After the welcoming ceremony ended, Hanataki led the Rain Village genin toward their lodgings.
The main streets of Konoha were packed with people, so they took a side path.
"Hahahaha…"
A clear laugh echoed through the alley.
A moment later, a child crashed into Shigure, who was walking beside Hanataki.
Hanataki watched Naruto and Sakura appear, finding the scene… oddly familiar.
"Watch where you're going."
Shigure's voice was low, his eyes dark as he stared at the fallen Konohamaru.
It was the first time Konohamaru had encountered someone whose hostility and real, tangible killing intent were this blatant. He sat frozen on the ground, speechless.
Hanataki: "…"
Right. He recognized this plot point now.
How did a scene originally meant for Gaara end up landing on them?
"Kid," Shigure said, his tone utterly devoid of any shame at intimidating a child. "If you don't need your eyes, you don't need to keep them."
"Konohamaru bumping into you was his mistake," Sakura said calmly, stepping forward. Her eyes assessed Hanataki's group, lingering on Hanataki himself for a beat. "But being bumped into hardly warrants that level of severity."
Shigure sneered. "Mistakes require payment."
Sakura's brow furrowed. That was just plain unreasonable. Fine. No more reasoning, then.
Before she could act, Naruto moved first, yanking Konohamaru to his feet and shoving the boy behind him. He stared Shigure down. "Don't go too far."
Shigure scoffed. "And what if I do?"
Hanataki glanced at Shigure's fingertips. A cold glint shimmered there.
Poisoned senbon.
Hanataki didn't stop him. He just watched the drama unfold.
The world Naruto moved in was too… clean. The thought that Shigure would pull such an underhanded move never even crossed his mind.
His eyes widened as the senbon shot toward him.
TING!
A sharp, clear clink.
The senbon was knocked out of the air mid-flight by a stone flung from… somewhere.
Shigure's pupils contracted. "Who?!"
"This is Konoha Village. Try not to be so arrogant."
Sasuke's figure appeared on a tree branch overhead.
In that classic pose.
Radiating pure, concentrated 'cool guy' energy.
Hanataki was honestly impressed. That was a seriously specific, aesthetic angle to find.
Naruto's gaze traveled upward, taking in Sasuke's appearance. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple.
"…Sasuke," Naruto muttered, his voice thick with envy. Damn show-off.
Sasuke leaped from the branch, landing lightly in front of Naruto. His eyes slid from Shigure to Hanataki. "We are the hosts of these Chunin Exams. It would be wise for you to… restrain yourselves."
If the guy in front of him wasn't… well, decent-looking—on par with himself, honestly—Sasuke wouldn't have bothered with a polite warning.
Besides, both he and Sakura could see it.
That loudmouth Rain ninja from before? He'd glanced at this teenager for silent permission before attacking.
Meaning this teenager was the real leader of the Rain genin.
"Restrain ourselves?"
Hanataki had come to Konoha to find his true self. What was the point of humility now?
He smiled. "You restrain yourself against strong opponents. Against you? There's no need."
Hanataki met Sasuke's gaze directly, his eyes filled with amusement.
The kind of amusement that came from being completely at ease. From not seeing them as a threat at all.
Sasuke: "…"
It had been a while since he'd met someone this arrogant.
Someone who could out-cool him.
Sasuke's eyes darkened.
Naruto snorted. "Anyone can talk big."
Sakura studied Hanataki intently, occasionally pushing her glasses up her nose, her thoughts unreadable.
A flash of gold.
Hanataki was beside Naruto, his smile unchanged. "Talking big isn't for everyone."
Both Sasuke and Naruto froze, muscles locking. A cold sweat broke out on Naruto's brow.
How… how is he so fast?
I couldn't even track his movement.
A flower, carved from diamond, appeared in Hanataki's hand out of thin air. He walked past Naruto and offered it to Sakura.
"We'll see you at the exams."
He spoke to Naruto and Sasuke, his back already turned.
Naruto and Sasuke could only watch as Hanataki's group walked away, their figures growing smaller down the path.
Sakura clutched the diamond rose, its facets catching the sun. A spark of genuine interest flickered in her eyes.
"That guy… something's off."
Inside the seal space, a low growl echoed.
"Kurama… his speed…" Naruto thought, the shock still raw.
