"Whoa, so this is the venue for the Chunin Exams?"
Outside the first exam's venue, the three members of Team 7 looked at the noisy crowd inside, and each of them had different feelings.
First, there was Sakura. A couple of days ago, while Naruto was training Sasuke… and also 'gathering material' with Jiraiya, she happened to run into a disguised Ninja attack orchestrated by Iruka.
Though it was just a small test, and Sakura had ultimately declared that she would definitely pass the exams, she still felt somewhat uneasy deep down.
As for Naruto… well, he didn't need much attention… he's just a slacker tagging along, treating this like a casual stroll.
Sasuke, on the other hand, felt his hands and feet starting to heat up.
The reason is simple.
Just a few dozen minutes ago, right after they had finished registering for the exams, a thick-browed guy had inexplicably come over to provoke him.
This guy was none other than Lee, whom Naruto had coincidentally met during his training.
Lee was a year ahead of Team 7, having graduated over a year ago.
For some reason, this usually easygoing and earnest guy suddenly challenged Sasuke to a fight, wanting to see how many moves he could last against the so-called 'top rookie of the year'.
But the current Sasuke was no longer the same as in the original work.
After being trained by Naruto for such a long period of time, he had long since stopped losing his cool over such petty provocations.
However, even though Sasuke ignored him, Lee was stubborn and insisted on attacking anyway.
To be honest, when Lee suddenly burst forth with shocking speed, Sasuke had to admit he had underestimated him.
But if that was all Lee had, it still wasn't enough to pose a threat.
Then, under Lee's stunned gaze, Sasuke not only effortlessly matched his speed but even countered with precision, moving as casually as if he were taking a stroll.
The entire time, Sasuke didn't even use his Sharingan.
What's more, even when Sasuke's speed wasn't necessarily faster, he could still dodge Lee's attacks at the last second, as if he had eyes on the back of his head.
Seeing this, Lee didn't hesitate and immediately unwrapped his bandages, ready to tap into a little extra power.
On the other side, Sasuke assumed the starting stance of Hasshoken, his fists enveloped in an invisible ripple of energy mixed with Chakra.
Just as the two were about to clash, Lee's teacher, Might Guy, appeared and together with Naruto, they stopped the two reckless kids from going overboard.
Guy was first shocked by Naruto's strength, and then the whole scene devolved into chaos as he and Lee started goofing around.
This little incident ended with both 'parents' stepping in.
But Sasuke was still itching for a fight, just waiting for someone to come and experience his [Hasshoken: Chakra-Enhanced Edition].
Once inside the exam hall, Team 7 also spotted the other members of the [Konoha 12].
However, after entering the classroom, Naruto's gaze began drifting around, lingering on several figures. He responded half-heartedly to greetings from Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and the others.
At one point, a seven-time exam veteran named Kabuto came over to strike up a conversation, but after glancing at him, Naruto, contrary to his usual behavior, didn't say a word.
Unfazed by Naruto's attitude, Kabuto smoothly shifted to chatting with other Genin instead.
Throughout the conversation, he kept leaking information, like which village's Ninja had what special skills and who needed to be watched out for.
This blatant info-dumping quickly drew resentment, and a few Ninja from Otogakure immediately attacked Kabuto.
Seeing this, Sakura and Sasuke instinctively moved to intervene, but Naruto stopped them.
Trusting him, the two Genin could only watch as the 'kind senior' got bullied by the foreign Ninja… until the proctor stepped in and put an end to the commotion.
Sakura was confused and had doubts in her mind, but she still chose to trust Naruto's judgment.
Sasuke was smarter and quickly suspected there might be some kind of scheme at play.
And the reason why Naruto stopped them was very simple.
This Kabuto guy's aura was clearly stronger than those low-tier Otogakure's Ninja… even comparable to the exam proctors.
In addition, while the malice in his heart was obscure, it was still difficult to conceal. Even if Naruto was a fool, he could realize that something was wrong with the other party.
And it wasn't just Kabuto… Naruto had also spotted plenty of other suspicious individuals in the crowd.
Some were unnaturally strong, others had strange auras… in short, none of them seemed like good news.
'Looks like this exam won't be as peaceful as it should be.'
He thought to himself.
Almost immediately afterward, the chief examiner, Morino Ibiki, announced the exam rules from the podium.
"For this test, there are four main rules. First, each incorrect answer deducts one point. Second, scoring is based on the total points of all three team members. Third, if you're caught cheating, you lose two points. And finally… if any single member of your team ends up with zero points, the entire group fails."
As soon as these rules were laid out, several Genin who weren't exactly known for their academic prowess let out despairing groans.
But Team 7's trio immediately saw through the hidden purpose behind these so-called 'rules'.
'This is testing our ability to gather intelligence.'
When the test papers were handed out, Naruto glanced over the questions.
…
For your average Genin, these questions would actually be pretty tough.
Luckily, Naruto wasn't average.
…At the very least, he could solve one of the cipher-decoding problems.
'Eh, whatever. I'll just copy.'
His Observation Haki silently expanded, allowing Naruto to 'see' every movement in the entire examination hall.
'Tsk. Just as I thought… they planted a few people to serve as cheating targets.'
Among the crowd, several individuals with obviously suspicious auras weren't even looking at the questions and were just scribbling down answers at lightning speed.
Naruto wasn't greedy. He simply copied what they wrote, word for word.
Around him, other examinees were already employing their own unique cheating methods.
Some were using eye-catching techniques to directly peek, others summoned insects to spy on answers… the methods were as varied as they were shameless.
But what did any of that matter to Naruto?
Once he finished writing, he tossed his pen aside and flopped onto the desk, immediately dozing off.
Even when Ibiki later altered the exam rules, or when Sakura discreetly nudged him a few times, he didn't wake up.
It wasn't until the exam bell rang and a smile appeared on Ibiki's scarred face, congratulating all the remaining examinees for passing the first exam, that Naruto seemed to 'wake up' slowly.
If there was one thing Naruto had actually done during this exam-
It was memorizing every single suspicious individual in the room.
Aside from the undercover Chunin pretending to be examinees, and that gourd-carrying kid from Sunagakure-
The ones that unsettled him the most were a female Ninja from Otogakure and two others who weren't even wearing forehead protectors.
According to his Observation Haki, these three had a presence far stronger than anyone else in the room, including the proctors.
Obviously, they came with bad intentions.
"You two, when we move to the next stage, get as far away from me as possible. Take the others with you, and don't look back."
Naruto suddenly said to Sasuke and Sakura beside him.
Sakura opened her mouth to ask why, but Sasuke grabbed her arm first, silently signaling her not to question it.
While he didn't fully understand Naruto's reasoning, he knew better than to assume this was some kind of joke.
In tense silence, the remaining examinees were led to the second exam's location, the Forest of Death.
But before the second proctor, Anko Mitarashi, could even announce the rules-
Naruto's figure blurred, splitting into three afterimages as he appeared simultaneously in front of the three suspicious individuals.
His fist, covered in Armament Haki, slammed forward without hesitation.
What a joke
Since Naruto knew that there's something wrong with the other party, why would he foolishly wait for the other party to make the first move?
He's not a rookie who just went out to sea.
Naruto's speed was beyond what anyone had anticipated. By the time the proctors even registered what was happening-
His fists had already reached the faces of the three people.