The finals of the Chūnin Exam.
Early in the morning, Sasuke had already packed up and was ready to head to the arena.
Before that, however, he handed Zabuza's decapitation sword to Bai.
He also instructed Bai to hide near the Hokage building. After the Chūnin Exam ended though, more precisely, maybe before it even ended Sasuke planned to start his mission to steal the Sealing Scroll.
Over the past seven days, Sasuke not only used the time to familiarize himself with Thunder Breathing but also worked on refining his chakra and connecting with the cursed seal.
He made considerable progress in all areas.
In terms of taijutsu, after a battle with Lee, Sasuke had experienced significant improvement.
[Taijutsu Mastered: Basic Taijutsu (Intermediate → Advanced), Konoha Sword Style (Advanced), Ninja Body Technique – Thunder Breathing (Advanced)]
During the past week, Sasuke's chakra had also increased.
His chakra was now approximately "six-nine-seven," about four times greater than Kakashi's.
At this level, Sasuke's chakra was already considerable, even among jōnin.
The system's assessment had also changed.
[Chakra Amount: High]
In these seven days, Sasuke had also put significant effort into practicing the Heavenly Cursed Seal.
The unsealing of the Heavenly Cursed Seal had improved substantially.
[Special State: Heavenly Cursed Seal (Unsealed 57%)]
Now, when Sasuke used the Heavenly Cursed Seal, he had fully mastered the first stage. He could also partially activate the second stage.
Of course, he could fully activate it, but that would harm his body.
However, the first stage was already sufficient for use.
The chakra power in the cursed seal mode was already formidable.
At the same time, Sasuke's Sharingan had grown even stronger. The effects of the advanced Sharingan cultivation method were truly astounding.
It was essentially one improvement per day, and Sasuke could clearly feel his ocular power growing rapidly.
Now, Sasuke felt his eyes were on the verge of a breakthrough.
After seven days of training, his three-tomoe Sharingan had begun to change.
Sasuke even felt that once he activated the three-tomoe Sharingan, his chakra was burning rapidly.
It felt as if something was about to emerge from his eyes.
But he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.
However, Sasuke speculated that this might be a sign of the Mangekyō Sharingan awakening.
Once the Mangekyō Sharingan activated, Sasuke would undergo a monumental transformation.
His two Sharingan techniques, Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi, were fearsome moves.
Although he felt it was only a matter of time, Sasuke wasn't sure exactly when he would reach that point.
As Sasuke was about to leave for the arena, he was surprised to find Naruto waiting outside his door.
"How's it going? Are you ready, Sasuke?"
Sasuke nodded.
"Have you been waiting here long?"
Naruto jumped down and looked at Sasuke, "Of course! I've been through seven days of intense training. Today, I'll definitely surprise you, so I had to come early and wait for you!"
Intense training?
Sasuke guessed Naruto had probably been training with Jiraiya! At this point, Naruto must have learned Summoning Jutsu, and summoned Gamabunta from Mount Myoboku.
That toad would be a great boost to Naruto's battle strength.
"Is that so?"
"Then let's go!"
Sasuke walked ahead, and Naruto quickly followed.
They didn't walk far before Sakura appeared, waiting for them.
The three members of Team 7 headed toward the exam venue together.
At that moment, the finals of the Chūnin Exam were underway, and the special arena was already filled with spectators.
The purpose of the Joint Chūnin Exam was to test the strength of the various ninja villages.
At the same time, Konoha also wanted to show off its military power.
The effect was similar to a military parade.
Since this was the final round, the more people that could watch, the better it would serve to showcase Konoha's might.
When they arrived at the venue and heard the voices of the audience, Sasuke glanced at Orochimaru, who was seated with the Third Hokage. Soon, these people wouldn't be laughing anymore.
"The Chūnin Exam finals are now starting!"
"First match!"
"Naruto Uzumaki!"
In the contestant waiting room, Naruto jumped up with excitement.
"I'm the first one up, huh?!"
"Awesome!"
"Sasuke, today you're going to see the results of my special training!"
"I'll definitely surprise you!"
With that, Naruto jumped up onto the railing, ready to leap into the arena.
But just then, another name was called.
"Next match, Sasuke Uchiha!"
"What?"
Naruto, who was just about to jump down, suddenly turned around to look at Sasuke.
"My opponent is... Sasuke, you...?"
In the audience, Sakura was also stunned for a moment. She turned to look at Kakashi-sensei beside her.
"Sensei, why did Naruto and Sasuke end up facing each other?"
"If they had been separated, both of them could have passed the exam!"
Kakashi smiled when he heard this. "It's not that being paired together means they have no chance of passing. This exam isn't focused on the outcome, but rather on the process!"
In the waiting room, Sasuke glanced at Naruto.
"Looks like I'll not only be watching the results of your training, but I'll also get to experience it firsthand."
With that, Sasuke leapt down to the arena.
In the center of the arena, he looked at the judge, Kurenai Genma, one of Konoha's elite jōnin.
But Sasuke couldn't figure out what made this guy strong.
It didn't matter; the focus wasn't on him.
As the first contestant to appear, Sasuke was under the watchful eyes of many people from Konoha.
Whether they were ninja or not, everyone had heard of Sasuke Uchiha.
"Is this the kid from the Uchiha clan?"
"He fought with the kid from the Hyūga clan and won!"
"Wasn't he fighting the Nine-Tails?"
"Hey! Don't talk about the Nine-Tails like that in front of the Third Hokage!"
Naruto also jumped down.
Kurenai Genma looked at the two of them. "You two are from the same team, right?"
"In that case, be careful. Don't overdo it. This is just an exam, so try not to cause any injuries."
Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other, completely ignoring Kurenai Genma's words.
In that moment, Sasuke had a strange premonition.
'Naruto…'
'A fated battle, one we can't escape…'