Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 54

He suddenly reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair: "You brat, with such amazing 'tutoring' skills, what do I need to teach you?"

"Huh?" Naruto looked bewildered.

Sasuke stood not far away, seemingly practicing shuriken, but his ears were perked up.

He keenly sensed the change in Jiraiya's attitude, and a hint of doubt flashed in his Sharingan eyes.

What secrets is hidden in that bottom-of-the-barrel guy?

However, Naruto had already told him his secret, but he just didn't believe him.

Meanwhile, Sakura was intently staring at the chakra threads in her hand.

Her forehead was covered in sweat, and her green eyes were unblinking.

“Good, keep this rhythm.” The medical team leader instructed from the side, “The most important aspects of medical ninjutsu are stability and precision.”

Sakura bit her lower lip, and the light of chakra flickered slightly at her fingertips.

Although she can't yet perform advanced healing techniques like the Palm Immortal Technique, basic hemostasis and pain relief are no problem for her.

'I must become stronger...' she vowed silently to herself, 'I can no longer hold everyone back!'

Outside the window, the afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the streets of Konoha.

The final preparations for the Chunin Exams are proceeding in a tense but orderly manner...

Chapter 61: The Chunin Exams Officially Begin

At the Chunin Exams venue, the three members of Team 7 gathered early at the entrance, each with a different expression.

Kakashi leaned against a tree trunk, his silver hair obscuring his left eye, his right eye fixed intently on the book "Icha Icha Paradise" in his hands, without even looking up: "The rules are simple—come back alive."

"Hey! Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto waved his fist in dissatisfaction. "What kind of encouragement is that?!"

Sasuke, hands in his pockets, his eyes flickered beneath his black hair: "Just don't hold us back."

Sakura took a deep breath, her fingers unconsciously twisting together: "I...I'll try my best!"

Kakashi finally looked up from his book, his right eye curving into a crescent moon: "Well, good luck to you all."

The three exchanged a glance and couldn't help but sigh, seemingly having grown accustomed to Kakashi's attitude.

The three of them then pushed open the door to the examination room together.

However, the scene inside left the three of them stunned.

At this moment, the venue was bustling with noise, with ninjas from various villages such as Sunagakure, Amegakure, Kusagakure, and Otogakure gathering in small groups.

Gaara of Sunagakure stood in the corner, carrying a huge gourd on his back, his eyes cold, giving off an air of "keep away, strangers!" and "get lost, acquaintances!"

Kankuro is holding a puppet called "Crow," whose face is painted with purple patterns.

As for Temari, she leaned against the wall, a huge fan held horizontally in front of her.

On the other side, the Amegakure ninja wore breathing masks, revealing only a pair of emotionless eyes, making it impossible to discern their faces or thoughts.

The newly formed Sound Ninja were covered in bandages and exuded a chilling aura.

As for the Grass Ninja, these guys are burly and carry exaggerated giant swords on their backs.

Sakura's pupils contracted slightly, and she unconsciously swallowed: "So many people..."

Her fingers secretly clenched the hem of her clothes, a little scared in her heart.

Naruto's reaction was completely different.

His eyes lit up instantly, and a wide smile spread across his face: "Wow! So these are ninjas from other villages?"

He rubbed his hands together excitedly, "They all look so strong!"

Sasuke's dark eyes swept across the entire area like a blade: "Hmph, mostly small fry."

His voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable air of cold arrogance.

"Enough of this, let's go!"

Just as the three were about to enter—

"Please wait a moment!"

A green figure flashed in front of them like a whirlwind.

The person arrived very quickly; Naruto and Sasuke only realized someone was there when the person was right in front of them.

However, this person had a watermelon-shaped haircut, thick eyebrows, and wore tight-fitting clothes.

Even Naruto, who doesn't care much about his clothing style, was somewhat disgusted by it.

The green-clad, watermelon-headed man blocked their path with a textbook-perfect 90-degree bow: "Hello! I am Rock Lee, a genin from Konoha!"

"..." Sasuke's expression instantly turned cold, and the corners of his mouth turned down slightly.

Naruto blinked and gave a friendly smile: "Oh! Hello!"

Sakura forced a polite smile: "Uh, hello..."

