At ten in the morning, Naruto woke up in his 200 square meter bed.
He brushed his teeth and washed his face with his eyes closed the entire time.
"Who is this? How can someone possess such breathtaking looks?"
When Naruto accidentally opened his eyes and saw the boy in the mirror, he was stunned!
Could there truly be a man this aggressively handsome in the world?
Immeasurable Celestial! Oh Heavens! Buddha! God! What kind of divine face is this? How could anyone look like this?
The next second, he laughed, and the man in the mirror laughed with him. "Oh, it's just me!"
Hehe.
After his morning routine, Naruto decided not to go to work at the Root today.
No reason. Just being willful!
After a simple breakfast of 10 steamed buns, 5 fried dough sticks, one bowl of spicy soup, and three bowls of tofu pudding, Naruto casually threw on some clothes and headed out.
The weather today was exceptionally beautiful: blue skies, white clouds, fair winds, and warm sunshine.
The late morning sun wasn't hot; the gentle sunlight spilled over the yard—the lawn, the flowers, the small garden, the lounge chair, the miniature mountain stream, and the small pavilion. Everything looked as if a filter had been applied, making it feel strangely unreal.
The background was simply too fake!
"Let's go!"
He silently chanted, then leaped, dissolving into a shadow.
Swoosh—
Ninjas are just convenient. They can jump freely between houses and buildings, without worrying about traffic conditions or, even worse, being stuck in a crowd.
If more ninjas appear in the future, he wonders if they'll develop a three-dimensional, 8D set of traffic lights?
Naruto let his mind wander, entertaining random thoughts.
He leaped effortlessly across the rooftops, at a speed of seventy myles per hour, feeling completely free!
Until—
"Naruto!" Sakura's voice suddenly called from below.
Only then did Naruto realize he had arrived at the Hokage Tower.
"Coming!"
He shouted and jumped down.
Getting closer, Naruto noticed that Sakura seemed very different today. She had dressed up quite a bit, looking exceptionally refined, and had even put on perfume.
Is that the newly released Sakura No. 7 scent?
Naruto, however, didn't focus on these details. He asked, "How is it? Are they out yet?"
"They're still upstairs," Sakura smiled sweetly, her expression full of expectation.
Naruto nodded in understanding.
Today was a big day. Sasuke and Shikamaru had been summoned individually. 'The word' was that they would be promoted to Chunin !
That 'word' came from Naruto himself.
The purpose of this action was clear: the results of the Chunin Exams were out, and both Sasuke and Shikamaru had successfully passed the assessment and were being promoted to Chunin.
Chunin!
If Genin were merely cannon fodder in wartime, a Chunin was different—they were high-level cannon fodder.
Ahem.
Just kidding.
In truth, the Chunin rank was the peak that most ninjas could reach.
Simply put, the majority of ninjas in the world stopped at this level!
The 'Chunin' were the backbone of all ninja villages and the most numerous type of ninja!
However, the 'Chunin' rank was merely a milestone on the road for Sasuke and Shikamaru. Neither of them would stop here.
"Say,"
Naruto looked at the happy Sakura and asked curiously, "Are you okay? You did pretty well, but you didn't get promoted this time."
"It's fine~ I'm happy for Sasuke," Sakura smiled and waved her hand.
Upon closer inspection, Naruto indeed found no trace of an obsessive desire for power in the young girl.
Naruto knew that Sakura was actually set up by Sasuke .
If Sakura had been on any other team, she would have likely been promoted to Chunin this time. After all, her strength and other qualities were sufficient.
Too bad she was assigned to Kakashi's Team 7 .
One teammate was already a Jonin , and the other was about to become a Chunin. If she also got promoted when no one else from other teams did, it would look too conspicuous.
Hmm.
Naruto had originally wanted to barge in and cause a ruckus, but the Fifth Hokage ?
Doesn't know her well!
Forget it, then.
Naruto generally preferred not to see Tsunade unless absolutely necessary.
"They're out!"
Suddenly, Sakura happily waved to the back. Naruto turned and saw Sasuke and Shikamaru emerging, wearing their brand-new Chunin vests.
After half a day, Sasuke was still the same, looking cool and aloof, as if everyone owed him a large sum of money.
And Shikamaru?
He still had that 'what a drag' expression. Naruto felt both of them could be turned into emojis!
"Yo~ all healed up?"
Naruto walked over, stifling a laugh as he greeted Shikamaru.
At that, Sasuke's gaze also swept over.
He hadn't asked much earlier, constrained by his 'character profile,' but Naruto was now directly rubbing salt in the wound.
Sakura was the same way.
After all, Shikamaru's dance moves that day were simply too 'memorable.' They probably wouldn't see such a captivating dance again in this lifetime.
That was a 'skill' Naruto had cultivated in his past life after reviewing thirty thousand palace beauties on Douyin (Chinese TikTok)—the depth of knowledge involved was something Shikamaru would never finish learning!
He simply couldn't learn it all!
And Shikamaru?
Hearing Naruto's question, everything went black for a moment.
He had finally managed to feign sickness for a few days at home, hoping not to see his friends, but he ran into them anyway.
That day's incident was going to be his black history. Every time he thought about it, the past was too painful to revisit!
He was afraid to even remember it!
Shikamaru made up his mind: once he got back, he absolutely had to invent a Ninjutsu that could modify other people's memories!
He must!
"Uh, I have some things to do, gotta go!"
Shikamaru pretended to be calm, not even answering Naruto's question, and turned to leave.
Watching his receding figure, the observant Naruto noticed that Shikamaru's neck seemed completely red.
Good heavens, a direct transformation into Hinata , is that right?
"Hehe, a little amusing, I must say." Naruto chuckled at his back.
Remembering something, Naruto suddenly called out to him, "Hey, Shikamaru."
Shikamaru's retreating figure stopped.
"Don't forget to come to my place for dinner tonight!"
Shikamaru waved his hand, indicating he understood.
Naruto turned back to Sasuke, "And you? Sasuke? A Chunin now, huh?"
"Hn."
Sasuke's face remained cool. In truth, he was internally overjoyed.
A Chunin! Only one step away from Naruto's Jonin rank!
Although Sasuke's expression showed no change, Naruto, who knew him intimately, naturally knew the boy was ecstatic inside.
The meaning of life is showing off.
And what Naruto hated most was someone showing off in front of him.
So, Naruto suddenly said cheekily, "That's pretty good. You're a Chunin now. But, you still need to work hard! You're only this much away from my Jonin rank."
The smugness on his face, that tiny universe formed by his thumb and forefinger, looked utterly mocking to Sasuke.
"Tch~"
Unconvinced, Sasuke scoffed and turned his face away.
Naruto clearly saw the corner of his mouth, which had been raised, suddenly drop.
Sasuke was unhappy.
And Naruto, he just smiled.
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi