Fuu never imagined she would experience a day like this. The air was crisp, carrying the scent of trees and soil, a smell utterly unlike anything in her home village of Takigakure.
She was a small kunoichi with tanned skin and orange eyes, and she was now seeing a completely new world.
All her life, Shibuki-sama and her father had told her that the outside world was dangerous. The only safe place for her was within the village walls. But now, Takigakure was behind her, and no one had stopped her from leaving.
Fuu's life had changed in an instant. One day, Shibuki was no longer the village head, and his place had been taken by a red-haired woman named Kaori, someone Fuu had never seen in Takigakure before.
The people of Takigakure had always been like a family, and the village had a friendly atmosphere, but Kaori quickly imposed new rules and changed the face of the village. She categorized the Takigakure Genin and placed each group under different training regimens. Individuals were expected to follow the rules based on their duties, and no one, including Fuu, received special treatment anymore.
As a result, for the first time, Fuu was allowed to form a team with other kids. Now she was part of a three-person team: Uzumaki Karin, who seemed to be Kaori's daughter, and a surly boy named Zwei. Fuu didn't really understand Zwei; he only paid attention to two people: a long-haired girl who looked like him named eins and Karin.
Before Kaori became leader, an invitation from Konoha had arrived at Takigakure. As the head, Shibuki had intended to send a combined team of twelve of the best Chunin and Genin to the exams.
But Kaori had taken the position of Takigakure's head before the teams were sent, and she stopped the plan. She announced that instead of twelve Genin, she would only send three people to the Konoha Chunin Exams: the very team Fuu was on. Shibuki was also chosen as the team's Jonin sensei to accompany them.
Of course, this was only the outward appearance of the mission. Before the team departed, Kaori summoned them and gave them two letters. One for Shibuki and one for Karin, and then she said: "This is your secret mission in Konoha! When you arrive, you must follow it to the letter! The mission level is S-rank. Under no circumstances should anyone outside the mission know the details. Do you understand?"
And now, the four of them were on their way to Konoha.
"Hey! Maybe we should take a break! Fuu, don't get so far ahead of everyone!"
Shibuki kept looking around, and his voice was filled with a sense of fear and insecurity.
Fuu, clearly excited, turned back and said: "Why? Is someone tired? Konoha shouldn't be too far, right?"
Shibuki said in a logical tone: "Konoha isn't far, but we need to conserve enough energy for when we enter Konoha... You're not going to Konoha for fun. You have to understand that the Chunin Exams are very dangerous!"
Hearing this, Zwei sneered and said in a calm, cold voice: "Dangerous? If we get scared of a simple exam as ninjas, we might as well quit being ninjas altogether."
Shibuki, who seemed pleased by his words, replied: "That's great! Let's just go back to Takigakure! I'll talk to Kaori-sama. Let's just quit being ninjas! After all, it's a dangerous job! Nothing is worth a person's life!"
Zwei's thick-framed, circular glasses covered his eyes, but everyone could still see the cold glint that passed through them: "Sensei! If you want to go back, go alone. Our team isn't returning unless it's in a coffin!"
Shibuki, visibly offended, replied: "Hey! I'm not talking about myself! You don't understand... When major villages like Konoha hold the Chunin Exams, the Genin from smaller villages are just cannon fodder! Most of the people whose lives are in danger are you guys! I'm just worried about you!"
Karin rolled her eyes and, as she adjusted her red-framed glasses, said: "Sensei, don't be so dramatic! It's just an exam. You don't have to act like a coward."
Then she turned to Zwei and continued: "You also need to try to talk to Sensei properly. After all, he's accompanying us on this trip as our teacher and guide. Without him, we won't be allowed to participate in the Konoha Chunin Exams."
Zwei silently scowled and gave no response. Instead, he kept his gaze fixed on the path ahead.
Shibuki shook his head in frustration.
He firmly believed that the world of ninjas was one where the strong crushed the weak. A world where, if you were weak, it was better to hide at home and let the powerful destroy each other.
While Konoha outwardly presented itself as a peaceful and kind village, inwardly, its ninjas were just as dangerous as the other great powers—perhaps even the most dangerous of them all.
He thought to himself, Why did we have to travel all this way to Konoha just to participate in the Chunin Exams? When I suggested twelve people, they were all Chunin-level themselves, and I wasn't even supposed to come on this trip. But Kaori-sama messed everything up... I really hope nothing happens, especially with this strange mission she's given me.
He then secretly glanced at the scroll that had been entrusted to him.
Fuu, oblivious to the grumbling and the tension between Shibuki and Zwei, happily jumped from tree to tree. She turned to Karin: "Hey... hey... Karin-chan, how much longer until we get to Konoha? How much longer?"
Karin glanced at the sky and said: "I think we'll get there in an hour or two. We're very close to Konoha."
Hearing Karin's words, Fuu jumped off the branch and landed next to the others: "Hey, hey, Karin-chan, have you ever been to Konoha before? What's it like? Is it big?"
Before answering Fuu, Karin glanced at Zwei and replied: "No, I've never been inside Konoha before, but Zwei has..."
Zwei turned his head and said angrily: "Hey!..."
It was clear that Zwei didn't want Karin to tell Fuu anything about his past.
Zwei turned to Fuu and said: "Stop jumping around so much. You'll see it yourself when we get to Konoha... Instead of asking questions, conserve some energy. I don't want to fail the Chunin Exams because of an incompetent teammate."
Fuu stuck her tongue out: "When the time comes, you'll see who's incompetent! I'll show you I'm much stronger than you!"
Zwei smirked: "Heh! We'll see about that!"
Karin sighed inwardly. Before the trip, her mother had asked her to study Fuu's and Zwei's abilities as the leader of the three-person group. They had different skills. Zwei was more of an attacker whose primary abilities were in Taijutsu and the fire element. Fuu, however, was more like herself—a sensory ninja with a lot of support capabilities, although she could also create amazing traps with her unique skills. Karin herself was considered a medical ninja. The combination, in her opinion, was excellent, but she didn't know if the other participants were just as good or stronger. Everything would be revealed during the exam.