Not long after, Kakashi handed the Chunin Exam application forms to Kazama and the others.
Kazama had already figured he'd be taking the Chunin Exams, so he wasn't exactly jumping for joy.
But Naruto, standing nearby, was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement.
Any chance to steal the spotlight? Naruto was *all in*.
"There'll probably be a ton of super strong genin at the Chunin Exams, right? I'm kinda freaked out!"
Sakura, the weakest of the group, was naturally a bit hesitant about joining the exams.
"Don't worry, Sakura. You've got me!"
"Kazama-kun!"
At Kazama's reassurance, Sakura shot him a look filled with adoration.
"Damn it! This guy's stealing my spotlight *again*!"
Seeing Sakura swoon over Kazama instead of him, Sasuke felt a surge of irritation.
He'd already made Kazama his target to surpass, so he was determined to one-up him at every turn.
"What, you losers think you're good enough for the Chunin Exams?"
"Why don't you just run home to your mommies?"
"Haha!"
As soon as Kazama and the others arrived at the Chunin Exam hall, they saw Rock Lee and Tenten sprawled on the ground, roughed up by a few genin.
"Jerks! How dare they bully people!"
Naruto, always ready to stand up for the underdog, was about to charge in.
But Kazama quickly held him back.
"Chill, Naruto. They're letting themselves get beat up on purpose."
"Huh?"
Naruto blinked, totally confused by Kazama's words.
"They're hiding their real strength," Kazama explained, stepping toward the rowdy ninja who were still taunting.
"Excuse us, we need to get to the third exam room."
"Oh, the last two begged us to let them pass too, but ended up with their faces smashed in!"
"Yeah, if you wanna get through, you gotta crawl under our legs first! Haha!"
The Chunin Exams were cutthroat, and plenty of competitors tried to intimidate their rivals early on to scare them out of the running.
"Alright, now it's my turn to shine!"
Sasuke's heart leapt with excitement.
Before Kazama could say a word, he charged at the two ninja.
Kazama always got to play the cool guy, but this time, Sasuke was determined to steal the show and make everyone see *him* in a new light.
But just then, Rock Lee—who'd been sprawled on the ground—sprang to his feet.
With a single punch, he sent the ninja squaring off with Sasuke crashing to the floor.
"You bastard! You stole my moment!"
Sasuke silently cursed Lee in his head.
"Lee, didn't you say you were gonna hide your strength?" Tenten snapped, clearly annoyed.
"What?! That guy was *actually* pretending to get beat up?!"
Hearing Tenten and seeing Lee's performance, Sasuke was stunned.
But his shock wasn't about Lee—it was about Kazama.
From the start, Kazama had said Lee was faking it.
Sasuke had scoffed at the idea, refusing to believe it.
But now, everything Kazama predicted had come true.
"Kazama's insight is unreal!"
While Sasuke was busy wrestling with envy and frustration, Rock Lee strode over to Sakura.
"Will you go out with me?"
Turns out, Lee had a crush on Sakura and had been putting on a show to impress her.
"What the heck?!"
Sakura nearly tripped over her own feet.
"No way I'm into guys with bushy eyebrows! Plus, I already like someone!"
With that, Sakura glanced at Kazama beside her.
"Is it you? What's your name?"
Seeing Sakura's eyes on Kazama, Lee turned to him.
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking someone's name?"
"Rock Lee!"
"Sanada Kazama!"
"You're *Sanada Kazama*?!"
Lee's eyes widened in shock.
Word of Kazama trouncing Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro had already spread like wildfire through Konoha.
"I heard you used to be the dead-last at the Ninja Academy, but now you're strong enough to take down three Suna ninja! You're a true genius to grow that much so fast. I want to test you myself—let's see if you're the real deal!"
"The Uchiha clan is the *true* genius family. If you want a challenge, you'll have to go through me first!"
Determined not to let Kazama steal the spotlight again, Sasuke stepped forward.
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