In Konoha, on the streets surrounded by guardrails, some strangers have appeared recently.
These people, wearing headbands with various symbols, were gathering towards the Hokages Office Building in small groups.
Today, Lee rarely skipped his arduous training, instead waiting on the bridge in the center of the village.
This was the only path to the Hokages Office Building, and he was waiting for a certain person to appear.
The person who, according to the prophecy, would utterly defeat him and influence his entire life.
Although Lee hadn’t met the other party yet, he had the guidance of the comments.
These words were much more capable than him, they would surely discover this person first.
Sure enough, before long, the comments began to float by.
[He’s here, Gaara and Sasuke’s first meeting.] [Where?
How can you guys see so far?] [Under that tree in the east of the village, Naruto has already been knocked away.] The east of the village?
It seemed not far from here, so Lee immediately rushed over.
At this time, because Naruto, Konohamaru, and the others were being chased by Sakura, they accidentally bumped into Kankuro, a ninja from Sunagakure who had come for the exams, resulting in Konohamaru being captured.
Just as Kankuro was about to teach them a lesson, he was injured by a stone thrown by Sasuke, who was sitting in a large tree.
Sasuke rescued Konohamaru and questioned him, “You guy who suddenly popped up, what do you plan to do in someone else’s village?” Kankuro said in annoyance, “Damn it, another irritating brat.” Just as he was hesitating whether to take action, Sasuke crushed a stone as a show of force and snapped coldly, “Get out of here.” This cool scene of crushing a stone to save someone immediately left Sakura completely infatuated, her eyes turning into hearts.
However, this intimidation had no effect on Kankuro.
He pulled the puppet off his back and said, “Get down here, brat.
I hate brats like you who only know how to talk big the most.” He intended to teach the Konoha brats a good lesson to show off his prowess.
However, just as Kankuro was about to strike, Lee appeared in their line of sight.
Almost simultaneously, he noticed the figure behind Sasuke.
A red-haired youth with the character for ‘Love’ on his forehead and a large gourd on his back.
The two locked eyes, both sensing the other’s strength.
Following Lee’s gaze, Sasuke finally realized there was a boy standing behind him, and he was startled.
“When did this guy appear?!” But Gaara ignored him.
Although he was indeed quite interested in Sasuke just now, compared to Lee, he was clearly not on the same level.
He jumped down and stared at Lee, saying, “I am Gaara from Sunagakure.
Who are you?” Lee answered, “Konoha’s Rock Lee.” He observed Gaara’s every move, thinking to himself, ‘Is this the person who defeats me in destiny?
This time, I must change it.’ Gaara’s perception was sharp, and he immediately said, “You seem to have an issue with me.” Lee didn’t hide it and explained, “No, I simply want to defeat you.” Gaara said, “Want to defeat me?
If you can.” After saying that, he turned to leave, also calling away Kankuro and another ninja, who was his sister, Temari.
It was clear that Kankuro and Temari were both afraid of him.
Although they were older than him, they followed obediently behind.
Sasuke and the others learned about these people’s origins from Lee.
Only then did they realize that these people had come to participate in the Chunin Exams.
Sasuke murmured, “The Chunin Exams, huh.
It looks like many strong guys like this will appear.” He clenched his fists, determined in his heart to participate.
Whether it’s Lee or Gaara, they are both very strong ninjas.
He wanted to test his mettle.
— Meanwhile, in the Hokage Building.
Hiruzen summoned all the squad leaders and said, “From the recent movement of people, you should have all guessed what’s going on, right?” “The Chunin Selection Examination is about to begin, and ninjas from various countries are on their way to Konoha.” Kurenai asked, “Then, when is the Chunin Exam scheduled for?” Hiruzen said, “In one week.
I now formally announce that the Chunin Selection Examination will officially begin seven days from now, on July 1st.
The location will be a gathering in Room 301 of the Academy.” After everyone had reacted, he asked, “Among the squad leaders currently in charge of rookies, are there any Genin you recommend for the exam?” “Of course, formally, any Genin who has completed eight or more missions can be recommended to take the exam according to your wishes.” Kakashi was the first to be called upon, and he reported, “Team 7, consisting of Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura—in the name of me, Hatake Kakashi, I recommend them to participate in the Chunin Selection Examination.” Next was Kurenai, who reported, “Team 8’s Hinata, Kiba, and Shino—in the name of me, Yuhi Kurenai, I recommend them to participate in the Chunin Selection Examination.” Then it was Asuma’s turn.
“Team 10’s Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji—in the name of me, Sarutobi Asuma, I recommend them to participate in the Chunin Selection Examination.” As soon as the three reports were out, they immediately caused a stir among the ninjas below.
After new students graduate, they usually train until the second year before registering.
Although it’s said that completing eight missions is enough, combat experience and personal improvement require time to accumulate.
The situation of participating in the Chunin Selection Examination in the same year as graduation hasn’t occurred for five years.
Because of this, Iruka said, “Hokage-sama, please hear me out.
Though it may be meddlesome, those nine rookies just mentioned were all my students at the Ninja Academy.
They are indeed very talented, but it’s too early for them to participate now.” “At least they should accumulate more practical combat experience to have a chance of passing.
You should know that the only real combat experience Naruto and the others had was going to the Land of Waves.” Kakashi retorted, “When I became a Chunin, I was six years younger than Naruto.” Iruka said, “But Naruto is different from you.
Do you want to ruin them?” Kakashi replied, “Iruka, they are not your students now, they are my subordinates.
I have my reasons for doing this.” Seeing that Iruka still had more to say, Hiruzen l stopped him, “Iruka, I understand your concern.
So, I will prepare a special Preliminary Exam for these rookies.
If they pass, it will naturally convince others.” “However, this test is only for the rookies.
The children who graduated last year are not included.
They only need to wait until the day of registration.”