"Wait a minute!"
Just as Gaara was about to leave with Temari and Kankuro, Sasuke suddenly leapt out from the shadows.
"Judging from the headbands, you're shinobi from the Sand Village, right? Even if we're allies, the treaty says ninja from different nations can't cross borders without permission…"
His eyes narrowed. "So why are you here? If you can't explain, I can't let you go."
This line should have been Sakura's. After all, she already knew from the harem chat group about the joint Chunin Exams being held two months later.
But here was Sasuke, cutting in instead.
Maybe it was because he hadn't had any chance to show off earlier, so now he wanted the spotlight?
"Hmph! Don't you even know?" Temari scoffed, turning to show her official pass. "Look closely. We're genin from Sunagakure here to participate in the Chunin Selection Exams!"
"Chunin… what?" Naruto blinked in confusion.
Temari sighed. Great. If she got mistaken for a spy, this would waste even more time.
She opened her mouth to explain—
Whack!
Sakura smacked Naruto on the head.
"Idiot! The Chunin Selection Exams are… blah blah blah… and that's how it works!" She rattled off the explanation, proud to flaunt her "knowledge."
Of course, she only knew thanks to the chat group.
Team 7 had been left in the dark thanks to Kakashi's laid-back, unreliable teaching style.
Meanwhile, students in Teams 8 and 10 all came from major clans and had been preparing for months already.
Only Sasuke had been paying attention.
Naruto just yelled that he wanted to join too, while the rest of Team 7 lagged behind.
"Hey. What's your name?" Sasuke asked Gaara, masking his earlier slip with a new question.
"…Gaara of the Sand." Gaara's gaze slid toward him. "And you? I'm interested in you as well. What's your name?"
"Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke's lips curled into a faint smirk, basking in the cool moment.
+1 to his self-satisfaction score.
"What about me? What about me?" Naruto piped up, pushing into the conversation.
"Not interested." Gaara shut him down instantly before his eyes turned to Itsuki.
In Sasuke, Gaara sensed a loneliness that echoed his own. That piqued his curiosity.
With Itsuki, it was different. That sudden display of strength earlier had been enough to make Gaara wary.
But Itsuki didn't even seem to notice Gaara's gaze. He was leaned over, whispering something to Karin.
"Forget it. Let's go." Gaara turned away. He wasn't in a hurry.
Before leaving, Temari glanced back at Itsuki with a teasing smile. "Hey, handsome—what's your name?"
"Me?" Itsuki blinked, then chuckled. "Itsuki."
"I'm Temari!" she called back, cheeks faintly pink.
Gaara paused for half a step. The sand in his gourd rustled ominously, then stilled.
The Sand trio departed.
Karin quickly clung tighter to Itsuki's arm, whispering, "I'll grow my hair out. I'll make it long and soft!"
Earlier, she had asked if Itsuki liked Temari's hairstyle.
He'd shrugged it off as just interesting, and said he actually preferred soft, flowing hair.
Now she was determined.
"Hey, Itsuki."
Sasuke's voice came sharp, almost challenging. "Are you taking part in the Chunin Exams too?"
"Probably not… well, maybe." Itsuki paused mid-sentence, remembering.
As an Anbu member, he technically couldn't take part openly.
But if he used the [Fabrication System] to forge a plausible "future," the system itself would supply him with a reason to be present.
That way, he wouldn't miss out on the event.
It had been a while since he fabricated anything. Maybe this was the time.
Seeing Itsuki hesitate, Sasuke clicked his tongue and started to turn away—
"Sasuke!" Itsuki suddenly called out. "You're a Leo, right?"
"…What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Sasuke frowned. Were the Chunin Exams sorted by zodiac sign now?
"Nope." Itsuki shook his head with a grin. "I'm a Cancer, older than you. So that makes you… my younger brother!"
Pffft—
Several people burst into laughter.
Sasuke's face darkened immediately. Without another word, he bolted away, furious.
"Well, I'm a Gemini!" Karin raised her hand proudly. She was a few days older than Itsuki.
So technically, that made him her little brother.
"I'm an Aries!" Sakura added smugly, hands on her hips. She was three months older than Itsuki.
So he was her little brother too.
Ino stayed quiet. Being younger than Sakura by half a year, she had no ground to stand on.
Hinata shrank into the corner—she had been born at the very end of the year.
Naruto, after a long moment of finger-counting, realized he was only older than Hinata.
His face crumpled in despair.
"What are you all doing?" Itsuki groaned. "Who cares about age comparisons? I was being serious. Sasuke really is my younger brother."
"Eh?!" Everyone froze.
Itsuki explained calmly. "My late mother was Sasuke's aunt. Which makes him my cousin. And technically, my little brother."
"What?!" Shock rippled through the group.
Sakura, Ino, and Karin suddenly understood. So that's why Itsuki awakened the Sharingan…
"What about me?!" Naruto rushed up, hopeful eyes wide.
Itsuki sighed. Why is he everywhere?
Still, seeing Naruto's expression, he couldn't bring himself to crush him.
After a pause, he said, "Well… my ancestors also had Uzumaki blood. So you could say we're distant relatives."
Naruto's eyes lit up like fireworks. "Awesome! I have family now! And if that's true, then Sasuke and I are brothers too!"
Itsuki almost choked. Is he happier about having family… or being Sasuke's brother?
Honestly, there was no need for complicated ties. Those two were already brothers in everything but blood.
"Brother Naruto, you're so lame," Konohamaru muttered, suddenly embarrassed to have him as a role model.
But Naruto didn't care. As long as he believed it, that was enough.
"Wait a second!" Naruto turned toward Karin. "Didn't you just say your last name's Uzumaki too?!"
"You just noticed? Slow as ever," Karin sneered.
Now I understood why Sakura liked punching him all the time.
Naruto's grin widened as he stepped closer, excitement all over his face—
"Stop right there." Itsuki cut him off with a glare. "What's the point of digging into that? Do you even know who your parents are?"
The joy drained from Naruto's face instantly, replaced by quiet pain.
He didn't.
He had no clue who his parents were. And even if he shared the same surname as Karin, how could he claim family ties without knowing?
Itsuki winced inwardly. Maybe he'd been too harsh.
He sighed, patted Naruto's shoulder, and changed the subject.
"Forget it. I've got nothing else today. Let's all go eat ramen. My treat."
Naruto's eyes lit up again like a switch had been flipped. "Ramen?! Long live Itsuki!"
The gloom disappeared as fast as it came.
He had lived without parents since birth. But ramen—ramen was family enough.
Of course ramen was more important.
...
Author's Note:
The full completed version of Konoha Harem Chat Group: I Can Fabricate the Future (Completed) is now on Patreon!
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