Ryun watched from behind, suddenly realizing something was wrong.
The twelve Konoha rookies had practically all gathered together!
Ryun's four girlfriends were leading the teams, with three people per team, making exactly twelve.
This made Ryun seem a bit out of place.
Fortunately, Ryun had already coordinated with Tenten and the other three in advance, asking them to ignore the incense he had transformed into at the moment. Otherwise, with their current curiosity, they would definitely have pulled him aside for questions.
Soon, Tenten and the others also noticed that the twelve of them gathered together were barely considered acquaintances.
So Tenten directly spoke up: "It seems like we all know Ryun-kun. Is there anyone here who doesn't know him?"
The remaining eleven looked at each other and were also surprised to realize this.
"Interesting, interesting," Kiba said, hands clasped behind his head. "I was just thinking about what we'd do when we ran into you guys, but since we're all friends now, what's there to do about it?"
"Friends... what a drag," Shikamaru sighed. "But you can rest assured, Kiba, we won't have a chance to clash for now. According to the usual practice, infighting can be postponed all the way to the third round."
As expected of the strategist type, Shikamaru had apparently already gathered intelligence in advance.
Naruto's eyes immediately lit up. "Shikamaru, have you already found out how the first exam is going to be?"
"How could that be, idiot? That kind of thing is absolutely confidential. If I knew, I'd have been taken in for questioning by the ANBU by now."
Shikamaru only told half the truth.
He really didn't know the specific exam content, but just by asking older ninjas about how exams were held in previous years, he could roughly guess the general format.
"According to you, doesn't that mean we can cooperate in the first and second rounds?"
Ino looked excitedly at the ninjas around her, feeling like other people's teammates might be more reliable than her own.
Neji frowned slightly and looked at Hinata, initially wanting to refuse.
But Tenten spoke up first: "Sure, anyway, if we all advance, we'll eventually have a chance to face off, so why fight among ourselves beforehand?"
"Come on, everyone, raise your hands. The minority yields to the majority."
Tenten was the first to raise her hand, followed by Ino and Sakura, with Hinata quickly following suit.
Ino glared at Shikamaru and Choji, and they immediately obeyed as well.
Kiba and Shino weren't ones to spoil the mood, so they also raised their hands, even though no one was looking in Shino's direction.
Naruto laughed heartily. "Since we're all friends, I'll just wait to defeat you all in the finals!"
He also raised his hand, then looked towards Sasuke.
Sasuke looked helpless, still struggling at the last moment, his gaze warily fixed on Lee and Neji. He instinctively sensed that these two seniors were strong.
Lee was also looking at Sasuke. He had originally wanted to challenge him, but seeing that the ninjas from the same village were about to unite, the flames of youth in his heart immediately ignited.
"Good! Is this the Will of Fire that Guy-sensei taught us? Then let's all work hard together, and we'll see each other again in the finals! Not one of us missing!"
Then he raised both hands high, even pulling Neji's hand up with his.
The eleven of them all stared at Sasuke in unison. As aloof as Sasuke usually was, he felt embarrassed at this moment and could only raise his hand.
Watching from behind, Ryun couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't expected the twelve little powerhouses to become friends this early because of his existence.
Although they were only friends who knew each other's names for now, it was still a better start.
After the twelve had gotten to know each other, Lee no longer felt it was appropriate to challenge Sasuke.
As for confessing to Sakura or anything like that, he didn't even glance at her, obviously keeping his distance deliberately.
What a good buddy!
Ryun silently gave Lee a thumbs-up.
For Lee's sense of propriety alone, Ryun would make sure to properly heal his injuries later.
But with Lee's pressure on Sasuke gone, would Sasuke and Naruto's taijutsu still be able to keep up?
Well, that wasn't really Ryun's concern.
Sasuke and Naruto were already much stronger than in the original story. If their strength wasn't enough to get them through the second round of the Chunin Exams, Ryun could only say they were just unlucky.
The twelve little powerhouses chatted and laughed as they walked forward, finally arriving in front of Classroom 301.
During this process, Ryun sensed the chakra of Yūhi Kurenai, Kakashi, Guy, and Asuma.
This meant they were all hiding in the background, secretly observing their own teams.
