Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 77 77 : The ChūNin Exam, Riku Deterrence

Riku was relatively tall for his age, standing at 1.73 ters.

Six months ago, he had been 1.7 ters, so this growth was natural.

But by comparison, Sasuke was only around 1.5 ters, Naruto wasn't even that tall yet, and Sakura barely reached 1.48 ters.

Among their group, Kakashi was the tallest at 1.81 ters, and Riku was already catching up to him.

Next to Sasuke and the others, Riku looked like he belonged to an older age group entirely.

So naturally, when Sakura wore Riku's clothes, they looked big and loose on her small fra.

Sasuke glanced at Riku curiously, silently wondering what kind of battle could've left Sakura's clothes torn like that.

But it wasn't sothing he felt comfortable asking about.

Riku, anwhile, had no intention of explaining. He'd thought of making sothing up before, but in the end, chose to say nothing.

Along the way, Naruto bickered with Konohamaru again, and eventually returned to the village.

After Riku and Kakashi submitted the mission report, they headed straight ho.

Riku found this kind of life oddly enjoyable.

In the days that followed, the team resud their D-rank missions.

They kept at it for over a month, steadily completing each task.

One day, Riku had no missions assigned, so he decided to head out for so serious shopping in the village.

But just as he turned a corner on the main avenue of Konoha, he saw Kankuro grabbing Konohamaru by the collar.

Riku paused, stunned for a mont. After thinking for a second, he walked toward them.

As he approached, Sakura quickly called out, "Riku! These people are from Sunagakure—I think they're intruders!"

She had been frozen a mont ago, unsure what to do, but Riku's arrival gave her instant reassurance. He was her rock.

Naruto saw Riku as well. Although he still felt competitive toward him, he knew that Riku was the only one who could help Konohamaru right now.

Konohamaru's two companions, anwhile, were looking at Riku with wide eyes, wondering who he was.

Riku's expression was calm as he approached.

When Temari caught sight of him, she blushed slightly. What a handso guy...

Kankuro, however, scowled. "Hey, kid. You want to get involved in this?"

Riku didn't answer. He walked over to stand beside Sakura and Naruto, then asked in a composed voice, "What's going on?"

He didn't rush to rescue Konohamaru—he needed to understand the situation first.

Sakura quickly explained what had just happened. After listening, Riku turned his gaze toward Kankuro and said flatly, "Put him down. Or else the guy in the tree is going to be the unlucky one."

At that mont, Sasuke, who had been preparing to jump in, blinked in surprise. "Wait... is he talking about ?"

He didn't understand what Riku ant—why would he be the unlucky one?

Just then, a cold voice cut through the tension.

"Kankuro. Put him down. You're embarrassing the village."

Kankuro flinched instantly. "G-Gaara, but... he hit ..."

"S-Sorry..."

Kankuro's fear was genuine. He'd seen firsthand what Gaara could do when angered—Gaara didn't hesitate to kill.

Sasuke froze as Gaara appeared beside him without warning. He hadn't sensed a thing until it was too late.

That speed... he's as fast as Kakashi.

He looks my age, so how is he stronger than ? It's bad enough that Riku's ahead of , but now this guy too?

The realization lit a fire of urgency inside him.

He had already felt pressured after witnessing Riku's strength—but now even a ninja from Sunagakure was surpassing him.

They hadn't even fought, yet Gaara's speed alone told Sasuke everything he needed to know.

anwhile, Kankuro dropped Konohamaru to the ground, clearly shaken.

Gaara jumped down from the tree and looked at Riku.

"Sorry," he said coldly.

"It's fine," Riku replied calmly. "But you're from Sunagakure—why are you in Konoha?"

Of course, Riku already knew. But he had to act like he didn't.

Temari stepped forward and smiled shyly, blushing again. "Don't you know? We're here to participate in the Chūnin Exams. This is our entry pass."

Her impression of Riku had improved the mont Gaara showed him respect. She could tell Riku was strong.

Sakura and the others were visibly surprised. "The Chūnin Exams? They're starting already?"

Sakura knew all about them, but Naruto was clueless.

"What's a Chūnin Exam?" he asked.

Konohamaru, now free, piped up. "Brother Naruto, you don't know? If you pass the Chūnin Exam, you can get promoted from Genin to Chūnin!"

Naruto's eyes sparkled with excitent. "Really? Then I wanna join!"

Gaara then turned toward Riku and said, "My na is Gaara. You interest . What's your na?"

He could tell Riku was powerful, but just how powerful—he didn't know yet.

And because of Sunagakure's plan, he was resisting the urge to fight... for now.

"Riku," he answered simply.

Naruto quickly followed. "I'm Naruto!"

Gaara spared him a glance. "I'm not interested in you."

Then turned and left without another word.

Sasuke, still in the tree, had been listening to everything.

His frown deepened. We're the sa age... and yet so many people are already stronger than ...

I have to get stronger. I'm still too weak.

Naruto was left stunned. He turned to Konohamaru. "Hey! Do I really look that weak?"

Konohamaru chuckled. "Brother Naruto's not bad... but Brother Riku is definitely stronger."

Sakura smiled at Riku. "Are you going to join the Chūnin Exams too?"

Riku frowned slightly. "That depends. We can't participate unless Kakashi-sensei nominates us."

Sakura had heard of the exam, but she didn't know the process well—so she was curious.

Riku had originally planned to head straight ho, but Sakura insisted on pulling him along for food.

Unlike Sasuke, Riku wasn't cold or aloof—so he agreed.

And so, he joined Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke for a al.

anwhile, inside the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage stood before a group of Jōnin.

"The Chūnin Exams are about to begin."

Asuma Sarutobi frowned. "Yeah, we've noticed a lot more shinobi from other villages wandering around lately. Did you notify the other nations already?"

The Chūnin Exam was hosted by Konoha in cooperation with other major villages.

But aside from the five great nations, few larger villages participated. Most were from smaller or mid-sized villages—like Agakure.

Sunagakure was one of the exceptions, thanks to their alliance with Konoha.

Even so, the exam was a major event, a display of each village's strength. Konoha took it seriously every year.

The Third Hokage nodded. "Yes, they've all been notified."

Kurenai Yuhi asked curiously, "When will it be held?"

"In one week," the Third answered.

All the Jōnin present exchanged glances—this year's exam felt unusually urgent.

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