Peace was unquestionably a word people longed for deeply.
Because it symbolized a stable life. It symbolized freedom from the fear of being caught in the crossfire and dying inexplicably in one's sleep. It symbolized the ability to pursue the future boldly, instead of curling up in some hole with knees hugged to the chest like a beaten stray, trembling in terror.
Anyone who had experienced war would absolutely never hope to encounter it again within their lifetime.
Because for humanity, war was the worst thing there was, bar none.
Unfortunately, peace did not come without a price either.
The world's notion of fairness was as cold and impersonal as a set of balance weights. Peace was a good thing for the overwhelming majority of people, but... there were also some who pursued war, even people who existed for the sake of war. To them, peace was actually unfair.
Samurai, ronin, arms merchants, shinobi, gladiators, politicians, and so on...
Those people could almost be described as beings who fed themselves by licking the blood from the blade of war.
Even if large-scale wars could no longer easily erupt without clear benefits at stake, the shadow of war—competition—had never left the human world.
"As all of you already know, official registration for this year's Chunin Exams has begun."
Standing before his students, Hatake Kakashi wore a rare serious expression. The white-haired Jonin swept his gaze over the three of them, and a trace of solemn warning entered his voice. "As your teacher, I'm pleased by how strong you've become. But that is not a reason to lower your guard. The Chunin Exams aren't a competition held only among shinobi from our own village. They gather large numbers of Genin from other hidden villages into a test famous for its brutality. In other words... there is a possibility that you could die."
Kakashi's warning did have some effect. At the very least, the expressions of Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto both changed noticeably. During their previous battle with Momochi Zabuza, both of them had more or less become Genin who had experienced real combat, so they were no longer as flustered by the idea of danger as before.
Hinata, of course, remained expressionless. As far as she was concerned, there was obviously nothing in these Chunin Exams that could genuinely threaten her. If she absolutely had to name something, there was Orochimaru, who had taken a fancy to Sasuke's body. But Orochimaru was also someone driven by a very clear objective. This time, his purpose was merely to place the Cursed Seal of Heaven on Sasuke, test the boy's compatibility with the seal, and observe whether his inner potential could satisfy Orochimaru's expectations.
Naruto and Hinata obviously held little value for Orochimaru. After all, based on the original story, the power of the Sharingan truly did exceed both the Byakugan and the Nine-Tails Power on its own. There was nothing surprising about Orochimaru wanting the finest Sharingan bloodline available.
That said, who knew whether some other change might occur? If a problem appeared, they could simply adapt to the situation.
"Well~ I've said everything I need to say, and I've already registered you. These are your Entry Slips, so take a look yourselves."
Having said enough to make his point, Kakashi returned to his usual easygoing demeanor and handed the three documents in his hand to his students. "Students I've trained are able to participate in the Chunin Exams in their very first year. That makes me pretty proud~"
"Hey, hey, Kakashi-sensei, what do you mean Genin from other villages will participate too?"
Naruto accepted his Entry Slip and stared at Kakashi in confusion. "Aren't the exams being held in our village?"
"Mm~ That's because Konohagakure is the foremost of the Five Great Hidden Villages. The other villages more or less hope to earn recognition through Konoha's examinations. So~ this is the important point I was talking about. Elite Genin from other villages will also come to Konohagakure at this time to participate. Unlike you, they may have spent one or even several years carrying out missions, which means they may have extensive combat experience. Even you three can't afford to underestimate them."
After patiently explaining the rules of the Chunin Exams, Kakashi clapped his hands. "All right~~ Registration officially begins this afternoon. For now, go get yourselves ready, including your Ninja Tools and anything else you need. I'm heading out first."
Watching Kakashi leave with the Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin no Jutsu), Hinata tilted her head with obvious disdain. "Looks like our chance to test our strength on a world-class stage has arrived. What do you two think?"
"Hmph. Perfect. I want to see where my current strength ranks in this shinobi world. If this exam is world-class, then it's exactly what I want."
