The Heavens: From Naruto to sign in

Seven days later.

Early morning.

Yoruha and Ino packed their gear, had a hearty breakfast, and left home together with cheerful but focused expressions.

Before they walked out the door, their parents gave them repeated reminders.

"Don't get cocky."

"Stay grounded."

"This is the Chūnin Exams—we know you're strong, but don't take unnecessary risks."

With their current level of strength, becoming Chūnin shouldn't be a problem—as long as they didn't act overconfident or reckless.

After leaving the Yamanaka compound, the siblings swung by the Hyūga estate to pick up Hinata. The three of them then made their way toward the examination site together.

The first phase of the Chūnin Exams was the written test.

The testing center had been set up inside the Ninja Academy, and as a result, all regular academy classes were cancelled for the day.

Only the test participants—young shinobi from across the nations—and a heavy ANBU presence from Konoha remained on campus.

"Whoa… why are there so many people crowding the hallway?" Ino asked, furrowing her brows.

"They're probably all candidates," she muttered. "But if we just stand here like this, we might miss the check-in window."

"Hold on," Hinata said, activating her Byakugan. "There's a commotion at the door… and something's off."

She squinted.

"That's strange. The check-in is supposed to be on the third floor, but everyone's clustered around the second."

She looked again, her Byakugan cutting cleanly through the illusion.

It didn't take long to understand.

Two Konoha chūnin had placed a genjutsu on the second-floor stairwell sign, tricking the candidates into believing they were on the third floor already.

A simple psychological filter. A test of awareness.

Unfortunately for the test designers, Hinata's Byakugan could pierce through the illusion like it was glass.

"It's just a basic screening trick. Don't worry about it—we'll go around," Yoruha said casually, waving it off.

He wasn't interested in making a scene or drawing attention. Let the others bicker and bluster if they wanted. He was here to pass the test, not play games.

"Should we tell Shikamaru and Shino?" Ino asked, glancing at the growing crowd.

Yoruha shrugged.

"Nah. Someone else will expose it soon. Let's head up before the lines get worse."

As expected, the moment Yoruha and the girls finished checking in, the rest of the ninja caught on and started flooding toward the real third floor.

The trick was exposed thanks to Sasuke showing off in front of everyone, which led to the whole screening stage being neutralized in less than five minutes.

Nice work, Uchiha ego.

With registration complete, the candidates were led into the exam room.

Everything was unfolding just like Yoruha remembered.

Lee's dramatic public confession.

Gaara's cold and murderous stare.

Kabuto Yakushi's fake nerd routine.

And, of course, Kabuto's suspiciously detailed "intel cards."

He had even gathered detailed information on Yoruha, reading it aloud like it was just another trivia stat to share.

It was clearly bait—trying to stir up envy and hostility toward Yoruha among the rest of the candidates.

But Yoruha didn't care.

His mind was on one thing only:

He was finally about to meet Orochimaru.

Orochimaru.

The early-stage Big Bad.

The future mad scientist.

The fallen Sannin.

Sure, he'd be defeated eventually.

But right now, Orochimaru was still extremely dangerous—cunning, vicious, and unpredictable.

Yoruha could feel it.

The moment was coming. The confrontation.

Fortunately, with his strength, awareness, and a bit of foresight on his side, Yoruha was confident he wouldn't fall into any of Orochimaru's traps.

Still…

Thinking about Orochimaru made him think of Anko.

That woman—

She hadn't even come to visit him since she got back from her last mission.

But if he had to guess…

She was probably going to be one of the proctors for Phase Two.

Time passed.

The classroom door finally opened, and a tall, grim figure walked in flanked by a team of stern-faced invigilators.

Morino Ibiki.

Commander of Konoha's ANBU Torture and Interrogation Squad.

Cold-blooded. Methodical. Merciless.

The moment he stepped into the room, the atmosphere froze.

A suffocating pressure pressed down on every candidate. Ibiki didn't need to yell or posture—his aura alone was enough to silence the entire room.

Even Naruto, who had been excitedly whispering to Kiba, instantly gulped and fell quiet.

Yoruha watched with mild amusement.

This guy hadn't changed a bit.

And just like that…

The first phase of the Chūnin Exams had begun.