"Good morning!"
Aoba nodded at the two of them. His expression did not change much. It was obvious that he was not too surprised by the arrival of the two of them.
"Brother Teuchi prepared some food for us. After eating, we can go to take the Chunin Exams."
Aoba said slowly. Since Teuchi had already prepared the ramen, there was no reason for them not to eat, so he told these two people this.
"There is food?!"
After hearing Aoba's words, Rin's eyes suddenly widened. She did not expect to be able to eat some ramen so early. Just a while ago, she was thinking about eating two military rations pills to satisfy her hunger.
"Of course there is!"
Teuchi slowly turned his head and looked at Saki and Rin. He nodded at the two girls and said, "There are enough noodles today. You can go to the exam after you are full. Aoba is treating!"
"Yes!"
Saki and Rin shouted at the same time. The two girls looked very excited.
Although both of them were cheering.
But the reason for their cheers was not the same.
Saki was because Teuchi said that the ramen this time was Aoba's treat. This made her feel that she could ruthlessly eat Aoba once. Moreover, she suddenly felt that Aoba had become much more human-like. In the past, when she came into contact with Aoba, she always felt that this person was some distance away from them. He did not seem like a real teammate.
Rin on the side was because there was food!
Only if there was something to eat.
She would be very happy.
"The ramen is ready!"
Teuchi immediately took a bowl of steaming hot ramen and placed them on the table, presenting them to Aoba and the others.
"Hurry up and eat!"
"After you finish eating, you will have the energy to take the Chunin Exam!"
"I wish you success!"
Teuchi said one sentence at a time. After he finished speaking, he nodded to Aoba, indicating that they should eat.
"Okay! Itadakimasu!" Rin immediately rushed to the hot ramen. Her eyes were already fixed on the ramen, and she could not move away. The ramen fragrance had already made her mouth salivate. After the first two times of Eaton and Fugaku's treat, she was not worried at all.
"Itadakimasu!" Saki did not eat much in the morning. She originally wanted to eat military rations pills when she was hungry. She did not expect to eat ramen in Ramen Ichiraku. It was so comfortable that it couldn't be more comfortable.
"..."
Aoba looked at these people with black lines all over his face.
Good fellow!
They were really impolite!
"Itadakimasu!"
Aoba took a deep look at Teuchi. He vaguely felt that Teuchi had woken up so early to earn his share of ramen money. After all, he was not the only one eating ramen. There were also Nara Saki and Akimichi Rin.
But these two girls were not simple girls!
Nara Saki was fine...
Akimichi Rin could really eat!
Aoba also picked up his chopsticks, began picking up the noodles, and then stuffed them into his mouth. It has to be said that this kind of ramen with the fragrance between the lips and teeth makes people feel full. They could easily satisfy their hunger and eat delicious food.
"Aoba, we are going to classroom 301 in the Ninja School in a while. That is where we will take the first round of the Chunin Exams. Brother Shikaku told me that the first round is a written exam. I have always wanted to inform you, but I don't know if I should go to you. When the exam begins, try to sit with me. I will try my best to help you." Saki said to Aoba while eating ramen.
"It really is a written exam!" Aoba nodded casually. From the looks of it, he did not seem to care much. Then, he turned to look at Saki and said slowly, "I have no problem with it. If the two of you can't answer the question before the time comes, don't worry, there's still me."
"Ah?!" Saki was stunned. She found a very strange phenomenon. She was obviously here to take care of Aoba, but she was taken care of by Aoba after just one sentence. This made her think of what Fugaku had told her. She immediately understood that Aoba had strong self-esteem. After all, even such a thing had to be forced. After that, she said, "I understand. We haven't been reading much these days, and we don't know what to read. We still have to rely on you to help us!"
"You won't be eliminated in the first two rounds," Aoba said resolutely as he ate his ramen. His tone was filled with astonishing confidence. This was the first time Saki had seen Aoba like this.
"O... Okay..."
The corners of Saki's mouth twitched slightly. She had been told by Fugaku before. She understood that Aoba had a strong sense of self-esteem. Therefore, when she spoke, she was concerned about Aoba's feelings. However, Fugaku had never said that this person would float away when you praised him!
