Chapter 21: A Lifelong Rival? (Part Two)
The second stage of the joint Chunin Exams ran for four days. For most genin, the Forest of Death was exactly what its name promised: a place where the wildlife alone, the predators and the poisonous insects, could end a career or a life. Factor in enemy ninja actively hunting for scrolls, and collecting both the Heaven and Earth scrolls became a genuine ordeal.
Which made what Furukawa Osamu had done in five hours and seven minutes all the more absurd.
Word had spread through the Konoha contingent the moment the Central Tower reported his time, and the reaction was somewhere between disbelief and outright celebration. The number was ridiculous, obviously. But the more ridiculous it was, the clearer the message it sent.
* * *
In the Central Tower, Orochimaru leaned against the upper railing with an expression that barely qualified as composed. He watched the scene below with visible excitement, and at some point stopped fighting his own impulse entirely, his tongue sliding out to wet his lips.
"It looks like you don't know your own student as well as you thought, Tsunade." His voice carried its usual low rasp, unhurried and faintly amused. "That Body Flicker technique, you haven't been teaching him that, have you?"
He tilted his head slightly. "What a shame I couldn't see his ninjutsu talent up close."
Tsunade had been watching him. She couldn't put words to it precisely, but something about Orochimaru felt different these days, an undercurrent she couldn't name, and it put a crease between her brows.
"Talented ninja are common," she said flatly. "Talented ninja who die in wars are more common." She crossed her arms, her jonin vest shifting with the movement. "Orochimaru, Osamu's talent belongs in medical ninjutsu. The village needs ninja who can hold a field operation together on their own. Build the right infrastructure, and you save more lives than any amount of combat ability ever could."
She meant it, and her expression made that clear. The last thing she wanted was Orochimaru planting ideas.
Orochimaru smiled, that faint, dark curve that didn't quite reach his eyes. He didn't seem bothered by her stare at all.
"Perhaps you're right," he said. "But in the end, Osamu will walk the same path I have."
"Understanding the truth of the world, for anyone with real talent, no one can resist that pull forever." He paused, something almost fervent surfacing in his expression. "Tsunade. Eternal life is real. You'll see it for yourself one day."
* * *
The second stage ended officially not long after, and the participants who had survived the forest emerged into the light looking like they'd earned every bruise. Some were covered in wounds. Some simply sat down where they stood and couldn't get back up.
When the Konoha jonin in charge of the examination stepped forward and announced that the written test scores from the first stage would factor into the elimination, a portion of the genin who had made it through the forest went pale. One voice broke from the crowd.
"I already passed the second stage. Why are you eliminating us based on the first stage?"
Silence answered him.
"If you want a chunin promotion recognized by Konoha," the jonin said, his voice carrying without effort, "you do it on our terms." He surveyed the crowd, unhurried. "Consider yourselves lucky the scores weren't announced after one-on-one elimination matches. I don't want to hear another word of protest."
There was no mistaking the pride underneath the steel. Konoha set the rules. That was simply how things were.
At the front of the group, Furukawa Osamu stood quietly, arms at his sides, looking as though he had spent the last several days on a rest trip rather than clearing Training Ground 44 in record time. No dust on his clothes, no strain around his eyes. The genin behind him kept stealing glances in his direction, and more than a few of them came away with something uneasy on their faces.
A short distance back, Uchiha Inabi stood with the remnants of the fight still visible on him. He didn't know the specifics of what had happened to the other villages' squads, only that the surviving Kumogakure and Sunagakure ninja couldn't seem to bring themselves to look up. His gaze traveled across the crowd and settled on Furukawa Osamu. He studied the younger boy for a moment with calm, appraising eyes.
That one was probably going to be a problem.
The Konoha jonin finished his address and gestured toward the large screen that had been set up behind him. Names began to appear.
"Furukawa Osamu versus Maki." The jonin's voice went up slightly, enthusiasm bleeding through professionalism. "Both participants, please take the field."
Furukawa Osamu glanced up at the railing above the arena, where Tsunade stood with her arms folded, and gave a small nod before stepping forward at an easy pace. He had barely reached the center of the arena when a voice broke from somewhere behind him.
"I... I forfeit."
Maki had one arm raised, barely. The effort it took was obvious, and when she caught the look on her jonin leader's face, something like shame pulled her gaze to the ground. Then she drew a breath and forced her voice louder.
