Chapter 5: The Eve of the Chūnin Exam! 

It was getting light. Konoha Village was very lively today because the Chūnin exam was coming soon. Therefore, many people from other villages came to Konoha from far away. Karin was one of them. And there were many more similar to Karin, for example, the Gaara trio from Sunagakure.

But at the moment, Kankuro in the Gaara trio was playing a game of "bullying the kids."

"Get rid of this brat first, and then the brat over there," Kankuro held Konohamaru in one hand and made a fist with the other. He first glanced at Naruto not far away with interest, then he punched Konohamaru directly.

"Despair!"

Just at this time, a pebble suddenly appeared and hit Kankuro's hand hard, forcing him to let go and saving Konohamaru.

"What are you doing in someone else's village?" Sasuke sat on a branch. While throwing pebbles, he spoke expressionlessly.

"So handsome!" Temari looked at Sasuke and blushed, "What a good man~"

"Although he is also very handsome, he still feels a bit inferior compared to Varen~" Sakura looked at Sasuke and commented in her mind. "Alas~ Why did Varen give up being a ninja! If he didn't give up, maybe I would be on the same team as him! Oops~ If I have Sasuke on my left and Varen on my right... Wow! Super happy!"

"Get out of here!" Just when Sakura was daydreaming, Sasuke gently squeezed the stone in his hand and crushed it into powder. At the same time, he said with an indifferent expression.

"Cut~" Before Kankuro could react, Naruto spoke with disdain. "Ten Thousand Years' second child is starting to steal the show again!" At the same time, he was roaring crazily in his heart. "Damn it Sasuke! Why do you always come out to steal the spotlight like this!?"

"Ten Thousand Years Dick?" Kankuro was stunned for a moment, then looked up at Sasuke. "Hello! Get off here, Ten Thousand Years Dick. I hate little brats like you who only know how to talk." As he spoke, he put down the puppet behind him.

"..."

Sasuke's face darkened. Ten Thousand Years' second child, this nickname is his eternal nightmare. When he thought of this, he would think of the man who would always hold him down.

"Hmph~" Sasuke snorted, "Please don't compare me with that person who gave up being a ninja."

"Kankuro, stop." Just when the atmosphere between the two was tense, a cold voice suddenly sounded. "The guy who disgraced the village."

Then, everyone saw a dark-rimmed boy with a gourd on his back, standing upside down on a branch next to Sasuke!

"I... Gaara..." Kankuro glanced at Gaara nervously. However, Gaara didn't care. He gave Sasuke a casual look. Then he continued: "Why do you think we came all the way to Konoha?"

"Listen...listen to me... Gaara… It was these guys who caused trouble first!"

"Shut up. If you talk again, I'll kill you."

"I know...I know... I'm really sorry..."

Kankuro quickly apologized in a cold sweat. "I'm so sorry for you." Gaara didn't look at him, but turned to Sasuke and said. He stared at Sasuke for a moment longer.

"Such a strong man is just the second child of Ten Thousand Years? I suddenly became interested in the next battle..." With this thought, Gaara jumped directly. "Let's go, we're not here to play."

"Stop!" Sakura suddenly spoke and stopped the three of them. "Are you from Sunagakure? What are you doing here?"

…

After some exchanges, Naruto and the others finally knew that Konoha was about to start the Chūnin exam. The three from Sunagakure were Genin who took the exam. After knowing this news, they immediately came to Varen's bookstore with mixed emotions.

"Varen!" Naruto ran in carelessly, "There are so many weirdos coming to the village! They said they were coming to take the Chūnin exam. Do you want to go and participate?"

"Naruto!" Sakura's "duang" blow knocked Naruto's head out. Then in an instant, she went from a rage state to an obsessed girl state. Blushing, she picked up the broom nervously. "That... Varen-kun~ We are here to help you clean up!"

"Thank you~" Varen glanced at Sakura. He knew why she reacted so violently. Because after he graduated, he gave up being a ninja in the name of missing his parents and not wanting to give up the bookstore left by his parents. He was the number one in the ninja school and just gave up on being a ninja. From Sakura's point of view, this is actually very painful.

So, Sakura was afraid that Naruto's "Chūnin test" would irritate him. So she forcibly changed the topic. But actually, the reason he gave up being a ninja was just because he didn't want to do the boring tasks of finding cats and dogs or buying things.

"Thatthat" Naruto acted like an idiot and quickly forgot about the big bump on his head. "Wait for me Sakura!"

When the whole village hated Naruto, only Varen was very friendly to him. He also gave him delicious food from time to time. Therefore, Naruto also recognized Varen as a "good friend." Every time he came to help with work, he worked very hard.

"Hmph~" Sasuke put his hands in his pockets and snorted softly. Then he walked slowly to the bookstore. He put one hand in the bag and organized the bookshelf with the other.

Varen watched the three people working expressionlessly. He was actually very used to this scene. Since the three of them had never graduated, they often came here to help.

"I don't know if Karin can complete my task well," Varen thought, looking at Sasuke's neck.

…

Naruto and the others finished their work quickly. Varen took out instant noodles, snacks, and drinks obtained from the system and treated them to a meal. After eating, they left. Not long after they left, Hinata ran over alone.

"Varen-kun!" Hinata blushed and gasped. He obviously ran all the way here.

"Teacher Kurenai registered us... We need to take the Chūnin exam... I..."

"Have no confidence?" Seeing the other party stuttering, Varen took the initiative to answer the question: "Then do you want to become more powerful?"