Chapter Sixteen: The Arrival of the Chunin Exams

Chapter Sixteen: The Arrival of the Chunin Exams

Three hours later.

“Good morning, everyone.” Kakashi appeared at the doorway in a flash.

“Hey, hey~ It’s not morning at all!” Naruto and Sakura shouted in unison.

“Hehe~ Sorry about that, I accidentally got lost on the way. Ahem~ Anyway, let’s begin today’s mission.” Sensing the shift in mood, Kakashi quickly changed the subject.

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During the young shinobi’s mission ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

A few simple tasks, and Naruto, eager to show off, managed to mess up every single one.

For the weeding mission, he was first to finish—so thorough that not a single herb was left. The client then gave him quite a beating.

The next task, with dark circles under his eyes, was picking up trash from the river. He slipped and tumbled down the waterfall.

The third mission was walking a dog. He insisted on taking the biggest one, only to be dragged into a field full of traps. After quite some time, Naruto finally emerged, blackened from head to toe, but still alive.

A day passed...

“What an idiot, getting himself all banged up just to show off,” Sasuke and Sakura each propped up one of Naruto’s arms as Sakura spoke helplessly.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, wasn’t today so much fun? Hehe~ Naruto, anything else bothering you? Share it with us, so we can all have a laugh!” Shuster looked at the three, whose bond had grown noticeably closer.

“Aw, come on, Teacher Hatake! Why is it always me who’s so unlucky?” Naruto broke free from their support to point at Shuster indignantly.

“Chirp chirp~” A peculiar bird call sounded overhead.

“Hm? Shadow Clone Jutsu. Let’s go submit the mission report. You guys can train with my clones!” Shuster split into two clones and vanished in a flash.

“Ah~ As expected of Lightning! His speed is almost on par with Sensei’s.” Kakashi also created a clone and disappeared with a flicker.

“Oh! They’ve all left! Let’s go train then!” Naruto turned to the remaining clones and said to the others.

“Alright!” the other two replied.

Tap, tap, tap—“Huh?”—six voices in unison.

“Big Brother Naruto, there you are!” Three kids with goggles showed up in front of them. The boy with a long blue scarf addressed Naruto.

“Oh, Konohamaru! What brings you here? By the way, these are my teachers! The one with the mask is Teacher Kakashi. The one who looks as pretty as a woman, but is actually a man, is Teacher Shuster.” Naruto greeted Konohamaru.

“Huh? Why are there two Brother Hatakes… brothers?” The little girl behind Konohamaru blushed as she looked at Shuster.

“Hehe~ We’re just clones of the real deal. The originals are off submitting the mission report.” The two clones spoke in perfect unison, just like twins.

“So cute~” Eight voices, even Kakashi’s, couldn’t escape this time.

Hehe, everyone’s been healed, the two clones thought mischievously.

“Hm?” Suddenly, three people appeared at the other end of the alley.

“That forehead protector… Suna Shinobi…” Kakashi’s clone examined their headbands.

“Hey! You two aren’t from the Leaf. Why are you swaggering around here?” Konohamaru, as the Third Hokage’s grandson, felt a sense of duty.

“Tch, brat, it’s none of your business.” One of the Sand shinobi, dressed in black with a hat that covered everything except his face—painted with strange markings—grabbed Konohamaru and snarled.

“Hey, let it go, or you’ll get in trouble again.” The blonde kunoichi with a huge fan on her back spoke up, though her expression showed she wasn’t taking this seriously.

“Bzzt~ Hey, you want to die, punk?” Just as the man was about to hurt Konohamaru, arcs of electricity crackled in Shuster’s clones’ hands as they appeared behind him.

“W-When… when did you…” The man broke out in cold sweat, releasing Konohamaru immediately.

“You’re quite bold, aren’t you? Trying to lay a hand on the Leaf’s esteemed grandson right in front of three jonin? Should I congratulate you for your courage, or what?” The two Shuster clones spoke in unison.

“I… I… I…” The man was utterly at a loss, cursing his bad luck for running into three jonin on his outing.

“Sorry, sir. We’re Sand genin here to take part in the Chunin Exams. Kankuro didn’t mean to offend you. Please forgive us.” The girl quickly apologized, realizing the situation was turning sour.

“Hmph, disgraceful.” At that moment, a red-haired, browless boy with dark rings under his eyes and a gourd on his back hung upside-down from a tree nearby, speaking in a monotone.

“Hmph, if you’re here for the exam, just behave yourselves.” The two clones flickered back to their team.

“Uh… I—Gaara!” Kankuro stammered with a nervous laugh.

“What do you think we’re here for?” Gaara’s voice was cold and inhuman.

“Listen, Gaara… They started it…” Kankuro was sweating bullets.

“Shut up, or I’ll kill you,” Gaara said icily.

“I get it, I was wrong, I’m sorry, really sorry!” Kankuro apologized at once.

“Let’s go. We’ve wasted enough time,” Kakashi’s clone said, rubbing his temples.

“We’re leaving too. We’re not here for fun.” Gaara transformed into sand, rejoining his teammates and leading the way.

“Wait, what’s this Chunin Exam all about?” Naruto called after them.

“Looks like you really don’t know anything. We’re Sand genin here in the Leaf to participate in the Chunin Exams,” the kunoichi explained.

“Hey, you with the gourd—what’s your name?” Sasuke stepped forward.

“Gaara of the Desert. I find you quite interesting myself,” Gaara replied.

“Sasuke Uchiha!” Sasuke grinned.

“What about me? What do you think?” Naruto interjected.

“No interest,” Gaara replied, then vanished with his teammates.

“Uh… Konohamaru, am I really that weak?” Naruto asked, dejected.

“Well, you’re not as strong as Sasuke, that’s for sure,” Konohamaru replied.

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Dividing line—The Next Day –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

“Good morning, everyone. I lost myself on the road of life again,” Kakashi said after making them wait another three hours.

“Stop lying!” Sakura and Naruto roared.

“I’ve registered you for the Chunin Exams. Here are your application forms.” Kakashi handed out three forms.

“Yay! I love you, Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto, overjoyed, leaped into Kakashi’s arms.

“Alright, if you wish to participate, sign here. See you in Room 301 in five days, in the afternoon. That’s all. Shuster, leave your clones and let’s go.” Kakashi left a clone and flickered away.

“Work hard! I have high hopes for you!” Shuster left two clones and disappeared.

“Ah, the Chunin Exams! There’ll be lots of powerful competitors,” Naruto said, holding his form. He pictured Gaara in his mind—and then glanced at Sasuke. He snickered, imagining himself trampling both Sasuke and Gaara, then the Third Hokage saying, “Ah, let Naruto become Hokage. This old man’s ready to retire.”

Naruto entered his fantasy mode. Zero chance.

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