Naruto: Lost to Hinata on Purpose, and Now Everything's a Mess Chapter 78 78 : It Turns Out That The Ordinary You You Used

Kakashi remained silent—he had nothing more to say.

The Third Hokage had promised that as long as Riku completed that mission, he would be promoted to Chūnin today.

But with Riku's strength, he could easily beco a Chūnin even without that promise.

After explaining the process of Chūnin promotion, the Third Hokage looked at the gathered Jōnin and said, "Those of you who wish to recomnd your students for the Chūnin Exams, make your decision and submit your nomination lists."

After giving them a few minutes to consider, he continued, "Very well, let's begin. Submit your recomndations now."

One by one, the Jōnin stepped forward to report their nominations.

When it ca to Kakashi's turn, many were skeptical—Kakashi's team had only been together for half a year. No one expected him to recomnd them.

Yet Kakashi declared, "Team 7—under my command as Hatake Kakashi—I recomnd Riku, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto to participate in the Chūnin Exams."

The room went silent.

"Kakashi's team has only been active for six months, and he's already putting them in the Chūnin Exams? Does he not realize what they'll be facing?"

The tension in the room spiked.

But Kakashi remained unfazed by their doubts.

Asuma and Kurenai calmly submitted their own teams as well, which caused even more surprise.

These Genin were all rookies, having only graduated from the academy six months ago. For them, the Chūnin Exams were extrely dangerous—especially the second phase, which could be life-threatening.

Even Guy stood up and said, "Kakashi, letting your students enter now is too reckless. Riku might be ready, but what about the others? It's too soon."

"I always wait until their second year before recomnding them."

Kakashi responded coolly, "That just ans my students are stronger than yours."

Guy frowned. He wasn't provoked by Kakashi's jab—what concerned him was why Kakashi was so confident this ti.

Noticing Guy's uncertainty, Kakashi patted him on the shoulder and chuckled. "Relax, I'm just teasing. But I do believe in them."

At that mont, Iruka, who was responsible for recording nominations, stood up and said, "Kakashi-san, I don't believe you're acting in your students' best interests. You know how dangerous the Chūnin Exams are. They have almost no chance of passing. Even if their lives aren't endangered, failure could deal a serious blow to their confidence."

Kakashi turned to Iruka and answered seriously, "Iruka-sensei, I know you used to be their teacher, but it's been over six months since they graduated. I know them better now. But if you really have doubts about their readiness…"

"You're welco to test them yourself."

Iruka frowned for a mont, then nodded. "Very well. If I determine they're not ready, I expect you to rescind the recomndation."

Kakashi nodded in agreent.

That evening, after having dinner with Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke, Riku wandered the village alone. He enjoyed being out and about.

As he walked along a dimly lit street—one of the quieter alleys in the village—he noticed a figure standing under a streetlamp.

Riku smiled. "Iruka-sensei, your Transformation Jutsu is still flawless."

Iruka, still disguised, froze in surprise. He had been preparing to ambush Riku, but now he was stunned. "You… recognized ?"

He couldn't believe it. Back at the academy, Riku had always seed like an average student. Even Sasuke hadn't been able to see through his disguise.

Riku replied casually, "I rembered your chakra."

Iruka had considered denying it, but when he saw the subtle look in Riku's eyes, he knew it was pointless. Riku had clearly seen through him.

Iruka ended the jutsu and walked over, asking curiously, "Are you a sensory-type ninja?"

Riku smiled faintly. "Sothing like that."

Iruka chuckled. "I really didn't notice back when I was your teacher."

They talked for a while, and Iruka gradually learned about everything Riku had experienced since graduating.

After confirming things with Kakashi, Iruka finally understood—Riku's diocre performance in the academy had been an act.

It left Iruka feeling helpless. He hadn't seen through it at the ti.

A week later, several teams arrived at the Ninja Academy with their nomination forms in hand.

The first stage of the exam was a written test—Naruto's worst subject.

As they reached the academy, they saw a crowd gathered around a stairwell. Two Chūnin were standing guard under a genjutsu, disguising the sign to make it appear that Room 301 was on the second floor.

Riku approached from the back of the group and watched the scene with interest. Xiao Li was putting on quite a performance.

"Not bad," Riku thought. "Even Sasuke and Naruto didn't notice. His acting's solid."

Although Rock Lee was known for his taijutsu obsession, he clearly wasn't dumb.

Sasuke, however, saw through the illusion and walked up coldly. "Let's go. The third floor's ahead."

The two Chūnin guards grinned. "Oh? You saw through it? Doesn't matter. Even if you can see through a genjutsu, weaklings like you aren't cut out for the Chūnin Exams."

With that, one of them lashed out with a roundhouse kick aid at Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't hesitate and countered with a kick of his own.

"Bang—!"

Just as their legs were about to collide, a figure flashed between them.

Rock Lee intercepted both attacks, catching their legs with ease. "Please, don't fight here."

Sasuke was stunned. "He… pretended to be clumsy just now, and now he's this fast?"

Lee's speed was comparable to that of Gaara—an overwhelming presence in the current group.

Leaning casually against the corridor wall with his arms folded, Riku watched the entire scene unfold with amusent.

Watching from the sidelines was surprisingly entertaining.

Rock Lee's true reason for intervening, of course, was to impress Sakura. He had fallen for her the mont he saw her.

Watching the chaos, Neji didn't intervene. Instead, he walked over to Riku and said, "You've made quite a na for yourself lately."

Riku replied indifferently, "I haven't caused any major trouble."

Neji gave him a piercing look. "You killed a Jōnin during the mission in the Land of Waves. You must've had sothing to do with that."

He was genuinely curious about Riku—and he wanted to challenge him.

Riku smiled calmly. "You're giving too much credit. I can handle so Chūnin, but I'm not ready for Jōnin-level opponents."

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