Orochimaru had noticed Naruto's gaze too.
"Heh… so this child noticed me early on. I'm more and more interested."
A host for the Nine-Tails. Overflowing potential. Able to see through his disguise.
In Orochimaru's eyes these were all "excellent traits for a defecting prodigy," the kind worth taking as a disciple. Naruto's provocation didn't bother him much.
He'd seen plenty of temperamental geniuses.
Danzo, on the other hand, reacted far more strongly.
Unease surged in his chest.
Naruto's combat literacy was beyond expectation. Not good for controlling the Nine-Tails later.
And Naruto's personality, on full display, made him feel unsafe.
"Hiruzen. The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki uses ruthless methods. If we don't hand him to Root for guidance, he'll bring disaster to the village sooner or later!"
He forced his tone to sound objective and calm.
Hiruzen shot him a cold look—the naked expression of you're just hungry for him—and replied blandly,
"What Naruto just demonstrated was textbook combat. First probe the enemy's ability, then analyze their weakness, set traps accordingly, and finally win."
"Doesn't that prove he follows the ninja academy's teachings at all times? I think he's doing just fine."
Hiruzen was a politician through and through—Naruto's normal fight became the "paradigm of ninja warfare" in his mouth.
Danzo's teeth ached with anger. His voice sharpened. "Hiruzen, you—"
"Danzo." Hiruzen's eyes sank into steel as he cut him off. "Remember this. I am the Hokage."
Danzo froze, hearing in his mind the echo of doors slamming shut—how so many of their arguments ended.
"Enough, both of you," Homura finally snapped. "He's a mere genin. Is this really worth tearing into each other?"
Homura was clearly addressing Danzo, displeased with his last-minute reversal.
"Let Hiruzen teach Naruto for now. If it doesn't work, then you step in."
Danzo had no choice but to swallow his resentment.
…
Naruto had been subtly watching everyone's reactions, his eyes sweeping the stands.
"Whew… aside from Sakura, everyone's emotions are pretty loud. Looks like no new transmigrator right now…"
Testing had become a habit.
Soon he returned to Team Seven's spot.
"Oh? The 'weapon master' is back~" Sakura's smile wasn't a smile. Her eyes flicked toward Tenten.
Her radar for these things was freakishly accurate.
Naruto scratched his brow, suddenly feeling like a boyfriend being sniped by his girlfriend for saying hi to another girl.
Well… Sakura was always good at sarcasm.
He put on an exaggeratedly wounded face. "Hey, is that how you see me? I was just discussing weapon techniques with her. Has the cold shinobi world made your heart stone now too?"
Sakura pressed her lips together, stared at him for ages, then spat out two words: "Smooth-talker."
Naruto grinned, unbothered.
He wasn't being arrogant. He just understood her temperament more and more.
She looked fierce and untouchable, but inside she was fragile as paper.
Sure enough, Sakura turned her green eyes away, cheeks puffed slightly, clearly refusing to deal with him any longer.
"C'mon, I'm kidding…" Naruto hurried to patch the wobbling ship, soothing her and solemnly declaring that Tenten was merely a tool for getting stronger; as an upright gentleman, he had no impure thoughts.
All of it was witnessed by Sasuke.
Sasuke: "…"
…
The preliminaries rolled on.
Even with the Sound trio gone and matchups shifting, many classic scenes still played out: Lee vs. Gaara, Hinata vs. Neji.
Others fought differently, but the strong remained strong—Shikamaru, Sasuke.
Sasuke studied Naruto's battle details through his Sharingan and won elegantly, giving the curse mark almost no chance to flare.
At last, nine who passed stood in the center.
"Congratulations on passing preliminaries. Now I'll explain the third round…"
Hiruzen quickly covered the format, emphasizing that there would be one month to prepare.
One month wasn't long, and for Naruto and Sakura it felt especially tight. They had to grow stronger, locate any new transmigrator, and—most of all—dig up more clues about the mastermind.
Naruto was thinking when Kakashi appeared beside him with a Body Flicker, whispering into his ear.
"Naruto. Go to the Hokage's office later."
Naruto's heart tightened. He nodded, already drafting his cover story.
…
Hokage Office.
"Third Grandpa, did you need something?" Naruto stood before the desk, making his eyes as clear as possible and letting a touch of confusion show.
"Naruto, you did very well today. Your technique was mature—there was a chunin shadow to you."
Hiruzen didn't go straight to the point. He praised first.
"But it's funny timing. Kakashi's been praising you lately too. He even asked me why you, who did average in academy, suddenly awakened like this."
"He asked me that and I realized… I haven't cared about you much lately. I almost couldn't answer him."
"Naruto. What do you think?"
Naruto's heartbeat sped up.
Those casual words were packed with hooks. If he answered impulsively, he'd leak holes everywhere.
He thought a moment.
Fine. Straight ball.
"Third Grandpa, honestly… recently the Nine-Tails has been constantly tempting me to use its power."
"Oh?" Hiruzen looked not alarmed at all, only mildly curious, like a teacher hearing a student's difficulty. "And how do you view it?"
Naruto knew this was the key question.
He had to show loyalty to Konoha, but also highlight his trouble—only then could he legitimately learn new jutsu.
So he let a troubled expression rise on his face.
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