There was a hint of helplessness on Saki's face. She recognized that Aoba could be their teammate. After all, she did not waver because of Shikaku's words. However, this did not mean that she recognized Aoba's strength.
As long as he did not drag them down...
That was enough!
...
Half an hour later.
Aoba and the other two were already full.
"Let's go to the Ninja School. There isn't much time left!" Saki immediately said after putting down her chopsticks. She could be said to be the one who wanted to become a Chunin the most among the three. Now that she had the opportunity to take the Chunin Exams, she could be said to be the one who cared the most among the three of them.
"En, let's go."
Aoba nodded. He knew that Saki had said this to him because there was no need to say these things to Rin. This was a very simple principle. Rin would do whatever Saki did. There was no need to say this at all.
"Let's go!"
Saki took the lead and prepared to walk out of Ramen Ichiraku. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly thought of Teuchi.
After that.
She suddenly turned around and looked at Teuchi.
"Big Brother Teuchi, thank you for your hospitality!" Saki bowed to Teuchi, expressing her gratitude.
"You're welcome!" Teuchi narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"Thank you for your hospitality!" Rin bowed as well, but she had eaten too much and could not bend her waist, so this bow looked very strange.
"You're welcome!" Teuchi waved his hand and said, "Go and take the Chunin Exams!"
"Brother Teuchi, I won't be polite with you. I will come to see you in a few days." Aoba nodded to Teuchi. He did not bow to Teuchi like Saki and Rin. mainly because they were already familiar with each other, and doing so seemed embarrassing.
"Go quickly!" Teuchi waved his hand as if he were chasing Aoba away.
Then, the three people, led by Nara Saki, walked out of Ramen Ichiraku and toward the Ninja School.
Ten minutes later.
The three of them arrived at the gate of the Ninja School.
At this time.
The students of the Ninja School were already on vacation.
They did not encounter any obstacles along the way. They did not even see the other ninjas. They did not know what kind of opponents they would meet.
There were two ninjas dressed in ninja clothes standing guard here. When Aoba and the other two appeared, they had already focused their attention on Aoba and the other two.
"Are you here to take the Chunin Exams?"
The two guards immediately stopped Aoba and the other two and asked coldly. In their eyes, almost everyone who came here was to take the Chunin Exams. The three of them looked a bit older than the other participants.
"That's right; we are Genins who will take the Chunin Exams." Saki immediately nodded and said. When she faced these two guards, her attitude was very good, and she looked very careful. After all, she cared about this thing. She had spent a lot of effort walking to this stage.
"What are your names? I will verify them." The other guard directly took out a stack of registration forms and immediately looked at it.
"Nara Saki!" Saki immediately said her name.
"Akimichi Rin!" Rin said.
"Yamanaka Aoba!" Aoba also reported his name.
"Wait a moment..."
The guard quickly searched through the stack of registration forms. His gaze quickly scanned through the papers, and one name after another appeared in front of him.
"Found it!"
The guard immediately took out three forms from these registration forms. The basic information about these three people was on them, and they were even pasted with their photos.
After that.
He took these three forms and checked them one by one with Nara Saki and the others, confirming that there was no problem with their identity.
"This is your registration form!"
The guard immediately took out the three registration forms and handed them to Aoba and the other two.
"Take your registration form and go to Classroom No. 301."
After the guard handed the registration form to the three of them, he immediately said to them. After he finished speaking, he returned to his seat.
"Thank you!"
After Saki expressed his gratitude to the two ninja guards, she took the lead and walked toward the Ninja School.
On the gate of the Ninja School, there was a huge word, "Ninja", which gave off a very solemn feeling.
Aoba's eyes were focused on the Ninja School plaque.
His eyes flashed with a familiar yet strange feeling.
This feeling was still very special.
Whether it was Aoba's original memory or the memories he had read from other people, almost all of Konohagakure's people had experience in the Ninja School.
But...
Aoba had a very special feeling about this kind of experience. He didn't know if it was because his predecessor's memory in the Ninja School was not particularly good. Every time he saw the Ninja School, his heart felt very strange.
"Let's go in!"
Saki stared at the plaque, and even her eyes had a look of reminiscence. After all, they all graduated from the Ninja School and spent a period of time here, whether happy or sad.
"Yes."
The two nodded and followed behind Saki, then entered the school building.
