The faint light of dawn spilled onto the road leading back to the village from Training Ground 3.
Leaning by the roadside, the irresponsible white-haired teacher, holding a small adult book, looked at the young boy and girl before him.
"Tsk tsk, that's brutal. Did you really beat him all night long?"
His gaze fell on Naruto, who was slung over Sakura's back. Kakashi clicked his tongue in amazement.
"It's only because you gave such a short deadline! Otherwise, would I have needed to use such extreme methods?"
Sakura shot Kakashi a glare and handed the bruised and battered Naruto over to him.
During the handover, the unconscious Naruto mumbled, "No more, really no more..."
"So, this Jutsu of yours can be mastered quickly?"
As a Jonin, Kakashi had gleaned a lot of information from Sakura's earlier words.
"Only Naruto can! Anyone else would die like this!"
Sakura raised her palm towards Kakashi. After Armament Haki coiled around it, she clenched her fist forcefully. The air itself seemed to distort under that small, white hand.
"Gulp!"
Feeling the awe-inspiring aura emanating from the girl's hands, Kakashi swallowed hard.
'Being beaten under such fists all night long… truly, only a monster with vitality like Naruto's could survive it in the entire village.'
"Also, this technique requires maintaining calm to use. As for how to teach Naruto to calm down, that's the teacher's responsibility!"
For someone like Naruto, whose body is filled with an excess of Yang Attribute Chakra, restlessness has become the norm in his heart.
There are only two ways to make him calm down: First, painstakingly polish his mental state over time. Second, have him undergo a major incident that forces him to change spontaneously.
However, both methods are troublesome for Sakura. This kind of thing is originally the responsibility of Kakashi, the Jonin Instructor. Sakura couldn't be bothered to handle it for him.
Playfully sticking her tongue out at Kakashi, Sakura formed a hand seal.
"Wait, I..." Kakashi's strength naturally wasn't enough to intercept a Flying Thunder God User.
With a whoosh, the light of Space-Time enveloped Sakura and teleported her away.
…
After returning home, Sakura slept straight until the late afternoon.
Upon waking, she was mercilessly informed by her mother that lunch had been completely finished, with no leftovers.
Helpless and starving, she could only drag her exhausted body to the southern commercial street of Konoha to find food.
Elsewhere, two Ninjas wearing brown flak jackets and red outfits also set foot onto the southern commercial street.
One of them, a black-haired girl, looked at the dazzling array of goods and the more luxurious wooden buildings compared to her own village full of rocks, her face showing an excited expression.
"Wow, so this is the most prosperous street in Konoha? It truly lives up to its reputation!"
The girl waved her arms, squeezing into the crowd at a food stall one moment, then into a clothing store listening to the salesgirls discuss the latest trends the next, and even ran into a supermarket to compete with elderly people for potatoes.
"Hey, stop it, Kurotsuchi! This is Konoha, don't cause a disturbance!" Behind her, a tall, gentle-looking man watched the girl curiously wandering around everywhere and raised his hand as he chased after her.
"Akatsuchi, you're just too uptight! I'm here to spend money today! The customer is God!"
Proudly placing her hands on her hips, Kurotsuchi puffed out her equally regrettable chest.
The girl turned around sharply and bumped into a similarly flat and unremarkable steel plate.
"Oof, so hard."
This subconscious roasting caused the pink-haired girl opposite her, who was already tired and hungry, to have her eyes glow with red light.
"Hmph, at least I'm not like someone who doesn't watch where she's walking… flat and short!"
Having grown up spoiled as the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, the willful girl's forehead bulged with a vein.
"What did you say, you...!" Furious, she raised her finger, the insult on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't figure out how to break the stranger's defense.
At a loss for words, Kurotsuchi looked Sakura up and down: Cherry pink hair, clear green eyes, a Konoha's forehead protector, a tall and outstanding figure, plus a black Ninja Attire… she looked cool and amazing.
'Tch, so what if you're tall...!'
"You pink-haired gorilla!"
"Language as weak as your chest, utterly lacking in impact."
"Grr... you wide-forehead ugly woman!"
"Lies as insignificant as your height, utterly lacking in credibility."
"Hmph... you flat-chested vicious witch!"
"Attacks as feeble as yourself, utterly lacking in condemning power."
"You..."
After hurling three insults in a row, each one turned back on her, the spirited black-haired girl was now baring shark-like teeth, her forehead covered in red bulged veins.
"Good girl, go back and study some more. Your insults are so sweet it's like you're acting like a spoiled child."
Taking advantage of her height, a mischievous grin spread across Sakura's face as she reached out and ruffled the girl's head.
"Bastard, I challenge you to a duel!"
Her pretty face flushed bright red. Kurotsuchi rolled up her sleeves and charged at Sakura, fist raised.
Behind her, the honest Akatsuchi arrived and hurriedly grabbed the girl by the arms, lifting her up.
Suspended in mid-air, Akatsuchi kept kicking her long legs, clad in fishnet stockings, hoping to land a hit on Sakura through the air.
"Akatsuchi, let me go! Today I'm definitely going to teach this woman a lesson!"
The good-natured Akatsuchi naturally wouldn't listen to Kurotsuchi. After all, before they left, he had promised the Tsuchikage he would keep an eye on this young lady.
Not to mention, this was Konoha's territory. If they caused trouble here, what if they got jumped by a bunch of Konoha's Ninjas?
"Alright, alright, Kurotsuchi, we were in the wrong first," The helpless Akatsuchi could only tighten his grip on this Princess of Iwagakure and keep trying to smooth things over.
"Three times! Three times, Akatsuchi! At least let me teach her a lesson!"
Fuming, Kurotsuchi turned her head and roared at her senior brother behind her.
"Oh? Want to teach me a lesson?"
Sakura's eyes narrowed. Ripples from the great ocean spread out.
The Conqueror's Haki, intertwined with dark lightning, suddenly surged, imprinting upon the hearts of the two before her: domineering green eyes and the pure white, colossal figure roaring at the sky.
"This is... presence...!"
An unprecedented chill surged into their hearts. Both Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi's bodies trembled slightly under that surging aura.
'Just the released presence alone could reach such a level… this person before us is… incredibly strong!!!'
"Hey! What's your name?!"
Putting away her playful expression, Kurotsuchi stared solemnly at the girl before her.
'This Konoha's Ninja was definitely no ordinary person… she was very likely a powerful enemy we would face in the upcoming exams.'
"Haruno Sakura!"
Sakura, with her arms crossed, swept her gaze over the various individuals secretly watching from the shadows.
…
On a water tower to the north.
A lazy man with a large sword strapped to his back looked down at the scene below and spoke to the three behind him: "Samui, Omoi, Karui. That is your greatest enemy in this exam."
"Yes! Captain Darui!" x3
On the rooftop of a residential building to the west.
A boy shrouded in a black cloak, carrying puppets, and a girl carrying a giant fan bowed their heads, not daring to look at the person in front of them.
Before them, a boy with a gourd on his back boiled with killing intent.
"That woman is so strong. Killing her would definitely fill this up, right?"
As he spoke, the boy raised his hand to his chest, his clothes wrinkling under his five fingers.
In the distant Hokage Building, the Kage of the three Great Ninja Villages stood before the window.
The Kazekage, shrouded in white robes, chuckled softly, "The young lady from Iwagakure is quite lively. Youth is truly wonderful."
The Tsuchikage, Onoki, floating in mid-air, glanced at him indifferently and casually deflected the topic: "Konoha's genius isn't bad either."
Hiruzen lit his pipe and smiled.
"They are all the future of our Ninja World! Well then, let the exams begin!"