"…Good, we made it. We're not late, are we?"
As a gust of wind swept leaves across the arena, two figures flickered into view.
Holding his ever-present Icha Icha Paradise, Kakashi spoke casually to the unflinching Genma, who hadn't even widened his eyes at their sudden arrival.
"If you'd been a few seconds later, your student would have been disqualified," Genma replied bluntly, familiar enough with Kakashi, the Fourth Hokage's student, that he showed no courtesy.
"Then we're right on time."
Closing his book, Kakashi looked to Uchiha Sasuke with a faint smile. "It's up to you now, Sasuke."
"Don't worry. I'll win for sure."
As Gaara emerged from the competitor's tunnel, Sasuke's lips curled in confidence.
He had not witnessed Rock Lee's earlier fight with Gaara. Over the past month, Sasuke had mastered Lee's speed and taijutsu techniques, added the cellular stimulation of Lightning Release, and even completed the A-rank jutsu Chidori. His confidence was swelling to new heights.
Once Kakashi departed and Gaara arrived, the main event finally began.
Haruma couldn't help but notice that even though Lee had never interacted with Team 7, he still couldn't escape the cruel sting of Sasuke.
Watching Kakashi use the sharingan to copy and then pass on to Sasuke the speed and techniques Lee had bled and sweated for years to master, only for Sasuke to replicate them in a month, was crushing.
The Rock Lee who now couldn't even be a proper shinobi, whose sole belief was that "hard work can surpass genius," felt his heart shatter.
Perhaps effort could not surpass genius after all. Perhaps it had always been a delusion.
Watching Sasuke achieve in one month what had taken him two years of gruelling labour, Lee clenched his bandaged fists so tightly that blood seeped through without him realising.
If Haruma had seen this scene, he would have sighed. "When I first crossed into this world, my despair was even deeper than yours."
Lee did not know the truth of this world.
At least he had tried.
At least he had grasped one of the three great techniques of the shinobi world. Perhaps in the future, like his master, he too could open the Eight Gates and earn recognition from a being of Six Paths level.
But Haruma, who understood the truth, saw no hope at all.
In this world where the final great battles belonged only to the Otsutsuki, where merely mastering Sage Arts or one of the three great techniques gave you the right to breathe, even a Kage-level shinobi was nothing more than advanced cannon fodder.
And for ordinary people to reach Kage level, or to obtain the three great techniques? Almost impossible.
If not for that mysterious bead, granting him his limitless devouring cheat, Haruma would have long since given up, simply waiting to see if he could survive Shippuden and die sometime during the idiocy of Boruto.
This world truly was one of bloodline supremacy.
Mimicking Lee's speed and techniques from the preliminaries, Sasuke gained the upper hand.
Unwilling to endure the same passive beating as before, Gaara enveloped himself in his Sand Shield and then projected his third eye, hiding within his sphere of sand while controlling it to attack.
When Sasuke's Fire Release failed to break through, he didn't panic. Instead, he smirked, then sprinted up the arena's towering wall.
Reaching the top, Sasuke formed seals. His right hand erupted in a shrill chorus of birdsong, a sphere of blue lightning sparking wildly.
Then, in a dive, Sasuke dragged his arm across the wall, leaving a furrow in his wake as he launched himself straight toward Gaara's sand sphere.
His lightning-charged hand pierced the sand shield, and a cry of pain came from within.
At that exact moment, hidden among the spectators, Kabuto, disguised as an ANBU, formed seals and unleashed an A-rank genjutsu,
"Genjutsu: Temple of Nirvana!"
Instantly, white feathers began to drift down from the sky like snow.
Spectators who had been cheering Sasuke's Chidori suddenly felt their eyelids grow heavy, and one by one, they collapsed into slumber.
Within moments, every civilian was unconscious. Even many shinobi, unprepared for the sudden drowsiness invading their minds, quickly succumbed.
"Release!"
Only those with strong Yin chakra or sharp reflexes formed seals in time, disrupting their chakra flow and dispelling the fatigue.
Among them were Haruma, Shikamaru, Shino, Ino and Hinata, whose Byakugan could see through illusions.
From Teams 8 and 10, only Choji failed, falling fast asleep.
Oh, and nearby, Naruto too.
Swish, swish
The five who dispelled the illusion immediately noticed Temari and Kankuro vanish in a flicker, reappearing beside Gaara, breaking open the sand sphere and carrying their brother away.
At the same time, countless spectators suddenly dropped their disguises, revealing themselves in shinobi uniforms with different forehead protectors.
Those of the Sand and Sound villages.
From the VIP stands, the "Fourth Kazekage," who had been seated beside the Third Hokage, appeared behind him in an instant. One hand clamped around the Hokage's neck, the other pressing a kunai to his temple, holding him hostage.
Haruma and his companions exchanged glances, their eyes speaking as if through windows of the soul, "Something's gone terribly wrong!"
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Haruma leapt back, forming a seal. Three plumes of smoke erupted, concealing even his true body.
Swish, swish, swish
Three shadow clones shot out from the smoke, blurring like afterimages. They bolted from the competitors' stand, moving even faster than most jonin, reaching the rooftop in moments before vanishing.
"I've sent clones outside to scout the situation," Haruma explained once the smoke cleared, his face grave. "I can sense massive chakra surges out there. For now, don't leave the plaza. Let's find Kakashi-sensei and wait for orders from the jonin."
"Right." Shikamaru and the others nodded, equally grim.
At the very moment the smoke had appeared, Haruma had swapped places with one of his clones using Body Flicker, speeding back to his home.
In the living room, a stray cat crouched beside a scroll.
When Haruma entered through the balcony, the cat dispersed into smoke, it was one of his clones left behind in disguise.
"Release"
Picking up the scroll, Haruma shut the curtains, opened it, and withdrew its contents.
From within the storage seal emerged a corpse.
If Shikamaru and the others had been present, they would have recognised him instantly: their examiner from the preliminaries one month ago, Gekko.
By this time, Gekko had long since been killed and buried in the graveyard.
So why had Haruma gone to the trouble of having his clones steal Gekko's body, rather than that of some more important figure?
The answer was only one word,
Caution.