Chapter 1: The Chunin Exam Approaches

Time flies like a white horse passing through a crack; in the blink of an eye, two months had slipped by.

Because of Kakashi, during this period, Team Seven only accepted two C-rank missions; the rest were all D-rank.

Catching cats, walking dogs, weeding, picking up trash, delivering packages...

Every single one of these tasks, Team Seven had done them all.

Today’s mission was, once again, a D-rank.

Just outside the Leaf Village, there was a vast farm where sweet potatoes were grown.

The task for the day was to dig up all those sweet potatoes.

Facing the morning sun, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stood in the middle of a sprawling field, the vibrant green stretching as far as the eye could see—fresh and healthy.

But looking at the endless rows of sweet potatoes, Sakura and Sasuke felt tears welling up, helpless and frustrated.

“Teacher Kakashi, isn’t there a more challenging C-rank mission?” Sasuke complained displeasedly. These D-rank missions offered no real combat experience, and his progress lately felt like that of a snail compared to his training back in the Land of Waves.

Glancing at Naruto, he mimicked Naruto’s tone, “If I don’t move soon, I feel like my bones will rust.”

“So... just do it well, get some exercise. The teacher will cheer you on,” Kakashi said slyly before leaping onto a nearby tree to indulge in his little book.

“That’s not what I meant...” Sasuke wanted to argue but saw Kakashi had already jumped away.

“Then you two figure something out,” Sakura said, looking to the idea man Naruto when Sasuke came up empty-handed.

“In that case, there’s no other way—I’ll have to bring out my secret technique!” Naruto flashed the signature grin of the Legendary Sannin.

At that moment, the two seemed to see a glimmer of hope.

“Ha!”

Clapping his hands, Naruto’s chakra burst forth like water, instantly spreading across the entire field.

Sensing this overwhelming amount of chakra, Kakashi glanced up briefly from his book.

But it was just a glance.

Don’t ask—he was long since numb to it.

Nearly three months of living together, enduring Naruto’s countless “shocks.”

Anyone would get numb by now.

However—

“This terrifying amount of chakra, no wonder he’s the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!” Kakashi quietly estimated; this chakra alone was at least equal to one hundred and fourteen of himself.

Now that’s true chakra tonnage.

With such an immense chakra pool, formidable control, mastery of all five elemental release techniques, and extraordinary sensory abilities,

Naruto’s strength had already surpassed Kakashi’s.

Who would be the unfortunate ones to face Naruto in the upcoming Chunin Exams?

Unaware of Kakashi’s thoughts, Naruto’s chakra had already permeated the entire earth beneath them.

After sensing the soil, Naruto began manipulating it, bringing sweet potatoes to the surface one by one.

“Earth Release: Sweet Potato Digging Technique!”

The controlled earth trembled on a small scale, the soil continuously rolling.

The vibrations were moderate, just enough to push the fresh sweet potatoes up to the surface.

Before long, the ground was covered with sweet potatoes.

Not a drop of sweat—purely numbers.

After gathering and collecting the sweet potatoes, the mission was complete.

The scene shifted.

Inside the village.

“How’s it going, Sasuke? Why do I see you with fewer sweet potatoes than Sakura?” Sakura teased.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, wanting to retort but had no words.

The fact was clear.

Sakura harvested more because she had enough chakra to create more clones.

All thanks to her rapid progress in chakra sealing techniques, she had already reached a modest level of mastery.

Sasuke sighed inwardly: When would he be able to start training in chakra sealing?

Chakra sealing was a technique taught to the three of them by Master Leopard. It allowed them to store excess chakra for later use.

Sakura had only been studying it for two months and had already made some headway, but Sasuke still hadn’t mastered it.

Looking at Sakura, then at Naruto—

Naruto was a lost cause, having trained for six full years.

But Sakura, who had started at the same time as Sasuke, though weaker, had improved faster.

For no apparent reason, Sasuke felt a sense of urgency.

There were clearly many stronger warriors outside, and his teammates were progressing faster than he was, yet he was still stuck doing these boring, trivial D-rank missions.

“Damn it, this is infuriating!”

“Kyek-kyek-kyek~~~”

A sharp cry pierced the sky—it was an eagle flying overhead.

Kakashi looked up briefly. “Well, I guess that’s enough for today. I still have to submit the mission report.”

“All right, I’m heading back. See you tonight,” Sasuke said as he turned and left, having gained little training today and planning to work harder later.

Sakura chased after him, hoping to strengthen their teamwork, but was coldly rejected.

She was utterly frustrated now, feeling as if a cloud might suddenly hover over her head and begin raining at any moment.

Naruto watched Sakura’s retreating figure and suddenly felt a wave of desolation.

A dream lost.jpg

“Sakura, I’m leaving too...” Naruto greeted and said his farewells.

Taking an apple from his backpack, he began replenishing his vitamin C while walking and releasing his sensory perception to check on the village’s situation as usual.

First, he scanned Danzo, who was still somewhere inside the village.

This old dog had recently clashed with him, launching two unprovoked attacks on Master Xiong’s Xiaoyao Pills shop.

Seriously obstructing his path to riches.

Already courting death.

But it wasn’t time to act just yet.

Checking other areas—

Something was off. Why were there so many unfamiliar chakra signatures in Konoha?

Many of them possessed the chakra levels of Jonin.

Had Konoha been attacked?

But the village showed no signs of that.

There had to be another reasonable explanation.

Looking closer, Naruto found a familiar chakra signature not far away—it was Konohamaru.

He was currently overlapping with an unfamiliar chakra.

A kidnapping?

Naruto instantly used Body Flicker Technique to dash over.

Turning a corner, he saw a stranger clad in black dragging Konohamaru along.

The other two members of the Konohamaru squad, Udon and Moegi, were crying in fright.

Swish—

Without hesitation, Naruto tossed the half-eaten apple in his hand.

Empowered by earth-natured chakra for solidity and wind-natured chakra for speed, the apple was harder than a rock.

Bang!

Kankuro was sent flying, the mass and velocity propelling him halfway down the road before he slammed into a wall opposite.

“Thanks, Big Brother Lock!” Konohamaru exclaimed.

“Naruto, you’re so cool!” the others chimed.

Seeing someone come to their rescue, Konohamaru and the two others immediately hid behind Naruto, marveling at his strength.

Temari glared at the culprit but turned pale and blushed shyly upon seeing Naruto.

Such a handsome guy, truly a good man.

“What are you doing in someone else’s village?” Naruto asked the blonde-haired female ninja, who seemed to be the black-clad man’s companion.

He had suspected a kidnapping, but the two didn’t look like kidnappers at all.

“Are you asking for my name?” Temari had completely forgotten about her brother who had been sent flying. “I’m Temari. As for why I’m here, don’t you know about the Chunin Exams?”

Hmm?

The Chunin Exams?