Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

"A lot of people..."

Sakura looked at the sea of ​​people in front of her and sighed.

"There are probably 100 people... maybe more. These are just the ninjas on the training ground. There are definitely more in the teaching building."

Sasuke glanced around and estimated the number of people taking the exam.

"I heard the Chunin Exams are very strict, and the chances of successfully becoming a Chunin are very low—we have to compete with so many people..."

Sakura's voice carried a hint of worry: "And there are adults taking the exam, they must be very experienced... We've only been ninjas for less than half a year..."

Hearing Sakura's negative words, Naruto frowned slightly. He knew that in the original story, Sakura was insecure about participating in the Chunin Exams.

But unexpectedly, Sakura is now even more insecure about her abilities than she was in the original story.

This is the negative feedback that Naruto and Sasuke's unparalleled growth rate brought to Sakura.

Naruto didn't want Sakura to be preparing to skip the exam when he had already stepped into the exam hall.

In the Chunin Exams, the first exam is a written test held at the Konoha Ninja Academy, and the second exam is a survival drill and combat test held in the Forest of Death. Both exams must be taken in teams of three ninjas.

If one person is absent from the exam, the remaining two members of the ninja class will be considered as failing, even if they pass both exams.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, who was supposed to be the one to notice Sakura's unusual mood and comfort her.

At this moment, Sasuke was not paying attention to Sakura and Naruto at all. He was looking at the other people taking the test, looking eager to meet a strong opponent and prove his strength.

Unfortunately, Naruto had no choice but to take matters into his own hands.

“…Sakura, you don’t need to be so self-deprecating.”

Naruto spoke up, drawing Sakura's attention to him: "I've told you before, participating in the Chunin Exams doesn't mean those ninjas have the strength of Chunin."

"Those 'powerful' older genin you're worried about are the best proof. The fact that they're still genin in their twenties or thirties and can't even become chunin shows that they're not qualified to be ninjas at all."

"They're nothing but parasites... who can't bear to part with the benefits that come with being a ninja."

Naruto made no attempt to hide his disdain for the older genin. That's just how the ninja world is, and it's only thanks to the peace and truce that the ninja world is currently in a period of peace.

In times of war, these people wouldn't even have the right to live to their twenties or thirties.

“I’m pretty sure you’re better than them, and… you’ve gotten first place more times than Sasuke, yet you’re afraid of exams? That’s not like the Sakura Haruno I know.”

These words were Naruto's way of comforting Sakura, but they also truly reflected Naruto's own feelings.

Sakura is not from a ninja clan, and her current strength is the lowest among the Konoha Twelve.

Her potential is not as high as that of the descendants of those great families, but compared with a group of ordinary people, although she is still not at the top, she is enough to easily step on the heads of most people and achieve her own success.

The fact that she was able to become a Chunin at the age of fourteen or fifteen in the original work already proves that she does have the talent of a ninja.

Upon hearing Naruto's words, Sakura stared at him, her expression slightly frozen.

Naruto responded with a smile.

"Thank you for believing in me like that, Naruto."

Sakura's gaze gradually hardened.

“We’re partners, so of course I trust you. Now that you’re no longer overthinking things, let’s hurry to the exam hall; it’s almost time for the exam.”

Sakura's self-deprecation was just a minor incident.

After resolving this minor incident, the three students from Class 7 arrived at the teaching building.

Kakashi mentioned that the exam location was classroom 301 at the Ninja Academy.

Naruto still remembers that it was a classroom that was much more spacious than the others.

"Classroom 301 is indeed spacious, but it might not be enough to accommodate one or two hundred examinees, right?"

Walking down the corridor of the teaching building, Sakura shared her thoughts.

But there's a clear error in Sakura's statement—

—The three students from Class 7 suddenly found themselves unable to move forward—Ahead, the entrance to classroom 301 was crowded with countless examinees.

Sakura's mistake was an underestimation of the number of candidates participating in the Chunin Exams.

There were nearly a hundred more students standing at the door of classroom 301.

"What's going on? Why are they all in the hallway and not going into the classroom?"

Sakura stood on tiptoe and noticed two young ninjas wearing Konoha headbands blocking the doorway of classroom 301.

"Why! Why won't you let us through!"

The students, who were blocked outside the classroom, tried to force their way into the examination room, but were knocked down by the two ninjas blocking the door.

