Chapter 30 - 30

The preliminary matches for the Chunin Exams were held in a crowded arena, the air thick with tension. Naruto stood with Team 7, his grin wide as he cheered for Sakura's match against Ino. "Kick her butt, Sakura!" he shouted, but his eyes were on the other genin—Rock Lee, Gaara, Neji—measuring their strength. Each was a reminder: power was everything. The Scroll of Sealing was back in his apartment, its secrets still locked, but the exams were his chance to grow, to prove he could force the truth from the village.His own match came against Kiba, who taunted him with Akamaru at his side. "You're going down, loser!" Kiba smirked. Naruto laughed, playing the fool, but his mind was sharp. He summoned dozens of shadow clones, overwhelming Kiba with numbers and a few tricks from the scroll—fake-outs and coordinated strikes. The Nine-Tails' chakra flickered, giving his clones an edge, and he won, panting but grinning. "Told ya I'm awesome!" he shouted, but inside, he was analyzing. Kiba was tough, but the real threats—Gaara, Neji—were next.Sasuke's match against a Sound ninja was brutal, the curse mark flaring, and Naruto's distrust spiked. Orochimaru's mark on Sasuke was a secret, just like his own Jinchuriki status. Was Sasuke a pawn, too? He kept his grin, joking with Sakura, but his mind raced. The exams were exposing him to power he needed to match—Neji's Byakugan, Gaara's sand. To get answers, he had to be stronger than them all.That night, Naruto trained in secret, pushing his clones to three hundred, their movements a chaotic storm. He reached for the Nine-Tails' chakra, feeling it burn hotter, but it was still too wild. "I'll control you," he muttered, his facade gone. The finals were a month away, and he'd face Neji, a prodigy who saw through everything. Naruto needed power—not just to win, but to prove he wasn't the demon the village saw. He'd keep his mask on, but every clone, every spark of chakra, was a step toward the truth.