Naruto was completely speechless at Sasuke's logic.
"Seriously? You think whose house is it, is the problem?"
Sasuke looked genuinely confused.
"Then what's the problem?"
Naruto had no energy to argue. He placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder—
Flying Thunder God!
In a flash, the two of them reappeared atop the Third Hokage's stone face.
Compared to before, the surface of the Third's face had been covered in graffiti and litter. There were even signs that people had barbecued here.
Naruto frowned.
Sasuke, noticing, offered an explanation.
"While you were gone, after the whole Land of Whirlpools prison incident, some villagers started blaming the Third for what happened. They said it was his decisions that led to everything."
"That idea's been gaining support, and a lot of people now hold deep resentment toward him."
Naruto listened and shrugged.
"Guess he's reaping what he sowed."
Then he turned, brushing the topic aside.
"Alright, so what's this about?"
Sasuke's expression turned sharp.
"I want to know why you're so strong! I've trained harder than anyone—but I'm still falling behind!"
"I've thought about it nonstop. There's no way this is just about talent. No one's that talented!"
"There's something else, isn't there? Some secret you're hiding!"
Naruto looked at him with interest.
Heh… he's not wrong. And he's not far off either.
But before Naruto could come up with a reply, Sasuke dropped a surprise bomb:
"Last month, I had a dream."
"In that dream, there was this old man holding a black staff, with freaky eyes full of concentric circles. He talked to me."
Naruto's eyes widened.
A black staff? Rinnegan eyes?
That could only be… the Sage of Six Paths!
Why? Why would the Sage appear in Sasuke's dreams?
Naruto leaned forward, now fully intrigued.
"What did he say to you?"
Sasuke shook his head.
"I don't really remember the conversation."
"But the next day, my Sharingan advanced to two tomoe… and after that, my talent just skyrocketed."
"And just now, during our talk, my eyes evolved to three tomoe so easily! All of this… it feels connected to you somehow!"
Naruto furrowed his brows.
'So he dreams of the Sage, and the next day his talent explodes?'
'Wait… could it be… I've grown too far ahead as Asura's vessel, and the old man's decided to give Indra's vessel a buff to balance it out?'
That was the only explanation Naruto could come up with.
He looked at Sasuke with a new level of caution.
If the Sage is backing him… this guy might really become my future rival.
'Should I take him out now, before he becomes a threat?'
…The thought passed—but Naruto dismissed it immediately.
Sasuke was the reincarnation of Indra. If Naruto acted first, the Sage of Six Paths definitely wouldn't sit idly by.
And right now, Naruto still wasn't strong enough to take on someone at that level.
"Hey! Naruto! Are you even listening?!"
Sasuke snapped.
Naruto blinked back to reality.
"I know it sounds ridiculous," Sasuke added, "but it's real!"
Naruto gave a small smile and patted his shoulder.
"Sounds like a win to me. You've got your old man. I've got my talent."
Sasuke found that weirdly annoying.
Still, a power-up was a power-up. He couldn't complain.
'At this rate, it won't be long before I can kill my brother… and finally surpass Naruto!'
The clouds lifted. The sun shined.
Sasuke once again dreamed of a future where he'd throw his head back and laugh like a maniac.
The next day.
The Chūnin Exams officially began.
First round: Written Exam.
Naruto walked into the testing room among a sea of Genin.
Presiding over the exam was the same scar-faced, no-nonsense examiner as always—Ibiki Morino.
Naruto sat down, with Karin and Suigetsu to either side.
"Naruto-kun… I don't know any of these questions. What should we do?"
Karin whispered.
Suigetsu looked like he was about to melt.
"Same here! These insane test questions? I'd rather be dead."
Naruto smirked.
"Don't worry. You don't have to actually answer anything. Just hand in a blank sheet when the time comes."
Kabuto, sitting a few rows back, adjusted his glasses and smiled subtly.
As a spy, he already knew the true nature of the test: the key was not giving up.
He hadn't expected Naruto to figure it out so easily though.
Naruto sat near the window and casually flipped through the test.
He didn't know a single question.
But neither did most of the other Genin.
Of course, this was a ninja exam. And ninja have their ways.
Everyone got to work using whatever tricks they had.
-Sasuke activated his three-tomoe Sharingan and started copying Sakura's movements.
-Gaara summoned a third eye made of sand to spy on other candidates.
-Ino used Mind Body Switch Technique, possessed another candidate, got their answers, and returned.
Ibiki noticed every cheat.
But this was part of the exam—he didn't stop them.
"Alright! All done!"
Sakura stretched proudly, having just finished her last answer. She was one of the few who completed the exam without cheating.
Just as she was about to turn in her paper—
THUD!
A familiar kunai struck the desk.
In the next moment, a flash of gold.
When she looked down…
Her paper exam was gone.
Replaced with a blank sheet, cleaner than brand-new.
She froze for several seconds before realization hit.
That kunai…
Naruto's special Flying Thunder God kunai!
She whipped her head around—and sure enough, Naruto was standing, holding her test paper.
'That bastard!! Why does he always pick on ME?!'
Sakura gritted her teeth hard enough to crack a molar.
But she didn't dare speak up.
Ibiki might have seen the flash, but even he only caught a glimpse of gold light—not the technique itself.