"I won't forget what you did to me, Furukawa Osamu." The words came out ragged but deliberate. "I'm naming you my rival for life. We'll meet again eventually, I swear it."
"So your name is Maki."
Furukawa Osamu's voice was perfectly even. Maki looked up automatically, and found an expression on his opponent's face that was somewhere between amused and curious, as though the name had simply not registered before now.
The humiliation was worse than the injuries. Maki's chest locked up. She couldn't breathe properly. Everything went dark before she finished deciding how to respond, she was unconscious before hitting the ground.
The Konoha ninja in the viewing area barely managed to hold it together. The jonin presiding over the match had gone red in the face, still visibly delighted, and he didn't spare a glance at the Sunagakure delegation before raising his voice.
"The winner, Furukawa Osamu!"
By the time the words landed, Furukawa Osamu was already gone from the arena floor. He reappeared at the upper railing in the same instant, stepping in beside Tsunade as though he had simply taken a short walk. She looked at him with a faint smile.
"Not bad," she said.
The matches that followed were, by comparison, a letdown. What remained was effectively a Konoha internal affair, the other villages having run out of genuine contenders. That was the point. The joint exam had never been only about promotion. It was a demonstration, and the demonstration had gone exactly as intended.
* * *
By late June, the exam results had circulated through the village, helped along by deliberate word from the higher-ups. Most ordinary citizens who heard them looked up from whatever they were doing with something unmistakably proud on their faces.
Konoha ninja were the strongest. Everyone knew it now.
* * *
The final assessment was held in a circular arena, its walls curved inward in a continuous sweep, the ceiling above open and high. The stands had filled early. Daimyo from several nations had gathered in one section, representatives from the major hidden villages in another, and among the rest of the crowd moved a handful of people whose interests were harder to place.
At the very top sat the Third Hokage. Large public events like this were rare enough that even Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to be enjoying himself, the sound of cheering drawing a genuine smile to his weathered face.
Up in the stands, Uchiha Obito had taken it upon himself to explain things.
"I don't personally like Inabi," he said, voice carrying that familiar earnest authority, "but two-tomoe Sharingan can see through anything. The clan's jonin have been working with him one-on-one, you know." He gestured at the field below and then, seemingly unable to help himself, pointed to his own eyes. "At this age, it's basically impossible to beat the Sharingan. And once I awaken mine, I'll catch up to everyone in no time."
Nobody responded.
* * *
In the arena, the presiding jonin called the match.
Uchiha Inabi moved immediately. Three shuriken left his hand on the same breath as the call, aimed without hesitation at Furukawa Osamu's center mass. His Sharingan opened in the same motion, the tomoe settling into focus, and his feet found the spacing that told anyone watching he was fully comfortable fighting at close range.
Both of them wore black training clothes. The shuriken cracked against kunai and sparks scattered, drawing noise from the crowd.
They closed the distance fast, steel ringing against steel, and Inabi read the exchange well enough to pull back and create space. His confidence was genuine.
"Brute strength?" he said. "It doesn't matter in front of these eyes. I can see every single move you make."
He tried to draw Furukawa Osamu's gaze toward his own, shifting his grip and preparing to press forward again.
Furukawa Osamu disappeared.
Inabi's pupils contracted. He threw his arms up in a guard on instinct, but the force that connected with his jaw was nothing like what he'd braced for. The impact traveled through him completely, and he was airborne before his mind caught up to what had happened, blood leaving his mouth in a spray as he went up.
Dust rose from the crater in the arena floor. Furukawa Osamu was gone again before it cleared.
In midair, Inabi felt something close around his arm. Then the world started spinning. He heard himself shout, a raw, involuntary sound wrenched out by the rotation.
The ground came up fast. The jonin at the sideline moved without hesitation, forming seals in a fraction of a second, and the arena floor turned to soft mud directly beneath Inabi's trajectory.
He hit it headfirst and didn't move.
For a moment the arena was nearly silent. Then the crowd found its voice all at once.
The presiding jonin didn't hesitate. He turned toward the younger combatant still standing on the field and raised his voice.
"The winner, Furukawa Osamu!"
Up in the stands, Might Guy came off his seat entirely. He was on his feet cheering, both fists pumping, nearly bouncing off the people around him. The crowd picked up the applause around him. Kakashi watched the arena for a moment, then turned toward Obito, whose eyes had gone completely blank.
"Eyes that can see clearly," Kakashi said simply, "and a body that can't keep up."
He looked back at the field.
"Don't measure Osamu by your own standards."