Hantaki's figure flickered like a silver-white arc of lightning between the Truth-Seeking Orbs.
An orb grazed past him.
Then another. And another. They chased his afterimage, relentless.
No one watching dared to blink. Miss a single moment, and you'd miss everything.
A web of silver-white light wove around Hantaki, a cage of electricity.
The Truth-Seeking Orb slammed into the net. An invisible shockwave rippled out.
Neji felt that power. His mind recoiled.
His teacher had told him: power that defies age is rare.
But this boy… he looked their age. How was this possible?
Neji possessed the Tenseigan and the legacy of Ōtsutsuki Hamura. But he couldn't tap into it all. Not yet. It was a well he'd spend years learning to draw from.
This Rain Genin? He felt… bottomless. A well that never ran dry.
CLANG!
Suddenly.
A massive bell tolled, echoing through the Forest of Death.
It snapped everyone back to reality. Their eyes swung towards the destination—the red-roofed building at the forest's edge.
"Ah! We're out of time!"
Naruto smacked his own forehead, realization dawning. The mission had a time limit. No scrolls, no entry before the clock ran out? Disqualified.
"Neji! Stop fighting! We're running out of time!" Tenten shouted, frantic.
The black Truth-Seeking Orbs peeled away from Hantaki, flying back to hover behind Neji before fading from sight.
Neji gave Hantaki one last, deep look. He leaped onto a branch, his final words carried off by the wind.
"I look forward to our match."
Hantaki smirked. No reply. He shot his three teammates a glance.
As one, the four Rain ninja shot into the trees, their movements a blur of lightning-fast agility.
Minutes later, they met the Konoha teams again at the gate.
The venue was a massive indoor training hall, submerged like a sunken ship beneath a sea of green canopy.
The spectator stands on either side were packed, tickets sold out.
Heshu sat on the central dais opposite the entrance, alongside the Kage of other villages.
Anko came to check the scrolls of the arrivals.
Konoha, unsurprisingly, had the highest number of qualifying squads.
When the results flashed on the giant screen above, Heshu's ears were filled with the obligatory, grating praise from the smaller village Kage.
Heshu waved a hand, humility personified. "Luck, pure luck."
His expression was sincere. His words were not.
Nara Sōsai, standing behind him, felt his eye twitch.
Hantaki stood among the qualifiers, scanning the crowd.
Besides Konoha's rookies, there was Suna's Gaara and his team, and Otogakure's team led by Akadō Yoroi.
Even though Orochimaru was technically on Heshu's payroll as a researcher, the snake hadn't abandoned his own projects. He'd built Otogakure into something respectable.
Of course, the other three Rain Genin had been eliminated.
Lucky for them, they were only eliminated, not killed.
That was luck. The Forest of Death had claimed nearly half the participating Genin.
Hayate Gekkō stepped forward, vibrant and energetic, to announce the preliminary matches.
He used to be sickly. But after the Fifth Hokage took office, he'd instituted a mandatory, comprehensive health check for all Konoha shinobi. Years of treatment later, and Hayate was no longer the walking infirmary.
His love life had flourished too.
Though whenever he went on a date with Yūgao Uzuki, the Hokage's gaze felt distinctly… unkind. But Hayate knew. The Hokage was all bark, no bite.
Hayate cleared his throat, laying out the rules in three crisp sentences.
One-on-one matches. Win, and you qualify for the final tournament in one month.
Then he coughed twice, straightened up, and announced with grave solemnity, "And now, a few words from our Hokage-sama!"
On the dais, Heshu: "…"
He glanced back at Nara Sōsai. His eyes screamed confusion.
He didn't remember scheduling a speech. He'd specifically cut this segment before the exams!
So… what was this?
Nara Sōsai wore an identical look of bewilderment. He shook his head vigorously. "Hokage-sama, this was not me!"
Whatever it was, he was distancing himself. Immediately.
Down below, Hayate Gekkō clapped enthusiastically, his shining eyes fixed on Heshu.
How could the Hokage, the very model for the shinobi world, not speak at such a momentous occasion? The entire world needed to hear his wisdom!
His expression was one of pure devotion.
Heshu: "…"
Right. He could see exactly who was responsible just from that look.
Damn you, Hayate! Not only did you steal Yūgao Uzuki, but now you pull this stunt on me?!
Well, Heshu was nothing if not experienced by now. He stood up and launched into an impromptu, quote-filled speech that had the crowd roaring with applause.
Finally, the preliminaries began.
Familiar names scrolled across the screen.
Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akadō Yoroi!
Not much different from the original timeline.
A Sasuke suffering from a cursed seal could beat Yoroi. A Sasuke without that handicap? Child's play.
Sasuke won with flamboyant, effortless style, chin held high like a preening rooster.
Itachi Uchiha watched, a faint smile in his eyes. As long as Sasuke was in his sight, his world felt lighter.
Next: Zaku vs. Shino Aburame. Winner: Shino.
Matches ended. New ones began.
Sakura ended her fight with Ino Yamanaka with one decisive punch, turning more than a few heads.
Tenten lost to Temari, sulking in frustration.
Neji, out of sheer teammate solidarity, offered two words of comfort. Tenten immediately bounced back, fully revived.
Heshu watched Neji chatting easily with Tenten and stroked his chin, thoughts drifting. Would Tenten end up as my disciple's wife?
Shikamaru Nara won, thanks to his annoyingly brilliant brain.
The name that hadn't appeared finally flashed on screen.
Hantaki vs. Shigure.
He used just 'Hantaki', no surname.
Seeing that name—the same as his sister's—Heshu felt a ripple in his calm.
"Is something wrong, Hokage-sama?"
Shisui, standing guard behind him, sensed the shift instantly.
Heshu's lips curved in a nostalgic, wistful smile. "It's nothing. The name 'Hantaki'… it's the same as my sister's."
Shisui froze for a second. His gaze dropped involuntarily to the boy walking onto the arena floor.
Eleven or twelve. Same age as Sasuke and Naruto.
Youthful, handsome features. Black hair, black eyes. An aura of serene detachment.
The irony? His opponent was Shigure. Teammate versus teammate.
"I forfeit."
Shigure had all the self-awareness his teammate lacked.
He raised his hand before Hantaki even reached the center.
In all his years of proctoring, Hayate had seen kids fight until they coughed blood. Someone forfeiting this cleanly? A first.
Hantaki walked back off the floor.
Naruto and the others, who'd hoped to glean more intel from this fight, groaned in unison.
"Damn it!" Naruto clenched his fists.
"Relax," Sakura said, pushing her glasses up. "We probably won't have to face him."
"How do you know?" Naruto asked, confused. The matches were random.
Sakura just smiled. "Just trust me."
Hantaki's strength was obvious. And 'random' match-ups in the finals… had a lot of room for 'adjustment'. In Sakura's analysis, the only one with a conceivable chance—Hyuga Neji—would be the one to face Hantaki.
Her analysis was spot-on.
When the preliminaries ended, the screen scrolled again, displaying the final tournament brackets.
Uchiha Sasuke vs. Gaara.
Temari vs. Shikamaru Nara.
Hyuga Neji vs. Hantaki.
Haruno Sakura vs. Kankurō.
Aburame Shino vs. Naruto Uzumaki.
Yakushi Kabuto vs. Shūu.
Hantaki felt a heavy gaze. He glanced sideways.
His eyes met Neji's. He saw the weight, the seriousness in those pale eyes.
A lazy, almost taunting grin spread across Hantaki's lips.
The spectators began to file out.
Hantaki led his Rain team past Neji's group.
"Stop!"
Hantaki ignored it, kept walking.
"I said stop!"
Naruto scrambled to block his path.
"Why didn't you stop? Can't you hear me?" Naruto huffed. This guy had no manners.
"You tell me to stop, so I stop?" Hantaki retorted. "Who do you think you are?"
His eyes swept over Naruto, dismissive. "Ah~ I see. Is it because you're the Fifth Hokage's little brother?"
Naruto stiffened. Then fury ignited.
He'd thought stopping when called was basic courtesy. Not… this. And he hated people implying he used his family's status. He never had.
"You—! I just wanted to tell you! Don't get cocky! I, Naruto Uzumaki, will never give up! I'll beat you someday! And you'll take those words back!" Naruto shouted, a classic shonen protagonist declaration.
Hantaki let out a soft laugh, laced with utter contempt.
"Someday I'll beat you…?"
"You should save speeches like that for when you actually have the power to back them up."
"Aren't you embarrassed, saying that now?"
The pure, unadulterated question in Hantaki's eyes was a blade to Naruto's pride.
Naruto gritted his teeth.
How can anyone be this awful?
I'll beat him. I'll definitely beat him!
I'll make him wipe that arrogant look off his face!
Who does he think he is, looking down on people like that?!
Hantaki turned and walked away, leaving Naruto with nothing but a retreating, infuriatingly cool figure.
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