Chapter 47 Strike First

"Your mentality is too bad, isn't it?" Ino complained.

"I just became a Genin, so I didn't expect to become a Chunin so quickly." Naruto replied honestly, "The missions for Chunin are more troublesome, right?"

Ino held her forehead with her hand, at a loss for words.

Shikamaru, however, agreed with Naruto's perspective and nodded, "Troublesome things are the worst."

The exam began, and the first round was a written test.

Naruto sat beside Hinata, yawning as he glanced at the test paper in front of him. The big questions involved physics free fall problems, and the multiple-choice questions were basic common knowledge.

If he were to attempt it, he would rely half on guessing and half on luck, but Naruto didn't even pick up his pen.

Resting his head on his hand, he closed his eyes and relaxed, 'It didn't matter what I wrote on the test. The proctor, that sadistic examiner, would definitely come up with some kind of 'Will of Fire' test to assess the participants' trust in their teammates.'

'Boring! Who would be moved to tears by the Will of Fire?'

The test ended, and as expected, Naruto passed the first round of the Chunin Exams with a blank paper. The principle of the written test selection is very simple, and it can be summed up in six words: Never give up, never give up.

Naruto did nothing and smoothly advanced to the second round.

Mitarashi Anko burst into the exam hall, her fishnet undershirt visible beneath her trench coat. There was no sign of weight gain on her face, and she is still exuding the youthful vibe of collagen.

"You guys, this is just the first round! What's there to be happy about?"

"There's no time to prepare for you. The second round will begin at the Training Ground 44 in twenty minutes!"

After saying that, Anko disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sighs and murmurs filled the room as the participants, bewildered and helpless, got up and headed towards the Training Ground 44.

"Hinata, let's go." Kiba, with Akamaru on his head, called out to Hinata from a distance.

"Okay."

Hinata responded and then, blushing, turned to Naruto and softly said, "Naruto-kun, I'll go ahead."

"Okay, see you, Hinata." Naruto waved and said.

"Naruto! Over here, we're going to be late." Sakura stood at the door, urging him.

"Coming."

…

Outside the Forest of Death, Naruto noticed that Kabuto in the distance seemed to be staring at him. To be more precise, his eyes were occasionally glancing at Sasuke.

"That guy wearing glasses over there is quite strange. He might be a traitor of our Konoha." Naruto was a little displeased. So without any hesitation, he pointed his finger directly in Kabuto's direction and said loudly, "Don't those people in the Anbu check the participants' backgrounds carefully?"

This abrupt comment directly attracted the attention of all the participants present, and the three members of Team 7 immediately became the focus of the audience.

"Naruto, what are you talking about?"

Sakura lowered her head and dared not look around. Her face turned red for a moment as she said in a low voice.

"I'm not making things up." Naruto also lowered his voice, secretly pulled his two teammates closer, and said in a voice that only the three of them could hear, "Be careful of those Shinobi from Otogakure."

He didn't say much, just giving his two companions a heads-up.

Sensing the commotion, Anko, the head examiner, walked over to Naruto and said, "Participants are prohibited from disrupting the exam venue!"

After reprimanding him, she turned to the participants and announced, "Those who haven't received their scrolls yet, come over and get them from me. The rule for this round is to obtain both Heaven and Earth Scrolls and reach the tower in the center of the Forest of Death within five days. Otherwise, you fail."

"Please note that if a team member dies or loses the ability to fight during the process, the team will be considered fail. In addition, no one is allowed to open the scrolls."

"If you understand, come over here and get the scroll. Time is tight, so move quickly!"

With Anko's urging, the tense atmosphere eased a bit, and no one paid further attention to Naruto's words.

Naruto snorted, glanced in Kabuto's direction, and then went to get his scroll.

With a sharp creak, the rusty iron gate of Training Ground 44 slowly opened. The participants who received the scrolls filed in one after another, tacitly choosing different directions to move forward. Some of them followed the team they had been eyeing for a long time.

Team 7 randomly chose a direction and walked for a while before hiding in a bush to discuss the most important issue at the moment: Who would hold the scroll?

The exam rules were as follows: Half of the 26 participating teams had a Heaven Scroll, and the other half had an Earth Scroll. To pass, a team must collect both scrolls and reach the central tower in the Forest of Death without any team member being killed or severely injured within five days.

In this case, deciding who would keep the scroll is a very important matter.

"Sakura, you should hold it," Naruto said.

"Me?" Sakura was visibly flustered, "But what if I lose it?"

"It's okay. If there is really no other way, just hand over the scroll to the enemies." Naruto said, "Sasuke and I can take care of ourselves. You have a guarantee if you hold the scroll. This is just a test. There is no need to risk our lives for it."

"But…"

"No buts." Naruto said, waving his hand dismissively, "I have a feeling something's off about this Chunin Exams. You two should be careful. If you encounter a powerful enemy, you can just drop the scroll and run away."

Sasuke sensed the hidden meaning in Naruto's words and couldn't help but frown and asked, "You're planning to act alone?"

"What?" Sakura was completely bewildered.

They had just signed a death waiver before entering the exam hall, acknowledging that no one would intervene even if they died in the Forest of Death. Now that Naruto was talking about going alone, wouldn't that mean there would only be two people left in Team 7?

"Yes." Naruto nodded, then looked at the two of them seriously and said, "I need to take care of something. Just wait for me."

"Are you joking?" Sasuke said, "Wouldn't it be more convenient for three of us to act together than for you to act alone?"

"Don't worry about this." Naruto smiled and said, "I promise I will come back to find you before dark. It will be inconvenient for the three of us to go together."

Hearing this, Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other.

"You're going to snatch a scroll, right?" Sasuke said, frowning and asking, "Before entering this place, you told us to be careful of Otogakure's Shinobi, so you've been targeting them from the start, haven't you?"

"Otogakure's Shinobi?"

Sakura was shocked, and then her face turned to worry as she realized what was happening.

"I'll explain when I get back." Naruto said, then leaped away.

After leaving Sasuke and Sakura 7, Naruto's expression turned cold, and his eyes were filled with indifference. Those three Otogakure's Shinobi were a constant threat, and they would eventually come for Sasuke.

Instead of waiting passively, it was better to strike first and settle these troubles as soon as possible so that they can spend the rest of their time here in peace.