"It's not just speed, kid," the Nine-Tails said, its voice unusually grave. "He's on a different level."
Naruto: "…"
First Neji. Then Gaara. Now this Rain Village genin. Every single one was a monster among monsters.
The pressure was crushing.
The first exam was a written test, proctored by the infamous Ibiki Morino.
By the time Hanataki led his team into the classroom, it was already half-full. Their entrance caused barely a ripple.
Hanataki found a seat.
Soon, the door swung open again.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura walked in.
Maybe it was the protagonist aura. Every eye in the room immediately locked onto them.
The pressure on Naruto, already heavy, doubled.
"It's them," Sasuke and Naruto said in unison, their gazes instantly finding Hanataki's group.
Hanataki's eyes met theirs. He offered a cold, slight curve of his lips.
Naruto and Sasuke glared back, hard.
Hanataki: "…"
No need to be so intense about it.
"Hey, Naruto! What're you looking at?"
Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino—the Ino-Shika-Cho trio—approached. Sticking with your own village's teams was just safer.
"Rain Village ninja, huh?" Shikamaru followed their line of sight, giving Hanataki a casual, assessing glance. His eyes tightened almost imperceptibly. "Looks like trouble."
Naruto grimaced. "Not your average trouble."
Shikamaru: "…"
A much larger stir went through the room then.
Compared to Team 7's entrance, it was Neji Hyuga's arrival that truly commanded the spotlight.
The disciple of the Fifth Hokage, the current strongest shinobi in the world. The genius hailed as the number one prodigy. He was the one everyone was really watching.
"Knew it. The moment Neji shows up, the atmosphere changes," Choji mumbled through a mouthful of chips.
Shikamaru added, "But he doesn't even blink."
Choji swallowed. "That's what real strength does."
Both Choji and Shikamaru sighed in unison. Compared to their own cautious anxiety, Neji's calm was a world apart.
"Is that guy from Konoha too?" Naruto asked, pointing to another figure.
The man looked a few years older than them. Short silver-white hair, round glasses. A scholarly face marked by two purple lines descending from his eyes. He felt Naruto's gaze and looked directly back, his expression neutral, without hostility.
"Must be a senior from a past graduating class," Shikamaru said, though he too looked puzzled. He'd never seen this guy around the village.
As they wondered, the man walked over. "I'm Kabuto Yakushi. A few years your senior."
Kabuto had been training in Sage Mode at Ryuchi Cave. He'd just finished a phase of his training a few days ago when he heard the Chunin Exams were starting. So, he'd returned to Konoha to participate.
Lady Hokage's plans for him no longer involved the shadows. Stepping into the open was necessary now.
And Kabuto's power was nothing like it used to be. Representing Konoha here would only bring the village more prestige.
The Chunin Exams were a critical moment for every villager to gauge a hidden village's strength.
The more talented the genin, the brighter the village's future seemed. And when it came time to hand out missions, clients naturally leaned toward the stronger villages.
"Senior Kabuto," the genin greeted politely.
"Is this your first time taking the exams too, Kabuto-senpai?" Naruto asked.
Kabuto nodded. "It is."
"Really? I thought for sure you'd taken them before," Naruto said, blunt as ever. Kabuto's age just didn't fit the 'first-timer' image.
Kabuto smiled, unbothered. He pulled out a stack of cards from his pocket. "It's my first time, but my teammates aren't new to this. I've gathered quite a bit of information on many of the participants here."
Gathering intel was second nature to a spy. In the single hour he'd arrived before Naruto, he'd already compiled dossiers on most of the room.
Naruto and the others leaned in, eyes shining.
"Kabuto-senpai," Naruto couldn't help but ask, "do you have info on the Rain Village genin?"
Kabuto nodded, selecting six cards.
Naruto eagerly scanned them, his face falling when he didn't see the one he wanted. "Why isn't he here?"
Kabuto knew who he meant. His gaze flickered toward Hanataki for a split second before returning. "That one is also a first-time participant this year. No one seems to know him. But one thing's certain—he's a formidable opponent."
Naruto and Sasuke nodded in grim agreement. They'd learned that the hard way.
"I'm not scared of anyone!" Naruto suddenly yelled, fists clenched. "I, Naruto Uzumaki, will never give up!"
Every eye in the room snapped back to him.
