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

As they were talking, Gaara launched an attack, sending quicksand towards Lee, who was leading the attack. However, Lee simply struck the air and shattered the incoming sand.

Neji, Tenten, and the others also completed their battles with Kankuro and Temari in a short period of time.

After testing each other, just as both sides were preparing to unleash some of their full power, they noticed Naruto and the others in the distance, and stopped fighting to look over.

"They're all Konoha ninjas... Let's retreat first."

Temari, sensing the unfavorable situation, quickly spoke to Gaara, while Kankuro, looking somewhat flustered, added, "Yes, even those monsters from Uzushio Village have come. Why are they all together? Why haven't they started fighting yet?"

The monster of Uzushio Village?

Gaara immediately located Naruto's position and frowned.

Whenever he encounters Naruto, the Shukaku within him becomes much more active, it's hard to tell whether it's out of fear or excitement.

However, either point proves that the other side has the ability to control Shukaku.

He wanted to go and ask why the other party made Shukaku so wary, but he didn't want Shukaku to get his way and let Shukaku also experience the feeling of wanting but not getting.

Thinking of this, Gaara looked at Temari and said calmly, "I won't fight now. We'll wait until the third exam."

Hearing this, Temari breathed a sigh of relief. If they had been ganged up on, their plan would have failed. They had come to Konoha with their father, the Fourth Kazekage, not just to participate in the Chunin Exams.

It is to reclaim everything that Sunagakure took from us.

Chapter 231 Kazekage and Hokage

Although Sunagakure and Konoha are nominal allies, they are restricted by Konoha in many ways.

They do not have the power to declare war on other countries unilaterally, and even the Daimyo of the Land of Wind has sided with Konoha, constantly cutting the budget of Sunagakure.

In recent years, if it weren't for the Fourth Kazekage, a human gold mine, Sunagakure would have long since fallen to the level of a second-rate ninja village.

After years of hardship, the Fourth Kazekage finally decided to fight to the death. Under the guise of participating in the Chunin Exams, he joined forces with the leader of the Sound Village to launch the Konoha Collapse Plan in order to break free from Konoha's control.

Pulling her wandering thoughts back, Temari looked at Naruto and the others in the distance, secretly worried about the Kazekage's plan.

Uzushio Village was established in recent years, but it has many connections with Konoha. Its leader is even considered to have strength comparable to the Five Kage, which makes Kirigakure and Kumogakure quite wary of him.

Now that Uzushio Village has sent out so many Genin with Jonin-level strength, will it affect Father's plans?

Even Temari and Kankuro themselves didn't have an answer to this question. They could only wait until the Chunin Exams to report the situation to Jonin Baki and their father.

……

After the Sand Village team retreated, the ninjas of Team 3 approached Naruto and the others.

Looking at Hinata nestled beside Naruto, Neji's expression was somewhat strange, and his eyes became evasive, unable to look directly at Hinata, who was the heir to the main branch of the family.

Ever since Hinata rebelled against the elders of the main branch for Hanabi's sake, and made the statement that she would become the main branch and have everyone carve the Caged Bird Seal, he realized that the weak-willed Hinata he knew was gone.

Instead, the next head of the family will be someone who appears gentle and kind but has a very cunning and ruthless personality.

What's even more surprising is that the elders of the main family did not reprimand Hinata for her bold remarks. Instead, they silently acquiesced to her statement and never mentioned Hanabi becoming a member of the branch family again.

This little devil who changed the rules of the Hyuga clan actually stayed obediently by the side of another ninja, showing an innocent and naive appearance.

There's only one possibility: the other party's strength is unfathomable, causing Hinata to willingly follow.

At this moment, Lee walked up to Naruto, bowed, and said, "Thank you for getting me out of that predicament. But it seems your taijutsu is very strong. Would you like to spar with me?"

Looking at the thick eyebrows in green, Naruto shook his head slightly: "My taijutsu isn't very good, but that Uchiha guy over there has pretty good taijutsu. You can spar with him."

"Sasuke is strong, but he's no match for me in taijutsu."

Lee had no intention of sparring with Sasuke, and said with some regret, "Since you don't want to spar with me, then forget it. However, I will consider you a rival and work hard for it."

This is the intuition of thick eyebrows... Naruto felt a little helpless, thinking of Rock Lee's teacher, Might Guy.

