In the moments after the teams were registered and each one received its scroll, Louis did not waste any time. Calmly, he took Sakura's and Hinata's hands and led them away toward one of the entrance gates he had carefully chosen beforehand.
After passing through the gate, Louis did not rush forward like the other teams. Instead, he headed toward a specific place.
"Where are we going?" Sakura asked nervously, noticing that the path Louis was taking did not look like the routes the other teams were using.
Hinata only looked around anxiously, her fingers tightening with hesitation.
Louis did not answer right away. He kept walking until he stopped at a spot that looked completely ordinary on the surface. Then, without warning, he pushed aside a layer of branches and dirt, revealing a narrow entrance leading underground.
"Go down," he said in a tone that allowed no argument.
The two girls exchanged a silent look, then followed him into an underground shelter. The place was surprisingly well prepared: simple beds, water, preserved food, medical supplies, and even a few protective seals.
Sakura's eyes widened.
"This… when did you prepare all of this?"
Hinata asked softly, "Did… did you know the test location in advance?"
Louis did not reply immediately. He turned to them and said seriously,
"You will stay here. Both of you. Until I come back."
"What?!" Sakura protested at once. She had thought her relationship with Louis had grown after they spent a night together. "We're a team! You can't..."
"I can," Louis interrupted coldly. "And I will."
Hinata tried to speak, but her words disappeared before leaving her mouth. Louis's gaze was firm.
"You're weak here," he continued, without cruelty but without mercy. "What's coming won't be a normal Chunin Exam. Having you with me would hold me back… and it could get you killed."
Silence filled the room.
Sakura frowned deeply, anger and sadness clear on her face, while Hinata lowered her head, clutching the edges of her clothes.
"Stay here," Louis said as he moved toward the exit. "Do not come out no matter what you hear. That's an order."
Before leaving, he gave them one last look, then took his team's Heaven Scroll. Knowing in advance the gate number Naruto and Sasuke's team had entered through, he rushed into the forest, fully decided:
He would find them… and end this chaos before it truly began.
*** ***
After a relatively short search, Louis sensed a familiar disturbance in the flow of chakra. When he arrived, he saw Sasuke and Shino facing an ugly-looking girl with an unnaturally long tongue.
"As expected…" he muttered.
But Naruto was not there.
Louis did not need to think for long.
"He was thrown away."
He completely ignored Sasuke. In his current state, Sasuke had no chance against Orochimaru. Louis's only concern now was Naruto… because if Naruto died, this exam would turn into hell.
And indeed, after careful tracking, he found him.
Naruto was surrounded.
Six people stood around him in a tight circle, their expressions showing no intent to play around. And at the front… was Kaito.
Before Louis could take another step...
Kaito suddenly smiled and said loudly,
"Are you going to keep watching, or do you plan to interfere with our plans until the end?"
Everyone froze.
The group exchanged tense looks.
"Was someone spying on us?"
There was no need to hide anymore.
Louis stepped out from the bushes calmly and stood in the open.
Naruto's eyes widened.
"You… Kyosuke?! What's going on here? Do you know these people?"
Louis did not look at him. His eyes were fixed on Kaito.
"Are you really going to do it?" he asked in a deadly calm voice. "Didn't your family tell you what would happen if you targeted this person?"
Kaito laughed mockingly.
"Heh… and what could happen? We kill one main character, that's all. Many people have used this strategy in other worlds. What's so strange about it?"
"Huh? W-What are you talking about?!"
Naruto tightened his grip on the kunai, his breathing fast. He didn't understand anything… but he understood the killing intent.
As for Louis, he sighed inwardly.
He's naïve… yes. But killing him is not an option.
In an instant...
Louis disappeared.
No one saw his movement.
He appeared behind Naruto and struck precisely at the base of his head, knocking him unconscious before anyone could react.
Then he slowly turned toward Kaito and the others.
"Your information is incomplete," he said coldly. "Even if you kill him here… the sealed entity inside his body will go berserk and turn this place into hell. No one would survive."
Kaito's smile froze.
"The sealed entity?" he asked sharply, then turned to one of his teammates.
After a moment, that person nodded and said,
"He's telling the truth."
Louis glanced briefly at that person.
The ability to detect lies… a strange choice of skill.
Then he looked back at Kaito. There was no doubt this was because of him.
Kaito stayed silent for a few seconds, then finally sighed.
"Fine… if that's true."
He raised his eyes to Louis and asked,
"So… what do you suggest?"
Louis did not answer right away. He fixed his gaze on Kaito and then spoke in a calm, controlled tone:
"Before that… tell me, how far have your preparations for this plan gone?"
A short silence followed. Kaito was not surprised by the question. He looked at Louis for a few seconds, as if judging whether hiding anything was worth it. Then he finally said:
"Everyone here chose to gain an excellent talent in one specific field."
He did not try to decorate the truth or hide it. With someone present who could detect truth and lies, any deception would be an unnecessary risk. And even in the worst case, with their full team gathered, Kaito did not believe Louis had the ability to face all of them at once.
He added calmly, with clear confidence:
"Everyone here has developed their abilities to the highest possible level in their specialty, all in preparation for this plan."
Then he leaned forward slightly and said:
"Now… why don't you tell us what you're thinking?"
Louis was not affected by the confidence in Kaito's words. Silence returned as he thought deeply. Then he raised his head and suddenly asked:
"How good are the sealing skills of the person who chose that path?"
He added immediately, leaving no room to avoid the question:
"And does he know any of the Uzumaki clan's techniques?"
Kaito immediately turned toward one of his teammates and looked at him directly, clearly expecting him to answer himself.
That person hesitated for a moment, worry showing on his face. He cleared his throat and said:
"I have developed my sealing skills to the highest possible level."
After a short pause, he continued:
"I have also studied the Uzumaki clan techniques available in the village, but they are only basic techniques. There is nothing special among them."
Louis narrowed his eyes slightly and began to reorganize the information in his mind. He did not comment, but his silence felt heavier than any reply.
The man noticed this and stopped speaking. He glanced sideways at Kaito, clearly unsure whether to continue.
Kaito nodded calmly, giving a clear signal: hide nothing.
The man took a deep breath and said:
"I also obtained an additional skill from the system…"
He paused for a moment, then continued in a serious tone:
"A skill that guarantees the success of any sealing technique I use at one hundred percent."
He quickly added, as if not wanting to be misunderstood:
"But its use is limited… only three times per day."
Only then did something change in Louis's gaze.
Not surprise… but realization.