"Makoto-sensei, where are you taking me?"
Ran Mouri trailed behind Makoto Nishikado, curiosity written across her face.
"The Chunin Exams are less than a month away. You need an intensive crash course before then." He kept walking, eyes forward. "I found you a supervising jonin who's a better fit for your skillset."
Before long, the two arrived at a training ground on the outskirts of Konohagakure. Ran glanced at the sign posted nearby: Konoha Training Ground 14.
"Training Ground 14," Makoto said over his shoulder. "Specializes in combat sparring and taijutsu."
A few steps further, a sparring platform came into view, surrounded by striking posts worn smooth from use.
Up on the platform, a boy in a green bodysuit with a bowl cut traded blows with another boy whose eyes were a blank, pupilless white.
They went back and forth for several exchanges before the bowl-cut kid was forced back, but he steadied himself almost instantly, fire still burning in his gaze.
"Lee!"
Makoto called out, and Rock Lee, mid-counterattack, whipped his head around. The moment he spotted Makoto, a wide grin split his face.
He vaulted off the platform, closed the distance in three bounding steps, and slapped palms with him like they'd done it a hundred times before.
"Long time no see, Makoto!" Lee's eyes sparkled. "I heard you already made jonin!"
The excitement in his voice was genuine, laced with something deeper. Hope, maybe. Because Makoto was like him: no clan bloodline, no Kekkei Genkai.
Just another nobody from nowhere. And if he could climb that high, then what excuse did Lee have not to?
"So that's Konoha's youngest jonin?"
Behind Lee, Neji Hyuga narrowed his eyes, sizing Makoto up from head to toe.
He'd never say it aloud, but he'd always considered himself the undisputed genius of their generation. And now, before he'd even graduated, someone had leapfrogged him entirely.
Tenten leaned in and whispered, "It's okay, Neji. Second place is still pretty impressive."
Neji stared at her, speechless. That was somehow worse than no comfort at all.
"Tenten's absolutely right, Neji!"
A figure dropped from the sky and landed squarely in front of the group. Might Guy, in the flesh.
He thrust out a thumbs-up, teeth gleaming white enough to catch the sun. "Young people should compete with each other! That's the spirit of youth!"
Ran stared at the man who'd materialized out of thin air and felt something inside her wither.
That outfit is hideous. And those eyebrows...
She'd thought Rock Lee was already pushing it, but this was the deluxe version. Were they father and son?
Makoto chuckled. "Guy-sensei, this is the girl I mentioned before. Ran. I was hoping you could train her this month."
"No problem!" Guy flashed those blinding teeth again, another thumbs-up. "Lee and the others will be thrilled, too! Young people should mingle!"
Makoto shook his head with an amused grin, then turned to Ran. "Ran, this is Guy-sensei, one of the village's elite jonin. Konoha's number one taijutsu master. Train under him, and you'll learn more than you can imagine."
Ran looked at the absurdly dressed man in front of her. No matter how hard she tried, the words "number one master" refused to connect with what her eyes were seeing.
But she didn't think Makoto would lie to her.
She pressed her lips together, her expression caught between gratitude and something harder to name. "Makoto-sensei... why do you go so far for me?"
"You're my student." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Who else would I do it for?"
He gave her shoulder a light pat, turned, and walked away without looking back.
"Alright. Good luck out there."
Watching his retreating figure, Ran nearly slapped herself.
He'd been this kind to her, and she'd actually considered pulling away because of Shinichi. She'd even hesitated about whether to report him to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
What is wrong with me?
...
Walking away with his back to Ran, Makoto let the corners of his mouth curl upward in a smile that would've made Light Yagami proud.
Ever since returning from the Land of Snow, he'd been watching her from the shadows, gauging her loyalty.
The results weren't surprising. In the original story, Ran Mouri was kind to a fault, bordering on saintly.
The type who'd rush to save a murderer if she saw them in danger. Vermouth, a stone-cold killer herself, had called the girl an "angel" for a reason.
If Ran had gone to the Third Hokage and turned him in, Makoto had more than enough ways to deal with her.
But she hadn't.
And so, it was time for the next phase.
He was going to pry Ran Mouri away from Kudo Shinichi.
Of course, this wasn't because Makoto had some NTR fetish. He simply enjoyed turning protagonists he didn't like into tragic figures.
Someday, when Shinichi was on his knees begging for his life, and Ran walked away without a backward glance...
What kind of face would he make?
Makoto couldn't wait to find out.
...
Two weeks slipped by in a blink.
July 1st, the official start of the Chunin Exams, drew closer by the day. Examinees and tourists from neighboring nations flooded into Konohagakure, eager to participate or spectate.
This wasn't just any test. It was Konoha's chance to showcase its next generation to the world. Several candidates this year were children of clan heads. It would've been a waste not to put them on display.
Mrs. Yukinoshita, who ran the dessert shop, found herself swamped as the tourist influx swelled.
When she'd first arrived in this world, she'd been nothing more than a restaurant worker. Years of saving later, she'd finally opened her own place, becoming the household's primary breadwinner.
Business had always been brisk, partly because having a beautiful owner behind the counter drew a certain... enthusiastic clientele. Most Konoha shinobi knew that Makoto Nishikado was a regular, though, so even the boldest kept their impulses in check.
Visitors from other villages didn't have that memo.
"Mmm! So good! Ma'am, ten more servings of the milk pudding!"
Inside the dessert shop, a boy with pale blue chin-length hair savored the house specialty with an expression of pure bliss.
Had Makoto been there, he'd have recognized him instantly: Suigetsu Hozuki, future member of Sasuke's Team Taka.
Right now, Suigetsu sat openly wearing a Hidden Mist headband, stuffing his face without a care in the world. Clearly, he was one of the Mist Village's representatives for the Chunin Exams.
Beside him sat a bespectacled boy with a quiet, reserved demeanor, nibbling on dango in small, careful bites. Every movement was restrained, almost timid.
This was Chojuro, the future Sixth Mizukage.
Across from them sat a burly Mist shinobi who, judging by his face, was well past his teenage years.
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