He glanced at Sasuke.
The black-haired youth, as if reading his mind, looked back, as if he knew what he was thinking. "Sakura is getting stronger and stronger, and Naruto is following closely behind. I can't relax my pace!"
"Alright, alright," Kakashi waved his hand, his dead-fish eyes suddenly becoming bright and full of spirit. "Then I'll show a little motivation too!"
Hn... Sasuke is also catching up from behind. I can't be surpassed by him so quickly!
He turned his head and waved at his two buddies, Izumo and Kotetsu, who were guarding the gate. Then, with two swishes, the two of them disappeared from the gate.
Haruno Sakura's rest time was a bit longer.
Sakura's injuries were similar to Naruto's; both had damaged meridians. However, Naruto's were hidden injuries accumulated over half a year, while hers was a new injury.
By the time Naruto left, it was already close to the end of June.
Her injuries had already healed by then. The official Chunin Exams were in early July. Sakura had to accompany Tsunade to the Sand Village as the Hokage's guard, so Tsunade simply let her continue her vacation for these few days.
In any case, after instantly killing Deidara and holding her own against Sasori of the Red Sand, Sakura's strength had been firmly established as being at the "quasi-Kage" level or above, or even at the "Kage" level. It was no longer appropriate to order her around like an ordinary ninja.
When this battle record had been sent back to Konoha, almost more than half of the Jonin had their jaws drop—if they had been wearing glasses, they would have shattered.
However, the girl herself was a little sheepish. Because she had once again emptied a tube of blue that she had saved up for several months. The her of now, if she were to fight Sasori again, would probably not be able to last long before she had no chakra to use. She was barely at the "quasi-Kage" level, and not as mystical as they had been saying—something about one-against-two, instantly killing Deidara, and suppressing Sasori of the Red Sand so much he couldn't even lift his head...
In short, her strength fluctuated with the reserves of her Yin Seal, from Kage to quasi-Kage...
This fluctuation in strength was also a bit too large.
Haruno Sakura, who had temporarily dropped to the "quasi-Kage" level, now, when she walked on the street, people would already nod and bow to her, or smile in greeting. Even the Jonin didn't dare to put on airs in front of her.
It seemed that her status had suddenly become much higher.
This was how it was in the ninja world, where strength was respected. The strong would naturally be respected.
Sakura was a little unaccustomed to this feeling.
Sometimes, a ninja she didn't know at all, or at most was only vaguely familiar with, would suddenly greet her: "Good afternoon, Haruno Sakura!" or "Miss Haruno Sakura." As for "Sakura-chan," apart from a few acquaintances, no one dared to call her that anymore.
"Uh, uh, good afternoon, haha." At this time, she would have to quickly put on a standard bright smile, as beautiful as a flower, and return the greeting to a stranger whose name she couldn't even call out. Otherwise, she would be considered arrogant and even disdainful.
"Fortunately, no one has called me 'Lady Sakura' or 'Lady Haruno Sakura' yet."
She secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to be held in such high esteem at such a young age. Those two titles were, for the time being, still the patent of the Slug Sage's clone—the small slug.
Sakura's personality, in a non-combat state, was quite easygoing. As a result, she was a little impatient with this kind of thing. Nine out of ten ninja on the road would greet her, and she had to respond to each and every one of them. She felt that her face was getting stiff from smiling.
Fortunately, this trend was only a little intense when the news had just spread. It had quickly subsided—although, from time to time, a stranger would still greet her.
Time entered July.
July 1st. In the morning, at the first light of dawn, the morning clouds stretched for miles.
"Hn... my body has completely returned to normal."
Haruno Sakura squeezed a blue ball in her hand. Under the calm-as-water surface, a dense flow of chakra was spinning wildly inside the Rasengan. Under her perception, the meridians in her whole body were unobstructed, and the faint feeling of pain had completely disappeared. The girl looked at the chakra ball in her palm and smiled faintly!
She dispersed the astonishingly powerful ninjutsu in her hand.
She took off her pajamas and pulled out her Anbu uniform.
"Perfect!" After admiring herself in the mirror for a while, amid her mother's roar of "Aren't you leaving yet!" from downstairs, Sakura put on her uniform, tidied herself up, and climbed out of the balcony.
