I woke up dazed. The last thing I remembered was getting some blood infusion and multiple medical nin applying their healing jutsu simultaneously to heal the numerous but mostly shallow cuts all over my body. I remembered hearing one of them saying in a horrified tone, "What did he fight to end up looking like this?" Then another said in a hushed voice, "I heard the One Tail went missing earlier in the night, but no damage happened to the village." That made the room go quiet for a moment.
Their gazes slowly returned to me, full of fear and something that looked dangerously close to despair. One of them swallowed before speaking, almost unwilling to say the words out loud. "Did he… fight the One Tail?" Another medic immediately whispered back, "No way… the village would be gone." A third one looked at the blood near my chest and said quietly, "But look at him… and he just walked here."
That was apparently the worst possible conclusion they could reach.
One of them leaned closer, voice shaking slightly. "Did he fight the One Tail… subdue it… and survive?"
The room went silent again.
The way they were staring at me made it sound like my survival was somehow the most terrifying outcome imaginable. Which, honestly, was a bit rude.
I was a bit lightheaded as I looked around to find Shisui looking at me with full focus, narrowing his eyes as if trying to read what had happened. I immediately acted like I had just woken up mid sleep and rolled over, closing my eyes as if returning to sleep. However, Shisui's voice came, annoyed. "I know you are awake." I sighed and rolled onto my back, grudgingly opening my eyes and acting surprised. "Shisui sensei, what happened?"
He sighed before replying, "Since you did not come back last night we got worried. Sena went through a list she created of the most likely places we could find you if you went missing and, lo and behold, you were in the first place she determined to have a high probability of you being there. A hospital." A bead of sweat appeared on my forehead as he asked, "What have you done?"
I took a deep breath and said, with a face tinged with redness, which was not easy to summon due to the blood loss, "I did go for a walk but ended up meeting Raika. One thing led to another and we decided to have a friendly spar." Inside, I asked Raika for forgiveness as Shisui became confused. Then his eyes widened and he coughed, clearly flustered as he suddenly looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. "Even if you like each other, you should not go that far while training."
Now I was the one confused. What exactly did he think we were doing? However, he was so flustered and unsure what to do that he quickly moved on from the subject. "The doctors said that you are mostly okay. It does not look like the damage was too severe, however it will definitely affect your performance in the finals." He shook his head before continuing, "Can you try to fight one match without a handicap?"
I grinned and replied with absolute confidence, "It would be too easy." Shisui laughed before standing up. "Time to get to the arena. The final match is about to start." I nodded as I stood up carefully, experiencing some pain but nothing too serious.
We arrived at the arena to find Sena already there, her eyes narrowing the moment she saw me. Suspicious, as expected. "I was with… someone," I said casually. Sena immediately looked toward Shisui. Poor guy went from calm to visibly flustered in a heartbeat, which only made things worse for me. Her gaze returned to me with such intensity that I was fairly certain she had already dismantled my fragile lie and was currently examining the pieces.
Kaen, on the other hand looked ready to explode. His entire body was tense, shifting his weight from foot to foot like a caged animal waiting for the gate to open. His eyes kept twitching with barely contained fury, the Sharingan clearly fighting to reveal itself as he stared toward the arena floor. Anyone who knew him could tell exactly what was going through his mind. He wanted the ice kekkei genkai bastard in that arena. He wanted him now. And judging by the murderous look on his face, Kaen fully intended to make him regret what he had done to Sena.
The announcer's voice echoed through the arena, hyping the upcoming match and dragging the crowd along with him. Sunlight filtered through the huge colored cloth stretched over the arena stands, the fabric rippling gently in the desert wind and painting the stone seating with shifting shades of red, orange, and gold. The heat of the day had not faded yet and the air carried the smell of dust, roasted meat, and sweet fried snacks being sold along the edges of the arena.
