It's better to be a rebel ninja than to be a Hokage

"Really? Kakashi-sensei suddenly disappeared saying he had something urgent to do. He clearly said that he would treat us to a meal after today's mission is over!"

On the streets of Konoha, Sakura complained about Kakashi's "broken promise".

"Perhaps Kakashi-sensei is worried that we will see his face under the mask."

Naruto looked up at the sky and answered Sakura in a very calm tone.

"Why? Looking at Kakashi-sensei's revealed face, he seems to be a handsome guy."

"No matter who it is, they look pretty good wearing a mask. Maybe Kakashi-sensei has buck teeth or big lips."

Naruto withdrew his gaze from the sky, turned his head and smiled at Sakura, then expressed his opinion.

Naruto was looking at the sky just now, looking for the ninja eagle responsible for transmitting information.

The fact that the Ninja Hawk is hovering at such a low altitude means that it is transmitting important information.

Kakashi's sudden departure just now must have been because he was summoned by the Ninja Hawk sent by the Third Hokage.

As expected, the Chunin Exams were about to begin.

In fact, anyone with a discerning eye could notice the unusual flow of people in Konoha in the past two days. There were suddenly more unfamiliar faces, and it became easier to meet the ninjas in the village on the road.

These are the ninjas who are openly on guard against the village. There are only more ninjas in the dark.

I wonder if Karin has also come to Konoha to prepare to take part in this Chunin Exam.

It is very easy to identify Karin. The Uzumaki clan has more chakra than ordinary ninjas. He only needs to use the Wind Caressing Dawn Technique. If Karin and the ninjas from the Kusagakure Village come to Konoha, he will be able to sense it.

However, Naruto still suppressed his perception.

This Chunin Exam is not an internal assessment of Konoha, but a joint exam of the two major ninja villages of the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, as well as the ninja villages of the surrounding small countries.

During this period, there were many people and forces from all sides pouring into Konoha, so Konoha was on the highest level of alert.

Naruto doesn't want to be targeted by those Konoha ninjas who are also proficient in perception ninjutsu just because he uses perception ninjutsu casually.

Except for the second day after returning to the village, after Kakashi submitted the mission report on the Land of Waves, Naruto used the Wind-Care Dawn Technique on a small scale to observe the members of the "Root" in order to confirm Danzo's attitude.

During this time, Naruto never used this jutsu again.

All possible unexpected situations must be eliminated before the Chunin Exam officially begins.

"Since Kakashi-sensei doesn't want to treat, how about I treat you guys to dinner?"

Naruto was still the same as usual when getting along with Team 7.

"I don't need it. Today's tasks are all completed. Next, I will prepare to practice."

Sasuke rejected Naruto's proposal and without waiting for Naruto to persuade him to stay, he used the instant body movement technique to leave.

After returning from the Land of Waves, Sasuke has been like a training maniac, practicing all aspects of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.

Once Kakashi disbanded Team 7 after completing the day's mission, Sasuke would leave directly and practice alone somewhere unknown.

Perhaps it is the Uchiha clan’s land. Although the Uchiha clan has been exterminated, the third generation still retained the Uchiha clan’s land.

The Uchiha clan's land was originally located in the corner of the village, close to the Konoha Prison. It had a bad geographical location and it would be very difficult to use the land again.

When the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, established the Konoha Guard, the Uchiha clan took root here.

After the Nine-Tails Rebellion twelve years ago, the Konoha high-ups reduced their range of activities.

Over time, that piece of land became the symbol of the Uchiha clan.

So the third generation simply sold out Sasuke... This should also have included a favor for Uchiha Itachi who had defected, so that the Uchiha "home" was kept in Konoha.

This is indeed what the indecisive third generation would do. The older people get, the more immature their political methods become.

The Third Hokage completely lacked the powerful political means that he had used after the Second Hokage's death to lead Konoha from decline to prosperity.

It seems that as long as I feel at ease, the world will remain peaceful as always.

"What about Sakura, are you going to practice too?"

Naruto didn't care about Sasuke's departure. He looked at Sakura and asked about her next plans.

"Me? I'm fine...but..."

Sakura glanced at Naruto, wondering what she was hesitating about.

"If it's not convenient for you, let's talk about it next time."

"No! I'm not hesitating about this!" Facing Naruto's misunderstanding of her attitude, Sakura hurriedly explained: "I want to say, Naruto!"

Sakura suddenly straightened her attitude and shouted Naruto's name loudly.

Her inexplicably serious look made Naruto a little overwhelmed.

Then, Naruto heard Sakura say, "I hope you can help me with my training later!"

Sakura looked at Naruto with hopeful eyes, waiting for his answer.

But Naruto just stared at her and didn't say anything for a long time.

"I... I also know that I am a ninja without any characteristics or advantages... When we were in Wave Country, you and Sasuke were both very strong, but I was completely useless... So..."

Sakura seriously reflected on herself. In the original work, although Sakura's ninjutsu had lagged behind Naruto and Sasuke at this time, she was still complacent about her performance in the ninja school.

