The sound of snapping branches beneath their feet was their only constant companion.
Four figures moved through the trees, swift shadows barely skimming the ground.
The forest of the Land of Fire stretched out endlessly, saturating the air with the scent of damp earth and fresh sap.
Arata kept pace behind Dosu, but his mind wandered. Each step brought him closer to Konoha… and to the events he remembered with painful clarity.
The attack during the exams, the chaos, the deaths.
Everything he had once watched from behind a screen in his original world now loomed on the horizon like a real storm.
Yet, a single thought had been circling in his mind since their departure.
"Dosu," he finally said, breaking the long silence.
"Can I ask you a question?"
The boy with the facial bandages didn't look back.
"Speak."
"Shinobi teams are usually three people, right?" Arata leaped onto a higher branch, keeping his eyes on the leader.
"Then… why are we four?"
For a moment, there was no reply.
Only the sound of the wind through the leaves.
Finally, Dosu spoke.
"Our team is three. You are a temporary addition."
Arata frowned.
"Temporary?"
"Exactly." This time it was Kin who responded, glancing back at him with a flicker of curiosity. "Orochimaru-sama assigned us a primary mission: to participate in the exams. But there are… other operations in motion.
You will be part of one of them."
Zaku snorted from the front.
"In short, you're not officially part of the group. You're only here because Orochimaru-sama wants you in Konoha. Nothing more."
Arata observed him in silence.
"And who am I supposed to be with?"
"Two Sound members already infiltrated in Konoha," Dosu explained in his monotone. "They will operate separately during the exam, but will report to us when they receive orders."
The wind whistled softly through the trees.
So that's the plan, Arata thought. An extra reinforcement… a 'fourth member' without truly belonging to the core team.
His mind immediately raced to what he remembered from the canon.
In the anime and manga, the Sound team was always three: Dosu, Zaku, and Kin. There was no fourth.
If Orochimaru had added him now, it meant that…
something had already changed.
For a moment, a spike of anxiety pierced him.
Could his mere existence alter the course of events?
What if Orochimaru made different decisions, if Gaara acted out of turn, if the exams concluded prematurely?
The butterfly effect.
One small deviation, and everything could come crashing down.
Kin watched him out of the corner of her eye, noting his prolonged silence.
"What are you thinking about so hard, Arata?" she asked with a barely perceptible smile. "You've seemed… distant since we left Otogakure."
Arata reacted slowly, forcing a faint smile.
"Nothing important. Just trying to anticipate what might happen."
"Don't think about it so much," Zaku said, leaping from one branch to another with agility. "Just worry about not getting in the way when we arrive."
Dosu cut in without looking back.
"Enough. Don't lose focus. Konoha is closer than you think.
Stay alert."
The group continued on, but Dosu's comment made them all heighten their attention.
The landscape began to change: the trees grew taller, the air cleaner, the birdsong more present.
The atmosphere held a deceptive calm, a stillness that starkly contrasted with what Arata knew awaited them beyond the border.
As they advanced, his mind kept reviewing details.
Land of Fire… Konoha… arriving should place us around episode twenty-one. The preliminary exam, the encounter with the other teams… Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Gaara, Lee…
It all fit. It was all proceeding on schedule.
But he was the odd piece, the one that didn't belong on this board.
His fingers unconsciously brushed the edge of his Sound headband.
To what extent can I act without breaking the script?
If he preempted an event or made a wrong move, would it change anything?
Or would fate simply readjust everything to maintain the balance of the canon?
Kin looked at him again, more serious this time.
"You really are strange," she said, her tone neutral. "You don't talk like the others. You don't even seem excited to be entering Konoha."
Arata shrugged.
"Let's just say I'm not thrilled to be walking into a battlefield."
She arched an eyebrow, intrigued.
"A battlefield? It's just an exam."
Arata looked at her for a second.
"Right… just an exam," he repeated, a hint of irony in his voice.
Kin didn't understand the implication, but Zaku let out a short laugh.
"This guy's broken. Orochimaru must've picked him for that."
Dosu, without turning, murmured:
"Quiet. The valley is in sight. Beyond it, Konoha."
The group descended from the branches. The forest opened into a wide clearing, revealing a chain of hills.
Beyond them, in the distance, rose the walls of Konoha, majestic under the fading afternoon light.
The shadows of the mountains stretched over the village, and leaves from the trees drifted softly on the breeze.
Arata stopped for a moment.
There it was.
The Village Hidden in the Leaves.
The place where everything he remembered would begin to unfold before his very eyes.
And for the first time, the weight of destiny struck him with perfect clarity.
He was not a spectator.
Not anymore.
He took a deep breath, letting the air, thick with natural chakra, flow through his body.
The future he knew was about to begin… but this time, with a new piece on the board.