The crowd was loud, restless, and very much alive. Merchants moved between the rows shouting their offers while people leaned forward over the railings trying to get a better view of the arena floor. Some were stuffing their mouths with food, which seemed like a bold choice considering how much blood these matches usually ended with. Others argued loudly over bets, waving small bags of coins in each other's faces while a few runners hurried toward the betting tables to lock their wagers before the fight began. Groups of children ran through the aisles pretending to fight with imaginary kunai until their parents dragged them back into their seats. Everywhere I looked there was movement, laughter, shouting, and the occasional chant starting somewhere in the stands before spreading outward.
The people of the Sand were clearly proud of how well they had handled hosting the Chunin Exams. You could feel it in the way they talked, in the way they stood taller as visiting shinobi passed by, and in the energy filling the arena. For a village that spent most of its life struggling against harsh land and harsher politics, this kind of celebration mattered.
The Kazekage himself looked pleased as he observed his people. The influx of trade and visitors that came with the exams had clearly helped ease their situation a little. I even saw him raise a hand in acknowledgement when a group of citizens shouted his name from the stands, something that would have looked strange on almost any other Kage but somehow fit him perfectly.
Next to him stood Gaara, and the sight of him made my chest tighten in a completely different way. The kid looked… happy. He was actually smiling. The dark bags under his eyes were still there but noticeably lighter, and the constant tension that usually clung to his expression seemed to have loosened its grip. A quiet warmth spread through me as I watched him slowly take in the scene around him.
He was observing everything. The crowd shouting. The colors dancing across the stands. The merchants arguing with customers. The laughter and the excitement rippling through the arena like a living thing.
I could not help grinning to myself, something Sena noticed. I was worried about the rest of the team, but Shisui was busy calming Kaen down so he would not go screaming and running straight into an icy grave or fall for yet another provocation by an opponent.
I did not care for Sena's suspicious gaze.
I was proud of my seal work actually doing what it was supposed to do. More than that, I was proud that the result of it was something real. Something that helped a kid like Gaara.
Gaara slowly looked around the arena again as he seemed to be infected by the spectators' excitement little by little.
His smile grew wider with every passing moment as he absorbed the atmosphere.
His father and siblings noticed the change immediately. They could not possibly know why, but the difference was impossible to miss. For the first time in his life Gaara was looking at the world without the angry lens of the One Tail twisting everything around him.
The world probably felt louder, brighter, and strangely lighter all at once, and judging by the way his eyes shone as he watched the crowd, he liked what he saw.
Eventually the announcer declared, "It is time for the final match of the Chunin Exams. We have Fuyumi of Yugakure."
The ice kekkei genkai user walked into the arena, confident despite the odds being against him. His chakra was powerful and steady, his attitude dominant as he took measured steps forward. Frost crept along the ground beneath his feet, thin sheets of ice forming wherever he stepped.
"And then we have Kaen of the Hidden Leaf, wielder of the Sharingan."
Kaen walked in with barely contained rage. His fingers twitched constantly, chakra already surging through his body as he struggled to keep it under control. Sena quietly shook her head beside me.
"And finally we have the one and only… the Tyrant, Noa of the Hidden Leaf."
I blinked a couple of times before asking quietly, "When did the Tyrant moniker become official enough to be used in formal announcements?"
Shisui looked just as confused as I felt, while Sena slowly palmed her face, clearly reconsidering several life decisions that had led her to end up with those hopeless teammates.
I stepped forward into the arena, greeted by cheers from those who had bet on me and boos from those who hated me for multiple misunderstandings. The noise slowly quieted as I approached Kaen and Fuyumi, sparks practically flying between the two of them already.
Somewhere in the crowd a spectator asked in confusion, "Why is he bandaged so heavily?"
A shinobi standing nearby answered in a grim tone, his face half hidden by shadow. "I heard he fought the One Tail yesterday, subdued it, and survived. Then he came here to win his match."
The rumor spread through the stands like fire through dry weeds. I felt a single tear slide down my right eye as the whispers multiplied. I already knew that shouting or arguing would only make the rumors worse. That was something I had learned the hard way.