But now, even her only excellent theoretical knowledge is not much better than Naruto's.

Naruto, who was originally gloomy in this world, was not a fool. Although his grades in school were not excellent, they were quite satisfactory.

And the Naruto who traveled through time did not follow the original Naruto and become a fool who only knew how to play pranks in the ninja school.

As for the original sinister Naruto in this world, when Naruto traveled through time and suddenly tried to imitate the original to play pranks, not to mention Danzo - the third generation would think that Naruto was unfathomable.

So Naruto just disguised his previous incarnation's bad attitude towards the village as being extremely friendly.

This was after he had just crossed over and spent several months, going through the gradual progression of mentalities and emotions from being mean, cold, confused, seeing through, to letting go - finally making himself appear "reasonably" friendly in the eyes of others.

He then used his words and actions to advertise that he "wanted to become a successful Hokage", to show that he had turned over a new leaf and would only be a good person who was harmless to the villagers in the future.

Naruto looked at Sakura, he actually wanted to reject Sakura's request.

Because it's really troublesome.

But he also knew that his refusal was "unreasonable".

"No problem, we are in the same class, let's invite Sasuke to come along next time!"

Naruto smiled and agreed to Sakura's request.

Just agree to it verbally first, and then just deal with the subsequent training casually, and then it will be time to defect.

"So what are we going to eat next?"

After agreeing to Sakura's request, Naruto immediately redirected the topic with a rhetorical question.

Come to think of it, he has never eaten Ichiraku Ramen after traveling to this world for more than two years.

Let's eat Ichiraku Ramen.

Naruto made an instant decision. He wasn't on a date with Sakura, so there was no need to care what she wanted to eat.

The question just now was just a means of changing the subject, so that Sakura wouldn't start talking about the details of training before they even had their meal.

We went to eat Ichiraku Ramen.

Naruto didn't have the chance to say this.

came a female voice that was very familiar to both Naruto and Sakura.

"Isn't this Sakura? What's wrong? You are in the same class as Sasuke, but you still can't get Sasuke's love. You really have no charm at all."

A girl with a light blonde ponytail and bangs on the right side of her face that reached her collarbone came towards me.

There were two boys, one fat and one thin, following her.

All three were people Naruto and Sakura knew.

A classmate from the ninja school and also a Genin from the same period.

The girl is Yamanaka Ino, who is Sakura's rival in love and is competing for Sasuke's love.

The thin boy was Nara Shikamaru, who took the initiative to talk to Naruto at the ninja school graduates' briefing session.

The fat boy is Shikamaru's good friend, Akimichi Chouji.

The three of them are now Genin members of Team 10 led by Asuma Sarutobi.

"Ino..."

Unexpectedly, the three members of Team 10 would show up. Facing Ino's usual ridicule, Sakura didn't know why she had no interest in refutating.

In the past, she would have been furious and started to become jealous of Ino over Sasuke.

Ino didn't expect Sakura to react like this. Considering Ino's previous taunting, Sakura's reaction should be considered a verbal victory for Ino.

But Ino wasn't as excited as she thought.

She stared at Sakura carefully for a while, and finally looked at Naruto... Her eyes were a little strange...

Noticing Ino's strange look, Shikamaru felt something was wrong.

"Hey, Ino!"

He hurriedly reminded her, but it was too late.

"What? Have you been won over by Naruto? Your taste is as bad as your charm!"

Ino said sarcastically, "Naruto, did you threaten Sakura? You are such a gloomy guy. You must be in the same ninja class with Sasuke. You have a dark and twisted inferiority complex towards the excellent Sasuke, so you threaten Sakura to be your girlfriend, right?"

"Ino, stop talking nonsense!"

Sakura spoke up to stop Ino from spreading rumors.

Naruto reached out and stopped Sakura.

That’s why people say little girls are always annoying before they grow up.

"Ino, think about the slander you just made against me. Does it make sense? I am dark, twisted and inferior to Sasuke. Why do I threaten Sakura to be my girlfriend? Are these two things strongly related?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes and looked at Ino, no expression on his face.

Naruto's expression made Sakura shrink her neck subconsciously.

"It's over..."

Shikamaru, who is the best at reading people's faces, also had an expression that showed that the situation was not good.

Ino's face didn't look much better when she saw Naruto's expression.

The people present hadn't seen Naruto's expression like this for two years...

Two years is enough time for them to forget many things, but if they suddenly remember those things again, they will immediately become vivid in their memory.

They now recalled once again the fact that Naruto was not easy to talk to.

Being ostracized since childhood and having no parents, Naruto in the past chose to treat everyone in the village with a gloomy personality in order to hide his weakness and protect himself in solitude.

When he was in the ninja school, Uchiha Sasuke's loneliness was to reject all kindness.

That loneliness of Naruto is to respond with violence to all the malice that bares its fangs at him.

However, Naruto rarely displays violence, because even during his most violent periods, he never actively approaches anyone.

Yamanaka Ino is the only exception.