Chapter 75: Naruto-kun Is Truly a Kind Boy
Orochimaru gave Naruto a faint glance
and withdrew his attention.
His real target was Sasuke—the one with the Sharingan.
Of course,
he had zero interest in Naruto, who possessed a Tailed Beast.
The Sharingan was what he wanted to study.
Naruto knew Orochimaru's plan crystal clear.
Find an opportunity to bite Sasuke once.
Implant the Heaven's Curse Mark.
To Sasuke, it would be a stroke of fortune.
To Naruto, it was just trash.
In the face of absolute power,
who cared about fancy little tricks?
Just overpower them!
Besides, Naruto had no reason to stop Snake Auntie.
Let Sasuke grow more.
No matter how much he grew,
he still wouldn't beat Naruto.
What truly interested Naruto were Pain and the others.
Perhaps find a chance to sneak into the Akatsuki.
It wasn't impossible.
But it would require meticulous planning.
According to the original timeline, in a short while
the Akatsuki would no longer accept new members casually.
To join the "car team,"
one needed at least Kage-level strength.
Naruto had Kage-level strength.
But at that time he couldn't use any overly obvious techniques,
lest he expose himself.
However, none of that was what Naruto was thinking about right now.
Finish the Chūnin Exams first.
After everyone signed the death consent form—
once inside the Forest of Death,
any death would have nothing to do with Konoha.
After all, ninja missions always carried the risk of death.
If there wasn't even that level of challenge,
they might as well treat it like playing house.
"Alright—I now officially declare! The second stage of the Chūnin Exams begins right now!"
"Everyone—please survive in the Forest of Death for five days~"
With Chief Examiner Anko's command,
all the entrance and exit gates of Training Ground 44 swung open!
In an instant,
every participant in this exam
took long strides and rushed toward the center of the field.
Unlike the tense mood of the others,
Naruto looked completely relaxed and indifferent.
Even if every ninja present teamed up,
Naruto had absolute confidence he could crush them all.
Even Snake Auntie showing up wouldn't change that.
Even if he couldn't truly kill Orochimaru,
killing a few of "her/him/it" clones
and burning a few of Snake Auntie's "revival coins" was still doable.
Though it would take some effort.
But at least it offered a bit of challenge, right?
Inside Training Ground 44—the Forest of Death—
towering ancient trees blocked out the sky.
The trunks were thicker than several grown men standing in a circle!
The deeper they went,
the more ferocious beasts and venomous insects appeared everywhere.
Not even a few minutes had passed
when—
"AHHHHH!!!"
A blood-curdling scream echoed through the forest.
In an instant it startled flocks of birds from their perches.
No need to guess—someone had already fallen victim.
Less than ten minutes since entering the Forest of Death,
and someone was already injured.
They probably hadn't even reached the deeper parts yet.
Who knew how many more would be eliminated once they did!
That scream also served as a wake-up call to every candidate inside.
"N-Naruto-kun… just now that was…"
Sakura looked toward Naruto with lingering fear.
It seemed only Naruto
could give her any sense of safety.
At this moment Naruto looked completely carefree.
As if he wasn't here to take an exam,
but to go on an outdoor trip.
Naruto smiled lightly.
"It was a person's scream. Was it that scary?"
Sakura's restless little hands clutched the hem of her skirt. She gave a tiny nod.
"Mm."
It was rare for Naruto to talk to her.
A sunny smile appeared on Naruto's face.
"With me here—nothing unexpected will happen."
No matter what,
Sakura was still a teammate.
Although she was annoying in the early stages,
she got better later.
Thinking about how ninja also needed to eat, and one day they'd be crushed by mortgage payments and unable to breathe,
Naruto began plotting a grand plan!
While Konoha real estate was still cheap,
he could have Zabuza transport a bunch of gold coins over.
Buy up all the land.
In twenty years, when housing prices skyrocketed—
he'd make a fortune.
Pockets full, pot overflowing.
It was actually a pretty solid plan.
Sasuke stayed silent, arrogantly turning his head away.
Even if what Naruto said was true.
Even if he really had that strength.
For some reason,
Sasuke just felt extremely unhappy!
"Great… Naruto-kun really is such a kind boy."
Sakura let out a huge sigh of relief.
Just now she had been agonizing over
the death consent form they had signed.
It was written clearly in black and white:
Any means were allowed.
Even if someone died,
Konoha bore no responsibility.
Blame only your own lack of strength.
Either don't sign the consent form from the beginning,
or…
Suddenly, Naruto gave a helpless laugh.
"Sorry about this—I drank too much water before leaving. I need to take a leak real quick."
Sakura froze.
Huh???
Naruto-kun—don't leave me here alone!
How about… I go with you!
Sakura's pretty face flushed red.
She shamelessly thought.
No choice—she was genuinely scared.
During the last mission outside the village with Kakashi,
she had watched helplessly as Kakashi was killed right in front of her.
The sight of blood gushing, splattering everywhere—
that image had become an unshakable shadow.
Until her strength reached a certain level, hugging a thigh wasn't a bad idea.
Besides—being cautious wasn't shameful.
Look at Kakashi—did he ever feel ashamed of being cautious?
Of course,
Sakura definitely didn't know about Kakashi's cautious side.
"Uh… how about… I go with you?"
Sakura finally managed to say it out loud.
Seeing both Sasuke and Naruto look at her strangely,
Sakura panicked instantly.
Her little hands waved frantically in the air.
"T-That's not… I-I didn't mean it like that… I'm just worried Naruto-kun might get lost and not find his way back."
"I-I definitely don't mean to peek!"
Bang—
After saying that,
Sakura instantly turned as red as a boiled shrimp.
What a terrible excuse!
Even she thought it sounded awful.
Fortunately Naruto only smiled.
"No need. I know the way. Besides—you're a girl. It wouldn't be convenient."
With that, Naruto left without hesitation.
Only after Naruto walked away
did Sakura feel slightly less embarrassed.
Honestly—for just a brief instant—
Sasuke also wanted to follow Naruto to pee.
Was this really just about peeing?
Staying near Naruto gave a sense of security.
But it was only a fleeting thought.
He quickly threw it out of his mind.
In the end, it turned into Sasuke's disdainful cold snort.
Extremely arrogant, he said:
"Hmph! What an unreliable guy."
Naruto really did drink too much water.
But on the other hand—
he came here for something important.
Splash splash splash.
The sound of flowing water was particularly loud.
Anyone who didn't know better would think there was a waterfall here.
While handling his personal business,
he released a puppet shadow clone.
Naruto gave the clone an order:
Transform into someone else's appearance.
Then secretly protect Hinata-wife from the shadows.
This was the real world.
Naruto couldn't afford to gamble.
No one could guarantee what would happen in the next second.
Just then—
Whoosh—
A sharp sound of something slicing through air.
Someone took advantage of the moment he was relieving himself
to launch a sneak attack!
To deceive!
Against this Konoha genin.
But in the next instant—the kunai struck nothing but air.
Because Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Technique he had mastered to perfection and flashed to the side.
The reason Naruto used this technique was simple.
Since he'd already learned it—why not use it?
Moreover—
there was one more important reason.
From this moment onward—anyone who saw him use this technique had to die!
"Ah? Where did that Konoha brat disappear to? What the hell—did I see a ghost?"
The Rain ninja who tried to ambush him stood there completely dumbfounded!
This wasn't right!
Could that kid really be a ghost?!
--------------------------
Support us on Patreon and gain access to 50 chapters in advance!
patreon.com/inkroxx