The path descended in a gentle slope, and with each step, the sound of the forest transformed.
First came the insects, then the murmur of water, and finally… human voices.
Konoha was alive.
Arata lifted his gaze.
Before him stretched the Village Hidden in the Leaves, bathed in a warm light filtered through the trees.
The walls were tall, imposing, yet not oppressive. Beyond them, he could make out the curved rooftops, the food stalls, the banners waving with the leaf symbol, and on the horizon, carved into the mountainside, the faces of the Hokage.
For a moment, Arata forgot to breathe.
It was Konoha.
Not an illustration, not an animated scene, not an image on a screen.
It was real. The air, the smell of ramen, the bustle of the villagers, the golden glow on the rooftops. Everything.
A mixture of awe and nostalgia washed over him.
For years, this world had been his refuge… and now he was walking within it.
"Welcome to the Village Hidden in the Leaves," Dosu said, devoid of emotion, as if the place meant nothing.
"Remember Orochimaru-sama's orders: maintain a low profile. We must not attract attention."
Zaku nodded.
"I know. We go in, complete the mission, and get out."
Kin looked around, a barely contained smile on her lips.
"I have to admit though… it doesn't look so bad."
Arata said nothing. He just kept walking, his gaze lost among the streets.
Villagers passed by them, suspecting nothing. Shinobi with Konoha headbands walked with confidence, vendors shouted their wares, and the air smelled of life.
It was hard to imagine that, in a few weeks, this very place would be a stage for chaos.
The group proceeded to a discreet inn on the edges of the commercial district.
It was an old wooden building, with a paper lantern hanging by the entrance.
Dosu stopped.
"Here."
Inside, the atmosphere was dim, lit only by a few candles.
Behind a desk, a man with a gaunt face and a sharp gaze greeted them with a nod.
His voice was soft, almost too soft.
"We've been expecting you."
From a side door emerged two youths.
They wore Sound headbands, though their clothes were simpler, less militaristic. One had short, grey hair and a calm expression; the other, a girl with honey-colored eyes and a braid that fell to her chest.
The man who had greeted them spoke:
"This is Rei and Tsubaki, genin of the Sound assigned to secondary operations within Konoha.
From now on, Arata, you will be integrated into their unit."
Arata nodded respectfully.
"Understood."
He observed them discreetly.
Rei seemed disciplined, his posture straight and his chakra stable—likely a sensor or a tactician.
Tsubaki, however, had something hidden in her gaze; a nervous spark, perhaps a slight anxiety about the mission.
Dosu crossed his arms.
"They will participate as another Sound team in the exams. We will handle the primary plan."
Arata felt a knot tighten in his stomach.
Another team…
In the canon, that didn't exist.
Only three groups were involved with Orochimaru: his (Dosu, Kin, and Zaku), Kabuto's, and the one Orochimaru himself infiltrated after killing Shiore.
And now… there was a fourth.
A new one.
It's already changed.
The thought struck him like a jolt of electricity.
Every word, every move, every decision Orochimaru made from this point forward could have different repercussions.
What if the presence of an additional team alerted Konoha?
What if Anko discovered them prematurely?
What if Gaara reacted differently in the second phase?
Arata lowered his gaze to hide his concern.
I can't do anything. Just observe… for now.
"From this point forward, you will remain with them," Dosu said, interrupting his thoughts.
"We will see you before the exam begins. Until then, maintain discretion."
Arata nodded.
"Yes, understood."
Dosu turned to leave, followed by Kin and Zaku.
Before crossing the threshold, Kin shot him a fleeting glance, something between a farewell and a warning.
Then they were gone, swallowed by the shadows.
Silence filled the room.
Rei was the first to speak.
"Don't worry. We're not much for talking. As long as you do your part, there won't be any problems."
Tsubaki, on the other hand, offered him a kind smile.
"Orochimaru-sama said you were new. Don't worry, Konoha isn't that dangerous… yet."
Arata forced a faint smile.
"Thank you… I'll do what I must."
As they spoke, his mind continued to race.
Four infiltrated teams.
That was a significant deviation from the original flow.
And though the change seemed small, he knew it was the small cracks that eventually brought down the sturdiest walls.
Rei stood, picking up a rolled map from the table.
"Get some rest. Tomorrow we'll scout the area. The exams begin in two days."
Arata nodded and headed towards the small room assigned to him.
Closing the door, he leaned his back against the wall and let out a long sigh.
Konoha, the village of his dreams, the symbol of everything he had loved about the anime…
And yet, here he was, an impostor who could destroy it all just by existing.
He sank onto the futon, staring at the wooden ceiling.
The distant murmur of the village reached him faintly, mingled with the chirping of crickets.
For the first time since his arrival, he felt true fear.
The canon had deviated.
And the sound of that change… was louder than ever.