This father and son... no, this master and apprentice have exactly the same personality. They are both ninjas who ignore the opinions of others, pursue their passion with all their might, and uphold the Will of Fire. Even Danzo was unwilling to recruit them into Root for his own use.

Sasuke, who was inexplicably dragged into the mess, was somewhat embarrassed. What did it mean that his taijutsu was inferior to yours?

Normally, he would have already made sarcastic remarks and started a fight with Xiao Li on the spot, but because of Mianma's presence, he had to be constantly vigilant, which dispelled that thought.

After chatting for a while, several teams began to lie in wait on the perimeter for the teams heading to the finish line.

These teams all suffered crushing defeats and were eliminated from the next round of the Chunin Exams. However, it wasn't only by winning all rounds of the Chunin Exams that one could officially become a Chunin.

The third round of the Chunin Exams offers more opportunities to appear before political figures from various countries and leaders of ninja villages.

In fact, the performance in the second round of exams would have determined who would become the Chunin captain; otherwise, the number of Chunin in each village would be less than it is now.

Not long after, Sakura and Sai also appeared in the area of ​​the central tower, completing their reunion with Sasuke.

The Pig-Deer-Butterfly duo also arrived with the Heaven and Earth Scroll. After a brief exchange, the group stepped into the central tower and successfully advanced to the third round of the exam.

……

Meanwhile, Jiraiya, the Fourth Kazekage, and others were in the monitoring room, observing the second round of exams.

Selecting suitable ninjas from among the genin who take the exam to be promoted to chunin is something that the leaders of these ninja villages need to consider, but more importantly, it's about showcasing the strength of their respective village's genin.

When he saw the Sand Village team and Team 3 facing off, the Fourth Kazekage sighed softly: "It's a real shame they didn't fight. I wanted to see the difference between the Sand Village and your village's genin."

Jiraiya said with a smile, "Neji and the others are definitely no match for you young masters and ladies. However, compared to quality, I think quantity is more important. The Konoha genin still need more training."

The Fourth Kazekage remained silent until he saw Hinata, Sasuke, and the others intercepting the remaining examinees, at which point he smiled and said:

"The Hokage is right, sometimes quantity is more important than quality, but how come the Uzushio Village team is mixed up with the Konoha team?"

"Could it be that the rumor in the ninja world is true, and that Uzushio Village is a village that split off from Konoha?"

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya's expression changed, and he said, "Uzushio Village and Konoha have some history, but they are now two different villages. As for the strength of the new generation of genin, we'll have to wait until the third round of the individual tournament to see."

The Fourth Kazekage nodded: "What the Hokage said makes a lot of sense. I'll wait and see."

At that moment, a team of ANBU ninjas arrived at the monitoring room and looked up at Jiraiya. Jiraiya gave them a look and then said with a forced smile, "Something has happened in the village that needs to be dealt with. I'll have to excuse myself for a moment."

After saying that, Jiraiya arrived at a secret room and looked at the ANBU squad in front of him.

The ANBU squad removed their masks and said anxiously, "Fifth Hokage, the surveillance system in the Forest of Death has been compromised. Jonin Anko went to investigate and has not been seen since. She has been missing for several hours now."

After listening to the report from the Anbu, Jiraiya nodded calmly: "I already know about this. You can leave for now and don't reveal the news to anyone else. I suspect that the ninja who attacked the exam hall is hiding among the examinees."

"Yes, Lord Godai!"

After leaving the secret room, Jiraiya returned to the Fourth Kazekage's side, who smiled and said, "What trouble has Konoha encountered? Do you need my help?"

"It's nothing, no need for Lord Kazekage to take action. Let's continue watching the exam."

"Indeed." The Fourth Kazekage smiled and said, "The Hokage-sama was able to replace the Third Hokage as the Fifth Hokage, so how could a little trouble possibly be difficult for him?"

Jiraiya felt a little uncomfortable hearing this, but now was not the time to turn against the Kazekage.

Chapter 232 What You Want

With the last team to collect all the Heaven and Earth Scrolls entering the arena, the second round of the exam came to an end.

Neither the great battle between Sasuke and his friends and Kimimaro, nor the disappearance of the examiner Anko, caused much of a stir. Naruto could clearly sense that beneath the seemingly calm surface of the Chunin Exams, undercurrents were surging everywhere.

