"Not good!! Someone's planning to target the participants of the Chunin Exams! Hurry and inform Hokage-sama!"
Before long, news about a spy hiding among the candidates reached the ears of the second exam's proctor, Mitarashi Anko.
When she saw the victim's corpse, a look of horror appeared on her face.
The victim's face had been completely melted away by a forbidden jutsu.
"It's highly likely this was done by that man!"
Anko's voice was cold and trembling, laced with hatred and fear.
"Has Hokage-sama been informed about this?" she asked next.
"He has already been notified in advance. Hokage-sama has dispatched two ANBU squads and instructed us to assist you in investigating this matter," the ANBU operative replied respectfully.
Anko said, "Alright, no time to waste. Move out and split up to search. The moment you find him, send a signal immediately.
"Whatever you do, don't fight him one-on-one. That man is terrifying beyond belief — you never know what other tricks he might have up his sleeve."
...
Elsewhere.
The Shinju Squad came to a halt while traveling through the forest.
"Judging from the last time Naruto got swapped out by a Transformation Jutsu, I think we should set up a code word. That way, when we meet, we can use it to confirm each other's identity," Shinju suggested.
The proposal immediately won Naruto's and Sasuke's approval.
"I think so too. The training grounds are full of dangers." Sasuke said.
"But what kind of code should we use? It has to be something only we know, and no one else..." Naruto said with a troubled look.
His knowledge reserves were far too limited. No matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't think of a smooth phrase.
Shinju, however, wore a look of complete confidence.
As an elementary schooler who had crossed over into the Naruto world, there were plenty of things he knew that no one else here did.
At the thought of a code, a perfect, catchy phrase popped into his head.
It was something he'd heard back in cram school from a senior-grade teacher in the classroom next door.
Shinju suggested, "Why don't we make our code phrase— 'Odd changes, even stays the same; look at the quadrant for the sign!' (￢∀￢)"
Sasuke: o_O
Naruto: ¦•ˇ₃ˇ•｡)
"What the heck is that supposed to mean? I know every single word in those two sentences, but put together I don't understand a thing!" Naruto scratched his head.
"Shinju, where did you even hear such weird stuff? How come I've never heard anyone else say it?"
"Don't worry about that. Just tell me — is it good or not?" Shinju said with a cheerful grin.
Sasuke nodded beside him.
"An arrangement of words so unexpected that no one could guess it, yet surprisingly catchy when said aloud — I think it's perfect as a code."
"Since you both decided, let's go with it. Shinju, say it again, I didn't remember it..." Naruto said weakly.
And just like that, Class 7's exclusive code was decided.
Even though Sasuke and Naruto didn't understand a single bit of its meaning.
...
Night soon fell.
After several hours of "collection" (looting)...
The Shinju Squad had gathered three Heaven Scrolls and five Earth Scrolls.
Meanwhile, Shinju's pouch had also become stuffed.
Inside, it was packed full of ryo and notes.
At this moment, the three of them were sitting around a campfire, counting the day's spoils.
"This Chunin Exam isn't so hard. We spent less than five hours collecting this much stuff, and those teams were all pushovers," Naruto boasted as he pulled a rice ball from his pack and took a bite.
Sasuke couldn't take it anymore.
"You have some nerve saying that. (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ)
"Shinju did most of the work on the way here. If he hadn't marked those people with his Flying Thunder God seals ahead of time, we wouldn't have been able to find them in this massive training ground.
"Two of those teams even tried a 'wait by the tree stump' tactic, setting traps in the field. If Shinju hadn't used Flying Thunder God to teleport directly behind them, we might've been wiped out.
"And in battle? Don't even get me started. The moment Shinju stepped in with Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, he crushed them with overwhelming numbers, then threw out a couple more jutsu to finish the job."
After Sasuke's words, Naruto's face flushed red, and he quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, when did you put your Flying Thunder God seals on those ninjas, Shinju?"
Gazing into the crackling campfire, Shinju explained,
"Before the second exam, I met with them once to 'discuss a cheating fee.'
"That's when I discreetly placed the seals on those teams trying to play dirty, so we could find them easily once the exam started."
Naruto gave a thumbs-up.
"So you'd already planned to take their resources once we entered the field."
Shinju chuckled.
"Don't make it sound so ugly. I was just taking what I deserved. They could've settled things with a thousand ryo, but they had to make it difficult. ╮(╯▽╰)╭"
After eating and drinking their fill around the fire, Shinju said,
"Alright, we've been at it all day. Let's rest. I'll take the night watch."
Sasuke stepped forward. "I'll keep watch. You're the absolute core of the team right now — you need your rest."
Shinju waved him off. "It's fine. I'm extremely sensitive to chakra — I can detect anyone nearby right away."
Naruto cut in, "You two arguing is boring. If it's such a big deal, I'll do the watch."
Shinju, Sasuke: "Alright! Thanks for your hard work! ❛‿˂̵✧"
Naruto: "???"
Wtf??
"You two planned this, didn't you! (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)"
...
Nighttime.
With Shinju and Sasuke asleep, a bored Naruto sat by the fire with his chin propped in his hand.
From time to time, noises came from the forest — maybe passing beasts, maybe flapping insects.
"It's already past midnight and still no other ninjas. Guess Sasuke and Shinju were just being too cautious," Naruto muttered, glancing back at the two sleeping boys.
He was feeling sleepy himself now.
...
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Training Ground 44.
Three figures wearing Kusagakure forehead protectors moved swiftly through the dense forest.
At the front, a kunoichi from Kusagakure extended a long tongue to lick her lips, a look of anticipation on her face. "A new body... I hope it won't disappoint me."
"My lady, is that kid really worth us coming all this way?" asked Kusagakure Ninja A.
"He's the last of the Uchiha clan — Itachi's younger brother. I don't expect him to have Itachi's strength, but at the very least, his eyes shouldn't be far off," the kunoichi replied.
"I heard there's a new prodigy in Konoha — mastered the S-rank Flying Thunder God Jutsu at only twelve years old. His body..." Ninja B began.
The kunoichi's pupils narrowed into vertical slits like a snake's.
"That red-haired boy? He seems to have Uzumaki blood in him. And he's on the same team as Sasuke, right? Another one worth looking forward to..."
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