I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

However, Naruto eventually escaped Konoha through his efforts, and she relied on Naruto to save her.

Shisui remained silent. He had long suspected Naruto's identity, but he had selectively forgotten about it. Knowing too much was not a good thing; being a ninja was always a profession that required secrecy.

After leaving the ramen shop, Shisui looked in the direction of the Uchiha clan's territory, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

Naruto guessed Shisui's thoughts and headed towards the Uchiha clan's territory. The Uchiha clan was close to the border of Konoha, and he might be able to meet Sasuke and other interesting people there.

However, Naruto hadn't gone far when he saw a group of rookie genin gathered in a secluded alley, their expressions tense and ready to fight.

The situation is quite simple: a few Kirigakure ninjas accidentally provoked Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari's Sunagakure squad, and a conflict is about to break out between the two sides.

"They're ninjas from Kirigakure!"

The taciturn Haku wanted to step forward to stop the conflict, after all, Kirigakure was nominally allied with Uzushiogakure and had been conducting in-depth exchanges for many years, and Zabuza was also a Jonin of Kirigakure.

Naruto stopped Haku and waited quietly for the conflict to break out.

Just as Temari and Kankuro were worried that Gaara would suddenly kill someone, Sasuke appeared on the tree, interrupting Gaara's spellcasting with a kunai, and then said calmly, "Fighting in Konoha, do you not take the Uchiha clan seriously?!"

Sasuke's innate ability to feign innocence immediately attracted everyone's attention, and Gaara launched an attack without hesitation.

After several attempts to control Sasuke with his sand magic failed, Gaara realized that Sasuke was not someone to be trifled with. He snorted and said, "Not a bad opponent. I hope we can be opponents during the Chunin Exams."

Sasuke landed on the ground and said with a disdainful look, "You'll regret meeting an opponent like me. I'll hardly remember a nobody like you."

Upon hearing this, Gaara, who was about to leave, turned around and looked at Sasuke.

And so, the battle that had stopped began again. Gaara manipulated a large amount of sand, and Sasuke drew his short sword and revealed his Sharingan.

As expected of Sunny Helper?

Naruto turned to Shisui and chuckled, "Shisui, were all the Uchiha this arrogant when they were young? Are you sure you won't get beaten up by your comrades for doing that?"

Shisui rubbed his forehead and quickly explained, "Not all Uchiha are like that; Sasuke is just an exception."

Naruto smiled without saying a word. He knew Sasuke too well. Sasuke was beaten up by him back then, otherwise he wouldn't have the ability to rival Gaara now. But defeating a Jinchuriki was still too difficult for Sasuke.

After all, even Kakashi, who taught Sasuke, didn't have the strength to defeat a rampaging Jinchuriki.

Young people are always prone to impulsiveness, turning small things into big ones. As the scale of the battle escalated, large holes appeared in the once smooth streets, attracting more and more ninjas to approach.

This includes the rest of Team 7, which includes Sasuke; Team 8, which includes Hinata; and Team 10, which consists of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

As the Konoha ninjas approached one by one, Temari and Kankuro, who had been observing from the sidelines, became restless. Although Gaara was a notorious demon king of Sunagakure, these Konoha genin were no pushovers either.

They worried that if the situation continued to escalate, it would be detrimental to their upcoming Chunin Exams.

After all, the most important aspect of ninja battles is intelligence gathering, and battles outside of exams can lead to the leakage of information. However, neither of them had the ability to stop the battle between Gaara and Sasuke.

Seeing the situation escalating, Naruto sensed the location of the nearby ninjas and instructed his subordinates, "Karin, Haku, go and stop their fight. Let them see the strength of Uzushio Village."

Before the words were finished, Karin and Shiro disappeared from the spot.

Chapter 222 Shukaku is afraid...!

Haku and Karin exchanged a glance, then each chose Gaara and Sasuke as their opponents, standing between the two.

Gaara frowned, and the sand beneath his feet rushed towards Haku, who was standing in the middle, but just before it hit Haku, an ice wall blocked the sand's attack.

Immediately, ice spikes condensed and flew towards Gaara, but were all blocked by the Sand Shield.

"Ice Release Bloodline Limit, unfortunately your attack is ineffective against me..."

