I'm Inside Naruto Manga

When Logan returned to Konoha Village, he had already heard the news that the additional preliminary rounds of the Chunin Exams had concluded.

After greeting the two ever-present gatekeeping Chunin, he walked into the bustling streets.

The hustle and bustle seemed even more intense than he remembered. Logan observed the crowd, and saw that most shops were thriving with business, and a patrolling Ninja Team rounded a corner. As he moved through the streets, aside from the extra foreign Ninjas due to the Chunin Exams, he even saw quite a few ordinary people from other countries.

As the largest Ninja Village in the world, Konoha maintained a relatively friendly stance towards outsiders. A significant number of merchants and laborers gathered in this area. However, this multi-national official event still attracted an astonishing amount of attention and people.

After a round through the village, Logan spotted a promotional poster on an electric pole.

"The finals of the Chunin Exams will be held grandly at XXX one month later. The participants who advanced from the first two rounds include Gaara and Kankuro from Sunagakure... Hyuga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke, and Nara Shikamaru from Konoha Village.... Viewing details for the event are..."

'It seemed that after the first two rounds, the village was already promoting the finals that will be held in public.' Logan counted the names on the poster, finding no discrepancies with his memories, 'Sasuke and Naruto both advanced to the finals.'

At the shop entrances, in alleyways, amidst loud and whispered conversations, the villagers had grown accustomed to the presence of people from other nations and former enemy villages.

The commercial boom was evident as several Konoha's Ninjas swiftly moved above. It was a lively atmosphere with hidden tensions. Logan knew a disaster was waiting for the complacent Konoha, with an uneasy calm hanging over the village.

Logan touched the summoning mark on the back of his left hand, noting that the light, fingerless gloves with steel plates he wore over his Jonin Vest perfectly concealed it.

After returning home, Logan unexpectedly found a note inside his door, which was left by Kakashi. It roughly explained Team 7's status in the Chunin Exams and also questioned why Logan was away from the village during such a critical time. It was clear Kakashi had tried to find Logan during the exams.

Logan smiled, did his usual housecleaning, and by evening, he was ready to visit the village hospital to check out, 'After leaving for ten days, it was time to check on Team 7. I remembered that after two rounds, many of them should be recovering in the hospital.'

When he arrived at the entrance of the hospital, relying on the lights on the roadside, Logan coincidentally ran into the members of Team 7 coming out.

"Yo, hello everyone."

Logan waved his hand first and said with a smile, noticing Naruto and Sasuke were bandaged.

"It's Hattori-sensei!" Naruto greeted with the same enthusiasm and ran over, "Hattori-sensei, we didn't see you during the exams. Where did you go?"

Sasuke followed closely behind Naruto. Though a hint of joy flashed in his eyes upon seeing Logan, after Naruto's remark, he added, "Yeah, where have you been?"

"Hahaha, I went to visit a friend outside the village." Logan said sheepishly. He naturally couldn't disclose everything. At this time, Kakashi and Sakura also came over.

Logan and Kakashi nodded to each other. Logan then deliberately stared at Naruto and Sasuke's bandages, and teased, "What happened to you two? Matching outfits? You even got hurt together."

Sasuke's forehead twitched in annoyance while Naruto shivered, and immediately clarified, "Who's matching with this arrogant Sasuke! Sensei, please don't talk nonsense!"

The two rivals glared at each other before Naruto showed his white teeth and raised the bandaged area, then said proudly: "This is the injuries I sustained during the exam. Hattori-sensei, I'm not bragging. I've advanced to the final round! I'll soon become a Chunin, hahaha!"

"Amazing, amazing! As expected of Naruto!" Logan exaggeratedly praised him, "As soon as I returned to the village, I knew the participants for the finals. Naruto, your name may probably be known all over the village by now. It's really incredible."

Naruto immediately felt elated, losing all sense of direction from the praise.

After a pause, Logan also congratulated Sasuke, "Congrats to you too. Great job, keep it up."

Sasuke, with a band-aid on his face, merely nodded, maintaining his cool appearance.

In the original work, there seemed to be an incident at the hospital, but seeing Team 7 united before him, Logan noted that the plot always had some changes.