"We're doing this for your own good. Anyway, you little brats won't pass the exam... you'll definitely give up in the first place. Since your fate is already sealed, isn't it right for us to get rid of you guys beforehand?"

"This is outrageous! We are all test takers, what right do you two have to stop us from taking the exam!"

"That's right! Everyone attack together! There are only two of them!"

The arrogant words of the ninja blocking the door provoked the crowd's anger, and the scene instantly descended into chaos.

Naruto watched this scene with great interest, knowing full well that the first test had begun.

The two teenage ninjas blocking classroom 301 were actually Chunin Examiners—Izumo Kamizuki and Tetsuo Koko—who had used a transformation jutsu to appear as teenagers.

This is not classroom 301 either.

Naruto turned his gaze away from the classroom's nameplate.

"This feeling... is it an illusion—"

Sakura finally discovered the problem.

Naruto raised his hand to stop Sakura from speaking, and then looked at Sasuke beside him.

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a glance and nodded in silence.

It seems Sasuke has figured it out.

"Let's go."

Naruto said.

Naruto immediately grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her away from the noisy "Classroom 301" corridor, as she was a little slow to react.

Leaving the noisy crowd, Naruto released Sakura's hand and said to Sasuke and Sakura, "You've noticed the problem too, haven't you?"

"It's an illusion."

Sasuke spoke.

Sakura nodded in agreement.

“This isn’t the third floor. The two guys who were blocking the door were the ones who used illusion magic. They also look like they’ve been disguised by a transformation spell—they’re probably the examiners, and the exam has already started.”

Naruto looked at the two of them and made a decision:

“Let’s take a detour to the real classroom 301. As for those guys who can’t even see through illusions, we can ignore them. Fewer opponents will only benefit us.”

Chapter 27 Kabuto the Pharmacist

"This is the real classroom 301."

Sakura looked at the empty corridor on the third floor of the teaching building and checked the numbers on the classroom nameplates in front of her again and again.

"It seems that the illusion set up on the second floor eliminated a large number of candidates."

Sasuke's main concern was the actual number of participants in the Chunin Exams.

"It's almost time, let's go in."

Naruto calmly offered a reminder.

With that, Naruto pushed open the door to classroom 301.

The three students from Class 7 entered the examination room, which was now packed with people.

"There are so many people..."

Sakura was amazed by the number of genin in the exam hall.

The illusions on the second floor have already eliminated many candidates. It was thought that there wouldn't be many ninjas who could see through the illusions and find the real examination room.

But there are still hundreds of test takers in classroom 301.

“Indeed, the fact that these guys are here means they've all seen through the illusion on the second floor.” Sasuke’s gaze swept over the crowd in the examination hall, barely able to contain his excitement: “They’re all guys with considerable skill!”

Naruto ignored Sakura's sentiments and Sasuke's excitement.

But his gaze, like the other two, swept across the candidates in the examination room.

In a corner near the front of the exam hall, six Grass Ninja wearing Grass Ninja headbands huddled together, including the red figure.

With Karin's perceptive abilities, it wouldn't be difficult for her to see through the illusion and arrive at the real examination hall.

However, Naruto's focus was not on Karin—his gaze fell upon the tall, thin man beside Karin, who was also wearing a Kusagakure forehead protector and a straw hat.

Orochimaru did indeed infiltrate.

Naruto casually glanced at the disguised Orochimaru before immediately looking away.

With Orochimaru's sensory abilities, if you pay too much attention to him, he will definitely notice.

This incredibly troublesome guy managed to sneak into the exam, but Naruto wasn't too wary of Orochimaru.

Orochimaru should have already discovered Karin's special qualities.

However, Orochimaru is now focused entirely on Sasuke.

For Orochimaru, Sasuke's importance to him was far beyond anything Karin could compare to.

Orochimaru will not affect Naruto's plan to contact Karin.

After sorting through these complexities, Naruto realized that he and Orochimaru had no direct conflict of interest—at least not during the Chunin Exams.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that Naruto cares more about Kabuto Yakushi than Orochimaru.

Yakushi Kabuto, with his gray-white hair, round-framed glasses, and a small braid at the back of his head, was also in the examination room at that moment.

Kabuto is even more troublesome than Orochimaru.