After pinpointing the location of the central tower in Training Ground 44, Shinju's team set off at full speed.
Running nonstop was exhausting, though, and soon Shinju got a mischievous idea.
Training Ground 44 covered a vast area and was home to many dangerous beasts.
Maybe he could catch a tiger… or a bear… something to use as a mount.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Shinju spotted a massive bear ahead—easily two to three meters tall!
The giant bear roared, charging toward some location.
Shinju's eyes lit up, and he stepped directly into its path!
Landing in front of it, Shinju immediately opened the Fifth Gate of the Eight Gates, relying on his overwhelming physical strength to clash head-on with the beast.
Two or three punches later, the brown bear was on the ground, groaning in pain.
Then, forming the summoning hand signs, Shinju established a Summoning Contract with the giant bear, successfully taming it.
Just as he finished, a timid girl's voice sounded behind him.
"Thank you."
Turning at the sound, Shinju saw that the bear had been chasing someone all along—a girl about his own age.
More importantly, she had the same red hair as Shinju.
At that moment, Naruto and Sasuke landed nearby.
Seeing the girl and Shinju together, Naruto exclaimed in surprise,
"Eh? Another redhead? Could she be Shinju's relative?"
Shinju felt a spark of curiosity at that.
From the original Shinju's memories, he knew he had apparently been an orphan picked up from the battlefield by someone.
Now, to meet someone in Konoha with the exact same hair color—it really was possible they were related.
"Are you a kunoichi from Kusagakure? What's your name?" Shinju asked.
"My name's Karin," the girl with glasses replied softly.
She had been separated from her two teammates earlier and then stumbled upon the giant bear.
If Shinju hadn't shown up in time, she would've been bear food by now.
"Thank you so much!"
Karin kept bowing to Shinju.
He waved it off, signaling that it wasn't necessary, but mentally noted her name.
"I'm Shinju, a shinobi of Konohagakure. We're heading to the central tower now—want to come with us?" Shinju asked.
Because of her matching hair color, he felt a faint sense of kinship toward her.
"No, I was separated from my teammates nearby. I'm afraid they won't be able to find me if I leave," Karin politely declined.
Shinju nodded.
After reminding Karin to be careful, he, Naruto, and Sasuke rode the giant bear off into the distance.
Karin stood frozen, staring blankly at Shinju's back, her cheeks flushed red.
From the moment he saved her, this man had left an indelible mark in her life.
Before long, her two teammates finally found her.
It had been three to four hours since they'd gotten separated.
"Sorry, Karin. We couldn't protect the scroll," said Teammate A.
"We got robbed by some guy with the same hair color as you." added Teammate B.
"If I'd known, I would've just given him the 1,000 ryo. Now we've been robbed down to our underwear. o(╥﹏╥)o"
After hearing their description of the culprit, Karin fell silent, then suddenly let out a small laugh and told them about her encounter with Shinju.
"So in a way, we should be thanking that guy?" Teammate A asked.
"You could put it that way. After all, if even one teammate dies or becomes incapacitated, the entire squad automatically fails," Teammate B nodded.
Teammate A said, "By the way, I think their team has a ton of scrolls. When I glanced into their bag, they had both Heaven and Earth scrolls—about ten in total."
"Don't you only need one Heaven and one Earth scroll to advance? Why would they need so many?" Teammate B asked in confusion.
"To sell."
Smart as ever, Karin quickly figured it out and spoke with certainty.
"They just headed toward the central tower—probably planning to set up a stall there," Karin said.
"There's bound to be a lot of people looking to buy scrolls. If we hurry, we might get one," Teammate A said urgently.
Karin: "No time to waste—let's go."
...
Beneath the central tower of Training Ground 44.
Somehow, Shinju had managed to drag over a huge square wooden table.
On it, thirteen scrolls—Heaven and Earth—were laid out in two neat rows.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Shinju sat behind the table under a sunshade they'd set up, waiting for customers.
Naruto leaned over nervously. "Shinju, are you sure we won't get ganged up on for this?"
"We robbed so many people. What if they all come after us at once?" Sasuke added.
"They can try."
Shinju glanced at the central tower behind them, a confident smile on his face.
Seeing that expression, Naruto and Sasuke still felt uneasy—but much more reassured.
Up in the central tower.
One of the exam proctors, facing Mitarashi Anko with respect, asked,
"Isn't this breaking the rules?"
Anko shrugged. "They took those scrolls with their own strength. How they use them is their business. ┐(´-｀)┌"
"But they're profiting off the Chunin Exams. That goes against our goal of selecting elite shinobi," another proctor argued.
Anko popped a red bean dumpling into her mouth and pointed her skewer toward Shinju's group.
"It's fine. See that red-haired kid down there? After Orochimaru attacked, he led his teammates to safety and was ready to forfeit the exam to teleport to the Hokage's office with the Flying Thunder God to report what happened."
"He's already proven his skill and loyalty. Let them be."
Hearing that, the proctor had no choice but to drop the matter.
Meanwhile, Shinju's stall got its first customers.
Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro from Sunagakure.
"Hey, handsome, why do you have so many scrolls?" Temari asked, eyeing the neatly arranged table.
Because Shinju's team had taken most of the scrolls from other examinees, Gaara's team—despite their strength—had found most other squads completely stripped bare along the way.
Shinju gave Temari a mysterious smile.
"Got them through… special means. 100,000 ryo each, no bargaining."
"So expensive?! Why don't you just rob us?" Temari stepped back in shock.
Shinju crossed his arms with a faint smirk.
"Already did."
Temari, Gaara, Kankuro: "..."
Kankuro: "No wonder every squad we met had no scrolls left—you took them all!"
"Gaara, Temari, forget talking—just attack!!"