Gaara shook his head slightly, but quickly looked down at his feet. He saw that the ground was covered with a layer of ice crystals, freezing his calves and making him unable to move.

At that moment, Haku appeared behind Gaara and raised a kunai formed from ice release.

Gaara smiled, and his frozen body transformed into a wind clone, emerging from the quicksand. The sand in the gourd completely engulfed Haku's body.

But this submerged body is also just a phantom of a watery body.

Unlike the almost showy battle between Haku and Gaara, the battle between Karin and Sasuke was much more straightforward. Sasuke did try to show off his skills, but Karin always managed to guess his intentions accurately.

Karin's fighting style is more like that of a berserker, with wide-ranging and powerful attacks, and she heals quickly when injured.

This speed of recovery reminded Sasuke of the fear of being dominated by Naruto. After calming down, he activated his Sharingan genjutsu.

However, the Sharingan genjutsu was also ineffective. Karin regained consciousness almost instantly, and golden chains appeared behind her. He was completely helpless.

The onlookers, mostly genin, were completely dumbfounded.

Having gone through several missions, they are no longer fresh-faced genin who have just graduated. They are elite genin who can be recommended to participate in the Chunin Exams. But is the battle between these ninjas beyond the scope of genin strength?

"Sai, do you think Sasuke can win?"

Sakura asked Sai, who was standing next to her, but Sai only responded with a faint smile, leaving her feeling like she had nowhere to vent. It was a good thing to have two cool and handsome guys in the team, but it made her look like an idiot.

Looking in Karin's direction, Choji said while eating potato chips, "Shikamaru, don't you think that red-haired ninja's fighting style is somewhat similar to Naruto's?"

Shikamaru nodded, his gaze fixed on Shisui beside him.

He had heard about Uzushio Village from his father; it was a village founded by Konoha rogue ninja, and now it was brazenly appearing in Konoha Village.

Even though it was the Hokage who invited Uzushio Village to participate in the Chunin Exams, he still felt something was off.

The battle continued, but it attracted the attention of Konoha's Anbu, and an Anbu squad appeared in this secluded alley.

The battle ultimately ended with the intervention of Konoha's Anbu, and the fight between the individuals did not result in a clear winner.

The strength of the Anbu may not be a match for these individuals, but they represent the attitude of Konoha Village.

After exchanging glances, Karin and Haku returned to Naruto's side.

"Lord Menma, these two are incredibly strong. Their strength is almost on par with the Jonin teachers at the academy. Are all Konoha ninjas this strong?"

Naruto gently shook his head: "Gaara, who is carrying a gourd, is the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast from Sunagakure. The other one is Sasuke Uchiha, a relative of Shisui and the son of Mikoto."

"Aunt Mikoto's son!" Karin's eyes widened, her face full of strange expressions.

Shisui explained, "He is indeed Aunt Mikoto's son, but he stayed in Konoha for various reasons. He should be a formidable opponent for you in this Chunin Exam."

Karin snorted: "If natural energy is used, then it's not certain."

Naruto didn't attack Karin and Haku, as they both had cursed seals implanted on them, allowing them to briefly unleash the power of a Jonin. Sasuke from the original storyline might not be a match for them, but Gaara is, after all, a Jinchuriki.

No matter how weak a Jinchuriki is, their strength will not be lower than that of an elite Jonin.

After having Karin and Haku flex their muscles, Naruto didn't linger and quickly left the troublesome place, not wanting to reveal his identity so soon.

It's always more interesting when the mastermind makes their move last.

"Considering this is your first offense, we will let it go this time. But if you dare to fight in Konoha again, Konoha will definitely investigate to the end and will not let you off lightly!"

Faced with the conflict between the Chunin Exam candidates, the Konoha Anbu could not come up with a good solution. They either had special identities or represented other ninja villages. After making some tough remarks, they could only let them leave.

Watching the departing figures of the Konoha Anbu, Temari and Kankuro breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully they hadn't made a big fuss.

If Gaara is provoked into going berserk, a diplomatic conflict will definitely break out between the village and Konoha, which would violate the policy of exchange and cooperation that Sunagakure had for this trip.

