Hinata grabbed Naruto's arm, veins bulging around her eyes, and said seriously, "I'm going with you this time. I've already learned the clan's secret techniques, so I won't hold you back anymore."
Naruto glanced at Hinata, then took her hand and activated the Body Flicker Technique.
After returning to the others, the members of both teams noticed something strange about Naruto and Hinata's expressions. While everyone muttered to themselves, Naruto briefly explained the situation.
After learning that Sasuke was in danger, the two teams immediately rushed toward the depths of the Forest of Death.
Along the way, Karin wore a pale expression and said dramatically, "Shiro, the love story between me and Mianma-sama ended before it even began. This is the greatest pain in the world."
Shiro couldn't help replying, "You're from the same clan as Mianma-sama. He's always treated you like a younger sister."
Karin instantly recovered and said with determination, "Even if Mianma-sama treats me like a younger sister, I won't give up on love. Besides, little sisters are more important than lovers."
Hearing this, Shiro quickly turned his face away. He really wanted to laugh out loud, but that would've been rude.
A few minutes later, Naruto and Hinata arrived deep within the Forest of Death. Fierce sounds of battle echoed through the woods, while stones and broken tree trunks occasionally flew out from the battlefield.
After confirming that Sasuke's life wasn't in immediate danger, Naruto wasn't in a hurry to step in.
Instead, he calmly observed the battle between Sasuke's group and Kimimaro, then casually pulled melon seeds and potato chips from his backpack. He handed them to Hinata and asked her to distribute them to the others.
"Mianma-kun, isn't it a little bad for us to act like this? Isn't Sasuke your friend?"
After taking the potato chips, Hinata asked with a guilty expression. Naruto, however, looked completely indifferent. Pointing at Kimimaro, he said:
"See that white-haired ninja? He's the last surviving member of the Kaguya Clan, Kimimaro. Interested in taking him under your wing?"
"A ninja from the Kaguya Clan?" Hinata frowned and fell into thought.
Naruto continued watching the fight between Sasuke's team and Kimimaro. In terms of raw strength, Kimimaro was clearly superior. He was already close to adulthood, and he also carried the Earth Curse Mark on his body, allowing him to mobilize part of natural energy.
With the blessing of natural energy and the Shikotsumyaku bloodline, Kimimaro could already threaten Kage-level experts.
However, Sasuke's strength also couldn't be underestimated. After training under Kakashi over the past few years, he had awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, and his combat power had already reached the level of a Jonin. He was basically a teenage version of Kakashi.
Without that level of strength, Sasuke would've already lost to Kimimaro even with the help of his two Chunin teammates.
At this moment, Sasuke formed hand seals, and dazzling lightning burst from his blade as he charged at Kimimaro again. The violent electric current pierced through the defense of the bone blade and stabbed straight through Kimimaro's arm.
Kimimaro smiled coldly, activating his Shikotsumyaku to twist the bone blade lodged in his arm before stabbing toward Sasuke.
Sasuke immediately released the dagger, threw out a kunai wrapped with explosive tags, and used the smoke from the explosion to create distance while staring intently at Kimimaro.
Aside from Gaara, this was the toughest opponent he had ever faced.
Kimimaro's body looked like it could collapse at any moment, yet both his offense and defense were absurdly powerful. Sasuke had never seen such a bizarre Bloodline Limit where bones could grow directly out of someone's body.
Why had such a monster appeared in the Chunin Exam arena? And where were Kimimaro's teammates?
At this moment, Sasuke glanced toward the treetops, searching for the positions of the cameras. These cameras scattered throughout the Forest of Death were tools used by the examiners to monitor the test.
The next second, Sasuke realized that most of the nearby cameras had already been destroyed, causing his heart to sink.
This meant the enemy was most likely not a Chunin Exam participant at all, but an outside ninja who had infiltrated the Forest of Death—or perhaps someone who had come specifically to target him.
After reaching that conclusion, Sasuke instantly appeared beside Sakura and Sai and said coldly:
"The other side isn't made up of examinees. Retreat immediately and notify the Chunin Exam proctors."
"Trash like you staying here will only hold me back."
Sakura and Sai were stunned for a moment before quickly leaving the area.
The battle earlier had already shown them the gap in strength between themselves and Sasuke. Staying behind would only become a burden to him.
After watching Sakura and Sai leave, Sasuke looked at Kimimaro and pulled out another spare dagger.
"You were sent by Uchiha Itachi, weren't you? Tell him this—it won't be so easy to kill me!"
A question mark practically appeared over Kimimaro's head. What did he have to do with Uchiha Itachi?
Still, his mission was to cripple Uchiha Sasuke's limbs and bring him back to Orochimaru-sama. No matter what nonsense Sasuke said, it wouldn't change the mission's outcome.
Watching Sasuke ramble confidently, Naruto smiled and said, "Sasuke still loves acting cool just like before."
What does "acting cool" mean…?
Hinata looked confused for a moment before turning toward Naruto and asking:
"When are we going to subdue Kimimaro? If this keeps going, the examiners might notice us."
Naruto withdrew his sensory perception before slowly standing up.
"Hinata's right. It's time to move against Kimimaro. Konoha's higher-ups have already noticed this place."
"Shiro, Karin, stop resting and bring out the chakra weapons."
Hearing this, Hinata looked puzzled, but soon watched as Shiro and Karin pulled gun-like weapons from storage scrolls.
She whispered:
"Mianma-kun, I've seen ordinary people use weapons like those while on missions. They aren't effective against ninjas. They're not even as useful as the bows used by some clans."
"This isn't an ordinary firearm. It's a chakra-powered chakra gun."
Naruto patiently explained to Hinata. He took out an enhanced version from a storage scroll and handed it to her before teaching her how to use it.
To some extent, Hinata wasn't wrong.
During his journey after leaving Konoha and traveling across the Land of Fire, Naruto had seen many firearms. The power of those guns wasn't any weaker than the firearms from his previous life.
But the guns from his previous life were designed to kill humans—not ninjas who could manipulate chakra.
Ninjas were monsters capable of casually running fifty meters per second, faster than high-speed trains. Even though their physical bodies looked fragile, getting smashed through rocks usually only made them cough up blood.
Against superhumans like these, ordinary gunpowder weapons naturally had little effect. Only chakra-powered firearms could truly threaten them.
These chakra guns could fire miniature ninjutsu, and their destructive power was comparable to standard ninjutsu. Their only drawback was the cost, since they used the same special chakra-conducting metal used in Asuma's trench knives.
They were pretty fun toys. Naruto could even establish a gunner unit in Uzushio Village someday and have them fight against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
After grabbing Hinata's small hand and helping her aim at Kimimaro, Naruto pulled the trigger.
A miniature ninjutsu—the Lightning Release Railgun—instantly fired from the barrel!
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