Without a word of complaint or sign of fatigue, Chōji's quiet shift in mindset significantly eased Naruto's concerns. And with the approaching chakra signatures of a large number of other examinees, Naruto made a silent decision after a brief moment of thought.
"Hang in there, Chōji! Just hold on a little longer. Once we find Shikamaru and the others, we'll take a break together."
Slightly lowering his head, Naruto checked to make sure that Hinata, whom he was carrying in his arms while running at high speed, wasn't slipping or in danger of falling. At the same time, he spoke in a calm, steady tone to encourage the silent Chōji behind him. Then, without warning, he increased his speed yet again, darting forward like an arrow released from a bowstring.
"Huh? Push a little—"
Seeing Naruto effortlessly accelerate right after giving the encouragement, Chōji, who didn't even have time to finish his sentence, clearly felt a wave of despair…
To an outsider, it might seem like Chōji was following Naruto's pace without much trouble.
But the truth was, Chōji had been pushing himself to the limit: enduring chest pains while scarfing down the emergency snacks he'd hidden on his person to refuel from the intense exertion, and shedding weight at the same time.
He grit his teeth and pushed on, drawing upon every last drop of strength in his body just to barely keep up.
'He's been running for so long while carrying someone, and he still has the energy to speed up again… Is Naruto even human? He might actually be a monster…'
As he pounded his numb legs, mechanically forcing them to move one after the other, Chōji could only watch helplessly as the distance between him and Naruto widened once more.
On the verge of tears, he couldn't help but grumble in his heart.
'But seriously though… when Dad said he was sending me to this… it was just the preschool-level entrance exam for the Ninja Academy, right? Just preschool! Since when did entrance exams get this intense?!'
…
Unaware of Chōji's internal cries of despair, Naruto simply assumed that Chōji was keeping pace as before, and felt at ease continuing to increase his speed.
The path ahead was straight and clear, with no forks or side roads, which made things easier.
Breathing in a steady rhythm, Naruto maintained his high-speed dash while pulling back his sensory field slightly.
He stopped focusing on the locations of the other examinees and instead kept a lookout for his teammates.
Finally, as two distant paths appeared in his vision, he spotted two familiar figures collapsed on the side of the road—it was Shikamaru and Ino, who had taken off earlier while being chased.
"Ahh, finally found you two…"
Muttering to himself, Naruto gradually slowed down as he closed the distance. He stopped right in front of them, neither too far nor too close.
Carefully placing the Hinata he'd been carrying in a princess hold on the ground, he squatted down to check their condition.
The first thing Naruto noticed was how disheveled both Shikamaru and Ino looked—understandably so, after all the intense running.
As the hunter in the game, Ino was in comparatively better shape. Her hair was a little messy and her dress had some inevitable creases and dirt, but after a thorough check, Naruto concluded she had simply fainted from exhaustion.
Shikamaru, on the other hand—the hunted and relentlessly pursued—looked far worse.
At first glance, it was obvious how much more dust and dirt clung to him compared to Ino. His arms and cheeks were scratched up, like he'd been mauled by a wild cat. His clothes were torn in several places, making him look like a beggar, and from the jagged edges, it was clear the fabric had been forcibly ripped. As for the culprit… Naruto could figure that out even with his toes.
If someone unaware of the context were to see Shikamaru like this… well, they might assume this poor child had been cornered and assaulted by some creepy gentleman with questionable tastes.
"Judging by how you two look, you went even harder than I thought… What the heck did Shikamaru say to make Ino go full berserk mode? If someone saw this without knowing the context, they might think the two of you had some kind of blood feud involving murder or betrayal…"
Shaking his head in disbelief, Naruto gently lifted both of them and carried them to the wall nearby. Once seated side-by-side with their backs against the wall, he placed one hand on each of their shoulders.
Then, using the same method he'd used earlier to transfer chakra to Hinata, he began filtering his chakra into pure, gentle energy and channeled it into their bodies through their chakra pathways.
"Your energy reserves are so low, it's like the oil lamp has burned dry. One ration pill won't cut it. Even if I gave you ten, it'd still take forever for you to recover. Let alone pass this exam and get into the academy… Well, whatever. Since we're friends, I'll help you cheat a little."
As he mumbled, the purified chakra in Naruto's palms slowly began to transfer into their bodies through direct contact. Like rain after a drought, the soft and steady flow nourished their utterly depleted bodies, which had collapsed into unconsciousness to protect themselves from total burnout.
But this whole process wasn't without benefits for Shikamaru and Ino…
Thanks to years of high-intensity physical training, Naruto knew very well how effective timely recovery could be when one was utterly exhausted.
And being a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, his chakra carried immense life force. Although he was nowhere near the monstrous level of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, removing their exhaustion and restoring them to full stamina was a piece of cake.
For Shikamaru and Ino, both drained of chakra and strength, Naruto's chakra had far better recovery properties than any ration pill.
It might not rebuild their foundation from scratch… but after such intense exertion, Naruto was confident this boost would raise their stamina and endurance by at least a whole level.
In a way, this was his belated welcome gift to them after their first meeting.