Because they'd fought Neji—or rather, because Neji had beaten them senseless—Team 7 was basically the last to arrive.
Room 301 was already packed. The moment Naruto opened the door, a blast of midsummer heat hit them in the face.
"Whoa!"
Naruto nearly toppled over, but Sasuke caught him.
"Idiot, steady yourself," Sasuke said.
"It's not my fault! I'm training my chakra sensing, and this place is so stuffy and hot—that wave of chakra just slammed into me all at once."
[Crap, forgot it's July]
[July in all those furs? These ninja really aren't afraid of the heat, huh]
[Bet it reeks in there]
[Speaking of which, Hanabi's all bundled up too—you guys think it's funky underneath?]
[Bruh]
[Moderator, where are you?! Ban this guy!]
[You're overthinking it—Hanabi can use ice, remember? She's probably walking around with built-in AC]
[Brother up there, I owe you my life]
[Scared me for a second—almost forgot Hanabi picked up that evil god power and can use ice now]
[We're saved, we're saved]
[No wonder all these guys look pissed off with their stiff faces—they're all just overheating]
[Damn, this is supposed to be the intimidation scene for the protagonist, but now that you put it that way, it actually makes so much sense]
It was July. The dead of summer.
And yet people were still dressed head to toe, bandages everywhere.
A lot of people here had cold expressions, and it really was because they were on the verge of heatstroke.
Hanabi was curious whether these people were truly impervious to the heat... Mm, that's right—looking at you, Dosu the Sound ninja, bundled up in all that fur!
"Ara, ara, everyone's certainly not afraid of the heat." Hanabi gave a light laugh. "Being able to endure a room reeking of sweat like this—I'm truly impressed."
[She said it!]
[Hanabi actually said it out loud!]
[You can't just SAY that!]
[Stop, the stench is hitting me through the screen—I feel like I can smell it!]
[This is now a smell-o-vision stream]
[I'll say it for my wife: chaos-enjoyers gonna chaos-enjoy]
It wasn't just for the chaos—it was also for the popularity. The moment Hanabi pointed out this cruel truth, things took an interesting turn.
"Also, Ino-san, if you throw yourself at Sasuke, then the, uh..."
"...Hanabi, don't be mean! You can't just say that—a girl's got her dignity!"
Ino Yamanaka pouted and walked over from the side.
She'd been about to pounce the moment she saw Sasuke walk in.
But one sentence from Hanabi had stopped her dead in her tracks.
Sasuke turned and saw Ino, connected the dots to Hanabi's comment, felt a full-body shudder, and hastily backed up a step—placing Naruto in front of him as a shield.
"Sasuke-kun~" Ino watched Sasuke recoil from her with puppy-dog eyes, utterly helpless.
What was she supposed to do at a time like this...?
"What a drag—you guys are taking this annoying exam too?"
Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi—Ino's teammates—also walked over.
"Oh, it's the idiot trio. You guys are here too," Naruto wandered over as well. His relationship with Shikamaru and Choji was actually pretty good—they were among the few who'd never discriminated against or bullied him.
"Don't call us that... Huh, Naruto, your vibe is... different?"
Shikamaru looked at Naruto and suddenly felt something was off.
"Heh heh, am I more mature now? I'm a super-awesome ninja these days!"
Naruto smugly adjusted his forehead protector.
"Yeah, right. Naruto... wait, your skin wasn't this fair before. And—damn, how is your skin so nice?"
Ino, with a girl's keen eye, suddenly realized that the loud-mouthed Naruto of old was actually... kind of handsome?
"Really?" Naruto had zero self-awareness.
[I compared it to Episode 1—he is a bit lighter]
[I can't tell the difference]
[I thought it was just different lighting and shading]
[It's not by much—maybe five to ten percent brighter]
[Then Ino's the real MVP here—noticing something like that]
[My girlfriend has a row of lipsticks, and I think they all look the same, but she insists they're completely different and makes a whole deal about which shade to wear when going out]
[Something's wrong with you—you have a girlfriend and you're watching anime?]
[Where's the FFF Brigade?]
[Spare us the ancient memes. But honestly, not many girls actually bother telling lipstick shades apart—the ones who really care about that stuff are usually femboys]
[Damn, you're your own girlfriend, aren't you]
The danmaku was, as always, unhinged.
Still, these wild takes generated a decent amount of popularity for Hanabi—the popularity points she'd spent earlier were gradually being replenished.
In the midst of this comic interlude, there were also character introductions woven in.
So the audience's comments were struggling to keep up.
"Hello, everyone."
Hinata walked over at this point.
Compared to before, Hinata's hands and body now had a few more bandages.
In the time leading up to the Chūnin Exams, she too had been pushing herself to get stronger.
"This is all your fault for saying that, Hanabi. I'd been trying so hard not to think about the smell."
Kiba Inuzuka and his puppy Akamaru walked over with Hinata's squad, while Shino Aburame silently followed behind.
Mm—Shino, also wearing a high-collared overcoat, felt rather awkward.
—In the summer heat, was his outfit really a bit much...?
But then Shino spotted Kiba's furry-hooded jacket, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey, Shino, what's the matter?"
"Nothing." He gave his sunglasses a gentle push—not because he was trying to look cool, but because he'd just relaxed. It was reassuring to know someone was dressed more heavily than he was.
After exchanging greetings, Hinata kept her eyes fixed on Hanabi over in the other corner.
Meanwhile, Kiba and Naruto had started bickering beside her.
That went on until another voice cut through the chatter.
"Hey, you lot might want to keep it down." Someone spoke up from nearby.
A bespectacled Leaf Genin walked over. "You nine are fresh Academy graduates, right? Looking all cute and making a racket. Honestly—this isn't a field trip."
"And who are you, acting all high and mighty?" Ino was not impressed by this random lecture.
"I'm Kabuto Yakushi," the bespectacled boy said. "More importantly—take a look around you."
After Kabuto spoke, everyone turned to survey the room.
The people in the hall—already sweating and irritable from the heat, anxious about the Chūnin Exams—now had their attention drawn to the loud group of newcomers. All eyes converged on them.
Being twelve-year-old kids, the rookies were immediately intimidated.
"True enough—everyone's drenched in sweat. Surrounded by other people's perspiration, baking in the middle of summer, everyone must be miserable." Hanabi smiled. "How about I cool things down a bit?"
The moment those words left her mouth, the others all shivered.
Hanabi's "cool down" was as immediate as advertised—the temperature of the entire exam hall felt like it dropped several degrees...