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“Neji!”
Rock Lee lunged forward and hoisted the unconscious Neji Hyuga onto his shoulders in one smooth motion.
He shot a quick glance at A, then carried Neji straight toward the third floor without breaking stride.
At the top of the staircase, Rock Lee stopped dead.
He turned, fixing his gaze on Sasuke Uchiha, blazing fire behind his eyes.
“The last descendant of a clan hailed as geniuses.
I hope we meet in the exams, Sasuke Uchiha.”
Sasuke watched him go, eyes narrowing to a cold slit.
“Heh.
Fast.
That’s all he is.
And he actually thinks he can challenge an Uchiha?”
Still rooted to the spot, Tenten finally let out a long, shaky breath.
Both hands pressed to her chest, she silently thanked whatever fortune had kept things from spiraling into the worst possible outcome.
[Thank goodness.
At least it didn’t end that way.]
On some strange impulse, she glanced over at A, and found him already looking back at her, that half-smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
“Ah!” Her cheeks went hot in an instant.
She jerked her gaze away, and every bit of calm she’d scraped together came unraveling all at once.
[Wh, what’s happening?
He’s…
he’s looking at me.
Did he go easy on Neji because of me?
What am I even supposed to do right now?] A storm of half-formed thoughts swept through her head, leaving her heart a tangled mess.
A watched her floundering and shook his head.
“Why are you still standing there?
Go find your teammates.
The Chunin Exams are starting soon, and the proctor isn’t going to wait on you.”
“Ah — oh, right, yes!
Thank you!” Tenten snapped back to reality as if she’d been doused with cold water.
She scanned her surroundings, then bolted for the staircase, not before turning back and bowing deeply in A’s direction.
“Hmph.” Sasuke flicked his dark hair out of his face and turned to Naruto.
“Show’s over, idiot.
Move.”
“Huh?
Oh, that’s rich, Sasuke.
You were standing right here watching just as hard as I was.
Why’s it all on me?”
“Okay, okay — both of you, stop it, just stop!” Sakura clutched her head.
How did these two find something to argue about every single moment of their lives?
Ninja Academy, Classroom 301.
“Kakashi-sensei?” The three of them pulled up short, surprise flickering across their faces.
“Ah.
Sakura came too.”
“Huh?” All three members of Team 7 exchanged glances, none of them sure what to make of that.
Kakashi yawned and spoke at his usual unhurried pace.
“In that case, the Chunin Exams can be formally applied for.”
Sasuke’s brow furrowed.
He had a vague sense of where this was going.
“Formally applied for?”
Kakashi scratched the back of his silver hair, his eyes wandering somewhere to the side.
“Well…
the thing is, these Chunin Exams are three-man teams only.
You have to have all three members present just to participate.”
“What?!” Sakura’s eyes shot wide, her voice jumping a full octave.
“But sensei, you said—”
“Ah, I did say whether to take the exam was your choice.
But that was just a small, well-meaning lie.” He shrugged helplessly.
“If I’d told you it had to be all three, Naruto and Sasuke would have dragged you here whether you wanted to come or not.”
“Then what if only those two had shown up?” Sakura pressed.
“Then I wouldn’t have let them through.
The Chunin Exams would’ve been voided for them.”
Kakashi was quiet for a moment.
Then a warm smile broke across his face, his eyes curving into gentle crescents.
“But you all came on your own.
By your own will.” His gaze moved across each of them.
“Sakura.
Naruto.
Sasuke.
You showed up.
I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”
He stepped aside, revealing the door into the exam hall.
“Go on.
Give it everything.”
“Yosh, here we go!” Naruto pumped his fist and charged in first.
Sasuke followed at an unhurried pace, hands still in his pockets.
Sakura hesitated for a beat, then set her jaw and stepped through.
CREAK, The door swung slowly shut.
Kakashi stood in silence for a moment, then reached into his vest and drew out a strangely shaped kunai.
The characters carved neatly along its blade pulsed with a faint, ghostly light.
“Oh?
A Flying Thunder God formula…
It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it.”
From around the stairway corner, A’s imposing figure came into view.
“Ah, that’s right.” Kakashi raised his eyes toward A, and what little ease remained in his expression slowly turned grave.
“The Raikage-sama’s memory is truly something to be envied.”
Inside the exam hall, Konoha’s nine rookies had all found each other, and the resulting noise was impressive.
“Ino-pig, get away from Sasuke!” Sakura glared at the blonde ponytail girl draped across Sasuke’s arm and clenched both fists.
Ino Yamanaka pulled a face right back at her.
“Billboard Brow, you’re ugly and short.
If anyone should be staying away from Sasuke, it’s you.”
Best friends and love rivals in equal measure, they were nose-to-nose with enough hostility between them to start a small war, and neither one had any intention of blinking first.
Next to them, the pineapple-haired boy had his hands laced behind his head and the expression of a man who had given up on life entirely.
“Troublesome.
So troublesome.
Troublesome women, troublesome exam, troublesome trouble…”
The chubby kid standing behind him, underwear-patterned hat and all, was happily crunching through a bag of chips.
Hearing that, he reached over and shoved an entire chip into the other boy’s mouth.
“I really don’t like kimchi flavor.
But thanks anyway, Choji.” Nara Shikamaru chewed without enthusiasm and went back to sighing.
Over by Team 7, the boy with a small white dog perched on his head caught Naruto’s eye and flashed a wild, toothy grin.
“Hey.
We’ve been through some serious training.
If we run into each other during the exam, don’t come crying when I drop you in one hit.”
Naruto shot to his feet, jabbing a trembling finger at Kiba Inuzuka.
“Who the hell is getting dropped in one hit by you?!”
“N-Naruto-kun…
I’m really sorry.
Kiba doesn’t mean to sound so harsh.
Please don’t be angry…” The pale-eyed girl standing nearby hurried to explain, her voice barely above a whisper, fingers twisting constantly at the hem of her jacket, her whole face tight with apology.
Shino Aburame stood alone in a corner, bundled from collar to brow with only his eyes exposed, watching everyone in silence.
He had already tried to say something several times.
No one had noticed.
(Rough.)
“Hey.
You rowdy bunch, maybe dial it back a little?
Guess this is what you get with fresh-out-of-the-academy genin.
You’re really something.”
All nine turned toward the white-haired young man in glasses walking their way.
“Huh?”
“Who are you?
And why are you lecturing us like that?”
“Crunch, crunch…” Choji kept eating.
The young man stopped.
He adjusted his glasses with a sigh.
“Before anyone gets too worked up, why don’t you take a look at what’s behind you?”
➤ Next: Yakushi Kabuto’s First Appearance, and Uzumaki Naruto’s Reaction
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✨ 4 new chapters released every single day.