Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 54 Snake Shadow

"The Wind Shadow is dead?"

What is Orochimaru planning to do? Is he going to team up with Sunagakure to attack Konoha?

It was probably a case of double-crossing. If Rasa hadn't been so scheming, he wouldn't have died in the middle of nowhere.

"Magnet Release ninjas, they really are afraid of close combat."

The Kazekage is, after all, the leader of a village, so information about him naturally needs to be shared immediately. The five-person group chat was unusually lively; everyone forgot about wasting chakra and quickly began analyzing Orochimaru's intentions.

Izuna: "Orochimaru hasn't been gone from Akatsuki for more than two years, and he's already causing trouble again. The intelligence department has been keeping a close eye on what he's doing with Otogakure. Ha, I really don't know what Konoha's intelligence department is doing; they actually approved Otogakure's application for the Chunin Exams. Don't they know their leader is a rogue ninja?"

Tobirama: "...Izuna, stop talking..."

Izuna: "Tobirama, there's no use in running away from the problem. Look at the state of Konoha now, it's completely leaky. We've been in and out seven times, and Konoha hasn't reacted at all. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has been out there for seven or eight years now."

Naruto: 〖...Can you guys keep your arguments separate from me?〗

Hashirama: "So, shouldn't we start thinking about what to do next?"

Fugaku: "Should we send Uchiha to interrogate them for information? It should be easy to capture someone who knows the inside story."

Hashirama: "Won't we alert them after the interrogation?"

Izuna: Are you questioning the Uchiha's abilities?

Hashirama: 〖...Uh, that's not what I meant...〗

Naruto: [Who turned the captured key personnel into an idiot?]

Izuna: "...That was an accident! You all know how disgusting that beast is! So what if I don't like him!"

Fugaku: 〖...Should we capture the Sound Ninja or the Sand Ninja?〗

Naruto: "Sunagakure sent all three of the Kazekage's children, including the One-Tailed Jinchuriki. Their instructor should know quite a bit about them."

Fugaku: "That's him then. I'll find Uchiha Ki, Naruto, you contact him."

Hashirama: "Even the selection was decided so quickly! That's too fast! What about Tobirama? Say something!"

Tobirama: [I agree.]

Hashirama: 〖...There's no need to be so decisive...〗

Naruto: [By the way, Izuna-nii, could you leak a little bit of information about Orochimaru and try to lure the Toad Sage back to Konoha?]

Izuna: [Jiraiya? Okay. Could you contact him for me too...we can chat privately.]

Hashirama: "Wait, isn't someone going to take care of me? When can I go back?!"

Naruto: [Uncle Hashirama, if you're feeling too bored, you could try controlling the sandstorm. We'll need that later. Isn't the Land of Owls right on the edge of the desert?]

Hashirama: 〖...Alright then.〗

While Naruto was dealing with troublesome matters, Sasuke slightly sulked with him all night, but the next day he acted as if nothing had happened, only following Naruto's footsteps even more closely. Naruto didn't understand, but he had almost gotten used to Sasuke's various sudden whims and quirks, and arrived at the meeting point as usual, waiting for Kakashi until lunchtime.

When the Chunin Exams application forms were submitted, the three, who were well-prepared, displayed different attitudes. Naruto's expression was unusually serious, Sasuke seemed quite relaxed, while Sakura was clearly somewhat insecure, but after the assembly, she stopped her teacher to ask questions about genjutsu.

Kakashi was late, but he was still quite attentive to his three students. He knew, of course, that the three of them had gone to the library yesterday afternoon to pick out a batch of introductory books on medical ninja for Sakura. However, the concept of genjutsu was too general and required a lot of imagination, so in-person teaching was more effective; finding a good teacher was more useful than reading books.

"Sakura, most ninjas only train in one of the two: genjutsu or medical ninjutsu, because a person's energy is limited. Are you sure you want to do both?"

Sakura nodded without hesitation and said, "Since I have talent, there's no reason for me to give up. I will study hard! Please help me, teacher!"

Well... it's rare to see students so motivated, he shouldn't fall behind. As for illusion magic, he should probably ask Kurenai for help. Sakura and her Class 8 are in the same year, they should get along well, right?

The week leading up to the exams was remarkably calm in Konoha. Daily training proceeded as planned, a significant number of ninja from other villages remained largely obedient, and large-scale personnel movements were conducted covertly. To prepare for the exams, missions for genin were suspended, making this week so leisurely that Naruto was able to catch up on sleep, completely washing away the fatigue of the previous period.

Amidst the anticipation of various parties with different motives, the Chunin Exams officially began.

Upon arriving at the exam center, a large number of students crowded the corridor, creating a tense atmosphere. However, the presence of acquaintances always helped alleviate some of the pressure. Seeing Lee kicked away and lying in front of the three again, Naruto sincerely remarked on how well the ninjas hid their true intentions. Look at that exaggerated acting, look at that realistic injury effect—anyone would underestimate this seemingly dim-witted boy with the watermelon-head haircut.

"Xiao Li? What are you doing?" Sakura, who hadn't fully grasped everything, was a little worried. Although Li always talked to himself and did inexplicable things, he was still a senior who rarely returned to school to see them after graduation, even though his main purpose was to spar with the juniors.

Li leaped up from the ground, wiped the dirt off his face, and struck a pose that he thought was incredibly handsome, seemingly oblivious to his previous humble demeanor.

"I'm perfectly fine, Sakura-chan! Don't worry about me!"

"..." Never mind, she didn't ask that question.

Neji walked over from a short distance, accompanied by their teammate Tenten. He often ran back to the academy trying to regain his pride, but even if he could fight Sasuke to a standstill, he had never won against an opponent like Naruto, who possessed extremely fast close-range speed, astonishing long-range destructive power, and was skilled in shadow clones. The Hyuga clan's current attack methods were too limited; if he could learn the Eight Trigrams Palm technique, he wouldn't be so easily kited.

"Oh, so you've come after all." Neji greeted them quite calmly.

"You didn't go bother Sakura again, did you?" Tenten grabbed Lee by the ear and pulled him away. "Sorry, Sakura, this guy still hasn't learned to read the room."

"Actually, it's alright..." Sakura maintained an awkward smile, which was one of the more appropriate times Lee had ever done.

"Good morning." Naruto glanced down the corridor and, as expected, could only see two adults. He had tried many times; genjutsu was useless against him, even the special genjutsu released by the Mangekyou Sharingan. He couldn't even see the scene within the genjutsu; he could only "see" the outline of chakra.

"What are they doing?"

Neji said, "Wait for someone."

"Who are we waiting for?" Sasuke was a little curious. Who was worth such a grand reception?

Neji seemed to roll his eyes at him, but it wasn't very noticeable. "Wait until the nail sticks out gets hammered down."

Sakura, who was just about to show off her illusion magic training results, quietly withdrew her hand.