Indeed, the Chunin Exams began the moment everyone stepped through the door.
Anyone on the second floor who couldn't recognize the genjutsu, or who for some reason couldn't reach the classroom, would be immediately disqualified.
The best proof was when Ryun tried to enter the exam hall alone and was stopped by Kakashi.
"I'm sorry, young lady from Kusagakure, but the exam requires a team of three. If you're the only one left, I regret to inform you that you're eliminated."
Ryun smiled slightly, didn't answer, and waited quietly.
Soon, his two teammates caught up. Upon seeing Ryun, they bowed timidly, which made Kakashi frown slightly.
But he didn't say anything and stepped aside.
What reason did he have to concern himself with matters of Kusagakure?
The huge exam hall was already packed with people. When Ryun entered, he immediately drew a large crowd's attention.
Ryun naturally chose to ignore this and looked curiously in one direction.
There, Kabuto was selling his ninja information cards, impressing the twelve little powerhouses with his knowledge.
Curious, Ryun also approached. "Can I take a look?"
"Huh? You are...?"
Kabuto gave Ryun a puzzled look, then put on a full-faced smile. "Who do you want to see? Is there a specific opponent you're interested in?"
"I'd like to check my own, and also, do you have an information card for Nojuro Ryun here?"
Kabuto found this even stranger. "Nojuro Ryun isn't among the participants this time. As for you... it's Kaori, right? Your hair is pretty distinctive."
Kabuto took out Kaori's card. The data on it was quite dismal.
As for Ryun's card, Kabuto naturally didn't have it, or at least, he didn't bring it out.
Ryun was just trying to probe whether Kabuto had investigated him. At least for now, it seemed Kabuto hadn't paid him any attention.
As for why Ryun did this, wasn't he afraid Kabuto would suspect him?
The answer was simple. The story of Ryun saving Kaori in a heroic rescue was probably known throughout Konoha by now.
If Kaori now showed no interest in Ryun, or pretended not to know him, that would be the strange thing.
Ryun looked at Kaori's card. The data was indeed dismal, practically at a beginner's level.
He then handed the card back, found a seat in a corner, and sat down to wait for the exam to start.
However, privately, Ryun kept using his sensory abilities to monitor Kabuto. Only after confirming Kabute didn't suspect him did he begin to participate in the exam with a playful attitude.
Throughout the entire exam, Naruto was still the most conspicuous.
Right from the start, he pointed at everyone and shouted, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm definitely not going to lose to you guys!"
Then he was immediately attacked by some ninjas from Otogakure for it. Kabuto, playing the role of a good senior, naturally stepped forward to protect the younger ninjas.
As a result, he got his glasses smashed by his own subordinate's punch and ended up kneeling on the ground, vomiting uncontrollably.
Ryun would give Kabuto's acting a perfect score.
But the twelve little powerhouses this time were different from before. Naruto immediately created shadow clones and charged forward.
Sasuke's fingers formed the hand seals for a Fire Release technique, while Sakura took a step back, ready to use a genjutsu as an opening move.
Just as a conflict seemed imminent, the Konoha chunin appeared and stopped both sides.
"Are you genin so eager to throw hands?"
Morino Ibiki said with a grim face, "Should I wait for you all to finish fighting before starting the exam? But let me make one thing clear: obstructing the exam means taking a trip with us to the Torture and Interrogation Division."
"I hope you can still come back alive by then."
The killing intent from the chunin was terrifying; most of the genin obediently sat down.
However, aside from Kabuto, the main parties involved seemed to feel nothing at all.
After all, Team 7 had already defeated Zabuza; how could a few chunin possibly intimidate them?
Nevertheless, Sakura pulled Sasuke and Naruto back and apologized to Morino Ibiki, effectively ending the conflict.
But judging by Sakura's expression, Ryun knew she had already remembered those guys and was planning to get back at them later.
Then, the Chunin Exams officially began.
Morino Ibiki announced the exam rules, exactly as Ryun remembered them.
Except for Naruto, who had absolutely no confidence in the written test, everyone else immediately started writing furiously.
Even Ryun began working on the questions. He also wanted to test how many points he, someone who had never attended a ninja academy, could score.