Naruto: I, Naruto, don't want to try anymore.

Chapter 98

The central tower.

The Four Purple Flame Arrays stood tall, enveloping the entire tower.

The ninjas traveled very quickly, and the ten-kilometer radius did not take up too much of their time.

Soon, the area around the central tower was filled with genin squads, and even the examiners were kept out.

Four blond-haired men stood casually at the four corners, completely unprepared, but unsure of Naruto's intentions, none of them dared to step forward.

"I never expected Konoha to do something like this."

A few kilometers away, Naruto and Temari walked leisurely toward the central tower, Temari looking somewhat disappointed.

She is only fifteen years old this year. As the eldest sister in the family, although taking on family responsibilities at an early age has made her more mature than her peers, there are still some innocent parts hidden in her heart.

For example, regarding the alliance between Sunagakure and Konoha, in her eyes, an alliance should be based on friendship.

Naruto could see the disappointment in her heart. In the original story, Temari also struggled with this issue during the Konoha Crush plan.

"Darkness and corruption are unavoidable for any political entity, but the root cause of such errors lies not in politics, but in those who wield power."

Naruto chuckled and said, "So don't worry too much about it. Sunagakure isn't exactly clean either."

Temari's lips twitched. Although what she said made sense, was it really okay for her to say it to my face?

"However, shouldn't you demand an explanation for this alliance between Konoha and Sunagakure?"

Naruto's lips curled slightly: "How about considering our Kumogakure?"

"Consider...what?"

"Form an alliance!"

"..."

Temari fell silent for a moment.

Is it possible that the reason Sunagakure allied with Konoha was to guard against Kumogakure?

"This isn't something I can decide, but I can pass on the message for you."

Temari gave a dry laugh, not daring to agree casually.

Naruto smiled slightly and said nothing more.

He didn't care about alliances or not.

There's no benefit in allying with a poor, opportunistic village like Sunagakure.

The reason for saying this is merely to disgust Konoha and sow discord between the two.

Along the way, they helped Temari and her two companions capture a Konoha genin squad. The group then arrived at the central tower, where Sasuke and Karin had been waiting for them for a long time.

Beside Karin, a squad of genin from Yugakure were bound together like dumplings by the Vajra Lock.

Seeing this, Naruto waved his hand, his clone removed the barrier, and Karin tossed the three-person team into the tower gate with a flick of her dog leash.

Naruto and his two companions followed them inside.

Temari followed the same method and became the second team to pass.

Only after both teams entered the tower did Hongdou and the other examiners appear.

boom--

With a loud bang, the tower's main gate was blown open.

Three Konoha ninjas were thrown into the tower, and Deidara's team passed through.

Then, Chojuro and two minor teammates were thrown into the tower, all three covered in blood.

Kimimaro's squad passed.

Four teams passed in a row, and without exception, they were all ninjas from other villages, which made the examiners anxious.

The first day flew by, and apart from the four teams, no other teams made it through.

It wasn't until early the next morning that Hinata's team managed to capture a group of fellow village genin and bring them into the tower.

In the afternoon, Neji's squad brought in a group of genin from Takigakure.

Compared to Team 8, where Hinata was, Team 3's strengths did not lie in wilderness survival and intelligence gathering, so they spent a lot of time on combat.

Meanwhile, in the Forest of Death.

"well--"

Ino and Shikamaru sat by the river fishing, gazing in the direction of the tower, and sighed in unison.

Behind the two, Choji was eating grilled fish, looking somewhat haggard.

They hadn't encountered any enemies for over a day. Every time the enemy saw Ino, they would turn and run away like mice seeing a cat, disappearing in a flash...

As soon as they started chasing, the other side would fight desperately.

It wasn't a desperate fight, it was a desperate run...

With Choji, a plump and round-faced ninja, they couldn't catch him even with a whole team.

Putting aside whether they can even capture them, it's questionable whether the three of them can even defeat the enemy given their current strength.

"I'm not going to pass this exam..."

Ino's eyes were lifeless: "I should have known better than to be so stubborn. I should have just asked Naruto for help."

"Well... actually, this is fine too. Let's just consider it as gaining experience."

Shikamaru rested his chin on his hand; he hadn't really wanted to take the exam anyway.

"Seriously, you two! I wanted to show Naruto how much I've improved!"

Ino complained, looking aggrieved: "We didn't even make it past the second round..."

"Alright, don't be sad. Stopping here might not be a bad thing."

Shikamaru said lazily, "None of the people taking this exam are easy. If nothing unexpected happens, even if we pass, we have absolutely no chance of winning the next exam."

Ino pursed her lips but didn't say anything.

As a sensory ninja, she naturally understood what Shikamaru was saying, and even had a more intuitive understanding of her opponent's strength than Shikamaru himself.

The Sand Village team, the Sound Village team, the Iwa Village team, and even Naruto's team.

Even without considering Naruto, the weakest of these people should be at least Chunin level.

Especially these team leaders, Gaara, Kimimaro, and Deidara, are probably no match for ordinary Jonin.

"I also want to keep up with Naruto's footsteps..." Ino said wistfully.

"From a realistic point of view, it's unlikely."

Shikamaru shook his head. Although he wanted to support Ino, he was powerless to do so. After all, he was a strategy-type ninja, and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio could only exert their abilities when they were together.

Moreover, at this stage...

None of the three are particularly strong, and Choji's mentality is not very mature. They will need some time to grow before they can form a decent fighting force.

Although he was somewhat unwilling, there was really nothing he could do.

Because of Naruto and Ino's relationship, the other teams avoided them like the plague, and the exam had to end there.

"In that case... Ino, can I have one pill?" Choji asked, drooling.

"Ugh, all you ever do is eat!"