Her gaze lingered on Li's bodysuit for a second before quickly shifting away.

Lee straightened up, his eyes sparkling like stars: "I heard you guys are the geniuses of this year! Especially Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto!"

He suddenly clenched his fist and shouted with fervor, "I want to spar with you!"

Naruto scratched his head and smiled somewhat awkwardly: "Ah...it might not be convenient right now, we have our exams coming up soon."

Sasuke simply walked past him: "Get out of the way."

Lee, however, relentlessly pursued him: "Wait! Although I don't know ninjutsu or genjutsu, my taijutsu—"

"Sorry!" Naruto turned around with an apologetic expression, clasping his hands together in a gesture of apology. "Let's talk about it after the exam!"

Sasuke continued walking forward without turning his head: "Boring."

Xiao Li froze instantly, his entire body seemingly drained of color, standing motionless in place.

A gust of autumn wind blew by, swirling up a few fallen leaves and adding to the desolation.

Seeing this, Sakura quickly ran over, bowed, and apologized: "I'm sorry! My teammate was a little... uh, not very polite..."

She looked up and met Xiao Li's teary eyes.

"What a...what a gentle and kind girl!"

Suddenly, Xiao Li knelt down on one knee and produced a bright red rose from nowhere: "Please go out with me!"

"...Huh?"

Sakura's expression froze instantly, her pale green pupils contracted sharply, and her lips trembled slightly.

"I swear I will protect you with my life! The flame of my youth burns only for you!"

Xiao Li called out with deep emotion, his thick eyebrows bobbing up and down with his excited expression.

There was even an urge to burn chakra.

"Eaaah——!!"

Sakura screamed and, as if by reflex, grabbed Naruto and Sasuke by the collar, dragging them with astonishing strength towards the exam hall, yelling, "Run! Run! Run! Run!"

"Wait! At least tell me your name—" Xiao Li's shouts faded into the distance.

After shaking off Lee, Sakura let go of his hand, bent over, and gasped for breath: "That was...that was terrifying..."

Her cheeks flushed red, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Naruto straightened his disheveled collar and chuckled helplessly, "Sakura, you don't have to be so dramatic..."

Sasuke looked utterly helpless as he straightened his collar, which had been pulled askew: "Just ignore that kind of person."

at this time--

"Heh, the ninjas of Konoha... they really are all a bunch of useless trash."

A chilling voice came from behind, slipping into the ears of the three like a venomous snake.

The three of them turned around abruptly and saw Gaara of Sunagakure staring coldly at them.

The gourd behind him exuded an ominous aura, and his dark blue eyes beneath his dark circles were devoid of emotion, as if he were looking at a group of dead people.

Kankuro stood to the side with a mocking smile on his lips; Temari half-covered her face with a fan, her eyes filled with scrutiny.

Naruto's expression turned serious: "What did you say?"

Sasuke's Sharingan activated instantly, the two tomoe slowly rotating: "Want to fight?"

Sakura instinctively took a half step back, but quickly forced herself to stand still, even though her legs were still trembling slightly.

Gaara's lips curled up slightly, revealing a chilling smile: "The Chunin Exams... I hope you can survive to the second round."

As he spoke, the air around him seemed to grow heavy.

But after saying that, Gaara led his two teammates into the exam room.

Meanwhile, inside the sealed space, Kurama squinted and said, "Hmph! Shukaku is just a tanuki's jinchūriki, what's with all the arrogance?"

Minato, however, sensed the extremely chaotic flow of chakra within the other person's body: "That child... the tailed beast within him is very unstable."

Madara scoffed at Minato's reaction: "He's just a mere Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast. If he dares to mess around, I'll turn him into a cat."

Chapter 62: Exam? Or Cheating?

After arriving at the examination room, the three members of Class 7 found their seats according to the names on the desks.

The three of them weren't seated together, but they weren't worried, since they were in the top three overall.

What kind of exams can you fail?

Soon, Naruto discovered that his deskmate was Hinata: "Hinata? She's your deskmate!"

"Uh-huh!"

Hinata nodded shyly in agreement.

However, before Naruto could get to know the people around him, the noisy voices in the examination room suddenly fell silent as the heavy doors closed.