They walked directly along the corner of the school building to the rightmost stairs. After that, they began to climb up.
When they just got to the second floor.
They saw a lot of people crowded in the same place.
"Why don't you let us in?"
"Hurry up and get out of the way!"
"We're running out of time!"
"Why are you blocking the door here?"
"..."
Voices of complaint rang out, confusing Aoba and the two girls. They stopped in succession and looked in the direction of the classroom where the crowd gathered.
Immediately.
They saw the words "Room 301" on the sign at the classroom door.
"Saki, if I remember correctly. This is the second floor, right?" Rin asked doubtfully.
"This is the second floor." Saki nodded and said in a low voice.
"Then... why are they all gathered here?" Rin asked again, her eyes full of confusion.
"If I'm not mistaken, they should have mistaken the classroom," Saki said in a deep voice.
"Wrong classroom?"
Rin was stunned and felt that it was a bit inconceivable. After that, she muttered, "What's going on with these people? They can't even distinguish the classroom clearly. Why are they participating in the Chunin Exams?"
"Not everyone who participated in the Chunin Exams has the strength of Chunin. Some people obviously came here to feel the Chunin Exams atmosphere, so much so that they can't even see such a low-level genjutsu." Saki said indifferently. It was not that she looked down on these people, but her strength was much stronger than these people. Because of this, she encountered Shikaku's opposition when she signed up. Because Shikaku knew that she had a very high chance of passing the exam and becoming a Chunin.
"What should we do now?" Rin asked.
"Come with me!"
Saki didn't say anything more and directly walked up to the third floor.
Rin followed closely behind.
Aoba walked at the back.
Aoba had been watching this matter. He could clearly see that there was a genjutsu applied here. Even the stairs sign showed the third floor, not the second floor. Coupled with the people who came to participate in Chunin Exams were too nervous. So it was easy to be misled and not know how many floors they went up.
This was indeed a relatively simple genjutsu application.
However, this genjutsu was relatively difficult for Genin to break through.
Saki took Rin and Aoba to the third floor. After that, they walked along the corridor to its end.
At the door of the room at the end of the corridor.
The words "Room 301" were clearly displayed.
It was the real Ninja School, Classroom 301.
"This is it."
Saki looked at the classroom in front of her and slowly opened her mouth to speak. Now, her entire mental state was active. After all, what was waiting for her was the Chunin Exams.
She directly raised her hand and pushed open the classroom door.
Creak~
Accompanied by the sound of the classroom door opening.
Inside was a relatively empty classroom with only three people sitting at the back. As the classroom door opened, the three people's eyes focused on the direction of the door, staring at Saki, who was the first to walk in.
"Let's go to the right."
Saki felt the gazes of the three people and felt that the other party was a little dangerous. The three people were sitting on the left side of the last row of the classroom, so Saki brought Aoba and the others to the right side of the last row.
Rin did not say a word and directly followed behind Saki.
Aoba walked at the back.
When he walked in.
Sensing that someone was staring at him, he looked to the left side of the classroom from the corner of his eye and saw three ninjas staring at him.
The three ninjas were wearing red and brown ninja uniforms. From the forehead protector symbol on their bodies, Aoba could tell they were Iwagakure ninjas.
But...
These three Iwagakure ninjas looked older than them.
They looked around seventeen or eighteen years old.
'This was a Genin?!'
A big question mark immediately popped up in Aoba's head.
This matter looked a little ridiculous. Normally, the Chunin Exam's participant age ranges from twelve to thirteen years old. Especially during the war, were very few who would be delayed.
For example, the three of Aoba and the others were already quite old Genin, but these Iwagakure ninjas were still Genin at this age...
Either they were not strong enough and could not pass Chunin Exams, so they were always Genin...
Either they never took a Chunin Exams, but they already have a certain level of strength...
Aoba was more inclined to the latter.
After all, the former kind of people could be said to be everywhere in the whole ninja world, whether it was Five Major Ninja Village or the other Small Ninja Village. If there was nothing special about them. There was no need for Iwagakure to spend so much effort to send these people over!
There was no need for that!
Thus.
In Aoba's heart, he was already inclined to believe that these people possessed a certain level of strength. They had come here with a mission, and definitely not just to take a Chunin Exams.
