Slurp! Slurp!
While chewing and inhaling a bowl of Ramen, Naruto kept asking.
"Iruka Sensei, if I perform exceptionally well in the third round, can I become a Chunin?"
When he heard that, Iruka rolled his eyes and said.
"Let me guess! You handed in the blank paper in the first exam."
Naruto proudly nodded his head.
"I passed the first exam without even writing any questions."
"Idiot!"
Iruka immediately scolded Naruto with his Big Head Jutsu.
"You should've focused in class. If you had done that, you would at least have found one way to cheat in the first exam."
"I heard about it. That exam was all about gathering information. How can you become a Chunin if you can't even gather information?"
"That's the base information of a Chunin."
Hearing that, Naruto clicked his tongue and said.
"Sakura-chan, can you tell Iruka Sensei how I managed to outthink Zabuza and free Kakashi Sensei?"
His words froze Iruka while Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Naruto, that was deception. That was not information gathering. Besides, the results of Chunin exams will depend on your performance on all three exams."
Iruka nodded his head and said.
"That's right! But if you really want to be promoted, you have to be exceptionally good, so much so that everyone remembers your performance."
When Naruto heard that, he took in a deep breath, swallowing the entire ramen bowl at once.
Then, he slapped the bowl on top of the table counter and stood up.
"Iruka Sensei, I will give them the most stunning performance of their life. No matter who my opponent is, I will defeat him and become a Chunin."
'I will not become a Hokage as a Genin.'
This was seriously embarrassing. Just thinking about it made Naruto blush like Hinata.
After all, just imagine being a Hokage, the most prestigious and powerful person in the village, while still being a Genin.
He couldn't accept it. He decided he would put in the most fabulous play in the next matches.
From his memories, he knew there would be a Preliminary Match, and his opponent would be Kiba.
This time, he didn't want to defeat Kiba with a fart. He wanted to defeat him with intelligence.
After all, that's why Shikamaru was able to become a Chunin despite losing his match.
One must show their intelligence. That was the core of becoming a Chunin.
He already understood that from his dream.
"Naruto, if you do that again, you will break the bowl."
Teuchi glared at Naruto and spoke.
Ayame nodded and said.
"Yes, Naruto! You must've broken the bowl, you will empty your teacher's wallet."
"Hehe! Sorry about that!"
Naruto immediately sat down and apologized. Then, he raised his bowl and said.
"Another one, please! I am supper hunger. I have not eaten for four days."
"Seriously?"
Iruka turned towards Sakura and asked.
Sakura nodded.
"We got attacked on the first day. After all, he woke up just today."
"Alright then!"
Hearing that, Iruka couldn't convince himself to stop Naruto from eating. If his wallet got empty, he had no choice but to treat Naruto.
Sakura also ate a bowl, but nothing more. Instead, she prepared a bowl for Sasuke.
———————————
[Evil Sealing Method]
As Kakashi applied the seal on top of Sasuke's Cursed Seal, Sasuke started screaming and passed out.
After a while, Sasuke woke up as his pain resided. Kakashi stood on the side and nodded.
"That's all I can do. This seal depends on your Willpower. If you try to borrow the power from that Curse Seal, it won't stop you."
"But if you don't succumb to that power, you can keep the Seal away from interfering with your true power."
"Remember, Sasuke, if you accept that power, you will become nothing more than a pawn to Orochimaru's control."
"And believe me, you don't want to be his pawn."
"Enough, Kakashi! Whether I borrow this power or not is none of your business."
Sasuke stood up and retorted.
He had felt the power rush from this Curse Seal. If he could use that power to get stronger, he didn't mind using it.
His goal was far more important than his life. If he could kill Itachi, he was willing to sign a deal with the devil himself.
Even if that Devil was Orochimaru.
Seeing this, Kakashi sighed.
He knew Sasuke's goal, and now, he was realizing just how far Sasuke was willing to go just for that goal.
From Anko, he knew just how bad the Cursed Seal was and how it could affect Sasuke's mentality.
But the fact that Sasuke was willing to use that power despite its side effects was something that chilled him.
He looked at Sasuke and asked.
"Your goals are yours, but your life is more meaningful to your teammates. If not for me, just think about them."
"They wouldn't want you to become victim to Orochimaru's curse."
Sasuke snorted, but he didn't say anything.
Although they had only been together for a few months, his bond with Naruto was strong.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have sacrificed himself for Naruto. But the fact that Naruto was hiding something from him made him very dissatisfied.
How could he not notice the changes in Naruto?
Especially when those changes happened in just a few days of sleep. At this moment, some absurd thoughts were coming to his mind.
But he was pushing all of them away, even the ones where Orochimaru was now controlling Naruto.
He believed Orochimaru could never act like Naruto. So, while Naruto had changed, he was still him.
That's why he didn't reveal Naruto's changes to Kakashi.
"Let's go!"
Seeing this, Kakashi sighed. He could only hope that Sakura and Naruto could pull Sasuke out of the vortex of hatred.
As he placed his hand on Sasuke, he used Body Flicker Jutsu and returned to that exact spot.
By the time they returned, they were surprised that Naruto and Sakura had already returned.
"Sasuke-kun, how did it go?"
As soon as he arrived, Sakura worriedly confronted him while Naruto folded his arms, snorted, and looked away.
But his ear was growing bigger and moving towards them.
Seeing this, Sasuke smirked and said.
"Don't worry, I can kick that loser's ass."