She put on the long-unseen cat-face mask and went to the Hokage's office.
Before long, everyone had arrived. Tsunade didn't say much. After a few simple instructions, they all left with a Body Flicker.
The Hokage's departure did not have a large entourage: Tsunade had only brought three elite Anbu squads, all of which were two-person squads.
One team was in the front to scout the path, and one team was at the back to cover their rear.
Sakura and Shino were on the left and right, by Tsunade's side.
Haruno Sakura, along with the other Anbu, had patrolled and confirmed the safety of a route a few weeks ago. This time, they followed the cleared path and rushed all the way. They didn't run into any trouble on the road, and on the evening of the 3rd, they smoothly arrived at the entrance of the Sand Village.
The high-ranking officials of the Sand, who had received the news, were already waiting for them at the "First Line Sky" entrance of the Sand Village.
"Welcome to the Sand Village." The one standing at the very front was Baki, who was wearing a conical hat and a face veil. This ninja, who in Sakura's impression had always had a gloomy face and a sharp gaze, was now putting on a polite, somewhat stiff smile as he shook hands with Tsunade.
Before a new Kazekage was elected, he would have to temporarily act as the leader of the Sand for a period of time.
Haruno Sakura secretly glanced at him a few times. From the smile on his face, she could tell that Baki was really not used to this identity.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the group from Konoha was led by the Sand-nin into the prepared rest area.
From the moment she stepped into the Sand Village, Sakura had raised her guard.
Although everything looked normal, the possibility that the Sand-nin had other intentions had not been ruled out.
The Sand side did not arrange any other activities. The group, as guests, did as their hosts bid, and went to bed early. Sakura and Shino took turns on duty, and the night passed peacefully.
The next morning.
The first written test of the Chunin Exams had already ended. The second round was the one suitable for viewing.
The Konoha group was welcomed to the side of the second exam's venue, next to the Sand Village.
It was a huge canyon. Below the valley was a lush oasis, with a small river running through it. The towering rock walls were as vertical as if they had been cut by an axe, forming a natural wall.
Above the valley was a flat, barren plateau. The viewing platform was on a raised platform on the plateau.
Tsunade and Baki sat down in the main seats. Sakura and Shino stood on either side, behind Tsunade.
While Baki and Tsunade were exchanging meaningless pleasantries, Sakura glanced at the deep valley below her feet. She roughly understood what the second exam arranged by the Sand was all about. This place was probably about the same as Konoha's Forest of Death.
After a few sentences of official talk, Baki paused for a moment—Haruno Sakura suspected that he had forgotten his lines—and then decisively got to the main point.
"The second exam we've arranged, the format is similar to the one held in your village last year," he said. When it came to official business, his speech became much smoother, and a faint smile of pride appeared on his face. "But we've added the characteristics of the Sand, and the content is much richer."
He explained in detail.
In fact, it was nothing more than changing from snatching scrolls from each other to collecting and snatching resources in the deep valley.
The Chunin Exams, no matter how they changed, always tested three things, which occupied the main part:
Teamwork.
Individual strength.
And the basic qualities of a ninja.
It was just that the form of the test would constantly change according to the situation each year. And it didn't necessarily have to be a major change.
Last year, the first round had used a written test to assess the candidates' basic qualities. This year, the Sand's first round was also a written test, which was not a big problem. The difference was that in the Konoha exam, Morino Ibiki had added the element of mental pressure, but as for what the Sand-nin had added this time, Sakura was not very clear.
Their second exam was also a test of teamwork, including combat, reconnaissance, search, wilderness travel, and survival. The meticulously designed exam questions could fully assess the Genin's abilities. Sakura had to admit that the Sand-nin had put a lot of thought into this exam. Although it was still the same core, the specific aspects were much more comprehensive than Konoha's exam last year.
The Sand-nin had also ingeniously planted many traps and poisons with the characteristics of the Land of Wind, guaranteeing that the candidates would be full of excitement and surprises.
And as if to prove it, while Baki was still endlessly introducing to Tsunade how many insidious traps they had set, a cloud of purple smoke suddenly rose up from the valley below.
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