Naruto couldn't help but frown when he heard Sasuke say that.
"Sure, what you said makes sense, but there was no need to go that far. We could've just taken their scrolls and eliminated them—that would've been enough."
But upon hearing this, Sasuke suddenly roared in anger:
"What I can't stand most is that self-righteous look on your face! Who do you think you are? Why should I listen to you?"
The sudden outburst stunned the other two. Sakura and Naruto both looked at Sasuke with unfamiliar eyes, completely unable to understand what had suddenly possessed him.
At the same time, Sasuke himself was questioning his own heart.
What's wrong with me?
Naruto had always been like this—wasn't he already used to it? Why did he suddenly react like this? What exactly was happening to him?
Watching everything unfold from the treetops, Hoshiyomi tilted his head slightly in confusion. He too noticed that something was off with Sasuke—this sudden anger made no sense at all.
Logically speaking, Sasuke still had his family alive and had been guided by Hoshiyomi for a long time. There was no reason for him to fall into this kind of irrational obsession.
With that thought, Hoshiyomi pondered briefly, then suddenly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he had entered Sage Mode.
Under the extraordinary perception granted by Sage Mode, Hoshiyomi finally understood the root of Sasuke's problem.
Inside Sasuke's body, an unfamiliar chakra was surging and roiling. Under its influence, Sasuke was in an abnormally agitated and excited state.
Hoshiyomi immediately recognized the source of that chakra—it was none other than the special chakra formed by Indra's reincarnation within Sasuke.
As the Sharingan's power continues to grow, Indra's consciousness is gradually awakening, huh…
Sasuke, already proud and competitive, had become restless after seeing so many geniuses during this Chunin Exam. Now, with Indra's chakra beginning to revive, the combination made this state almost inevitable.
After all, Sasuke wasn't Madara.
Madara had lived in the Warring States era, a time of constant chaos. Having experienced countless wars and suffering from a young age, his mind had long been tempered into iron, making him far less susceptible to Indra's influence.
But Sasuke was different.
Born in an era of peace and constantly protected by Hoshiyomi's actions, he could hardly be described as anything other than a flower raised in a greenhouse.
With his mental maturity still incomplete, suddenly gaining such a powerful chakra, it was only natural that he would be affected by it.
Although Hoshiyomi now understood the core of the problem, it wasn't appropriate for him to step in directly. He was essentially spying right now—suddenly jumping out to resolve things would feel strange even to himself.
In that case, it would be better to call Kimimaro and the others over. They had been sent into the exam precisely to prevent something like this from happening. This was the perfect time.
...
As Hoshiyomi turned to look for Kimimaro and the other two, Naruto—who had been yelled at—finally reacted.
Though he was angry, Naruto hadn't lost his rationality. Instead of shouting back, he glanced around at their surroundings and said to Sasuke in a low voice:
"What are you doing? We're still in the middle of the exam. Are you trying to attract everyone here?"
At this point, Sakura also spoke timidly:
"Sasuke-kun… I think Naruto-kun is right this time."
The moment Sasuke heard that, the fire in his heart flared up again. He first looked at Naruto with open mockery and sneered:
"Hah. Being lectured on logic by a theoretical idiot like you really pisses me off."
Then he turned to Sakura and said coldly:
"So you already think Naruto's right now? Figures—your so-called feelings were nothing more than childish playacting. If you think he's right, then go cling to Naruto instead. Stop pestering me. You're noisy—just like a fly."
Sakura felt utterly wronged by those words. Her eyes instantly reddened, but she didn't dare cry out loud. She could only stand there, frozen, quietly sobbing.
Seeing Sakura like this, the last shred of restraint in Naruto finally snapped—not because he loved her, but because his sense of justice couldn't accept Sasuke trampling on someone's feelings like that.
Without saying a word, Naruto flashed forward and threw a punch straight into Sasuke's face. Caught completely off guard, Sasuke was sent flying by the blow.
Naruto didn't let up. He followed through, straddling Sasuke as he pinned him down and shouted:
"Have you lost your mind or something?! Do you even realize what kind of crap you were just saying?! All of Sakura's kindness—does it really mean absolutely nothing to you?!
I don't care how much anger you've got bottled up inside, but don't you dare take it out on a girl! Acting like this—don't you think that's pathetic?!"
After a moment of stunned confusion, Sasuke's temper flared as well. He kicked hard with both legs, sending Naruto flying off him. Leaping back up, he mirrored Naruto's earlier move, straddling Naruto and slamming a punch down:
"What I do is none of your business! You're nothing but someone who's always been my defeated underling. Looks like I need to help you remember just how big the gap between us really is!"
Just like that, the two of them devolved into a full-on brawl, trading insults as they fought. As the anger in their hearts continued to rise, their blows grew more and more vicious.
Sakura stood there, completely at a loss, desperately trying to stop them:
"Please, you two, stop fighting! I'm really fine!"
"Sasuke-kun, Naruto… aren't we teammates? How did things suddenly turn out like this?"
"I'm begging you—please stop!"
But unfortunately, Sakura's pleas had no effect at all.
Just as despair began to creep over her, a voice rang out, approaching from afar:
"Ice Release: Ice Prison Technique!"!"
With that shout, massive shards of ice suddenly erupted from beneath the two fighters' feet. The ice rapidly spread and climbed upward, completely encasing them both.
Only after the two were fully frozen in ice and unable to move did three figures arrive at high speed.
They were none other than Kimimaro, Haku, and Shin.
Sakura didn't know who they were. Seeing Naruto and Sasuke suddenly frozen solid, she panicked. She didn't even have time to wipe away her tears before pulling a kunai from her waist and placing herself in front of them, facing the three newcomers.
Though her arms were trembling, Sakura still mustered all her strength and shouted:
"Stop! Don't take another step!"
Sakura's sudden display of courage made Hoshiyomi—hidden in the distance under Transparent Escapre Technique—nod in approval.
"Her strength may be lacking," he thought, "but that mindset is definitely commendable."
After landing, Haku smiled gently and said:
"You must be Naruto and Sasuke's teammate. Being stuck with two troublesome guys like them must be really hard on you."