Before Naruto could spend much time hopping mad on the spot...
The late-arriving Elephant arrived with a large number of Anbu directly under the Hokage, as well as the Medical Team.
Upon arriving and seeing that Naruto hadn't gone berserk and transformed into the Nine-Tailed, he and Yamato, who had followed along, breathed a sigh of relief.
After having someone give Jiraiya emergency treatment, they lifted him and carried him away.
The elephant stayed behind to comfort Naruto for a bit.
He said that once Jiraiya was feeling better, he would come back to continue teaching him.
He told him to go eat something first to prepare for the afternoon exam.
Naruto didn't pay much attention to what Elephant said.
He was just frantically calling out to Lock in his mind, demanding an explanation.
After all, Jiraiya's two performances had been way too pathetic.
He was either heavily injured by Lock or beaten half to death by the seal.
He could only turn him and Sasuke into frogs and bully young boys like them!
To be honest, Naruto now seriously doubted Jiraiya's strength!
He also suspected that the glorious achievements the Anbu had mentioned before were all fake!
He even felt that Jiraiya might not be as powerful as Kakashi or Asuma!
After calling out to Lock for a long time to no avail, Naruto left the place dejectedly.
Since time was short, he went to Ichiraku Ramen for lunch and simply had a bowl of deluxe ramen.
After eating, the afternoon arrived quickly.
Naruto also quickly arrived at the venue for the second exam.
—The Forest of Death.
By now, many examinees had already gathered here.
They were gathered in small groups of twos and threes.
After a brief search, Naruto saw Sasuke and Sakura Haruno standing in the crowd.
"Sasuke! Sakura! Over here!"
Waving at them, Naruto ran over excitedly.
But as soon as he got there, he saw Haku talking to Sasuke, with Karin standing behind Haku.
Seeing Haku's delicate face, Naruto's face instantly turned beet red.
Even though he knew Haku was a boy, Naruto couldn't stop his mind from wandering.
After all, Haku's image was too similar to the beautiful senior sister in Young A-Ming that he had imagined!
"Naruto!" Sakura looked delighted to see him arrive.
"Thank goodness you're finally here, the exam would have started!"
"Well? Did that pervy uncle teach you anything at noon?"
"Sigh, don't mention it. I feel like I've been tricked." Naruto spread his hands, both sighing and shaking his head.
"He said he wanted to remove some extra seal from me, and then he was beaten half to death by the seal..."
After explaining a few words to Sakura, he immediately turned to look at Haku and Sasuke, his face full of curiosity.
"Sasuke, what are you two talking about?"
Sasuke's attitude was exceptionally cold, only giving Naruto an indifferent glance.
As for Haku, he replied with a bright smile.
"It's nothing, just wanting to invite Sasuke-kun to visit us."
After saying that, Haku winked at Sasuke again.
"If you're interested, you can come find us later."
"Our promise remains valid until the end of the exam."
After saying that, he gave Naruto another sweet smile and then turned to leave.
"What promise... Watch out!"
Just as Naruto was about to step forward to stop Haku and ask, he noticed someone suddenly appear behind Haku.
But Haku's reaction speed was even faster.
When he turned and saw someone suddenly pressing up behind him...
He slid four Senbon Needles from his sleeve and stabbed directly at the figure's acupoints.
Swish!
Hiss!
The Senbon Needles that were supposed to hit were dodged by the figure with an extremely eerie, twisting posture!
To be able to perform movements that exceeded human limits, it was like a boneless mollusk!
Seeing that they could dodge his attack so quickly, Haku understood that the newcomer was definitely not a Genin.
So he no longer held back.
He violently flicked his wrist, throwing the Senbon Needles from between his fingers at close range.
Shoo shoo shoo shoo!
The four Senbon Needles let out piercing whistles as they flew, and at incredible speed, they all sank into the person's chest.
But in the next second...
The person's body twisted irregularly again, even lengthening a bit, as they quickly brought their head close to Haku's ear.
"I'm truly sorry, I meant no harm. The wind just blew my money behind you, and I wanted to pick it up."
As the voice sounded, a tongue still dripping with saliva extended in front of Haku's eyes.
This tongue was just like a snake's flickering tongue, split into two halves.
On one half were the four Senbon Needles, and on the other half was a two-hundred-ryo banknote.
"What a long tongue!"
Seeing the tongue clearly, Naruto immediately cried out in surprise.
Sakura, standing nearby, added, "And it's split too, that's really disgusting!"
Lock, in the consciousness, also paid attention.
He recognized at a glance who the person wearing the hat with the Grass Ninja symbol was.
Orochimaru!
He killed the examinees from the Grass Ninja, disguised himself as one to participate in the exam, all to get close to Sasuke!
But what does he mean by contacting Haku? Has he taken a liking to Haku's body?
As for Orochimaru, Lock was actually inclined to cooperate with him to target Konoha together.
Unfortunately, Orochimaru has too many tricks; he wouldn't be able to control him properly.
If things go wrong, it would be easy to get bitten back.
Furthermore, he didn't intend to let Hiruzen Sarutobi die as a hero, as in the original plot.
So, in these Chunin Exams, Orochimaru is destined to clash with him.
However, the clash would only happen at the very end when Hiruzen Sarutobi is heavily injured and on the verge of death.
As for other things like attacking Konoha Village, causing destruction, or creating chaos, he would still have to give Orochimaru a hand.
Of course, this was also why he arranged for Hidan, that homicidal maniac, to lead the team here.
"Picking up money is no excuse for getting that close. If there's a next time, I won't show any mercy."
Haku frowned and cancelled the Ninjutsu he had finished hand seals for.
Wisps of chill enveloped the two of them, causing a layer of ice to form on Orochimaru's long hair.
"Understood, understood. I'm truly sorry."
Orochimaru apologized with a sinister smile and then turned back to where he had been standing before.
But in his heart, he couldn't contain his joy.
"The Ice Release of the Yuki Clan... I'm truly lucky!"
"And he's free of illness, has a powerful physique, and excellent talent—he's much more suitable as a vessel than Kimimaro!"
"If I can't get Sasuke this time, this Yuki Clan member from the so-called Four Star Village will serve as a perfect transition!"
"And there's that little girl from the Uzumaki Clan next to him. This Four Star Village is quite something..."
Orochimaru didn't care at all about the newly established Four-Star Village.
It was just a small Village that might not even have a Kage-level fighter or even an Elite Jonin!
Just like before, when the time comes, he'll just use some means to exert pressure.
Won't this Four-Star Village then honestly wash this Yuki Clan member and the Uzumaki girl clean and deliver them right to him?
---
A/N: 40+ Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded.
Support: patreon.com/Narrator_San