When Logan unintentionally glanced at Sakura, she lowered her head in shame, "I'm sorry, Hattori-sensei, I didn't make it to the finals..."

At the side, Kakashi raised his eye blankly, "Hey, why didn't she say that to me? Was my encouragement back then too timely?"

In fact, Sakura was indeed upset at first. After all, both of her teammates passed the preliminaries and only she failed. HJowever, the festive atmosphere now made her feel even worse.

Logan comforted Sakura in a nonchalant tone, while thinking to himself, 'This is nothing. When you become a Jonin, these two will still be Genin. So there's no need to be sad!'

Kakashi cleared his throat and changed the topic, " Naruto and Sasuke haven't fully recovered, but they insisted on training and didn't want to stay in the hospital. I had no choice but to bring them out after the staff notified me."

'It's late at night, and it's not easy for Kakashi.' Logan couldn't help but sympathizes with him. Then, since the whole team was together and they still had a month before the finals, they decided to have a meal together. Logan, feeling guilty for not being there during the exams, treated everyone to barbecue.

During the meal, the three students were busy eating while Logan sat in a corner of the table. Sitting opposite him, Kakashi quickly finished his meal and fell into contemplation.

Logan, taking advantage of the kids not paying attention to them, knocked on the table lightly and whispered, "What's the deal with that Cursed Seal on Sasuke?"

Kakashi was startled, but then immediately calmed down. In his mind, it was not surprising for someone at Logan's strength to notice it, "You noticed."

"Yeah, just now."

After hesitating for a moment, Kakashi told Logan about their students' encounter with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, "I have already treated him. The Cursed Seal won't act up for the time being, but intense stimulation could still be dangerous."

Kakashi's voice was low as the two teachers, avoiding the students, discussed deeper matters, "Orochimaru has his sights set on Sasuke, wanting the Sharingan Kekkei Genkai. Also, there's something off about Sunagakure…"

With Orochimaru in the village, many couldn't help but speculate. Although Konoha had been peaceful for a long time, their response mechanisms weren't so sluggish that they couldn't function. The Third Hokage and the high-ranking officials weren't fools, and ANBU had already started gathering intelligence quietly.

After eating, they discussed their plans. Naruto intended to train with Kakashi, but Kakashi mentioned he had found another teacher for Naruto. Logan knew this would be Ebisu, and soon after, Naruto would meet Jiraiya, a teacher who truly has a significant influence on him.

Sasuke wanted to follow Logan to learn more advanced Chakra Nature Transformation. During their conversation, Logan learned that Sasuke had already mastered Chidori and had begun to understand enhancing his body with Lightning Release.

However, Logan thought about it and suggested that Sasuke should train with Kakashi to familiarize himself with the use of the Sharingan. Logan realized he had little left to teach Sasuke. Techniques like Chidori Stream and Chidori Senbon would be too difficult for the current Sasuke, who had just begun learning Lightning Release, and stimulating cells with Lightning Release required a solid foundation.

Kakashi also didn't have any objections to teaching Sasuke. As for Sakura... she didn't have anything to do anyway, so she would just rest and prepare to watch the finals.

After this gathering, they all went their separate ways. However, no one anticipated that this would be the last time the five of them would sit and eat together.

Logan returned to Konoha and blended with the bustling crowd of thousands of people every day. As days passed, the festive atmosphere grew stronger, and the hidden conspiracies quietly brewed. The participants who advanced to the final or were eliminated continued to train diligently.

Logan, who existed within and outside the plot, immersed himself in researching the techniques of the Divine Bird Clan. Day and night, Logan drew confidence from the red scroll, which contained something that the Divine Bird Clan also possessed: Sage Mode.

When Gekko Hayate was killed, it alarmed Konoha's upper echelons, and Hiruzen summoned all the Jonin, setting a serious tone to the plot.

Everyone took action, both inside and outside the village. Even the usually laid-back Kakashi started doing high-intensity training again. The Chunin Exam should have been canceled for safety reasons, but without concrete evidence, Konoha couldn't act rashly. Thus, the peaceful Konoha proceeded with the Chunin Exams as planned, amidst the brewing conspiracy.