Training Ground 44, Hidden Leaf Village.It was early morning. Nearly twenty-four hours had passed since the exam began.
Konoha's Team Seven and the Sand siblings had split into two mixed groups. One group was Naruto, Gaara, and Temari. The other was Sasuke, Sakura, and Kankuro.
The two teams weren't far apart. One had gone to look for food, while the other stayed behind to gather firewood and set up a campfire.
With Naruto's reckless personality, he'd obviously volunteered to find food. And Sasuke's Fire Style made lighting a fire quick and easy…
Judging by the time, Naruto's group should be back soon.
Sasuke's movements suddenly paused. Without making a sound, his eyes shifted toward a certain direction.
Kankuro and Sakura also slowed their actions, quietly sensing the disturbance nearby.
Someone was hiding in the grass some distance away. Judging from the chakra presence, there was only one person. As for the other two teammates—if they weren't already dead, then they were likely lying in ambush somewhere else.
At that moment, the person concealed in the grass stared fixedly at Sasuke's profile. His breathing gradually grew heavier, which only made his position easier to detect.
His gaze was hard to describe—part sorrow, part hatred. His sweaty palms clenched and unclenched around his weapon.
Sasuke exchanged a look with the other two. This person wasn't a threat to them. They just needed to be ready and wait for him to reveal himself.
Sure enough, the one hiding in the grass didn't last long. He suddenly charged out with a blade held straight ahead.
That posture—rather than a ninja, he looked more like a samurai. Especially with that green armor. It looked far too heavy for a shinobi…
"Damn you—Uchiha!!!!"
A childish voice rang out—along with a massive blade nearly as tall as its wielder!
None of them expected the attacker to be a kid, barely older than Konohamaru.
"A kid?!" Ignoring for the moment that "damn Uchiha" comment, Sasuke immediately restrained his strength.
He drew a kunai to parry the blade, then swept the kid's leg, drove his shoulder and elbow forward in one smooth motion, and pinned him to the ground, immobilizing him.
"Urgh—!" The child let out a small whimper.
The oversized sword spun several times in midair before embedding itself in the ground.
The kid struggled fiercely—he was surprisingly strong, enough that Sasuke almost couldn't hold him down. Sasuke pressed harder. A short, sharp cry escaped the child, but he quickly swallowed it back.
There was no need for Sakura or Kankuro to intervene. Sasuke had subdued him alone, to the point where it almost felt like bullying someone smaller.
Looking at the child's half-black, half-white hair, Sasuke frowned. "He can't be an examinee for this Chunin Exam. And he doesn't have a headband from any village."
"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded. "Which village are you from?"
The child roared back, "I don't understand a word you're saying, you damn Uchi—"
Before he could finish, a voice Sasuke knew all too well echoed from above.
"Hey, hey, hey! Sasuke! Getting attacked by an enemy already? See, without me, Uzumaki Naruto-sama, things just don't work out! Hahahaha!"
Naruto's idiotic grin and over-the-top confidence made Sasuke sigh. "You idiot dead last, just who gave you that confidence?"
"Uzumaki?!" The child pinned under Sasuke forced his head up. The morning sun was blinding. Three figures stood on a tree branch, the one speaking clearly at the front.
Backlit by the light, all he could make out through the dappled shadows was that blazing blond hair…
Aren't Uzumaki supposed to have red hair? Why was this one such an eye-searing gold?
The three jumped down from the tree, finally seeing each other clearly.
Naruto shouted noisily, "What the heck, it's just a kid! Sasuke, you're bullying a kid now, dattebayo!"
"Idiot Naruto!" Sakura snapped. "That kid suddenly ran out and attacked us! Right, Sasuke-kun~?" Her voice rose at the end, sharp and girlish, clearly eager for Sasuke to agree.
Naruto's face instantly fell. "Ahhh—Sakura~! You're taking that jerk Sasuke's side again~~"
"Why…" The child seemed to be suppressing his rage with all his might. "Why have you Uzumaki fallen in with the Uchiha?!!" His accusatory voice trembled with fear. "When did the Uzumaki clan form an alliance with the Uchiha clan?! When exactly did it happen?!!"
No wonder he'd returned to the clan grounds and couldn't find his father or his older brother!
No wonder the villagers who had been revived had never even heard of the Senju clan!!
Had the Uzumaki clan betrayed the Senju?!
Then where was his father? His brother?! Where had all his Senju clansmen gone?!
…
Sasuke and Naruto both froze, completely lost. An alliance between the Uzumaki and the Uchiha? What was he even talking about?
Without his weapon, and given how small he was, the kid clearly couldn't cause much trouble. Sasuke released him.
Naruto hurried a few steps toward the child. "Y-You said… the Uzumaki clan?"Other than him, was there really someone else with the surname Uzumaki in this world?
Did that mean… he might still have family alive somewhere out there?!
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