Chapter 50: Kneel
It seemed they had heard about Naruto's performance back at the Ninja Academy.
They just didn't know how Naruto had behaved after becoming a ninja. And they didn't know that Naruto was Kakashi's most proud student and the leader of this three-person team.
So even now, they still thought Naruto was a complete failure.
Therefore, after seeing Naruto, the two of them mocked him mercilessly.
Seeing this scene, Sasuke and little Sakura frowned.
Before they could speak up for Naruto, the two Chunin taunted him again:
"It's just that the Third Hokage felt sorry for you and let you become a ninja despite being worthless. It's ridiculous that you'd actually want to take the Chunin Exam."
After hearing their words, Naruto took a deep breath.
So even this little Chunin exam would give him special treatment.
A cold look appeared in Naruto's eyes. He looked at the two of them coldly and said quietly:
"Kneel."
"What?"
Hearing Naruto's words, the two Chunin thought they had misheard. They paused for a moment, leaned in with their ears, and looked at Naruto mockingly.
Then another cold voice came from Naruto's mouth:
"I said—kneel."
After the words left his mouth, a terrifying burst of chakra erupted from Naruto's body.
Then Naruto cast two Kidō spells.
Bakudō #1: Sai.
Hadō #1: Sho.
Both Kidō were cast in an instant.
Naruto pointed his finger.
Bang!
A tremendous shockwave struck the knees of the two Chunin instantly.
The two Chunin cried out in pain. Their knees buckled, and they lost their balance. They had no choice but to fall to their knees.
They hit the floor hard, the sound echoing through the room and drawing everyone's attention.
Everyone watched this scene in astonishment.
Not only that, but the power of the Bakudō bound their hands behind their backs, making them unable to move. They could only stare at Naruto in horror.
Naruto looked at the two stunned Chunin indifferently and snorted coldly. Without their consent, with their knees planted on the ground, they had no choice but to watch him walk past and up the stairs to the second floor.
The two Chunin looked at Naruto in terror, as if they had seen a ghost.
They had absolutely no idea what had just happened.
They didn't know what techniques Naruto had used against them—only that he had made them kneel, unable to resist.
All they felt was a tremendous force binding them, making it impossible to break free no matter how hard they struggled.
The power of that force was so far beyond their own.
Could it be that Naruto had done this?
The two Chunin couldn't believe it. They watched Naruto walk away step by step in shock and fear, unable to even make a sound to stop him.
With Naruto's current strength, even the simplest Hadō #1 was far beyond what two Chunin could break free from.
Seeing this scene, the genin nearby exclaimed in shock:
"What's going on?"
"What happened?"
"Why are those two arrogant Chunin kneeling like that now? Hahaha, it looks so funny."
"Could it be that blond genin did it?"
Everyone looked at Naruto in amazement and involuntarily gasped.
Lee and the others, who had been with Naruto, were also extremely surprised.
Lee stepped forward and said with admiration:
"As expected of Naruto. I didn't even see what Naruto did, but he was able to defeat two Chunin. But why did those two Chunin deliberately stop Naruto?"
After Lee finished speaking with admiration, he looked a bit confused.
Clearly, Lee didn't know about Naruto's past. He didn't know about Naruto's childhood.
In his eyes, that had seemed like just another part of the assessment.
But it wasn't an assessment. It was pure malice.
Neji Hyuga looked at Naruto, his eyes flickering. He seemed to notice something. This experience felt a bit similar to his own.
So Neji quickly came to Lee's side, stopped him, and said:
"Lee, stop asking. This isn't something you should be asking about."
Naruto smiled lightly. He didn't mind. He turned to Sasuke and little Sakura and said:
"Let's go in."
Sasuke looked deeply at Naruto and nodded.
Little Sakura's eyes were complicated.
Both of them thought about Naruto's time at the academy, how he had always been alone. They seemed to finally understand the different way Naruto had been treated in the village.
After that brief episode, no one asked any more questions.
Everyone quickly walked through the corridor and arrived at the hall on the second floor. This was where the genin who had passed the screening below gathered, waiting to officially take the Chunin Exam.
The hall on the second floor was already packed with people—a completely different scene from downstairs.
Genin from various villages were discussing the upcoming exam enthusiastically. Some genin from different villages were sharing information with each other, trying to form alliances and prepare for the exam together.
Naruto and his team found a relatively quiet spot to stand and wait for the exam to begin.
Not long after Naruto and the others arrived in the lobby, Ino and Hinata, who had already gotten there, spotted Naruto and immediately came over to greet them:
"Naruto, little Sakura!"
Ino and the others made their way through the crowd to Naruto's team. Then Ino said:
"Why did you just get here? The first exam is about to start."
Little Sakura and the others smiled sheepishly. She couldn't exactly say that Kakashi had only told them on the last day that the exam was starting. And that not long ago, he had only just handed them their registration forms.
But before little Sakura could answer, Ino continued enthusiastically:
"I heard the first test is a written exam, with a very strict examiner. The second test is the practical combat portion."
"When the time comes, Naruto, you guys really need to help us out. A lot of people here have already formed alliances. We Konoha genin should stick together too. Besides, Shikamaru is so lazy…"
Ino leaned toward Naruto, took his hand, and said with a smile.
Seeing this, little Sakura snorted in protest and said:
"Come on, Ino. Your team's strength isn't weak. And this is the Chunin Exam. You're supposed to pass based on your own abilities."
Hearing little Sakura's words, Ino shot her a dissatisfied look and said:
"Tch. Little Sakura, you've got it easy. You have Naruto and Sasuke on your team—two of the best and most talented in our whole class. And Naruto's strength is far above the rest of us genin. You can just sit back and relax."
"I'm so jealous. And my teammates—a foodie like Choji, a lazy slob like Shikamaru…"
Ino said this enviously to little Sakura, then looked at Shikamaru doing nothing and Choji eating potato chips. She shook her head.
But Ino was just talking. In truth, she didn't really want to pass the exam with other people's help. And she didn't dislike her teammates. On the contrary, the Ino-Shika-Cho team was very united.
With her strong personality, she definitely wanted to prove herself in this Chunin Exam.
Teased by Ino, little Sakura blushed in embarrassment.
She knew that on this team, she really was benefiting from being with Naruto and Sasuke. After all, she was the weakest of the three.
And that was exactly why she wanted to use this Chunin Exam as a chance to test herself and continue proving her strength.
Just as the two girls were talking, suddenly, a cough sounded. It broke the lively atmosphere and made the surrounding noise quiet down.
A middle-aged man in a black trench coat and jacket walked out from an entrance, followed by several Chunin.
This middle-aged man was tall and burly, with several scars on his face. He looked very stern and vicious.
As soon as he appeared, he drew everyone's attention.
Naruto and the others realized that this middle-aged man was the examiner for their first exam—Morino Ibiki.
And the Chunin he brought with him were the rest of the proctors.