Naruto's Exam Day

Two hours after the first session of the Chūnin exam ended, Morino Ibiki, the examiner, exited the examination room, only to be immediately confronted by a throng of angry Jōnin from other villages. Their faces were flush with anger, their voices loud and accusatory.

"Hey, Shadow! That blonde brat is the one you invited to Konoha, right?"

"Damn it, a so-called great ninja village like yours resorts to such despicable tactics!"

"This is unacceptable! My subordinates were accused of cheating before they even got started!"

"Konoha is bullying the smaller villages, isn't it?"

"Yes! Our village of Takigakure is not going to let this slide!"

The crowd of Jōnin grew larger, all closing in on Ibiki, demanding an explanation. To make their point even stronger, some of them dragged out their injured Genin, who were crying and complaining, giving Ibiki a splitting headache.

"Sensei, you wouldn't believe what that blonde kid did...," one of the Genin from Takigakure whimpered, lifting his bangs to reveal a nasty gash on his forehead. "He pulled out a stone and knocked me out cold... Look at this wound!"

The other Genin, seeing this, started showing their own injuries, each worse than the last. The quiet whimpering soon turned into a cacophony of cries, making even the Konoha examiners begin to doubt themselves.

Maybe... maybe that blonde kid did go too far...

Ibiki's eye twitched in exasperation as he tried to calm the group. "Everyone, please calm down. That blonde kid is just another Konoha candidate, not someone we specially arranged..."

But his attempt to pacify them backfired. The Jōnin exploded with renewed fury, their patience worn thin.

"Ridiculous! Konoha is just bullying the smaller villages, huh?"

"What a farce this Chūnin exam is!"

"You set this whole thing up and now you're trying to deny it?"

"Let's go! We're taking this to the Third Hokage!"

"Yeah! We want an explanation, or this exam is a sham!"

United in their outrage, the Jōnin marched off toward the Hokage building, leaving the Konoha examiners stunned in their wake.

Meanwhile, in an alley nearby...

Bang bang bang—

Naruto, decked out in Iron Man armor, yanked a sack over the head of an unsuspecting Takigakure ninja. Before the poor Genin could react, Naruto knocked him out cold with a swift kick. Sasuke, Sakura, and Konohamaru immediately rushed forward, surrounding the sacked ninja and delivering a flurry of punches and kicks. They knew better than to use chakra, so their attacks were restrained, but the Genin would still feel it in the morning.

After a minute of this, Naruto crossed another name off his list. "That's number thirteen," he said nonchalantly.

Sakura, her face pale with anxiety, tugged at Naruto's sleeve. "Naruto… maybe we should stop... We've already beaten up thirteen people."

At first, Sakura had refused to join in on Naruto's plan, but after being pulled in by Naruto and Sasuke, she found herself unable to resist. Now, she was starting to regret it.

"Brother Sasuke, you hit the hardest!" Naruto grinned, ignoring Sakura's unease.

Konohamaru, standing on the edge of the group, was practically bouncing with excitement. "Come on, Naruto! Let's find the next one! This is so much fun!"

The only thing that dampened his enthusiasm was Naruto's rule against using weapons. Konohamaru had been itching to try out some new moves he'd learned.

Sasuke frowned, confused. "It's strange... Why haven't we seen their Jōnin leaders? Normally, they'd be around to protect their Genin."

"Who cares," Naruto shrugged. "We just need to pick off the ones who are alone. Now, let's see who's next... Sunagakure's Kankuro? Alright, let's go!"

A light door appeared, and the Konoha sacking team vanished into it, ready for their next target.

Half an hour later...

The four-man gang, led by Uzumaki Naruto, was finally apprehended by more than twenty Konoha Jōnin. Leading the capture was none other than Hatake Kakashi himself, though what he was thinking at that moment was anyone's guess.

Inside the Hokage's office, the atmosphere was tense.

Naruto stood by the window, nonchalantly picking his nose, deliberately avoiding eye contact with the Third Hokage. Konohamaru mimicked his older brother's posture, stubbornly ignoring his grandfather. Sasuke kept his head down, his hat obscuring his face, making it impossible to guess his thoughts. Sakura, however, was a nervous wreck, bowing repeatedly and apologizing to the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage, massaging his temples, pulled out two bottles of medicine from his drawer, downing them both in quick succession. Just hours ago, a group of furious Jōnin from other villages had stormed into his office, complaining about a certain blonde Konoha brat who had falsely accused their candidates of cheating, then attacked them during the exam...

One of those Jōnin was even the leader of his village.

The Third Hokage's blood pressure had soared to dangerous levels when he heard the news. Not long after, he received another report from Anbu, saying that the seventh team, along with Konohamaru, had been going around beating up candidates from other villages. He had almost fainted on the spot.

These kids had gone way too far!

The Jōnin had come to him to complain, only for Naruto and his gang to turn around and attack their Genin...

Even Anbu had been at a loss. How could they stop the Nine Tails Jinchūriki and the Hokage's grandson? They had tried to intervene, but Naruto had simply ignored them, leading the group through the light door to continue their spree.

After a long pause, the Third Hokage finally spoke, his voice heavy with frustration. "Naruto..."

"You kids went way too far this time. The Jōnin from other villages came to complain..."

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed, his face a mix of shock and disbelief. "They had the nerve to complain?!"

The Third Hokage's face remained stoic, though he inwardly sighed.

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. Those outsiders couldn't handle a little roughhousing and went crying to the Third Hokage?

"Grandpa, you don't get it," Naruto said, his tone more serious. "I was just showing the strength of Konoha Village. And we were careful—we didn't leave any evidence that would trace it back to us."

Konohamaru and Sasuke nodded in agreement, backing up Naruto's explanation.

The Third Hokage sighed deeply. "You... Well... Alright, I'll let it go this time. But from now on, no more attacking other ninjas unless it's during the exam. Otherwise... I'll disqualify your team from the Chūnin exams."

Realizing that he had pushed the Third Hokage to his limit, Naruto quickly changed his demeanor, suddenly appearing obedient. "Got it."

The Third Hokage wasn't done yet. "And Konohamaru, you're grounded for a month."

The young boy groaned but didn't argue.

The Third Hokage then turned his attention to Naruto, a complicated expression on his face. "Naruto, you're not allowed to visit Konohamaru during his grounding either."

Naruto rolled his eyes, then suddenly dashed over to the Third Hokage, pouring him a cup of tea. "Grandpa, that's no problem... but... can I see the sealing scroll?"

The Third Hokage nearly choked on his tea. "You still have the nerve to ask for that?"

Naruto just grinned innocently.

The Third Hokage sighed again, shaking his head with a mix of exasperation and fondness. This kid... "What Ninjutsu do you want to learn? And don't even think about the Tandem Paper Bombs."

"I want to learn Edo Tensei."

The Third Hokage choked again, this time for real. After a long moment, he finally managed to speak. "Or... how about we start by discussing how you've been teaching Konohamaru?"