Ino's roar echoed through the forest.

Suddenly, the bushes nearby swayed, and two Konoha ninjas appeared in front of the three, carrying their injured teammates on their backs.

"Um... how about we help you out? But could you give us some medicine? My companion is injured..."

"..."

Half an hour later, the Pig-Deer-Butterfly team passed.

"That's so much!"

Ino rushed into the rest area with great joy, but was stopped by Karin.

"The master is currently busy and cannot see you."

Karin stood blocking the doorway with her arms crossed, her tone indifferent.

Ino glanced at Karin with displeasure, then turned and left without saying a word.

Although she was very annoyed, she believed that Karin would not lie to her about something like this.

It was a strange intuition, like the mutual respect between rivals.

On the other hand, it was also because of his understanding of Naruto. Although that guy was easy to talk to and always seemed lazy, he would never allow anyone to interfere with his life and thoughts. He couldn't tolerate the slightest injustice in this regard.

The last person to do this was the Grass Ninja Village, and before that, Jiraiya…

If Karin really dares to do that, then Ino can only wish her good luck.

Karin understood this well, after all, she had been with Naruto for longer than Ino.

She wasn't lying to Ino; Naruto was indeed in trouble.

He's digging at the corner of the wall in the Sand Hidden Village...

"woke up?"

"Um…"

In the room, Naruto sat by Gaara's bedside. Gaara rubbed his eyes and sat up from the bed, looking very peaceful.

"You slept for twenty-four hours, waking up earlier than I expected."

Naruto chuckled and said, "After not sleeping for so many years, I would need to sleep for at least a month."

"How did you do that?"

Gaara didn't respond; he just wanted to know how Naruto had subdued Shukaku.

"Is it because I'm too strong?"

Naruto shrugged with a grin: "Ever since I destroyed the Grass Village, no one has ever had any unpleasantness with me..."

Temari and Kankuro, who were standing nearby, felt their eyelids twitching as they listened. Naruto's behavior seemed to be inciting a crime.

"So, if someone is strong enough, they can be like you?"

Gaara looked at Naruto, his eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge.

"Like me what?"

"To be loved, to be needed."

The poor child…

Naruto sighed softly, and Temari and Kankuro, who were standing nearby, felt a lump in their throats.

"I've heard of you."

Gaara said expressionlessly, "Even in Sunagakure, you are quite famous."

"That's great, would you like an autograph?"

Naruto took out paper and pen and asked with great interest.

"I wasn't referring to your status as a celebrity..."

Gaara paused, then said, "I meant your identity as a Jinchūriki and the story of your departure from Konoha."

"My only purpose in life is to survive as a weapon of war for the village. No one will love me, and I don't need to love anyone. I only need to love myself."

"I disagree with the former, but I completely agree with the latter."

Naruto patted Gaara on the shoulder: "Since you don't need to love anyone, why do you still serve as a weapon of war for the village?"

Gaara frowned, his eyebrows seemingly nonexistent, looking somewhat troubled. "Is this... the meaning of my existence?"

Naruto asked curiously, "So who gave you this meaning? Why did you listen to them?"

Seemingly having his inner weakness touched, Gaara exuded a murderous aura.

Snapped!

Naruto gently slapped Gaara on the back of the head, shattering the increasingly violent chakra within him.

Gaara stared at Naruto with a gloomy expression. He noticed a surge of extremely high-quality chakra surging within his body, preventing him from gathering his own chakra...

This made him directly aware of the difference in strength between the two.

There's nothing wrong with loving yourself; it's precisely because people love themselves that they develop the ability to love others.

Naruto said gently, "And the so-called value of existence is by no means something given to you by others. As for being loved... perhaps you have been loved from the very beginning."

"Am I...loved?"

Gaara's gloomy expression dissipated.

He tilted his head, and perhaps because he had just woken up, the little red-haired boy looked a bit strangely cute.

Naruto took out a kunai and gently stabbed it at Gaara's arm, but it was blocked by a wisp of yellow sand.

"I am a member of the Uzumaki clan, and I can sense the emotions and will contained within chakra."

Naruto gently tapped his head with his fingertip: "There is a warm chakra in your sand, a will that yearns to protect."

"Protect…"

Gaara, looking like his brain was overloaded, muttered to himself as he gazed at the fine sand surrounding him.

"What? You don't believe me?"

Naruto cheerfully suggested, "I happen to possess a forbidden technique called the Impure World Reincarnation. As long as there's even a trace of the deceased's physical information, it can bring them back to the world. Why don't we summon the owner of this chakra from the Pure Land and ask them ourselves?"

Gaara nodded: "Then I'll trouble you."

"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

Temari's face darkened: "Wait a minute! You two!"

She was initially quite pleased to hear Naruto's words of comfort to Gaara.

How come we've barely exchanged a few words and already started digging up old graves?!

Can't you two have even the slightest respect for the deceased, you bastards!

"That's unnecessary!"

Temari slammed the iron fan heavily on the ground and sighed softly.

"Mom does love you, I love you."

Why do you say that?

Gaara remained expressionless. He didn't quite believe Temari's words, even though Temari was currently the only one who could influence him to some extent.

"Because she is a very gentle person."

Temari looked helpless in the face of Gaara's questioning.

"Although I was not very old at that time, I still have some vague impressions. Later, I tried to find out about my mother's image from other people. People said she was a very gentle woman."

As she spoke, she glanced at Naruto, noticed his curious gaze, and turned her head away somewhat embarrassedly.

"I used to... also wish my mother could be by my side."

"Is that so..."

Gaara fell silent once again.

Today's update! I've been rereading Gaara's storyline, which took up a lot of time, so the word count is only 3,600. I'll add another 1,000 words tomorrow!

(End of this chapter)