["Is this Konoha?"]
["Lord Angel?"]
["Mm."]
["Let's go."]
["Yes~"]
[...]
[At the same time, Ninjas from various Villages arrived at Konoha one after another.]
[After showing their tokens, Konoha's Two Gatekeepers let them all through.]
[A few days flew by.]
[Konoha also became lively.]
[However, on this day, it suddenly became much quieter.]
["Well then, the rest is up to you."]
[After the Jōnin Instructors of each team gave their subordinates instructions, they left first.]
[Outside the Chunin Exams venue.]
[Genin from various Villages had already gathered.]
["Let's go up too."]
[After staying downstairs for a moment.]
[No eye-catching Genin appeared.]
[Naruto then led Sasuke and Sakura up to the second floor.]
[The moment they stepped onto the stairs, both Sasuke and Sakura frowned.]
[But seeing that Naruto didn't say anything, they both remained silent.]
[They followed silently behind Naruto.]
[And when Team 7 reached the second floor.]
[Thump—]
[A dull sound came from ahead.]
[Looking up, they saw a crowd of Genin gathered in front of a classroom door with the sign '301' hanging on it.]
[At the same time, a figure flew backward out of the crowd.]
[After that figure landed, he still maintained a strange pose.]
[That green spandex suit was incredibly eye-catching.]
[Looking at the green figure covered in'scars', Sakura's eye twitched, and she casually looked away.]
[It was such an eyesore.]
[Rock Lee wasn't usually so... except when he was with Might Guy, then he'd become just like Might Guy... most of the time he was quite normal.]
[This scene was clearly beyond the trio's expectations.]
[Sasuke's face darkened slightly.]
[He only hoped this green-skinned kid wouldn't try to strike up a conversation with him later; it was too embarrassing.]
[Also... with their strength, being cautious was fine, but... there was no need to play the pig to eat the tiger like this, right?]
[The trio's arrival didn't attract much attention.]
[Everyone's attention was on Rock Lee.]
[Watching Rock Lee's performance.]
[Spectating was the same everywhere.]
[In the crowd, two figures immediately noticed Team 7's arrival.]
[The two were naturally Tenten and Neji, who were forced to stop their pace.]
[Their faces were full of helplessness and shame.]
[Seeing Naruto's trio arrive.]
[Tenten and Neji wished they could crawl into a crack in the ground.]
[It was a scene of social death.]
[Especially since Rock Lee was still selflessly exerting his acting skills, occasionally pointing at his two partners and saying chuunibyou things.]
Might Guy: "Lee, you've improved a lot!"
Rock Lee: "Teacher Guy!"
Might Guy: "Lee!"
Senju Tobirama: "Didn't we vote to mute them?"
Uchiha Izuna: "I don't know... let's just do it again then."
Senju Tobirama: "Fine."
Ding—
Chat Room Member · Senju Tobirama initiated a vote... ["Heh."]
["If you're only at this level, you'd better just go back home."]
["Did you really think the Chunin Exams would be this simple?"]
["Get lost, there's still a chance to turn back now."]
[At the entrance of classroom '301'.]
[Two figures stood guard on either side of the entrance to classroom '301'.]
[Both had the appearance of teenage Genin.]
[Wearing Konoha headbands.]
[It was these two who had blocked that green-skinned kid outside the door earlier and given him a harsh lesson.]
[They looked somewhat unfamiliar, but if one frequently entered and exited Konoha, they would realize that the two youths guarding classroom '301' looked familiar.]
[However, Naruto saw through such a simple Transformation Jutsu at a glance.]
[These two were none other than the guards of Konoha's gate, Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane.]
[Got the wrong workstation?]
[No, it seemed more like they were being 'deliberately accidental'.]
[Naruto shook his head.]
[From the moment they entered the exam venue, they had already fallen into a genjutsu.]
['But it makes sense, otherwise with so many people, the screening would probably take quite a while.']
['In the end, it still comes down to raw strength.']
['If they can't even notice or break this kind of genjutsu, it's only reasonable they get disqualified directly.']
['The Genin trapped by the genjutsu can't even submit their application forms for the Chunin Joint Exam.']
['Therefore... it can be considered as slightly preserving the dignity of these Genin.']
['Otherwise... if the first exam later is something like a survival exercise... then many small Villages might face a gap in their Ninja generations.']
[Naruto nodded secretly.]
[He was also starting to look forward to this Chunin Joint Exam a little bit.]
['A prototype of the relevant exam already existed during the time of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, and now it has been refined a lot. Although there are some small issues, they are harmless.']
[The thought faded.]
[Naruto raised his hand, signaling Sasuke and Sakura not to be in a hurry.]
[Naruto watched the three people at the door of classroom '301' with great interest.]
[The three of them indeed had good acting skills.]
[Well, Rock Lee's acting was still a bit too exaggerated.]
["I... I will absolutely not give up!"]
["For today... my partners and I have put in unimaginable effort..."]
[As Rock Lee spoke, he also raised his hand, trembling as he pointed toward Neji and Tenten.]
[Tenten and Neji's expressions changed, and they quickly dodged the direction Rock Lee's finger was pointing.]
[Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki's faces darkened.]
[This kid went a bit overboard with the effort.]
[But regardless, their task was considered complete.]
[Izumo Kamizuki glanced at Kotetsu Hagane.]
[The two had worked together for many years and were already in perfect sync.]
['These three are Might Guy's subordinates, right?']
['Quite interesting little fellows.']
['Although a bit... but thanks to this kid, the task is done.']
['Those three who just came up must be Team 7, right?']
['Kakashi's subordinates... we saw them once not long ago.']
['It seems they've improved a lot as the Chunin Joint Exam approached; even we feel a tiny bit of pressure.']
['If we don't work harder... we might soon be surpassed by these juniors.']
['Hehe... Izumo, don't belittle yourself.']
['The two of us guarding Konoha's gate is a great form of cultivation in itself, and it won't be that easy for these youngsters to surpass us.']
['In any case, we've deterred the riffraff outside the Village for years. Otherwise, in all these years, have you ever heard of anyone being able to enter and cause trouble through the gate we guard?']
[...]
[The two continued their eye contact while observing the Genin from various Villages around them.]
[Seeing many Genin directly ignore this side and continue going upstairs, they nodded secretly.]
[Then they paid attention to the time.]
[Their task was to stall these Genin before they submitted their Chunin Joint Exam application forms.]
[It was considered the second stage after the genjutsu.]
[Passing the second stage was still not enough.]
[Because this was the second floor.]
[If they couldn't distinguish this deceptive trick, they would also miss the registration time for the Chunin Joint Exam.]
["It's about time, let's go."]
["Not waiting for Lee?"]
[Tenten helplessly held her forehead and walked toward Team 7.]
["Then you keep accompanying him."]