Chapter 49: The Gatekeepers
According to what Kakashi had told them, Naruto and the others soon arrived at the exam room for registration.
By then, the exam room was already packed with people. Ninja kept filing in through the entrance, one after another, coming to sign up for the exam.
Seeing this, Naruto and the others nodded to each other and walked in together.
Once inside, they found many figures standing around in the exam room.
Some people were shouting and cursing, as if they were angry at the examiners.
Looking closer, Naruto and the others soon noticed an entrance deeper in the exam room.
That entrance seemed to lead to the second floor.
Two very fierce-looking Chunin examiners were guarding the entrance. Every time a candidate tried to enter the second floor, they would get a lesson from these two.
The genin who were strong enough would earn the Chunin's approval, and the Chunin would let them pass.
But those who were weak—their fate was clear.
Soon enough, they were beaten back by the two Chunin and thrown out.
The people shouting and cursing, pointing angrily at the examiners, were clearly the weaker ones who had just been defeated.
Seeing this, Naruto and the others smiled.
It seemed that at the very start of the Chunin Exam, two gatekeepers had been posted here to screen the candidates. That was fine. With these two guards, a lot of unnecessary dead weight would be filtered out. Those who got filtered out, even if they had somehow managed to participate, would have just been cannon fodder anyway.
Sasuke and little Sakura saw these two examiners as the first test of the trials. They were eager to give it a try.
Just as Naruto and the others were about to make their way through the crowd toward the entrance to the second floor—
A loud shout stopped them.
"It looks like Uzumaki Naruto and the others!"
"Naruto!"
The shouts rang out.
Naruto and the others paused and turned to look.
Soon they saw Neji Hyuga and Rock Lee, who had just arrived.
Lee looked very happy. He wasn't discouraged at all by having been defeated by Naruto earlier. On the contrary, he seemed genuinely pleased to see Naruto.
Lee and the others quickly ran over to Naruto and his team and greeted them warmly:
"Naruto, did you just come to take the Chunin Exam too?" Lee asked, looking at Naruto with bright eyes.
Naruto nodded.
"Then we're really fated. Us too, haha. It looks like we'll be meeting again soon during the Chunin Exam." Lee's fighting spirit flared up instantly.
Neji shook his head silently.
Soon, Neji and the others also noticed the gatekeepers at the entrance to the second floor. They understood that they would have to get past the two examiners' unspoken test before they could officially enter the exam room.
Immediately, Neji said:
"Alright, Lee. Let's go in quickly."
Lee nodded firmly.
"Then Naruto, we'll see you later!"
After saying that, Neji and Lee walked toward the entrance to the second floor.
As soon as they reached the entrance, the two Chunin examiners gave them a fierce look. Without even saying a word, they immediately threw punches at Neji and Lee.
But before Neji could even move, Lee stretched out both hands in an instant, stepped in front of Neji, and easily blocked both Chunin's attacks.
Seeing this, the Chunin were slightly surprised. They glanced at each other, recognition in their eyes.
Then one of the Chunin said:
"Alright. You can go up."
"Thank you, examiners." Tenten smiled politely, as if she understood that the confrontation had been a necessary part of the screening. She didn't seem bothered by it.
After saying that, Neji and his three teammates passed by the Chunin examiners and walked into the hallway.
But after entering the hallway, Neji and Lee didn't leave right away. Instead, they stopped at the entrance and looked back at Naruto and the others. It seemed they wanted to see how Naruto's team would fare in the test.
Seeing this, Naruto said to Sasuke and little Sakura beside him:
"Let's go in too."
After the two nodded, they walked together toward the entrance to the second floor.
The two Chunin at the entrance chatted briefly after their fight with Lee. Soon, they noticed Naruto and his team approaching.
Seeing the group of Naruto, Sasuke, and little Sakura, the two examiners' expressions shifted slightly. They seemed a bit surprised.
"That's the kid from the Uchiha clan."
"And that kid… tsk."
Then Naruto and the others reached the entrance to the second floor.
Just like with Neji and his team, the two Chunin examiners didn't say much. They immediately threw heavy punches—their strength and speed slightly faster than before.
But seeing this, Sasuke—who had long been itching to test himself—lit up with excitement. He met the attacking fists of the Chunin examiners with two swift kicks.
Bang bang.
Sasuke's kicks deflected the Chunin's fists one after another. Not only that, but the force behind the kicks pushed the two Chunin examiners back several steps involuntarily.
Seeing this, the Chunin examiners were slightly surprised. It seemed they hadn't expected Sasuke to have that kind of strength and speed.
Immediately, both Chunin nodded and said to Sasuke and little Sakura:
"Alright. You can go in too."
Sasuke smiled confidently and began walking in with little Sakura and Naruto.
Just as Sasuke and little Sakura had entered the second floor entrance, and Naruto was about to follow—
Suddenly, two arms shot up and stopped in front of Naruto, blocking his way.
Naruto paused for a moment and looked at the owners of those arms—the two Chunin examiners—with some confusion.
The two Chunin examiners stared at Naruto with displeasure and disgust. They said with clear contempt:
"They can go in. You can't."
Seeing this, Sasuke and the others stopped as well. Neji, Lee, and Tenten also looked puzzled.
Naruto frowned. Looking at the eyes of the two Chunin examiners, he soon remembered the eyes of the villagers who had looked at him during his childhood.
Those eyes were exactly the same. As if they were identical.
This was how they looked at outsiders and monsters.
"Why?" Naruto suppressed his anger, looked at the two examiners calmly, and asked quietly.
The two examiners snorted coldly. They looked at Naruto with disdain and said:
"They can go in because they have skill. You can't because you're just a dead-last. A dead-last like you isn't qualified to enter."