Chapter 66:
"What are you doing, you idiot old man?"
After finishing breakfast, Boruto, in the middle of putting on his shoes, couldn't help but speak up at the sight of Naruto hesitating to speak.
"Ah… well… I heard you passed the second round of the exam, so… uh, good job. Do your best in the third round too," Naruto said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
It had been a while since Naruto had felt this nervous. The last time he remembered sweating like this was during the first round of his own Chūnin Exams.
"Hmph, like I need you to tell me. I'm going to win the whole Chūnin Exam." Boruto slipped on his shoes and hurried out. "Mom, I'm heading out!"
He could be disrespectful to Naruto, but never to Hinata—that was Boruto's rule for surviving at home.
"Boruto, finally! You're so slow. But I guess I'll forgive you, seeing how you really shone in the second round."
"Soon, Lord Seventh will see what we're made of. Isn't that great, Boruto?"
Hearing Sarada's words, Boruto silently nodded.
The old Boruto would've boasted about his skills right away, but he knew the truth—he'd only passed the second round and taken down that Chūnin from Iwagakure thanks to the scientific ninja tool on his wrist.
Even though Dr. Katasuke insisted it was no different from a shuriken, Boruto couldn't shake the guilty feeling. And now, he had a reason he couldn't give up on the tool, no matter what.
Despite brushing off what Naruto said earlier that morning, Boruto still felt a small flicker of emotion in his heart.
No matter what, he had to make it through the Chūnin Exams.
Konohagakure.
Konoha Arena.
People bustled all around.
"You're not participating in the third round?" Shuyu looked at the three girls in front of him.
Sumire nodded. "Yeah. Honestly, we only made it through the second round thanks to you, Shuyu. So we've decided not to compete in the individual battles."
"Besides, with our abilities, we'd only embarrass ourselves in the third round anyway," Wasabi added.
After Shuyu had left during the second round, the three of them had tried to move together, but were easily taken out by a single opponent.
"As expected of my students. Even though you're withdrawing, being able to recognize your own limits—that's something I'm proud of."
Hanabi suddenly hugged Sumire, Wasabi, and the nearly invisible Namida from behind.
Shuyu nodded, ignoring the four deepening their bond, and turned to walk into the Konoha Arena through the contestant entrance.
He had never intended to form any lasting bonds with the temporary team he'd joined. Shuyu understood his role—he was already a dead man. The only reason he kept going was to see his little brother and niece one last time.
Once S.H.I.E.L.D. was defeated, he figured he'd disappear. Forming too many attachments would only bring pain to those who remained.
The third round of the Chūnin Exams—the individual battles—was the highlight of the entire event. It was also the most crucial, since in the world of shinobi, strength was everything. This was the round when the village leaders, despite their busy schedules, would make time to watch and assess the strength of their younger generation.
Those who passed the second round included: Konoha's Uzumaki Boruto, Uchiha Sarada, Mitsuki, and Uchiha Shuyu; from Sunagakure: Araki, Yato, and Arashi; from Kirigakure: the Seven Ninja Swordsmen; Iwagakure: a filler Chūnin A; Kumogakure: a filler Chūnin B.
In the viewing box for village leaders, the Hokage Naruto sat in the middle. To his left and right were the Mizukage Chōjūrō, Kazekage Gaara, Raikage Darui, and Tsuchikage Kurotsuchi.
"You guys again?" Naruto asked with a small smile.
If he wore a stern expression now, the sleazy entertainment papers would surely make up some wild story.
Today it's lighthearted banter between village heads—tomorrow the papers would claim the Fifth Great Ninja War was about to erupt.
If it were another Hokage, they would've already had the journalists summoned by the Anbu without a second thought. But this was Naruto—he didn't go for the kill even with his enemies, let alone his fellow villagers.
If Sasuke were Hokage, he would've used his Rinnegan to glare the reporters to death already.
"Lord Killer Bee was attacked. Even with the Eight-Tails, he had to amputate and escape. According to his intel, the attackers were likely from the Ōtsutsuki Clan—and they were clearly after the Tailed Beasts," said Darui, despite already being the Raikage, still speaking of Killer Bee with respect.
After the Fourth Great Ninja War, many of the Tailed Beasts were returned to the wild. Only the Nine-Tails, Eight-Tails, Three-Tails, and One-Tail remained sealed inside Naruto, Killer Bee, Chōjūrō, and Gaara, respectively.
"An enemy from the Ōtsutsuki Clan… I think we all know how dangerous that is. And this time, there are three of them. If their goal is truly the Tailed Beasts, they won't overlook us Jinchūriki. Especially not the Nine-Tails, which has the strongest chakra. So I think it's best for us to stay together. If anything happens, we can respond as one," Chōjūrō said with a smile—though in truth, he was just afraid.
After all, forcibly extracting a Tailed Beast seriously endangers the host, often costing them their life. Given Kirigakure's current strength, even their entire village couldn't take on a single Ōtsutsuki. So Chōjūrō had no choice but to come to Konoha for help—to save his own life.
Chōjūrō came for survival, Gaara came out of concern for Naruto, and Darui and Kurotsuchi came simply because they didn't want to be the only ones who stayed behind.
On the surface, the Five Great Nations were still united. If three leaders showed up and the other two didn't, it would look bad.
Naruto exchanged a glance with Shikamaru behind him, both seeing worry in the other's eyes.
If Naruto was right, the enemies Killer Bee encountered were likely the same three who had appeared in Konoha earlier.
Even though these enemies were from the same clan as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, they couldn't afford to cancel the livestreamed Five Village Joint Chūnin Exams. All five Kage were already present—backing down now would be a disgrace.
Though, of the five Kage, only Naruto could really fight. Gaara, maybe, if you stretched it. But the other three were still elite within their villages and could at least protect civilians even if they couldn't win in battle.
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