"Chidori!"
In the small grove, a blinding blue light flared to life. The sharp, piercing cry of crackling lightning echoed like a storm of a thousand birds, and in just two seconds, Uchiha Hoshino crossed dozens of meters.
Clap.
A soft clap rang out and instantly, the deafening chirping ceased.
Akio crouched slightly, his left-hand meeting Hoshino's right mid-strike. Blue lightning danced wildly at the point of contact.
A moment later, the chakra dispersed. Akio pulled his hand back and slowly clenched his fist, the stinging in his palm fading; he hadn't used any protection at all.
"Not bad. You've fully mastered it," he said with a satisfied nod.
It was now late May, Year 60 of Konoha. Just over a month had passed since Akio first taught Hoshino Chidori.
"In the original timeline, how long did Sasuke take? About a month? Guess they're about the same…" Akio muttered, then shook his head with a faint smile.
Hoshino showed no excitement despite mastering such a powerful technique. Her expression remained calm as she absentmindedly rose onto her tiptoes again, drifting off into her own thoughts.
"Even on your tiptoes, you're still not taller than me."
Akio chuckled. Chakra gathered in his right hand, forming a long blade of crackling lightning. With a casual swing behind him, a row of trees collapsed instantly.
Hoshino snapped back to attention, her gaze locking onto the lightning blade in his hand, eyes filled with longing.
Akio smirked. "Want to learn it? Too bad, I'm not teaching you. Figure it out yourself."
The sound of Chidori rang out again as Hoshino stubbornly began experimenting on her own.
Akio sighed and turned away. At his age, he wasn't about to fish for a little girl's request… definitely not.
After a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
His narrowed eyes widened sharply, and his left eye transformed—
Rinnegan.
(2,000,002 / 5,000,000)
"Well, would you look at that… jackpot."
Hoshino glanced up at him, confused, then lowered her head and continued tinkering with her technique.
Akio gave her a sideways look, then glanced at the two other kids training in the distance before walking out of the grove.
"Keep it up. Your opponents and your seniors should be arriving soon. I've still got to register you all… paperwork and all that. Actually, Obito can handle it."
Meanwhile, on the streets of Konoha…
Team 7 had just finished a tree-planting mission. Naruto, having planted one fewer tree than Sasuke, immediately got into another argument with him; he refused to accept defeat.
Sakura, who had only planted one tree herself, had nothing to say. She could only watch as the two bickered endlessly
"Idiot Naruto!"
"Jerk Sasuke!"
"Hey, watch where you're going!" Sakura suddenly shouted.
"Huh?" Naruto and Sasuke both turned
Thud! Thud!
Two bodies hit the ground.
Sasuke glanced at the boy sprawled in front of him; his face painted with strange markings then shifted his gaze toward Naruto, who had taken a much harder fall.
"Ugh—sand…?" Naruto spat, coughing.
"Ow… Hey! You Leaf brats don't even apologize after bumping into someone?" the painted boy grumbled, sitting up and rubbing his chest.
"Hehe… sorry about that. Sasuke didn't mean it," Sakura quickly stepped in.
"Sakura, don't apologize," Sasuke said coolly. "You're not from Konoha, are you? What are you doing here?"
"Hah… kids who don't even know about the Chunin Exams…"
"Kankuro, don't start trouble," Temari cut him off. "We're here for the joint Chunin Exams. My little brother knocked into your teammate, my apologies."
"Joint Chunin Exams…" Sasuke murmured. "It's fine. If he got knocked over, it just means he's weak."
Naruto ignored him. The moment his eyes met Gaara's, a strange feeling surged inside him.
It wasn't his own emotion, it felt like something from the Nine-Tails within him.
A mix of irritation… and something like mutual understanding.
Gaara felt it too.
Sakura sensed the tension and forced a smile. "Sasuke, Naruto weren't we going to train?"
"Let's find Kakashi first. We're entering the Chunin Exams too. But before that…" Sasuke's eyes sharpened with interest. "Hey, gourd guy, what's your name?"
"My brother is Gaara. He's not very talkative," Temari answered.
"…What's your name?" Gaara suddenly asked, staring directly at Naruto.
Sasuke: ???
Temari: …
Naruto snapped out of it, grinning widely, about to introduce himself
"Naruto! Oh, gourd freak's here too?"
Naruto froze and turned stiffly. "V-violent girl!"
"What did you say?! Brat, looks like you want another beating!"
Naruto instinctively stepped back, then remembered how "strong" he was now. "I'm not scared of you anymore!"
"Oh really?"
A few seconds later, Naruto lay on the ground covered in lumps, completely defeated.
Karin clapped her hands, satisfied.
"S-so strong…" Sakura muttered in shock.
Sasuke's expression turned serious. "You're… Uzumaki Karin, right? Is the Land of Whirlpools participating in the exams too?"
Karin glanced at him, then quickly looked away, her heart belonged to Kimimaro, after all.
"Participating? I'm already a jonin!" she said proudly, then turned to the Sand trio. "Long time no see, Temari, Kankuro… and uh gourd kid. Man, that old geezer's fault; I forgot your name again."
"You're already a jonin?!" Sasuke immediately felt the pressure; he remembered she was only a little older than him.
In the distance, Haku and Kimimaro approached side by side one beautiful, the other strikingly handsome, like a perfect pair.
"Karin, did you sense the god's chakra?" Kimimaro asked lazily, his gaze sweeping over the group.
Not a single one worth fighting.
Karin shook her head. "Can't use wide-range sensing inside Konoha. But that brat definitely knows!"
Naruto's recovery was impressive; his swelling had already gone down. "Big sis Haku! Long time no see! The old ancestor went to train Team 11l, he should be at Training Ground Forty"
A large hand suddenly landed on Naruto's head.
"Well, looks like everyone's here. Judging by this, you've all met already?"
Akio's voice echoed.
"Ancestor!" "Elder!" "Lord!" "Senior!" a chorus of greetings followed.
Akio smiled and nodded. "Come on. Let's head to the grove and meet the three kids from Team 11 properly."
The group set off together.
Naruto couldn't tell if it was his imagination, but it felt like Haku kept sneaking glances at him. He always called her "big sis," but if it ever became something more…
That thought made him oddly uneasy.
At that moment, Haku suddenly gave him a sweet, almost dazzling smile.
It sent a chill down his spine.
"…Naruto, your eyebrows are really thick."
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