Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

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Naruto covered the bump on his head, looking bewildered: "Huh? Shy? Why?"

If Sasuke stayed with this guy any longer, he'd be assimilated: "You loser, you'll die from your slowness sooner or later."

In the end, Hinata was taken care of by Sakura, while Naruto followed behind, looking completely confused and not understanding what was wrong with what he had just said.

Without the burden of the caravan, everyone returned to Konoha Village in just one day.

The Jonin teacher went to report on the mission, while the others dispersed and waited for the commission payment to be distributed.

Soon after, Hinata finally woke up, but when she saw Naruto, her face turned red again, and she quickly hid behind Sakura.

Naruto scratched his head, walked over, and said seriously, "Hinata! I meant what I said earlier! I will definitely take responsibility for you!"

Hinata fainted again because her head was smoking.

Sakura, who was holding Hinata, quickly yelled, "Naruto! Shut up!"

Sasuke unconsciously pulled away from Naruto, saying, "This guy's hopeless."

Kiba suppressed a laugh: "Hahaha! Naruto, what kind of ninjutsu is that? You made Hinata faint with just one sentence?"

Shino: "...An interesting phenomenon."

Inside the sealed space, Nine-Tails was practically laughing himself to death: "Hahaha! One sentence knocks him out twice! Is this kid a love killer?!"

Minato stroked his chin, beginning to ponder his future plans: "Looks like I'll have to teach him a thing or two about how to talk to girls..."

This time, however, Madara did not object.

At sea, Misaki stood at the bow of the ship, gazing at the scenery on the horizon, her fists clenched so tightly they cracked: "Naruto Uzumaki... Hmph, next time we meet, I'll definitely make you my man!"

Chapter 57 Sarutobi Konohamaru

One day after the joint mission, Kakashi notified everyone to assemble at the Seventh Training Ground.

The trio quickly arrived at the seventh training ground.

"Seventh Class, assemble!"

Kakashi's lazy voice rang out, and Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura looked up at the same time. They saw that their Jonin instructor had somehow appeared in the center of the training field, holding a piece of paper in his hand, his eyes still listless like a dead fish.

"Kakashi-sensei! You're late again!" Naruto was the first to jump up and protest. "This time you're half an hour later than last time!"

Sasuke looked at Kakashi with a hint of resentment. "Kakashi, you need to get rid of this habit of being late."

Sakura sighed, "Kakashi-sensei, do we have any tasks today?"

Kakashi scratched his head and slowly handed over the paper: "Um... you can see for yourselves."

Seeing this, the three of them crowded around to take a look, and saw that it was written on the paper...

Chunin Exam Registration Form

"The Chunin Exams?!" Naruto instantly became excited. "Wow! Am I finally going to become a Chunin?!"

Sasuke smirked: "Hmph, finally a challenge that's somewhat worthy of being called."

Sakura's expression changed: "Wait! We've only graduated for less than three months. Isn't it too early to participate in the Chunin Exams now?"

Sakura, being a top student, knew very well that a genin needed to take the Chunin Exams to be promoted to chunin.

However, genin usually need a year to get used to each other before they choose to participate in the chunin exams.

After all, the Chunin Exams are no child's play; they are exams that can kill people.

Blindly rushing forward will most likely only lead to their deaths.

However, Naruto and Sasuke clearly didn't think that much about it.

Naruto turned to look at her: "Sakura, what are you afraid of? With Sasuke and me here, everything will be fine!"

Sasuke crossed his arms and said calmly, "If you don't even dare to take this kind of test, what kind of ninja are you?"

Sakura bit her lip: "But... the Chunin Exams are a competition among elite genin from various countries. We lack experience, and participating rashly might lead to..."

Seeing the three of them arguing, Kakashi yawned and said, "Well, here are the application forms. You can decide for yourselves. Just tell me your answer tomorrow."

After saying that, with a "bang," he vanished instantly.

Naruto pouted: "...They ran away again!"

Sasuke thought about it carefully for a moment: "Never mind, let's go back and think about it first, and decide tomorrow."

Sakura nodded: "That's fine..."

After parting ways with Sasuke and Sakura, Naruto walked home alone, his hands behind his head, muttering to himself, "The Chunin Exams... I wonder what kind of opponents I'll face!"

Inside the sealed space, Minato explained to Naruto, "The Chunin Exams are a joint event organized by the five great nations."

Ban dismissed this with disdain: "This kind of behavior of exposing one's wealth is really foolish."

Minato shook his head: "No, Madara-san, the Chunin Exams are not just exams, but also a way to showcase our country's strength to other nations."

