Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy

Karin gratefully grabbed Hinata's hand and shook it up and down enthusiastically.

[In some ways, Karin really is a lot like Naruto.]

Seeing how excited she had suddenly become, Hinata was momentarily stunned before her smile grew even gentler.

Seeing this, Sasuke decided there was nothing more to say and pushed open the door.

Because they had arrived relatively late after waiting around that morning, the moment Sasuke, Hinata, and Karin entered the waiting classroom, they immediately attracted the attention of the numerous genin who had already been waiting inside.

It had to be said that Konoha's Ninja Academy was spacious enough. The examination classroom was large and roomy, and even with nearly two hundred shinobi gathered inside, there was still no need for everyone to squeeze together.

Of course, there were still a few people who disliked being packed into the crowd and preferred to stand out by doing handstands on the ceiling.

Meanwhile, the Sand Village's three-man team, who had arrived relatively early, were standing at the very back of the crowd.

Because of his height, Gaara's view was completely blocked by the people in front of him, leaving him unable to see who had just entered.

Sasuke, however, completely ignored the seemingly hostile gazes directed at them.

Instead, he walked straight toward a certain person in the corner who was glaring at him with a pair of white eyes.

"Yo. You got here pretty early."

"Hmph. You're the one who's late."

Neji raised his head and looked at Sasuke.

Although his words weren't particularly friendly, a smile still appeared on his face.

"Hinata, Karin. We were just wondering when you guys would arrive!"

Tenten happily greeted them as well.

"And... long time no see, Sasuke!"

Lee was even more enthusiastic.

Tears of youthful emotion immediately streamed down his face as he reached out for a long-awaited hug.

Sasuke promptly dodged him.

"Long time no see, Tenten. Lee."

Keeping Lee at arm's length with one hand, Sasuke actually showed a rare hint of a smile as he nodded toward his old classmates.

Before they could start catching up properly, a sweet, coquettish voice suddenly came from behind Sasuke.

"Sasuke-senpai~"

[Here we go again.]

The moment he heard that voice, Sasuke rolled his eyes.

The voice was accompanied by a soft, fragrant body that suddenly threw itself onto his back.

"Sasuke-senpai~! I haven't seen you in forever! I've missed you so much!"

"Ah... ah... ah... sh-she's..."

Seeing the blond ponytailed girl clinging so intimately to Sasuke, Karin's pupils practically exploded.

Her mind instantly began filling in countless possible identities for this girl.

"Ino. Long time no see."

Hinata smiled at the girl.

"Ah! Big Sis Hinata! Long time no see!"

Seeing that Hinata was there as well, Yamanaka Ino happily climbed down from Sasuke's back.

However, she still couldn't bring herself to remove her hand from Sasuke's shoulder as she politely greeted Hinata.

Then she turned toward Karin and introduced herself openly.

"I'm Yamanaka Ino, captain of Sasuke-senpai's fan club."

"I'm one year below both Sasuke-senpai and Big Sis Hinata, and I just graduated this year."

"Please take care of me."

"Fan club?"

Karin blinked.

"Oh, okay! I'm Karin. Nice to meet you."

"Ah, what a drag."

Shikamaru walked over, complaining as usual.

"I thought I finally wouldn't have to watch you go crazy over Sasuke for an entire year, and now you've started again."

"I'll do whatever I want, loser!"

Ino immediately stuck her tongue out at her teammate.

Soon afterward, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chōji also joined them, the latter stuffing snacks into his mouth as usual.

After exchanging a few greetings, they introduced themselves to Karin as well.

"You three are the only newly graduated genin participating in this year's exam, right?"

Neji raised an eyebrow as he looked at Shikamaru.

"You just graduated. Are you really that confident?"

Neji's impression of Shikamaru wasn't particularly deep.

The only thing he really remembered was that although Shikamaru had never challenged Naruto, the two of them seemed to get along quite well.

And back then, it was this guy who had given Naruto the nickname "The Pinnacle of the Ninja Academy."

"I don't want to either."

Shikamaru sighed.

"Our teacher insists we're capable of it."

"With senior students as strong as you guys around, where would we even get the chance to show off?"

"What a drag."

"Speaking of which, where's Naruto-senpai?"

"He..."

"Hey, hey, you guys."

Just as the group was chatting enthusiastically, a white-haired young man wearing glasses and a ponytail approached them.

There was a hint of displeasure in his voice.

"Don't make such a racket. Do you really want everyone to know that you're all first-time Konoha participants in the Chūnin Exams?"

Everyone turned toward him.

He was also wearing a Konoha forehead protector, but none of them recognized him.

As Naruto's classmates, they could quickly tell that he was at least five years older than them.

After all, almost every senior student within five years of Naruto's age had been beaten up by Naruto back in the Academy.

Everyone knew them to some extent.

"We're just catching up with our old classmates."

Neji's voice wasn't loud.

Yet he calmly said something that everyone paying attention could hear clearly.

"If we're bothering anyone..."

"Then they'll just have to put up with it."

Too arrogant!

That was everyone's first reaction.

Several people immediately turned hostile.

Sasuke was also momentarily stunned.

"You've changed your personality?"

But he quickly understood.

He hadn't noticed it at first, but among everyone present, Neji was actually the most excited one here.

Sasuke was familiar with this kind of emotion.

The last time he'd seen Neji like this was shortly after graduation, when Neji had developed a new technique.

[What's different about this guy?]

"Wow! Neji-senpai is handsome too!"

Ino enthusiastically cheered a few times.

Fortunately, she had enough sense to keep her voice down.

Senior students can afford to be arrogant because they're strong.

I don't have the ability to draw that much hatred toward myself.

"...Young people really are impetuous."

The white-haired young man adjusted his glasses.

"My name is Yakushi Kabuto."

"Consider this a word of advice."

"Unless you intend to make enemies of everyone in the upcoming examination, you should probably tone down your emotions a little."

Apparently, Kabuto hadn't expected them to react like this either.

He was stunned for a moment, unsure how to continue his attempt at getting close to them.

However, as a professional spy, he still had to complete the mission Orochimaru had given him.

He cleared his throat.

"In any case, we're all Konoha shinobi."

"As your senior, I'm simply telling you that it's better not to attract too much attention from the other candidates."

Shikamaru noticed that Kabuto had emphasized this point twice.

"From what you're saying, Kabuto-senpai, you're very familiar with the upcoming examination?"

"Ah, yes."

Kabuto nodded.

"After all, I've already participated in the Chūnin Exams four times."

"Is that so?"

Shikamaru sighed.

"Then good luck this time."

And that was it.

He didn't continue the conversation.

Kabuto froze.

The entire string of follow-up topics he'd prepared seemed to get stuck in his throat.

But when he looked carefully at this group, it seemed that hardly any of them were interested in the examination information he'd deliberately brought up.

Were they genuinely unconcerned?

Or...

Even with Kabuto's extensive experience as a spy, he couldn't quite figure them out.

But if he continued forcing his way into their conversation now, it would make his intentions far too obvious.