After Saki sat in the back row of the classroom to the right, she called Rin and Aoba over together. She lay on the table, trying her best not to be so conspicuous.
"These three are Iwagakure ninjas. I feel that they have come with ill intentions. If we meet them later, we have to be careful!" Saki whispered. Her sense of smell was still very keen. Now, her expression had become very complicated, and was very nervous.
"Understood." Rin nodded. She listened to Saki very much. She nodded without hesitation and said nothing else.
Aoba, on the other hand, did not say a word. Instead, he fell into deep thought. Anyway, there was nothing much to do now. It was better to wait and think about what was going on.
"Aoba?"
Saki's gaze fell on Aoba. She wanted to get a relatively positive response from Aoba. It was absolutely impossible to remain silent.
"Understood."
Aoba nodded helplessly. He didn't expect this girl Saki to be so childish. Her desire to control was quite strong. She was indeed a girl from the Nara clan!
"Aoba, what do you think is going on with these three ninjas? Did Iwagakure request to take the exam together just to send these three people?" Saki asked Aoba. She didn't really understand the matters of these three ninjas. After all, she had never taken any Chunin Exams before.
"You can understand it this way..."
Aoba spoke slowly in a low voice. His eyes were fixed on the table, but his focus was on the three Iwagakure ninjas. He lowered his voice and said in a voice that only Saki and Rin could hear, "Iwagakure is now in the war with Kumogakure, so they will definitely not send too many ninjas to participate in Chunin Exams."
"What you said makes sense." Saki immediately nodded. She had already heard Aoba's words.
"Not only that."
Aoba shook his head, indicating that he had not finished what he wanted to say. Then, his eyes flashed with a serious look. He had been thinking about these things just now. However, Saki had asked, so he could explain it.
"Generally speaking, if the Chunin Exams were held in the other village, you would not send many ninjas who were unlikely to pass to participate."
"Now is a special time, so it is even more impossible to be like this!"
"So..."
"I think that other than this team, Iwagakure will have another team at most. There won't be more!"
"The real problem is not the number of people they have, but their age. They look a little too old. This makes me think that Iwagakure had some conspiracy with this Chunin Exams!"
Aoba lowered his head and analyzed. He shared what he saw with Saki and Rin. After all, they were now people who would take the Chunin Exams together. He had to remind them about what might happen next.
After Aoba finished his analysis, Saki and Rin's expressions changed slightly.
"Aoba is right. We have to be careful. These Iwagakure ninjas don't have good intentions!" Saki said with a serious expression.
As Saki spoke, her gaze was fixed on the three Iwagakure ninjas. These three people almost instantly noticed her.
All of a sudden.
The three Iwagakure ninjas looked at Saki together, and their faces revealed smiles.
Just as they looked over.
The three Iwagakure ninjas stood together and walked directly toward Aoba and the others.
The classroom wasn't big, to begin with.
It was actually a classroom for the children. In terms of design, whether it was the overall size of the classroom or the size of the tables and chairs, they were all designed according to the children's general sizes.
Because of this.
These three Iwagakure ninjas arrived in front of Aoba and the others in a few steps.
"Konoha ninjas, are you very curious about us?"
One of the three who seemed to be able to speak spoke to Aoba and the others.
Although the clothes of these three people were mainly red and brown, there were still some slight differences in some specific parts of their clothes.
The person who spoke at the front.
He wore a red hat with the Iwagakure symbol on the forehead. The square-shaped face looked cold.
Among the other two people.
One with messy hair bound by a ninja forehead protector. His face was slightly elongated, and he wore a blue and white vest. He looked rather lazy. When he stood there, he did not forget to yawn.
The other was wearing gold-amber tinted sunglasses. The face behind the sunglasses was slightly wretched, giving people a feeling that he did not care about anything.
The three of them stood side by side.
One could roughly tell their character by looking at their facial expressions.
"Not curious."
Aoba said indifferently. He knew that the ninja in front of him was staring at Saki. From the way he asked, he was asking Saki. However, Saki was his teammate. He would not really let a female student bear all of this.
"I didn't ask you!"
After hearing Aoba's answer, the leader immediately became unhappy. He didn't even look at Aoba but still looked at Saki. He kept looking at Saki as if he was very interested in Saki.
