As the days went by, the Chunin Exams drew closer and closer.
Both Naruto and Sakura had long since met the conditions to participate, so it was only natural that Kakashi submitted their names, along with Sasuke's, for the exam roster.
Today was a rare day off. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Rock Lee had heard that a new and incredibly delicious fried meat cutlet shop had opened in the village, so they decided to check it out.
If the food was as good as they'd heard, they planned to secretly buy some for Goku as a thank you for all his coaching.
Just as they approached the shop, a scene unfolding out front caught their attention.
A man dressed in a black, one-piece suit with purple markings painted on his face and a strange object wrapped in bandages on his back was shoving several children who had been waiting in line.
"Out of the way, brats. I'm buying first!" he said coldly.
The children, completely powerless against him, were sent tumbling to the ground with a gentle push, crying out in pain.
"Ow!"
"That hurts!"
"It hurts so much!"
The man with the painted face paid them no mind. After pushing them down, he began to study the menu in front of the shop and said to the flustered employee inside, "Hey, get me an order of the fried beef cutlet first."
"S-sir, I don't think that's right," the employee said nervously, intimidated by his fierce appearance, but still refusing his demand.
After all, there was a proper order to things. The children had already placed their orders and were waiting for their food. How could he possibly ignore them to serve a customer who had just arrived?
"Hm? Are you refusing me?"
At the employee's refusal, the man's face darkened, and a terrifying pressure emanated from his body, causing the employee's face to turn pale.
He was, after all, a ninja of considerable skill, and the pressure he exuded was an unimaginable weight for an ordinary person.
Just as the employee was about to buckle under the pressure and give in, a voice suddenly rang out, and the crushing feeling instantly vanished.
"Hey! Who are you? How dare you cut in line?"
Naruto came striding forward, yelling at the man with the painted face. He had seen it all clearly.
The children had been waiting, and this strangely dressed man had just cut in line and pushed them aside.
This act infuriated him, and he stepped forward to defend them!
"Hm? A Konoha genin?" The man turned, and his eyes narrowed. "What's the problem? I'm a guest in Konoha. Shouldn't I be allowed to eat first?" he said coldly.
"A guest? What kind of guest are you? I've never heard of you," Naruto said, his face scrunched in a frown.
"You idiot. He's from the Village Hidden in the Sand. You can tell by his forehead protector," Sakura said, walking over.
After explaining to Naruto, she turned to the man. "You must be here at Konoha's invitation to participate in the Chunin Exams, right?"
"Hmph. Finally, someone with a brain." Hearing that someone understood the situation, a smirk crossed the man's face, but it froze almost immediately.
"Even if you are a guest, you still have to follow the rules of Konoha. Or rather, a rule that applies to the entire shinobi world," Sakura said, crossing her arms with a mischievous smile.
"Surely you're not so old that no one has ever taught you the simple rule of 'first come, first served'?"
The Sakura of today could have easily defeated several versions of her past self; her strength far surpassed what it had been at this stage in the original story.
With this newfound power as her backing, even though the man in front of her looked dangerous, she wasn't the least bit intimidated!
"What did you say, you damn woman?"
Hearing her last sentence, the man's eye twitched, as if it had brought up some unpleasant memory. He suddenly lashed out, throwing a straight punch at Sakura's face.
SMACK!!
But a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, solidly catching his fist.
"If you want to fight, fight me. What kind of man bullies a girl!" It was Naruto, who had been standing nearby. He clenched his hand around the man's fist and squeezed!
"Ah! It hurts! Let me go, you damn brat!" The man felt an immense, overwhelming force coming from Naruto's hand, crushing his fist until it made a cracking sound.
He was shocked. This guy is just a genin! How can he have so much strength! He had always considered himself to be among the top tier of genin.
He couldn't believe it. Konoha has a genin this strong?
Naruto had no intention of actually hurting him and let go after seeing his pained expression.
The man scrambled back several steps, rubbing his reddened hand while staring at Naruto.
Yellow hair, whisker marks on his face... in all the intelligence he had, there was no mention of a Konoha genin like this. Was he a recent graduate?
"Hey, what's your name?" he asked, his eyes narrowed, his voice low.
They had been given a special mission in addition to participating in the Chunin Exams, so he had to gather intelligence on anyone who could become an unknown variable.
"Me? My name is Naruto Uzumaki! The man who will be the future Hokage! You'd better remember it!" Naruto said, pointing a thumb at himself, his voice full of confidence.
"Hey, Kankuro, what are you doing? What's taking so long?"
Just then, a beautiful girl with blonde hair and a giant iron fan on her back appeared from the end of the street, shouting at the man with the painted face.
Hearing her call, the man—Kankuro—glanced at the shop employee, then at Naruto, and realised he wouldn't be getting his beef cutlet any time soon.
He let out a cold snort. "Just you wait!" With that, he turned and walked towards the girl without a backward glance.
After he had left, the children he had pushed down got up from the ground and came over to thank Naruto and Sakura. "Thank you, big brother and big sister!"
"Are you here to buy fried meat? If you don't mind, you can have our order!"
Faced with the children's enthusiasm, Naruto and Sakura quickly waved their hands. "No, no, it's okay, hahaha. You guys go first. We're going to be buying a lot, anyway."
Upon arriving, they had smelled the captivating aroma coming from the shop and knew instantly that its reputation was well-deserved.
They had decided to buy as much as their wallets would allow to make Goku happy.
"That guy... not very strong, but he's got a big attitude," Rock Lee said, walking over with Sasuke, who had been watching from a distance.
After training together for so long, they were well aware of Naruto's current strength, which was why they hadn't gotten involved earlier.
In their minds, there was no way that guy named Kankuro could ever beat Naruto!
"Haha, let's not talk about him. Let's figure out what kind and what flavour of fried meat we should get for Goku-sensei," Naruto said with a laugh, rubbing his head.
"That's easy," Sakura replied immediately. "We'll get one of every type. As for flavours, we'll get one of everything except garlic. Goku-sensei only hates garlic; he's fine with everything else."