Hiruzen's words hung in the air.
Kakashi remained silent, nodded briefly, and left the Hokage's office.
With a heavy sigh, Hiruzen flipped through the stack of documents on his desk. One, in particular, caught his attention—it was the proposal for the upcoming joint Chunin Exam, an event where Genin from various villages would gather to compete. This exam had become the most pressing matter for the Hokage to address.
The recent events involving Uzumaki Chito had tarnished Konoha's reputation. Even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had begun to question the village's strength, considering cuts to Konoha's military budget.
For the sake of Konoha's future, Hiruzen needed to showcase the village's potential during the joint Chunin Exam.
This exam was an opportunity to demonstrate Konoha's strength and talent before the Daimyo and the noble class.
Geniuses like Hyuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke were crucial. Their exceptional abilities gave Hiruzen confidence that Konoha would make a strong impression.
Still, he couldn't help but sigh.
It would've been ideal if Naruto had stayed in Konoha. His participation in the exams would have bolstered Konoha's reputation even further.
Time passed, and Kakashi's Seventh Squad refrained from leaving the village for any missions, still shaken by Naruto's display of power during their encounter.
Soon, the day of the Joint Chunin Exam arrived.
The first exam went relatively smoothly. Most of Konoha's Genin passed, likely because the examiners had gone easy on them.
The second exam, however, diverged from the events of the original timeline.
Orochimaru did not appear.
After his conversation with Uzumaki Chito, Orochimaru's ambitions had shifted. While his pursuit of power intensified, his obsession with the Sharingan diminished. Instead, he resumed an old experiment—researching the cells of the First Hokage.
His desire now was immortality, to become a god.
The Sharingan might have made him stronger, but it wouldn't lead to the qualitative transformation he sought.
A month later, the third exam began.
Naruto and Might Guy, disguised, had infiltrated the exam venue under Orochimaru's guidance. Aside from Orochimaru, even the Hokage remained unaware of their presence.
The earlier matches passed without much intrigue, save for the battle between Hinata and Neji, which stirred strong emotions in the crowd.
Neji's remarks about the Hyuga clan...
They gave Naruto pause for thought.
The highlight of the day was the match between Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara of the Sand. As Sasuke finally broke through Gaara's defenses, something shifted.
A terrifying surge of chakra erupted as the One-Tail began to take over Gaara's body.
In the sky above the arena, feathers scattered gently.
Genjutsu.
The simplistic technique wasn't enough to affect Naruto and Might Guy, but it served its purpose—it was the signal for war.
The Sand ninjas struck first. They wasted no time, unsheathing kunai and attacking Konoha's forces with lightning speed.
Naruto and Might Guy joined the fray almost immediately.
Although they weren't wearing Akatsuki's iconic black robes with red clouds, their distinctive appearances made them easily recognizable. The Konoha ninja spotted them in an instant.
Kakashi immediately engaged Might Guy, leaving the younger ninjas to face Naruto. Turning to his squad, Kakashi ordered, "You all, go fight Naruto. Be careful—he's very strong, at least at the Chunin level."
Sasuke's eyes locked onto Naruto the moment he appeared.
"Naruto!" he roared, leaping toward him from the arena.
Sakura hesitated, then tried to follow Sasuke. But he stopped her sharply. "You don't need to come. This is between me and him."
Naruto met Sasuke's gaze coldly. "Wasn't the lesson I gave you last time enough?"
Sasuke smirked arrogantly. "Things are different now."
His eyes gleamed as his chakra surged. The black pupils of his Sharingan swirled, slowly filling with blood-red. The two tomoe of the Sharingan spun rapidly in his eyes.
"See this?" Sasuke raised his hand to touch his right eye. "Thanks to you, I awakened the strongest bloodline limit in this world. This is the Sharingan. With it, you'll lose this time."
Naruto sneered. "Is this where your confidence comes from? Just as Grandpa Chito said—your Uchiha clan are nothing but arrogant ghosts who don't know the limits of the sky."
Sasuke cut him off. "Then I'll let you experience the power of the Sharingan!"
Without hesitation, Sasuke stepped forward, determined to rely on the Sharingan's predictive abilities to defeat Naruto in close combat.
He had already expended a lot of chakra in his earlier fight with Gaara, so he needed to conserve his strength for the critical moment.
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