Looking at Gaara beside them, the two noticed that Gaara was muttering something to himself: "That person is very strong... extremely strong!"

"That ice-style ninja did indeed counter the sand, but he shouldn't be a match for you."

Temari asked with some curiosity.

Gaara glanced at Temari and said coldly, "I'm not talking about those people, but the black-haired ninja with bandages wrapped around his neck. He's incredibly strong!"

"I can sense that Shukaku seems to be afraid...!"

Gaara trembled slightly as he said this, while Gaara and Temari stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with disbelief.

Gaara is regarded as a demon king in the village, mainly because of the tailed beast Shukaku inside him.

Shukaku is a natural disaster in the desert, a battlefield weapon forged with all the resources of Sunagakure. If even Shukaku is afraid of it, just how strong must that ninja be? He must have already surpassed their father, the Fourth Kazekage.

They came to the Chunin Exams aiming for first place, but now they might even have a hard time protecting themselves.

On the other side, the Konoha genin were also preparing to leave. Kiba Inuzuka waved his hand in front of Hinata's eyes and asked curiously, "Hinata, what are you looking at? Everyone's gone, there's nothing left to see."

After a pause, Kiba Inuzuka continued, "However, with all the candidates this year being so strong, it's a real shame that you, Hinata, won't be able to win the championship."

Hinata didn't reply, but turned and left after looking away.

She just thought the figure looked familiar, so she took a few more glances. To her, becoming a Chunin was a natural thing; even if she forfeited in the Chunin Exams, the village would still issue her a Chunin certificate.

Participating in the Chunin Exams was merely a way to prove myself and make my name known throughout the ninja world.

So that Naruto-kun will know that the kid who was bullied by the naughty kid back then has now become a capable ninja.

Chapter 223 Kabuto the Pharmacist

Half an hour later, the Anbu reported the conflict between Gaara, Sasuke, and the others to the Hokage Building.

After listening to the report from the Anbu, the two advisors in charge of organizing the Chunin Exams frowned, looked up at Jiraiya in front of them, and their eyes were full of worry.

Conflicts between genin examinees are not a big deal, but Sunagakure actually sent a jinchūriki to participate in the chunin exams.

The combination of the Jinchuriki and the Kazekage represents almost all of Sunagakure's current fighting force. If they were to do something in Konoha, even if Konoha successfully suppressed them, they would suffer unacceptable losses.

And this is merely the force on the surface; who knows how many more conspirators are lurking in the shadows.

They kept a close eye on Konoha, preparing to stir up trouble during this grand event.

Canceling the Chunin Exams at this time would undoubtedly be the most appropriate choice, but for Konoha, the Chunin Exams were not just an arms race, but also an opportunity for Konoha to exert influence over the surrounding smaller ninja villages.

Only by demonstrating sufficient strength can we win the hearts and minds of the rulers of those small countries and build a defensive alliance centered on the Land of Fire, with many small countries joining it.

In this way, if a war breaks out, the battlefield will be in a small country, and will not affect the homeland of the Land of Fire.

However, since they had already retired, neither of them could say much. Hiruzen Sarutobi would cherish their camaraderie, but Jiraiya and Tsunade, who had risen to power through a coup, would not.

Ultimately, they no longer possess the ambition and strength they had in their youth, and simply want to quietly enjoy their twilight years.

After reporting on the preparations for the Chunin Exams, the two advisors left the Hokage Building.

Tsunade glanced at the report and said to Jiraiya, "Jiraiya, why did you invite Uzushio Village to participate in the Chunin Exams? Those Uchiha will definitely cause trouble during the Chunin Exams."

Tsunade wasn't too concerned about Sunagakure; she was more interested in the genin candidates from Uzushio Village.

Although Uzushio Village has had an ambiguous relationship with Konoha in recent years, it is essentially a ninja village established by ninjas who defected from Konoha. As a descendant of the Senju clan, she has always been wary of the Uchiha clan.

Jiraiya knew Tsunade's concerns and said with a light laugh, "Even if I don't invite them to the Chunin Exams, they will find a way to sneak in. It's better to invite them as guests openly and reach a deeper level of cooperation sooner."

Two years after becoming Hokage, Jiraiya became noticeably more composed and gradually took control of the power.