"I don't care. I'll repeat it again. We're not curious about you. You should go back to your own seats." Aoba said lightly again, his tone full of unquestionable determination. It seemed that he was not afraid of these three people.
"You..."
After hearing Aoba's words, this trio leader suddenly looked at Aoba, looking like he was going to fight.
Creak~
At this time.
The classroom door rang.
Three teams of nine walked in; all were Konohagakure ninjas.
The arrival of these ninjas could be said to kill the thoughts of these three Iwagakure ninjas directly.
"What is your name?"
The leader of Iwagakure's ninjas said coldly. His eyes were fixed on Aoba. He understood that with so many Konohagakure ninjas coming in, it was impossible to teach this person a lesson. At this time, it was not the time to make a big fuss.
However.
This time, Aoba did not say a word.
It was just...
From his appearance, it was obvious that he was not afraid but completely ignoring him.
It was as if he had heard nothing.
He directly treated this person as air.
He ignored him.
"You..."
This Iwagakure ninja took a deep breath. He felt extreme contempt from Aoba. This was a thought that made him very unhappy. Moreover, even he did not know how the other party did it.
If it was someone else.
Perhaps after he asked this question, they were already afraid. They would either say their name or not dare to say it. However, this kind of appearance which was clearly saying he was not worthy of knowing, could be said to be too humiliating.
"Good!"
The leader nodded at Aoba, and a sneer appeared on his face.
"Let me introduce myself. I am an Iwagakure Genin. My name is Akainu. I hope you won't meet me in the next few rounds of examinations. Otherwise, you won't be as lucky as you are now!"
The ninja named Akainu said provocatively to Aoba. After he said this, his eyes swept over Saki and Rin, and the smile on his face suddenly became more brilliant.
"I don't know if you can protect these two girls with your strength. Don't meet us, or they will be in trouble!"
After saying this, Akainu raised his right hand and showed his index and thumb finger. At the same time, he raised his left hand and pinched his index finger and thumb together, forming a circle.
After that.
He stabbed his left index finger into the circle.
Moreover, they kept coming in and out.
It repeated several times.
This action made Saki and Rin dumbfounded. The two of them had not experienced these things before. It could be said that they had no experience at all. Even if they encountered the other party's hint, they could not figure out what it meant.
Although they had received the book written by Fugaku, which Eaton had sent to them yesterday, the Chunin Exams were approaching, so they had not had the time to open it and did not see some specific things. Their understanding of this side was really very shallow.
However...
Saki and Rin didn't understand.
It didn't mean that Aoba didn't understand.
Aoba clearly felt this person's provocation, but he still didn't say a word. Right now, the Chunin Exams had yet to start, so it wasn't the time to immediately stir up trouble.
"Hahahahaha..."
Akainu let out a series of mocking smiles. He turned around and walked over to where they were just now, leaving two teammates behind.
The seemingly lazy Iwagakure ninja raised his hand and pushed his forehead protector. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Aoba.
"You are very brave!"
This ninja said coldly. He was a ninja who was on the same team as Akainu. He knew Akainu very well. Even if it was Iwagakure's people, only a few dared to provoke Akainu.
"My name is Aokiji!"
After this ninja said this, he immediately turned around and followed Akainu, walking toward the place they had just been to.
"My name is Kizaru."
The last ninja, named Kizaru, also reported his name. After he said his name, he directly walked away with his hands in his pockets and followed behind the two people.
"How baffling!"
Saki could not help but complain. However, she also passed this matter and felt the atmosphere of Chunin Exams in advance.
After all, she was a little afraid when she met these three ninjas.
Although all the ninjas she would encounter later would be her opponents in the Chunin Exams...
However, this feeling of encountering a ninja from another village was completely different!
"Aoba, thank you!"
Saki said gratefully to Aoba. If Aoba had not stood up to say a few words and sent away the three Iwagakure ninjas, then she really did not know how to deal with it.
"It's just using my mouth."
Aoba said indifferently. He did not care about such a thing. Even if he offended someone, he would only offend those from the other village.
The people from the other village were the easiest to deal with.
After all, they were in a hostile state.
Even if there was no war for the time being.
However, Aoba believed that Iwagakure had come to participate in the Chunin Exams this time to cause trouble. Their goal was to launch an attack on Konohagakure.
