Naruto and his two teammates encountered no further obstacles until they met Kakashi-sensei standing outside Room 301.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
"So, you all came together."
Kakashi looked like a parent sending their children into an exam hall. He gazed at his three students with satisfaction. "Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, you are my proud students."
Even though these students were all very talented and he seemed to have put in little effort, their strength kept climbing on its own.
But, you tell him, weren't these three still his Kakashi's students?
Weren't they?
"Alright, go on in."
Kakashi seemed to have come just to see them off. He stepped aside, revealing the large door behind him.
Looking at the door, Naruto was filled with emotion. It was finally here, the Chunin Exam.
That year, he was eighteen, full of youthful vigor.
He, Naruto Uzumaki, was here to report!
Turning to glance at Sasuke, Naruto revealed a mischievous grin. "Sasuke, let's go in and say hello to everyone."
"Hm?"
Sasuke was a little confused. Why did Naruto suddenly say that?
Could it be...
He had a bad feeling!
The door opened.
What met their eyes was a sea of people: a multitude of faces from Konoha, Sunagakure, Kusagakure, Amegakure, Otogakure, and Takigakure. Heroes from various ninja villages gathered, a veritable talent pool.
Looking at the diverse people inside the exam room, Naruto was filled with grand ambition.
Today, he had only one goal: to dominate the Chunin Exam hall!
From today onward, please call him Naruto the Maniac!
Since that was the case, he'd start by saying hello.
Clap clap clap~~~
Naruto raised his hands high and clapped three times loudly. The resounding claps drew everyone's attention.
Such an audacious act silenced the entire room. All eyes turned to the three newcomers.
Sakura, already lacking confidence, was scared half to death by the sudden stares.
Sasuke, however, curved his lips into a smile. He understood Naruto's intention now. Naruto's strength should have been obvious all along; he hadn't even seen Naruto explain Shikamaru's misunderstanding earlier, and he thought Naruto would keep hiding it.
Now it seemed Naruto had been waiting for an opportunity.
The Chunin Exam was that opportunity.
But to be so high-profile...
He had never been a high-profile person, but since they were already doing this, what was there to fear? He, Sasuke, was not afraid of trouble!
"Everyone, look at me!"
Naruto flashed a brilliant smile, his eyes radiating confidence. "Alright, alright, now I'm going to announce something: All of you here are trash!"
All of you here are trash~~~
Trash~~
Shhh~
The enormous voice echoed through the classroom. Echo~~~
As soon as these words came out, the entire hall was shocked!
Everyone thought they had misheard. Was this guy also a genin? He's too arrogant! He completely disregards them!
Outside the door, Kakashi's eyes curved into crescent moons: As expected of you, Naruto!
Meanwhile, Naruto's two friends, Shikamaru and Chōji, were the most shocked. Were these words something the dead-last Naruto should be saying?
For a moment, Chōji even stopped eating his potato chips.
Oh no, Naruto's going to be in big trouble now. He'll be severely targeted in the upcoming exams.
"Idiot, making enemies of everyone in an instant!"
Shikamaru dared not even think about the implications of Naruto's statement; it was too troublesome.
In short: Naruto was finished.
"Naruto-kun."
Looking up at the confident Naruto, Hinata immediately blushed and played with her fingers, but the next moment, she was deeply worried for Naruto.
"Heh." Gaara's lips curved into a sinister smile. He naturally wouldn't be swayed by such low-level provocation, but thinking of the yellow-haired kid's performance that day, he felt his blood boil again.
Konoha, Sunagakure, Kusagagure... etc., all the ninjas reacted differently.
Sakura, being the closest to Naruto, was on the verge of tears: I don't know him, really, we're not together.
She looked up, her eyes catching a glimpse of a fierce-looking ninja, and Sakura shivered, immediately bowing her head, not daring to look up again.
I'm doomed!
Naruto was strong, so he'd probably be fine, but she was doomed.
After arrogantly calling everyone trash, Naruto waited and waited. Apart from everyone glaring at him, nothing else seemed to happen.
No, seriously.
The next step should be to kill a chicken to warn the monkeys, but where's the chicken?
He had originally planned to continue "killing a chicken," but since nothing was happening, he'd let it go for now.
He turned his head and saw Shikamaru, Kiba, and their two teams standing not far away. It seemed all the new genin this year had shown up.
"Hello."
Faced with Naruto's enthusiastic wave, Shikamaru turned his head, pretending not to recognize him. Kiba did the same.
Hinata, however, shyly glanced at him twice, but seemed afraid to come over alone.
He didn't know if it was shyness or fear.
At this moment, within the group of examinees.
"Did you hear that?"
In the Sound Village team, Zaku Abumi asked the other two, "He called us trash."
"How regrettable."
"Let's play with them a little," the last female ninja said.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~
Sensing movement, Naruto knew: the chicken had finally arrived.
"Ha!"
Zaku Abumi leaped high into the air, intending to throw two shuriken, but was stopped by a single glare from Naruto.
Their eyes met, and his instantly rolled back, falling straight down from the air.
Thud~
He landed on the ground. When they looked again, he had already fainted.
As for the other attacker, he moved forward and was about to throw a punch at Naruto when Sasuke glared at him. His movements abruptly froze, and he fell into a genjutsu, fixed in place, unable to move.
"Go back to your trash can!"
Naruto kicked him, sending him flying into the crowd ahead.
These words once again drew angry glares from everyone.
However, no one dared to step forward recklessly again.
Killing the chicken to warn the monkeys—the effect was clear. The first ones to step up had failed, proving one thing: this boastful blond kid was indeed very strong.
As ninjas, they were cautious enough and wouldn't be easily provoked. So, before understanding Naruto's exact strength, they all chose to lie low.
"Naruto? Is that really you?"
Now, Team 8 and Team 10 all curiously gathered around. Everyone, especially Shikamaru and Chōji, scrutinized Naruto up and down, pulling at his arms and clothes, trying to figure out if this Naruto was someone transformed by a Transformation Jutsu.
"I told you already, I'm super strong, okay?"
Naruto scratched his head with a gentle smile, as if the arrogant blond kid from moments ago was a completely different person.
"You... hello."
Hinata softly greeted Naruto. As their eyes met, Hinata once again buried her head, playing with her fingers.
Naruto-kun really is strong.
Naruto didn't know how to respond. Did she greet him, or not?
"Damn it, how am I supposed to compete with you for boss now!" Kiba seemed to still be reminiscing about their rivalry for the top spot in school.
"I'll let you have it," Naruto said indifferently.
"Silence, all of you trash!"
From the podium, a voice rang out.
Bang! The smoke cleared, and the examination proctors made their solemn entrance.
"I am Ibiki Morino, the proctor for the first stage of the Chunin Exams!"
As soon as he finished introducing himself, he heard a voice.
"Sensei, someone's sleeping here! He's disrespecting you!"