Kabuto's smile twitched. He took a subtle step away.
Sasuke's face darkened. "Idiot," he muttered, massaging his temple.
As his adrenaline rush faded, Naruto finally registered the waves of palpable hostility radiating from all around him. He gulped, his bravado deflating.
Sasuke went to find a seat, Sakura following. As she passed Naruto, she added coolly, "Way to make yourself the common enemy, Naruto."
Naruto: "…"
THUD!
The classroom door was thrown open.
Ibiki Morino's 'death glare' swept over the chattering room. Instant silence fell, so profound you could hear a pin drop.
It wasn't just his expression—the kind that promised painful interrogation. It was the scars covering his face, the sheer oppressive aura of menace he radiated.
Ibiki laid out the rules in a clipped tone. Rows of Chunin and Jonin took seats around the room, their eyes like searchlights scanning the examinees.
Blank white test papers were distributed, landing with a soft tap in front of each candidate, including Hanataki.
Hanataki had graduated from the Academy… how many years ago? He didn't know a single answer.
Luckily, he understood the real purpose of this test. He wasn't worried.
The one who should be worried was Naruto, who also knew none of the answers and, crucially, hadn't picked up on Ibiki's veiled hints.
By the midpoint of the exam, cheating methods of all varieties were in full bloom across the room. Some were clever, most were… not.
Many were 'kindly' escorted out for their clumsy efforts.
Hanataki remained completely unperturbed.
He hadn't planned to write a single thing. The key was the final question.
You could write all you wanted and still fail. But if you endured until the last question, you'd pass.
He gave a nearly imperceptible glance to his six Rain teammates. Driven by blind trust in him, they all gave up struggling with the test itself.
As the clock ticked down, the tick-tock of the second hand hammered against everyone's nerves. The tension grew thick enough to choke on.
The utter nonchalance of Hanataki's group stood out like a sore thumb.
Ibiki's gaze lingered on Hanataki for a long moment. He said nothing.
Naruto, sweating bullets over his own blank paper, felt a nudge from Kurama. "Look. At him."
He glanced at Hanataki. Saw the completely untouched exam sheet.
Naruto blinked. "Is he… giving up?" he thought, bewildered.
"Perhaps you should stop panicking," Kurama rumbled. This Rain ninja wouldn't just quit. The only explanation was that he'd figured something out. Following his lead was Naruto's safest bet.
Sure enough, as time nearly expired, Ibiki revealed the tenth question.
A question designed purely to break your spirit. A psychological torture device. Choosing to answer and failing would fail your whole team. Choosing not to answer would also fail your whole team.
With Hanataki's silent cue, the Rain ninja stayed still.
But across the classroom, over half the remaining examinees cracked under the pressure, choosing to withdraw.
And then, just like in the stories, Naruto stood up.
His impassioned speech rallied those on the verge of quitting. It also drew Ibiki's full, undivided attention.
A heavy silence blanketed the room for what felt like an eternity.
Finally, Ibiki spoke, his voice flat. "Very well. Congratulations. You have all passed the first exam."
Naruto's eyes bugged out. "Wha… What?"
The realization hit him. The written answers never mattered. Surviving the last question was the only real test.
A wave of shocked, giddy relief washed over him. He'd thought for sure he'd dragged Sasuke and Sakura down.
A faint smirk touched Sasuke's lips. "That idiot." He'd actually stumbled right into the answer.
A hint of a smile appeared in Sakura's eyes too.
Naruto's gaze found Hanataki again. His expression was complex.
Did this guy… figure out the whole point of the exam from the very beginning?
Hanataki met his look and offered a cool, distant smile in return.
To Naruto, it screamed of pure provocation.
His teeth gritted. His fists clenched. He desperately wanted to punch that smug face.
Sensing Naruto's boiling anger, Sakura frowned and reached out, placing a hand on his wrist to calm him.
Her grip, honed by monstrous strength, was… not gentle.
Naruto's face contorted instantly. "Sakura! Sakura! Owowow! That hurts!"
Sakura, her attention still partly on Hanataki, snapped back to reality and released him.
BANG!
The classroom door was violently kicked open this time.
Anko Mitarashi stood in the doorway, a wide, predatory grin on her face.
"Not bad! Still so many little mice left!" she crowed. "Guess the job of thinning the herd falls to me!"
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