Chapter 118: The Second Exam Ends

The days passed one after another.

Naruto’s Team 7 hadn’t moved from their spot at all.

They were still staying beside the river in the Forest of Death.

Every day felt like they were on a camping trip in the countryside.

It was incredibly relaxing.

During this time, more than ten of the twenty teams participating in the second exam had come over to investigate.

As for the teams from the other villages, with the exception of the Sand Ninja and Sound Ninja, any team that came over was directly dealt with by the three of them.

Some teams had scrolls, while others had already had theirs stolen.

As for the Konoha teams, they were treated to a meal of grilled meat instead.

Team 8 was Sakura’s team.

Sasuke didn’t mind, so naturally Naruto didn’t either.

Team 9 was his future brother-in-law, Neji.

Naturally, Naruto had to treat them well.

As for Team 10, it was Ino’s team.

Although they had vaguely guessed that this was Naruto’s Team 7, Ino, who hadn’t yet collected a complete set of scrolls, was too embarrassed to come over and meet Naruto.

It wasn’t until the third day, after they had collected a complete set of scrolls, that she couldn’t resist coming over to investigate.

After learning that Naruto and the others had grilled fish and roasted meat every day, Chōji almost cried.

After that, once Team 10 arrived, they simply stopped leaving.

During this period, quite a few examiners, including Anko Mitarashi, secretly came over several times.

They couldn’t help but secretly admire Naruto’s team.

Since they didn’t reveal themselves, Naruto simply pretended not to know.

Finally, the fifth day arrived.

Noon.

After finishing their final meal of grilled meat, Team 7 and Team 10 headed toward the central tower.

The river where they had been staying wasn’t far from the central tower.

As they ran, Ino asked curiously, "Naruto, how many teams do you think will pass this time?"

Naruto glanced at Ino and smiled.

"No more than six teams."

Hearing this, Ino couldn’t help but be surprised.

"Really?"

Shikamaru, who was behind them, also looked toward Naruto.

He had a vague idea of what Naruto meant.

Naruto reached into his clothes and pulled out five black Earth Scrolls, waving them around.

Ino was completely stunned.

"You have five Earth Scrolls just by yourselves. How many teams did you rob?"

Shikamaru thought to himself, "As expected."

There were only ten Earth Scrolls in total, and Naruto had five of them.

That meant there were only five Earth Scrolls left outside.

Those five scrolls could only satisfy five teams.

Adding Naruto’s team, at most six teams could pass.

Of course, it was possible that other teams also possessed multiple Earth Scrolls.

It was also possible that some teams had only Earth Scrolls without obtaining Heaven Scrolls.

In other words, six teams was merely the most ideal situation based on the information they currently had.

Shikamaru couldn’t help but silently worry for his fellow Konoha shinobi.

He could only wish them good luck.

Naruto said, "We didn’t rob that many. Only six or seven teams. We just happened to obtain more Earth Scrolls."

Hearing this, Ino patted her chest in relief.

"Thank goodness our team was missing the Heaven Scroll."

They continued chatting as they traveled.

They didn’t encounter any other teams along the way.

Before long, they entered the tower.

The interior of the tower was extremely spacious.

They looked around, but there wasn’t a single person in sight.

"Anyone here?"

Chōji called out several times.

Only his voice echoed throughout the tower, with no one responding.

Naruto thought for a moment before saying,

"Examiner Mitarashi said we can’t open the scrolls before entering the tower.

"Does that mean we’re supposed to open them after entering the tower?

"I’ll try it first."

With that, he directly opened one of the sets.

Naruto had three complete sets of Heaven and Earth Scrolls, so he wasn’t worried about wasting one.

Besides, he already knew that this was indeed what they were supposed to do.

Both scrolls had the character "Man" written in the center.

The character suddenly expanded.

Naruto placed the scrolls on the ground and stepped back several paces.

He secretly wondered who would appear.

Bang~!

A cloud of smoke rose!

A figure could vaguely be seen within the smoke.

Then, a cheerful female voice came from inside.

"Congratulations! Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata of Team 7 have passed the second stage of the Chūnin Selection Exams!

"I’ll be your guide from here on, Uchiha Izumi!"

As the smoke dispersed, Uchiha Izumi appeared with a smile in her eyes. She playfully winked at Naruto.

Ino, who was standing nearby, couldn’t help but curl her lips.

She always felt that Uchiha Izumi was her biggest enemy.

Izumi had taken care of Naruto since childhood, had always lived together with him, and possessed an unshakable position.

Because of that, Ino generally didn’t feel much hostility toward Hinata.

There was no need.

Ino stopped looking and followed Shikamaru and Chōji to the other side to open their scrolls.

Seeing Uchiha Izumi, Naruto was momentarily stunned.

He had thought it might be Iruka.

He had also considered Kakashi.

But he had never expected Uchiha Izumi.

Wasn’t she supposed to be a slacker?

How had she ended up becoming a guide for the Chūnin Exams?

"Naruto!"

They hadn’t seen each other for five whole days, and now that they had finally met, he wasn’t even surprised!

He was actually standing there spacing out!

Uchiha Izumi couldn’t help glaring at him with her bright eyes.

Seeing this, Naruto snapped back to his senses and put on an exaggeratedly delighted expression.

"Izumi, how did it end up being you?"

"Pfft!"

Seeing Naruto’s exaggerated reaction, Uchiha Izumi could no longer hold back and covered her mouth as she giggled.

After stopping herself from laughing, Uchiha Izumi explained,

"This morning, I went to the Hokage Tower. I remembered that your exam was ending today, so I went to ask the Third Hokage about it.

"The Third Hokage and I chatted for a bit, and I suggested that I become your guide.

"Alright, let’s not waste any more time. I’ll take you inside first.

"The Sand Village, Sound Village, and Team 9 arrived before you. They’re already inside."

With that, Uchiha Izumi turned around and led the way.

As they walked, Naruto asked curiously,

"Do you know how many teams passed the exam?"

Uchiha Izumi shook her head.

"For now, only five teams have been confirmed."

Naruto nodded and didn’t ask anything else.

Before long, they arrived at a certain hall.

The Third Hokage stood in the very center at the front of the hall.

Behind him, on the left, stood Konoha’s three supervising jōnin: Kakashi, Asuma, and Might Guy.

On the right stood the Sand Ninja’s supervising jōnin, Baki, and the Sound Village’s supervising jōnin, Kimimaro.

Behind the supervising teachers stood a row of examiners and guides.

The Genin who had passed the exam faced the Third Hokage.

They stood in their respective teams, directly opposite their supervising jōnin.

Uchiha Izumi brought Team 7 forward and said to Hiruzen Sarutobi,

"Hokage-sama, Team 7 has arrived."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly.

Uchiha Izumi turned around and gestured subtly to Naruto and the other two.

She then walked behind Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Naruto and the other two understood and stood in a row directly opposite their supervising jōnin, Kakashi.

Naruto glanced around.

Where was Sakura’s Team 8?

Ino’s team hadn’t arrived yet, but they had already been confirmed as having passed the exam.

Their supervising jōnin, Asuma, was already here.

Yet Sakura’s Team 8 was nowhere to be seen.

Even their supervising jōnin, Kurenai Yūhi, was absent.

Could it be that they hadn’t passed the second exam?

Naruto’s heart stirred.

He quietly asked the teams beside him,

"Who has two Earth Scrolls?"

Hearing this, the three members of the Sound Ninja—Suigetsu, Jūgo, and Karin—all looked over.

Confirmed.

Poor Team 8...

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