Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

But she herself was still just as useless...

He even inflicted more serious injuries on Naruto because of his initiative...

He had previously boasted to Kakashi-sensei that he would grow stronger.

In the end, she was the only one in the entire seventh class who remained in the same place.

Sakura's experiences during the Chunin Exams helped her mature.

Even though Sakura's strength as a ninja is currently somewhat weak, she has a mature mindset, and one day she will become a powerful female ninja.

"If I continue to hold everyone back, I will voluntarily apply to Kakashi-sensei to leave Team 7!"

Sakura looked at Naruto; it was both her vow and her determination.

She forced herself to make a change.

She didn't want to experience the Land of Waves or the Forest of Death again.

I don't want to always watch my comrades fight desperately while I can't even help them.

Naruto remained silent, staring intently into Sakura's eyes.

Sakura did not avoid Naruto's gaze.

Quietly awaiting Naruto's answer.

Aside from Naruto himself, no one can guess what Naruto is thinking when he is silent.

Naruto finally spoke up: "Sakura, do you remember what Kakashi-sensei said during the mission in the Land of Waves?"

"Sasuke and I have never felt that you are a burden—so don't say anything about leaving Team 7 anymore. Team 7 is Team 7 because of Kakashi-sensei and the three of us."

"Don't cry. I've never thought of you as a burden. I'm sure Sasuke feels the same way."

Naruto turned to Sasuke and asked, "Sasuke, am I right?"

"of course."

Sasuke replied.

He glanced at Sakura's eyes, which were still red but no longer filled with tears, and knew that Naruto had helped Sakura regain her composure.

"Seriously... guys are so oblivious!"

Ino glanced at Sakura, then at Naruto, and suddenly snapped at Naruto, "Naruto, especially you! If the maximum score is ten, you'll lose five points!"

Naruto looked bewildered after being inexplicably scolded by Ino.

What points were deducted? Why were five points deducted?

Sasuke, however, seemed to understand the subtext in Ino's words.

Sasuke remained silent, keeping himself out of the situation.

But in my heart, I really agree with Ino's rating of Naruto.

That was a truly fair and impartial scoring, Judge Ino!

"whispering sound."

Ino clicked her tongue softly at Naruto's reaction, wondering if deducting only five points was too lenient.

She took the medical bandage from Sakura again and tossed it to Naruto: "Choji, come here and bandage Naruto's wound!"

Ino gives instructions to Choji, who is eating potato chips that he doesn't know where they are hidden.

He then said to Shikamaru, "Shikamaru, please keep a close eye on your surroundings—Naruto and Sasuke are very weak right now, so we'll have to trouble you with that."

"Yes Yes……"

Shikamaru looked troubled, but he still became alert to his surroundings.

Then, without saying a word, Ino forcefully pulled Sakura toward the tree hollow where Team 7 used to rest.

"Boys, turn around!"

He then took out a large piece of cloth from his ninja tool bag to use as a cover for the entrance to the tree hole.

Still somewhat worried, Ino shouted at the four boys who were gathered together.

Although I don't know what Ino is planning to do.

However, the aura that Ino was currently displaying still made the four boys obediently listen to her and carry out her requests.

"Ino... how could she still fit such a large piece of cloth into her ninja tool pouch after she already had kunai and shuriken?"

Naruto couldn't contain his curiosity.

"Don't use common sense to guess about girls... no! It's about what a woman carries in her bag and how much stuff she carries."

Shikamaru, speaking with the air of someone who's been there, advised Naruto to curb his curiosity about these matters.

It seems that Shikamaru's father, Nara Shikaku, has learned his lesson in this kind of thing.

Naruto had already figured out the source of Shikamaru's experienced tone.

Naruto took the medical bandages that Choji had cut for him, and without asking Choji for help, he wrapped the bandages around his waist and stomach several times by himself.

After bandaging his wound, Naruto put the clothes that Ino had spread out back on back on.

"By the way, Shikamaru, what kind of scroll did your Team 10 get from the examiners?"

Naruto suddenly asked.

"What? Naruto, we just helped you, are you planning to take advantage of us?"

Choji, panting heavily, stared at Naruto.