Ban couldn't help but smile slightly: "Hmm? Deterrence, huh? Interesting."

Just then, a commotion broke out at the street corner.

"Hey! Kid! Can't you see?!" a fierce voice rang out.

Naruto turned his head and saw a ninja wearing a Sand Village headband grabbing a child by the collar, his face full of anger.

The child was wearing a long scarf and a hat that looked like a bowl on his head.

Although he didn't recognize the other person, Naruto still spoke up to stop them: "Hey! Stop it!"

"Help me!" the child cried out as he struggled.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Seeing that the other party had no intention of letting go, Naruto rushed over instantly.

He grabbed the Sand Village ninja's wrist, "What kind of skill is it to bully children?!"

The Sand Village ninja sneered, "A Konoha genin? Mind your own business!"

Naruto's eyes flashed sharply: "Let him go!"

"Hmph!" The Sand Village ninja suddenly flung Konohamaru aside and threw a punch at Naruto!

Naruto dodged to the side and kicked the opponent in the abdomen. The Sand Village ninja groaned and staggered back a few steps.

"You bastard...!" His eyes were filled with malice, and he was about to form a hand seal when suddenly—

A cold voice came from deep within the alley.

Naruto froze, a chill running down his spine.

He slowly turned around and saw a red-haired boy standing quietly in the shadows, carrying a huge gourd on his back, his eyes as cold as if he were looking at a dead man.

"I... Lord Gaara..." The Sand Village ninja instantly cowered and quickly lowered his head and backed away.

Gaara ignored him and stared straight at Naruto: "Konoha ninja... what's your name?"

Naruto swallowed hard, but quickly straightened his back: "Naruto Uzumaki! And you?"

“Uzumaki…Naruto?” Gaara repeated in a low voice, a chilling smile creeping onto his lips. “I’ll remember that.”

As he spoke, he slowly walked up to the ninja and said coldly, "Release him."

The Sand Village ninja reacted as if he had been electrocuted, and quickly let go of the child's hand.

Seeing the child run away, Gaara said, "I'm sorry, my companion gave you a bad impression."

Although Gaara was apologizing, his voice was extremely cold, as if he wasn't apologizing at all, but simply saying those words.

After Gaara left, the child peeked out from behind Naruto, saying with lingering fear, "That person was so scary..."

Naruto stared in the direction Gaara had gone, his brow furrowed: "That guy... is very strong."

Inside the sealed space, the Nine-Tails' tail swung: "Hey, Naruto, that guy just now... he had the aura of a tailed beast inside him!"

Naruto was somewhat surprised: "So, he's just like me..."

Minato also began to think: "Sunagakure has even sent a Jinchūriki this time, so we need to be careful in the upcoming exams."

Madara sneered, "It's just a tailed beast. Even if you call all of the fox's companions over, I can still handle it!"

"Yes, yes, yes, Old Man, you're the best!"

Nine-Tails yawned and said perfunctorily.

In the real world, Naruto snapped out of his daze and patted Konohamaru on the head: "Are you alright? How did you get into trouble with them?"

The child scratched his head: "I accidentally bumped into him..."

Konohamaru lowered his head, his small hands tightly gripping the hem of his clothes.

The menacing image of that Sand Village ninja was still lingering in his mind, making him tremble even now when he thought about it.

He secretly glanced at the blond older brother in front of him.

At this moment, the other person squatted down at eye level with him, and there was not a trace of impatience in their bright blue eyes.

“Kiku, Konohamaru…” he answered softly, his voice so faint it was almost inaudible.

When he said the name, he instinctively shrank his neck.

Every time this name is mentioned, you'll hear comments like, "Ah, he's the grandson of the third generation."

He hated it, hated living forever in his grandfather's shadow.

"Konohamaru? Then you wouldn't be..." Naruto's reaction was exactly the same as everyone else's.

Konohamaru's heart sank. He nodded mechanically, "Yes, my surname is Sarutobi."

Is it really starting again? Those same old polite phrases...

"The grandson of three generations of grandfathers?"

Naruto's voice suddenly rose, but unexpectedly, it didn't contain the fake flattery that Konohamaru was familiar with, but rather pure surprise, like discovering that a kitten on the street could suddenly talk.

What shocked Konohamaru even more was that this blond older brother actually addressed his grandfather as "Third Grandfather"!

It wasn't the overly respectful "Third Generation Elder," but rather a warm and familiar address, like that of family.

Konohamaru suddenly raised his head and carefully examined the other person.