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[— Manga Scene —]
"You guys must be the 9 rookies… fresh out of the academy, right?" The newcomer looked deeply at Naruto and the others before speaking.
"Carrying on like that with cute faces… seriously."
"This isn't a field trip, you know." Then he mocked them.
"Who are you? Acting all haughty!" Sasuke asked with a sharp look.
"I'm Kabuto. Anyway, take a look around you." After stating his name, Kabuto suggested they take a look around.
"Around?" Sakura's eyes met the fierce gazes of shinobi from various villages.
"Behind you… Those guys are from Amegakure. They're short-tempered."
"Everyone's on edge already, waiting to take the Chunin exam. I thought I'd warn you guys before you get your ass kicked by them." Kabuto explained calmly.
"Uhh…"
"I guess it can't be helped. You rookies are totally clueless."
"You guys remind me of my old self." He said, looking at their confused faces.
"…You're Kabuto-san, right?" Sakura asked.
"Yes…" he replied.
"Then, is this your second time?"
"No, not really… It's my 7th time." He announced, to their shock.
"This exam is held twice a year, so this is my 4th year." It turned out he was nothing more than a failed Genin so far.
"Wow… you know a lot about the exams, right!?"
"Kind of…"
"No kidding. You're amazing, Kabuto-san!!"
"Hehe… well then, I'm going to share some info with my cute juniors… With these ninja info cards!" But he did possess some valuable information and was willing to share it.
[— End Scene —]
…
Amegakure:
In this place, surrounded by a vast lake, the rain seemed never to cease. Meanwhile, outside the art store, thunder rumbled without end.
But inside the store, the atmosphere was calm, the place was warm, and the sound of thunder and lightning outside was inaudible within. It was a quiet that the Rain shinobi were entirely unaccustomed to, which left them all feeling ill at ease, including Hanzo the Salamander, their leader.
But once they finished the first sequences of the manga and purchased the fifth volume, the atmosphere began to grow lively… especially after shinobi from Amegakure were mentioned as participants in the Chunin exam, spoken of by the one called Kabuto.
"He's right, Konoha's Genin have cute faces, but he forgot to include himself among them."
Hanzo said mockingly, eyeing Kabuto — the soft face, the glasses, the slender frame. Didn't he look somewhat cute himself?
Especially compared to his own Rain Genin…
"They look full of life… hehe~ In what future year will this event take place?"
Hanzo glanced at Rob… or as he knew him, Uzumaki Rubiro, the creator of this manga, and asked.
In truth, this was not his first question. He had asked many before, such as… "What's the story behind this Nine-Tails incident? Interesting — it's clearly a staged conspiracy."
"The Fourth Hokage? When will Konoha have a Fourth Hokage?"
"To think that this boy named Naruto is the village's number one outcast, yet still carries such noble ideals… tsk tsk… When will he be born?"
"Kakashi is the son of Konoha White Fang, Sakumo, is he not? How did he acquire the Sharingan?"
"Demon of the Mist, Zabuza? What a fascinating man. So, since he carries that sword, is he a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?"
Hanzo barely stopped asking questions. Rob answered him with relative brevity, and whenever the answer to one of his questions might cause a spoiler, Rob simply avoided answering it.
He would simply say, "You'll find out later…" That's what he said this time, too.
"Tsk… Man, you're way too mysterious…"
"Well, no matter… I'll see whether the future unfolds as I expect, or whether you'll impose upon us a future of your own design…"
'That is what will determine your fate.'
A fierce smile spread across Hanzo's face… Only now did he grasp how dangerous the thing he had permitted on his land truly was.
'This art store… it is an enormous existential threat… It must be deterred by any means necessary.' Hanzo thought to himself this time, before turning to the next page.
'Ninja Info Cards? Interesting. It seems the glasses boy is an expert at gathering and organizing information…'
"Oh… he can do that too… I underestimated this glasses boy."
"Is this a map showing the locations of the hidden villages and the number of their participants in this Chunin exam?"
…
Elsewhere in the Land of Rain, three young people stood on a high hill, gazing from afar at the strange futuristic building that had appeared in the middle of the Hidden Rain Village.
A boy with red hair, a girl with blue hair, and another boy with orange hair, who appeared to be the leader, all of them around 11 years of age.
"Yahiko… what is this building that appeared out of nowhere? I have a strong urge to go inside."
Asked the boy with red hair and the peculiar eyes, one eye visible while the other was hidden beneath his hair.
"I don't know… but I feel the same urge…" Replied the boy named Yahiko.
"But if we look carefully, doesn't that boy on the front of the building look like Naruto?"
The girl spoke this time.
"Naruto…? Hmm, Konan is right, Nagato… that boy on the poster is indeed Naruto…"
"And beside him are Sasuke and Sakura… and that's Kakashi…?"
This time, it was the boy named Nagato who spoke.
The trio pulled out several manga volumes at that moment.
"To think that Sensei didn't forget us after all, he even sent us these manga books… I haven't felt this much joy in anything besides training…"
Yahiko said with a smile, looking at the first volume of Naruto.
"Uzumaki Naruto, huh… The protagonist of this story is a child from my clan…"
Nagato said, gazing at Naruto in one of the volumes.
"I think you, Nagato, should be the real protagonist of this story instead of this obnoxious troublemaker."
Konan puffed her cheek softly as she said it.
"Haha~ I appreciate that, but Naruto truly has an amazing side to him; he deserves to be a protagonist of his own story."
"And we'll have our own story, too," Nagato replied with a shy expression.
"Alright, let's go and explore… It seems the Rain shinobi aren't around nearby."
Yahiko leaped forward and led the group toward the sides of the art store.
…
Back in Konoha, the atmosphere inside the art store began taking on a more serious tone.