If an ordinary genin like myself gets involved, I'll probably be torn to pieces!

So I actually possess strength surpassing the Five Kage? Oh well, the bigger the storm, the better. That way, we can highlight the role of Uzushio Village and see more fun between Konoha and Sunagakure.

After the exam, Naruto and Hinata left the exam hall, and Hinata invited Naruto to her home.

Looking into Hinata's pure white eyes, Naruto ultimately chose to refuse and, with Karin and Haku, embarked on their return journey to the inn.

After Naruto's figure disappeared, the remaining Konoha 11 began a heated discussion, speculating about Menma's identity.

Ino said with some confusion, "Um, I remember Hinata has always liked Naruto, so why is she getting so close to Menma from Uzushio Village now?"

Sakura frowned and offered a guess: "Maybe Hinata has forgotten about Naruto. Naruto has been missing for five or six years, and we don't even know where he is on a mission now. Those Anbu ninjas have always been so mysterious."

At that moment, Kiba Inuzuka suddenly said, "I'm wondering if it's possible that this Menma is the Naruto we know. Given Hinata's personality, she wouldn't be so intimate with someone she's only met a few times."

"Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji, do you think the same way I do?"

Shikamaru stretched and yawned, saying, "Don't overthink it. Naruto works in the Anbu, how could he possibly leave the village and join the so-called Uzushio Village? That would be the act of a rogue ninja."

“Shikamaru makes a good point, but even if Naruto joined the Anbu, he should have met with us at least once in all these years. What Anbu member is always on a mission?”

The conversation between Shikamaru and Kiba Inuzuka alerted Sai.

Although he had never met Naruto, there had been a major upheaval in the Konoha leadership more than two years ago, which included the reorganization of the Anbu and Root. He had never heard of Naruto before.

Moreover, as far as he knew, Naruto was also the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and such a ninja could not be hidden.

Sasuke, standing to the side, also fell into deep thought. He had a vague idea in his mind that perhaps this ninja Menma from Uzumaki Village was the same Naruto Uzumaki that he knew, as they were very similar in both their bad personality and their powerful strength.

Thinking of this, Sasuke's expression suddenly changed drastically.

If his memory is accurate, Naruto's disappearance occurred at the exact same time as the Uchiha Night. Could it be that Naruto really left Konoha with his clan and joined Uzushio Village?

Uzumaki Village... Uzumaki Village, isn't that the ninja village of the Uzumaki clan? Naruto also happens to have the surname Uzumaki.

In that instant, Sasuke's mind was completely opened, and his eyes became incredibly complicated. It turned out that Naruto had left the village so early, and Sasuke, who should have left with him, had been left in Konoha for six years.

……

Inside the hostel.

The Shisui who remained in the room was a shadow clone; his real body had been dispatched by Naruto to carry out a mission.

First, there's the matter of dealing with the Uchiha legacy left behind in the clan's territory. They left in such a hurry that there wasn't enough time to put things into operation. Although Konoha has taken a lot of it over the years, many secret techniques are still left in inconspicuous corners.

Secondly, he investigated whether the White Zetsu in Konoha Village and Obito were lurking in Konoha. No matter how the drama between Konoha and Sunagakure developed, he would not interfere too much, but Obito's intervention was different.

Obito was the creator of the Nine-Tails' Night and the culprit who caused the loss of his parents.

Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu, who were behind him, were the initiators of the Eye of the Moon Plan and genuinely intended to kill him.

As for whether Shisui will be killed by Obito during the investigation, there is no need to worry too much. After returning the Kotoamatsukami Eye to Shisui, he transplanted Hashirama cells into Shisui.

Shisui's current strength is almost on par with Sasuke's during his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan era.

Although he is still no match for me, his strength is definitely among the stronger of the Kage level.

After assigning Karin and Haku their homework, Naruto slipped out of the inn and walked the streets of Konoha, admiring the surrounding scenery as a Uzushio Village ninja.

The thought of the surrounding streets collapsing because of Orochimaru's plan made him smile involuntarily.

The villagers' indifference and gossip during his childhood wouldn't prevent him from actively destroying Konoha, but it also wouldn't stop him from standing idly by during the subsequent Konoha Collapse plan.