"Yo, Naruto, you did pretty well in the Chunin Exams!"
"Hehe, think I did great too! But... Uncle Mask, why are you here too?"
Elephant smiled and said, "I came here to buy some things, and just happened to pass by. Seeing you alone, I thought I'd come in and say hello."
"Hmm! Uncle, you're really nice..."
"Eh? Where's that Uchiha kid?"
Naruto was confused, "Are you talking about Sasuke? He probably went off to train. The third exam is happening on the first of next month."
Elephant nodded thoughtfully, "Oh, I see. Well, see you around. Good luck in the Chunin Exams."
"Thank you, uncle!"
---
Zabuza asked Haku, "About next month's Chunin Exams... are you going to be okay, Haku?"
Haku, however, shook his head, which was rare for him. "Everyone has shown such strong abilities, I'm afraid..."
"That brat from Sunagakure? Or that Uchiha Sasuke?"
"Sasuke has grown a lot. And Gaara from Sunagakure is also very strong. I'm no match for them."
Haku lowered his head in shame. As Zabuza's trained killing tool, it was disheartening to be less powerful than some kids younger than himself.
However, Zabuza did not scold him.
"Do your best in the competition. If you feel like you can't win, it's okay to concede... You're still young, and there's a long road ahead."
---
Yuto walked downstairs and saw only three people left in the shop, feeling a bit lonely.
Due to Orochimaru's invasion, during this special period, Konoha had to strengthen its security. The Anbu were scattered all over the village, with little time to log in, let alone come to the shop.
And Kakashi had taken Sasuke for special training, so he hadn't been around these days either.
So... Naruto was pretty much the only customer these days.
The first two stages of the Chunin Exams had ended, and the third stage continued after Orochimaru's attack.
But because too many people had advanced, Konoha decided to hold live matches to reduce the number by half.
At that time, 24 people had advanced, including the Konoha 12, the Sound Three, the Sunagakure Siblings, and teams led by Kabuto, Haku, and two other Kirigakure Genin.
But before the elimination matches, Kabuto voluntarily withdrew from the competition, leaving only 23 people.
They were then divided into eleven groups for matches, with one person getting a bye.
Haku was lucky and got the bye.
But he also saw the powerful Sasuke... who activated with the three-tomoe Sharingan and defeated his opponent with a single Chidori.
And then... the battle between Gaara and Lee.
That match... left a strong psychological impact on Haku.
Even though Lee opened the Fifth Gate, he still couldn't defeat Gaara, which showed Haku just how strong Gaara was.
As for others, there was Kinuta Dosu from Otogakure, with his bizarre attack methods that were hard to defend against.
And Hyuga Neji from the Hyuga Clan, who could use the Byakugan...
These were all formidable opponents to come.
---
Time passed quickly, and it was already the end of July.
With the peace that had lasted for more than half a month, Konoha confirmed that Orochimaru would not return, so they lifted the alert.
Moreover, the third stage of the Chunin Exams was about to begin, and the mission system in Konoha had temporarily ceased operations.
Most of the Ninjas were now in the village.
Even the Anbu had plenty of time to log in.
Kakashi, who had been training Sasuke, declared the special training over once he was sure Sasuke could proficiently use Chidori.
Although Kakashi had taught Sasuke Chidori before the Chunin Exams to make up for his shortcomings, the special training was to help Sasuke refine the Jutsu further.
But before that, a pervy white-haired uncle approached Naruto.
It was none other than Jiraiya, one of the Sannin.
Over the course of a month, he took Naruto for special training, which meant Yuto and the others hadn't seen Naruto for a long time.
---
"Hmm? New volume update?"
Most of the online players received the update notification immediately. Those in the middle of battles were automatically logged out after their matches ended to update.
Kakashi, who had been immersed in the Arena, had already reached the Anbu 2 rank.
During these days, thanks to the ripple effect he caused, a new wave of players had joined.
With the influx of new players, the veteran Anbu players took the opportunity to climb at least one rank.
Although there were no more score-boosting incidents, Kakashi, with his long-honed skills, was undoubtedly the top player.
At this point, even Yuto couldn't confidently say he could beat the current Kakashi, given how ridiculously fast Ninjas' reflexes were.
After the game finished updating, Kakashi immediately wanted to check out the new story content.
However, the new Ninjas announcement caught his eye...
[New Ninja – Gaara of the Sand, now available. Rank: B]
[New Ninjas – Kankuro, Temari, Mitarashi Anko, Morino Ibiki, Ebisu, Yakushi Kabuto, Abumi Zaku, Tsuchi Kin, Kinuta Dosu... now available. For the specific ranks, please check in-game.]
Kakashi's lazy eyes widened as he saw so many new Ninjas being added at once.
Moreover, among them were both familiar and unfamiliar faces... including some from Konoha!
'But why was Gaara listed separately?'
Kakashi curiously clicked on Gaara's acquisition page, which led him to the recharge section...
[Gaara: Accumulate recharge to V3 to claim. Current status: Claimable]
Kakashi glanced at it, 'Wasn't this similar to how he had claimed 'myself'?'
The difference was that he needed V6 to claim himself.
'I required 100,000, but Gaara only needed 100?'
'So cheap? Has Manager changed his ways?'
Although he still couldn't quite understand Yuto, Kakashi could sense that that Yuto was very keen on money. No... on getting them to spend money!
'Was it equivalent exchange? This must be the process Manager enjoyed.'
Kakashi shook his head. The top priority now was to check out the new story content. There would be plenty of time to study these new Ninjas later.
After claiming Gaara, Kakashi headed straight for the story mode.
The chapter was titled – [The Burning Leaf].
Kakashi and the Anbu had discussed this phrase many times. After unlocking the third volume of the story, the fourth volume hadn't been released yet, but the chapter name had been revealed early.
However, their speculations had never reached a conclusion. Now, it was time to unveil the mystery...
[Level 1 - The Erosion of the Sandstorm]
---
[After being attacked by Orochimaru, despite being heavily injured,]
[Naruto and the others passed the exam and advanced to the final selection]
[After days of training, the final matches, attended by a large audience, officially began...]