So...
Only if it was Iwagakure's ninja.
If they died, then so be it.
There was nothing to say!
Aoba was very clear that if the person who came here to ask for his name was not Iwagakure ninja but Konohagakure ninja, then he would not speak and directly hand it over to Saki.
After all, with the background of Saki's Nara Clan.
There were not many people in the village who dared to attack her. There were almost no critical problems.
"These three people are so strange. We clearly did not ask their names, but they said their names. Are they so shameless?" Rin said snappily. She did not want to know who these three people were.
"It doesn't matter."
Aoba shook his head lightly. Then, he smiled and said, "They cannot threaten us at all. The other teams should pay attention to them, but they are not a threat to us at all!"
"Eh..."
After hearing Aoba's words, Saki's face was immediately covered with black lines. She had a deeper understanding of Aoba's character.
This person.
You can't praise him.
He jumped up just because you praised him!
Saki didn't think that Aoba could do what he said at all. He completely regarded Aoba's words as flattery.
"Akainu."
"Aokiji."
"Kizaru."
Saki pursed her lips. She silently repeated the names of these three people. She was not as optimistic as Rin and Aoba. Instead, she had already regarded these three people as the biggest opponents in this Chunin Exams.
Gradually.
There were more and more participants arriving in the classroom.
Most of them were Konohagakure ninjas. Almost every time Konohagakure ninjas walked in, the three Iwagakure ninjas in the corner would carefully look at them.
After another while.
Another group of Iwagakure ninjas walked in.
However, this group did not have the imposing manner of the three people just now. It could be seen that there was a gap in strength between these two groups.
"Aoba, you are right. Iwagakure sent two teams. I just don't know what the strength of this team is. It seems to be quite low-key." Saki analyzed softly. After what happened just now, she had more recognition of Aoba in her heart, and she attached more importance to Aoba's opinion.
"These three are cannon fodder," Aoba said indifferently. He could see that these three Iwagakure ninjas were used as cannon fodder. Just from the expression on their faces and their auras were completely different from the three people just now. They were not on the same level of strength.
"What does cannon fodder mean?" Saki asked seriously. This was the first time she had heard this word. Although she did not understand it, she thought it was very advanced.
"Hmm... To put it simply...it's not very useful!" Aoba did not know how to explain it for a moment. After all, the word ''cannon fodder'' he mentioned was not the original but a new, almost conventional meaning. He thought about it and added, "You can see that they are used to attract attention."
"The three people just now are still more powerful." Saki began to accumulate information in her mind crazily.
"That's right." Aoba nodded. He could faintly feel that the chakra of these two groups was not at the same level. The strength of those three people was not inferior to Chunin. It could be said that the purpose of sending the three of them to participate in the Chunin Exams was very clear.
Creak~
However.
Right at this moment.
The sound of a door being pushed open rang out again.
The one who walked in was a very handsome, black-haired boy. This boy looked to be around thirteen or fourteen years old. Behind him were a boy and a girl. It was obvious that these three people were from the same group.
"Wow!"
As soon as this handsome black-haired boy entered the classroom, he immediately became the audience's focal point. He instantly attracted the attention of countless girls, causing the ninja in the classroom to cry out in surprise. It seems it has changed from the Chunin Exams venue to a large-scale Idol meeting scene.
"Someone from the Uchiha clan?"
When Aoba saw the black-haired boy, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. The boy could be said to have a standard face of an Uchiha. Not only did he have a cool appearance on his face, but he was also wearing clothes with the crest of an Uchiha paper fan. All of them showed who the latter was.
"No way?!"
Saki stared at Aoba in confusion as if he was looking at an idiot. It was a completely incomprehensible feeling.
"Aoba."
"Don't tell me."
"You don't know him?"
The corner of Saki's mouth twitched slightly. She felt that it was very strange. The other party was the most popular ninja in this year's Chunin Exams.
"Is it strange that I don't know him?" Aoba said indifferently, "He doesn't know me either!"
"This..."
Saki was stunned for a moment. She did not know what kind of logic Aoba had. Wasn't it only right that he did not know you?
But it was strange that you didn't know him!
After that.
Her eyes fell on the three Iwagakure ninjas.
She immediately found that the three had focused their eyes on the boy who just came in...