After the commotion of the nine rookies, the character of Kabuto appeared, lending a kind of eerie calm to the events, a calm that did not sit well with the senior shinobi seated among the shelves.
In the corner reserved for leaders, Hiruzen Sarutobi was exhaling thick puffs from his pipe as he watched Kabuto in the manga.
"Seven times in the exam… This boy either completely lacks talent, or he's deliberately staying at Genin rank for some purpose. No one fails seven times and still maintains this kind of composure."
Hiruzen said with an intrigued look on his face, especially after seeing the ninja info cards Kabuto pulled out in the next moment.
The first card he produced contained detailed information about the participating villages' locations and the number of their representatives.
"It seems Sasuke is genuinely interested in the Sand Genin named Gaara, and in Rock Lee as well."
"No surprise, he lost to Rock Lee, and he sensed something different from Gaara…"
Seeing Sasuke request information from Kabuto about both Gaara and Rock Lee, Hiruzen nodded with a satisfied expression… He seemed to be enjoying the current flow of events.
It appeared as though Kabuto's information had come at precisely the right time.
Danzo Shimura, who had been analyzing the scene with a sharp eye, replied coldly.
"He's gathering intelligence, Hiruzen. Look at his body posture and his gaze, he's no failed Genin. He's an info collector. Those info cards aren't just a helpful tool; they're an intelligence database. This boy carries the scent of 'Root'… or something worse."
"Well, that much is obvious…"
"What does he have here?"
On the following page, Kabuto mentioned all the participating hidden villages, and in the end stated that he didn't know much about Otogakure… the Hidden Sound Village, which had been founded just one year prior in the manga's timeline.
"Otogakure? Interesting…" said Hiruzen.
"What interests you about this infant village, Hiruzen?" Danzo asked, fixing his gaze on the Third Hokage.
"I'm interested in the reason behind its founding… I feel there is more here than meets the eye."
"Well, Kabuto's information is somewhat useful… We're becoming more familiar with future events."
"I'm not sure yet whether that's a good thing or a bad thing."
…
Far from the elders' seriousness, Minato and Kushina were grinning from ear to ear at that moment.
My name is Uzumaki Naruto!! I won't lose to any of you bastards!!!
Minato laughed as he saw Naruto, whom Sakura had assumed was depressed, explode with those words in the middle of the hall filled with talented shinobi from all the participating hidden villages.
"He's truly Naruto… haha! Just as expected…"
'…of my son.' Kushina said the second half of that sentence internally.
Not because she was uncertain of that truth, but because she didn't want any potential misunderstanding that Minato might feel.
"Wonderful… Go on, Naruto, don't let down Kakashi's faith in you, go and challenge everyone and win." Minato smiled as he said it.
He was eagerly looking forward to seeing Naruto become a Chunin by the end of this exam, by overcoming everyone who stood in his way.
"But first he needs to get through the written test… the dreadful one."
Kushina's fiery spirit deflated the moment she recalled the test she herself had failed to pass on her first attempt…
…
"Hahaha! Excellent, that's the spirit!"
Jiraiya laughed as he watched Naruto cause a scene.
"By doing that, he'll make himself the target of everyone's bullying; he's actually quite clever."
A smile appeared on Tsunade's face. Despite his natural foolishness as a ninja, she admired his courage, frankness, and how naturally he acted.
In some way, he reminded her of… that insufferable rascal sitting beside her in his youth.
Jiraiya… and Naruto — to her eyes, they seemed like two sides of the same coin.
And more than that… she glanced sideways to where her younger brother was sitting. He wasn't much younger than Naruto in the manga, and stranger still, he resembled him greatly.
On Nawaki's face was a bright-eyed smile as he stared intently at Naruto, who had just shouted those words of challenge at everyone.'
"This is the Naruto I love reading about! Go for it, man! Crush everyone in your path!"
Nawaki was among the most enthusiastic fans of Naruto at this point.
...
As for Orochimaru, his eyes gleamed with a mysterious light as he stared at Kabuto.
He said nothing, but his pallid smile suggested he saw something in this 'outwardly' failed Genin that the others did not, as though he were watching something that no one else could see.
"Hidden Sound Village… huh? Interesting."
Orochimaru muttered with a meaningful smile as he continued reading the manga.
'Well then, Rubiro-kun… I hope your manga doesn't cause me too much trouble after this…'
…
In a quiet corner of the art store, Shibi Aburame, currently 17 years old, and Shikuro Aburame, currently 18 years old, were watching the first pages of the fifth volume.
They gazed at the scene depicting Shino Aburame's appearance in the manga in complete silence, which was entirely normal for their clan.
"Shino… huh? A familiar-sounding name, it refers to strong determination, I believe," said Shikuro, adjusting his glasses.
"Naruto describes him as someone 'he doesn't want to talk to.' That means Shino's insects possess a powerful suppressive aura that provokes disgust and reluctance to approach from strangers." Shikuro added.
Shibi replied in a low tone, "That is our way. Disappearing into the noise is the best way to observe. Kabuto may talk a great deal, but Shino is the one who gathers real information without anyone noticing. Look at his stance… his instincts are already prepared."
Without knowing quite why, Shibi wore a proud expression as he spoke of Shino. He wanted to know more about this boy; he wanted to see how he fought, how he lived, how he would qualify and eventually become a Chunin… he wanted to know everything about the sole Aburame clan member who had appeared in the manga so far.
It wasn't just him; most of the Aburame clan members were intensely curious about him… for up until now, he had not spoken a single word.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 125: The First Exam!
Chapter 126: Cheating Is Required to Pass the Exam, but It's Forbidden.
Chapter 127: Passing the Test with Courage!
Chapter 128: The Second Exam Begins!
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