Shikamaru, with his listless eyes, urged Choji to calm down: "Calm down, Choji. Naruto isn't the type to kick someone when they're down—besides, in this situation, with Team 7 and Team 10 fighting, we're the ones taking advantage of their misfortune."

Shikamaru analyzed the current situation of the two classes.

Team 7's battle with the Sound Ninja... no, they should have encountered a crisis before the battle with the Sound Ninja.

The three members of Team 7 did not have sufficient chakra from the beginning.

After the battle with the Sound Ninja, the chakra of the three members of Team 7 was further depleted.

Shikamaru looked at Naruto, but didn't speak immediately. Instead, he took out a white scroll from his ninja tool pouch.

Shikamaru is keeping the "Heaven" scroll that Team 10 exchanged with the examiner.

"It's quite a coincidence. So, the 'Earth' Scroll that the Sound Ninja just left behind is yours. Our Team 7 already collected all the scrolls before... We don't need the extra ones, so we'll give them to Team 10 as a thank you gift for helping our Team 7 fight against the Sound Ninja."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino's relationship; they wouldn't object to his decision.

Therefore, Sasuke's opinion is very important.

Sasuke simply snorted and handed the decision over to Naruto: "Hmph, whatever you say."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. I won't refuse an option that makes this troublesome exam so easy."

Shikamaru gladly accepted the scroll left by the Sound Ninja.

Naruto smiled and nodded, but his gaze subtly drifted toward a large tree not far away.

The guy hiding in the tree left with the Sound Ninja and hasn't returned.

It seems he wasn't just pretending to leave... he really was monitoring the Sound Ninja!

Naruto sensed both the Sound Ninja who had deliberately appeared in front of Team 7 and Team 10 who had unintentionally passed by.

If it were just the three members of Team 10 hiding in the shadows observing Naruto's battle with the Sound Ninja.

Naruto would never resort to such a self-inflicted injury tactic on himself.

Naruto's Earth Release: Heart Decapitation Technique was intentionally designed to be detected by Dosu, causing his ninjutsu to fail.

It was all Naruto's way of making himself appear weak in a plausible way.

This show of weakness was certainly not directed at Class 10.

Team 10 didn't have that kind of value, making Naruto prefer to be seriously injured rather than pretend to be someone else.

Naruto was wary of the third source of chakra he sensed, in addition to Team 10 and the three Sound Ninja.

The chakra of candidates and examiners who do not belong to the second exam.

That chakra came along with the three Sound Ninja who were completely unaware that they were being followed.

His chakra reserves have also reached the Jonin level...

Naruto quickly guessed the identity of the ninja lurking in the shadows—Konoha's Anbu.

Naruto sensed a brief contact between Orochimaru and Anko's chakra last night.

Anko has discovered that Orochimaru has disguised himself as a Chunin Exam candidate and infiltrated the Forest of Death.

Orochimaru may have revealed his identity as the founder of the Sound Village, just like in the original work.

And through Anko's words, he threatened the Third Hokage not to allow the Chunin Exams to be stopped.

The fact that the Hidden Leaf Village's Anbu has now entered the Forest of Death indicates that the Third Hokage is indeed concerned about Orochimaru's threat.

The Konoha Anbu are searching for Orochimaru without affecting the remaining examinees, and are also monitoring the three Sound Ninja who have been confirmed to have a connection with Orochimaru.

He had to make himself lose to the three Sound Ninja; he absolutely could not let Orochimaru doubt his true strength beforehand.

They also kept an eye on Konoha's Anbu.

Naruto knew very well that the longer he stayed in the Forest of Death, the easier it would be for the ANBU ninjas roaming through the forest to discover his weaknesses.

Looks like I need to find Karin quickly and finish the test in the Forest of Death...

Naruto showed no extra emotion on his face and chatted casually with Choji, Shikamaru, and Sasuke.

I've already made my decision.

……

"Those boys don't seem to realize that we're enemies in this exam."

Inside the tree hollow, I could hear the boys laughing and talking outside.

Ino took off Sakura's coat and applied a blood-activating and stasis-removing plaster to Sakura's purplish-black back skin, which was bruised from blood stasis.

"Ino doesn't seem to realize this either."