The moment the three of them pushed open the door, dozens of gazes shot over in unison from every corner of the classroom.
These gazes came from the Genin of various villages who were already seated. Their gazes were cold, carrying the alertness of examining prey.
Sakura instinctively shrank towards Sasuke, her breathing becoming slightly rapid, and her hands clenched involuntarily.
A Genin from Amegakure with bandages wrapped around his face in the back row stared at Sakura for two seconds, the corners of his lips pulling into a not-so-friendly arc.
Naruto met these gazes without changing his expression.
Looking at this group of people, words involuntarily popped into Naruto's mind.
A bunch of thugs.
Just then, a figure appeared behind Sasuke.
"Sasuke!"
A girl with a high blonde ponytail grabbed Sasuke's neck from behind, the sudden situation causing Sasuke to stagger a step backward.
Watching Ino hanging on Sasuke's back, Sakura's pupils widened, and her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles cracked.
"Let go of Sasuke immediately, you fat pig!"
Ino let go of Sasuke's neck and looked at Sakura, hands on her hips.
"Isn't this the ugly Sakura with a forehead wide enough to run a carriage?"
"That forehead is still as big as ever, huh? What? Are you using that wide forehead as a shield to block shuriken for Sasuke?"
"What did you say?!"
The veins on Sakura's forehead were throbbing at a visible frequency. She stepped forward, and Ino met her without showing any weakness.
While using her peripheral vision to lock onto Sakura to prevent any chance of a sneak attack, Ino casually swept a glance next to Sasuke. Then she saw the blonde boy standing behind Sasuke and her eyes lit up.
"Who is this handsome guy? How come I don't know him?"
Ino turned her face away from Sakura and flashed a bright smile at Naruto.
Looking at Ino's smiling face, Naruto couldn't help but smile as well.
Ino, one of the Konoha 12, heir to the Yamanaka clan, and also Sakura's best friend and love rival.
Back at the Ninja Academy, Ino, like everyone else, called him a loser, but unlike the others, she had never truly shunned him. At most, she just thought he was a bit noisy.
In Naruto's memory, Ino was one of the few people who would share a piece of snack with him when passing them out.
"Long time no see, Ino." Naruto raised his right hand and waved it.
Ino's smile froze.
Is this voice Naruto's?
The Naruto in her memory wore an orange jumpsuit and had a goofy smile on his face.
But the blonde boy standing in front of her now had a clean hairstyle and the black and white outfit made him look stylish and well-proportioned.
"What? You are Naruto?"
Ino's exclamation was not quiet, shocking the surrounding examinees who were still eyeing each other to turn their heads.
"What? That blonde guy is Naruto?"
Just then, several familiar figures approached from different directions in the classroom upon hearing the commotion.
The first to walk over were Shikamaru and Choji.
Shikamaru had his hands in his pockets with a lazy expression, his gaze narrowing slightly as he swept over Naruto's face.
With his IQ of over 200, he was capable of skipping straight past such a drastic change. He went directly from the confirmation phase of "Is this really Naruto?" to the speculation phase of "What on earth did Naruto go through?"
However, he was too lazy to speculate, simply saying in a low voice, "What a drag."
Choji held half a bag of potato chips, stared at Naruto for a few seconds, then grabbed two chips from the bag and handed them over.
"Naruto, here, have some."
"Thanks, Choji." Naruto took them and thanked him.
Ino's gaze jumped back and forth between Naruto and Sasuke, and then she saw Sakura glaring at her, letting out a scream in her heart.
Damn it, why is Sakura so lucky!
Her team had Sasuke, the top rookie of Konoha, the dream lover of all the girls in the school.
And now even Naruto has transformed into a handsome guy.
The handsome guys are all in her team!
Look at her own side: Shikamaru, so unmotivated that he finds walking a hassle and Choji, whose only hobby is eating snacks.
Although she knew Shikamaru and Choji were reliable teammates, the comparison right now was about who was more handsome.
"Naruto, you've actually become this handsome." Ino said.
Just then, Kiba strode Akamaru lying on his head.
Kiba crossed his arms. "Naruto, you've stolen all the spotlight. Even Akamaru looks at you more often than he looks at me. Akamaru, whose side are you on?"
"Woof woof!"
Akamaru's tail wagged rapidly.
Shino walked silently behind Kiba, pushing up his sunglasses. His parasitic insects flapped their wings by his collar, and then he said in his usual, emotionless tone, "Naruto has changed a lot. From the perception of my insects, the Chakra density is on a completely different level than before."
Hinata stood next to Shino, her fingers twisting together. She raised her head and glanced quickly at Naruto, her face flushing with a blush the moment her gaze met his.
Naruto's gaze swept across the crowd and paused on Hinata for a moment. Then, he swept his gaze across the faces of Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Shino one by one, before nodding at everyone.
Adding Neji, Lee, and Tenten, whom he had met outside, the Konoha 12 were all present.
"Yo, everyone is here. Let's all do our best in the Chunin Exams."
After saying this, Naruto looked back at Hinata and smiled. "Especially you, Hinata, do your best."
Upon hearing this, Hinata raised her head. The moment her white eyes met Naruto's, her face instantly turned red to the tips of her ears.
Her lips moved slightly, and her fingers subconsciously touched together as she replied intermittently, "O-okay, Naruto-kun. Y-you should do your best too."
Naruto smiled and nodded.