Chapter 92

Chapter 92 - 92 [+600 Power Stone Bonus Chapter!!] As expected, right near the end of the test, Ibiki's twisted sense of humor kicked in. He made the examinees choose whether or not to answer the tenth question. If they chose not to, they could leave the exam immediately. But if they chose to answer—and failed—they would be Genin for life. Who did he think he was scaring? You think you're the Hokage or something? You don't have the authority to decide someone's promotion. Besides, some examinees were from other villages. Their promotions were decided by their own leaders! And even if they didn't pass here, what's stopping them from trying again at Kumogakure's Chūnin Exams next time? What could Ibiki do about it? Only those with poor mental resilience got spooked. Sakura nearly raised her hand—until Naruto launched his signature talk-no-jutsu and started yelling how even if he stayed a Genin forever, he'd still become Hokage. Blowing hot air without a script. The craziest part? Ibiki actually admired that. A Genin becoming Hokage? What a joke. Oh wait, he actually does later... Right, plot armor. Never mind. The whole thing felt like a farce. Natsuki even had to stifle a yawn. Next came Mitarashi Anko—ah no, Mitarashi Red Bean—crashing dramatically through the window, clearly thinking she was making an epic entrance. Spoiler: it was mostly awkward. After announcing the time and location for the second stage of the exam, everyone was dismissed. As they walked out of the testing hall, Naruto loudly proclaimed, "What was that? I thought this exam was supposed to be hard. That was a piece of cake!" Natsuki couldn't hold back and quipped, "Naruto, you handed in a blank sheet." Gak! Naruto froze on the spot. Everyone turned to look at him. Their eyes were full of suspicion—this guy just said it was easy... but he didn't answer a single question? Sasuke and Sakura didn't look too pleased either. "Naruto, you idiot..." they both muttered with cold faces. Naruto hurried to defend himself. "Hey, I had no choice! I didn't know any of the answers, and I couldn't even cheat! If I'd been caught cheating, I'd be kicked out on the spot! I had it rough, okay?!" But excuses didn't matter. Sasuke and Sakura turned their faces away coldly. If not for that final question gimmick from Ibiki, Naruto's blank sheet would've meant Team 7's immediate failure. His teammates would've been dragged down with him. And yet he had the gall to call it easy? Where's your shame? Feeling wronged, Naruto turned to Natsuki. "Why'd you have to expose me like that, Natsuki?!" Natsuki rolled his eyes in pure Hyūga fashion. "You dared to act like it was easy, so why shouldn't I call you out? Naruto, there's nothing shameful about admitting you don't know something. Everyone knows you're bad at tests. What's the point in lying about it? That smug attitude of yours just rubs people the wrong way." The others nodded. No one liked a braggart. Well, except a certain white-eyed loli. Naruto couldn't argue anymore. The stares from the other examinees were getting to him. In the end, Sakura had to drag him away to save him from further embarrassment. Tenten sighed. "Naruto just never grows up, does he?" "Exactly," Natsuki replied. "He's already a full-fledged ninja and still acts like a clueless kid. Does he think bluffing is going to earn him respect? If he'd just admitted he got lucky, we might've even praised him a little. But instead, he had to go and brag—that kind of behavior really turns people off." "Don't be so harsh, Natsuki. Naruto's just scared," Shino said kindly in his usual calm tone. "He's always afraid of being looked down on, of not being acknowledged. So when he messes up, he tries to convince himself otherwise—he's not trying to deceive everyone else, just himself." Natsuki nodded. "I get that, Shino. But not everyone else will understand. That's why I spoke up—to show him that what he's doing isn't okay. If he doesn't learn and grow, he'll just keep losing friends. And honestly, I don't want to wake up one day and realize I can't stand him anymore." Shino fell silent. He understood where Natsuki was coming from. It was fine to be immature in school, but once you became a ninja, you had to face reality. You couldn't afford to stay naive forever. Naruto did need to grow. People were willing to be patient with him, but patience had its limits. Eventually, if he didn't mature, he'd find himself truly alone. "Let's drop the subject. It's rare for all of us to be together like this. Want to come hang out at my place?" Natsuki offered. "I'd love to, but not today," Shino declined with a polite shake of his head. "It's already getting late, and we've got another exam tomorrow. I'd rather rest and recharge. Besides, coming over now would just mean extra work for you. I'll visit after the exam's over—with some fresh veggies in hand." Natsuki and Tenten didn't push. Shino was thoughtful like that. He didn't want to trouble his friends after a tiring test. Truly, Shino was a great friend. After everyone went their separate ways, Natsuki and Tenten returned to the ninja tools shop. The shopkeeper had already prepared dinner for them—high-end takeout from a top restaurant, no less. A reward for the hardworking students. The two of them ate heartily while chatting about the exam, which the shopkeeper listened to with great interest. Tenten now realized her dad just liked hearing her talk about these things—maybe it helped put him at ease. So she made a habit of bringing it up during meals, even getting Natsuki to chime in. Of course, she always shared the good stuff and avoided anything too dangerous—no need to worry the old man. After the meal, they each went to bathe—separately, of course. Then they obediently went to bed. Though they didn't dare sleep in the same futon tonight—just in case it kept them up and messed with their performance tomorrow. — The next morning, all the examinees gathered at the entrance to the Forest of Death. Proctor Mitarashi Anko stood at the front and began explaining the rules of the second stage of the exam. Each team would receive one scroll—either a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll. After entering the Forest of Death, teams would battle for the other scroll. To pass the test, a team needed to possess both a Heaven and Earth scroll and reach the central tower within five days. This format guaranteed that at least half the participants would be eliminated. Brutally simple. If you were unlucky or weak—you weren't making it out. But at that moment, Natsuki was silently observing the team from Kusagakure. One of them—a person in a conical hat—kept glancing at him with a strange, unreadable look. It made Natsuki feel like prey being watched by a venomous snake. He recalled the original storyline and figured Orochimaru had likely already disguised himself as a Kusagakure genin. His goal? To inspect and select his future vessel. Although Natsuki's presence had altered the story a little, things hadn't completely fallen off the rails. So Orochimaru's infiltration probably still stood. Still, to be safe, Natsuki kept a close eye on them. That ugly female ninja from Kusagakure—her gaze was absolutely wrong. Cold and slithering like a snake. If that wasn't Orochimaru in disguise, then nobody would believe it. (End of Chapter) [Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][/zaelum] [+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter] [Thank You For Your Support!]