For Sasuke, the exam would obviously only make him excited. The chuunibyou boy who wanted to revive the Uchiha Clan had a very clear goal: first, place well in this world-class shinobi examination so everyone would know there was still a powerful member of the Uchiha Clan active in the world.
"Ahem~! Exactly! First I'll become a Chunin, then a Jonin like Kakashi-sensei~ after that, Anbu, and finally hehehehe, Hokage"
Naruto hugged his Entry Slip with a drooling expression. He had clearly sunk into a daydream of reaching the peak of life, becoming CEO, and marrying a beautiful rich girl. Hinata and Sasuke had long since grown used to that kind of behavior from him.
"Forget the rest for now. Let's go~ We need to head to the BBQ Restaurant and coordinate our combat plan."
The group training that had begun half a month earlier clearly had not been wasted. In fact, the increase in raw strength was secondary. The greatest improvement had come in the chemistry and cooperative spirit among the three teams.
The BBQ Restaurant had been completely cleared out today. As both director of Fox's Tale and leader of the Hinata Group, Hinata had no intention of letting anyone overhear their plans.
By the time Hinata and the other two arrived, the remaining six members of Team 8 and Team 10 were already there, gathered around an enormous yakiniku table and chatting.
"Ah~ Sasuke-kun You're finally here~ Come sit beside me"
The moment they saw Sasuke behind Hinata, Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura stood at almost exactly the same time, hearts practically floating from their eyes as they patted the seats beside them. Hinata gave a faint scoff, clearly too lazy to care about this clichéd drama of two girls fighting over one boy. She sat down neatly in the seat of honor, then spoke. "It appears that you gentlemen have all received your Entry Slips as well, yes? I speak, of course, of the Chunin Exams."
"Uh... that way of talking is terrifying, you know?! What's with 'all of you' and that weird formal tone...? Just talk normally..."
Hinata's opening sounded so much like the official speech of an underworld boss that everyone present was startled. Nara Shikamaru, who at least had enough nerve to speak up, stared in disbelief as he complained. Almost everyone else had instinctively shifted into perfectly proper seiza. In an instant, the entire BBQ Restaurant became so quiet a needle could have been heard dropping, as if it had transformed directly into the assembly hall of a criminal organization.
"The formation and stability of an organization require careful maintenance. So, gentlemen, will you answer my question?"
Hinata ignored Shikamaru's complaint and casually raised the glass of juice in front of her. As if by reflex, Sakura sitting beside Sasuke sprang upright, grabbed the nearby juice bottle, and instinctively poured more into Hinata's glass.
"Hai! As you commanded, we humble retainers have all received our Entry Slips. Our honored instructors have already put our names forward for the exam. We await your command."
Shikamaru's refusal to cooperate did not mean everyone else would follow him. Aburame Shino, at least, had already immersed himself completely in the role. He lowered his head as he spoke with the manner of a loyal retainer. If someone put him in period costume, he could probably step directly into an old play as a vassal serving a Daimyo.
"Excellent~ The plan has succeeded perfectly. We will now announce phase two of the operational plan. Although we do not yet know the exact content of the examination, one thing is certain: there will inevitably be a team-based stage. Therefore, my instruction is this. If such a situation occurs, everyone should gather together at the earliest possible opportunity and use the power of the group to confront and resolve whatever trouble may appear."
Hinata took a satisfied sip from her glass of juice. On the other side, Ino likewise seemed to move as if by reflex as she pushed several peeled shrimp balls in front of the Byakugan girl. Clearly, both girls had immersed themselves thoroughly in their maid-like roles.
"...All right... then this humble strategist believes that if we strengthen our team formation to that degree, it may greatly slow our movement and make concealment much harder. Is that drawback acceptable?"
Seeing everyone around him fully commit to the act, Shikamaru wisely gave up resisting and decided to play along. He casually picked up a folding fan from the table and covered half his face, instantly displaying the air of a military strategist.
"Our group composition is nearly perfect. Reconnaissance, combat, traps, healing—we lack nothing. Even when it comes to theoretical knowledge, we possess Sakura-hime, who ranked first in the entire grade with perfect scores on the theory examinations. In a flawless team where everyone complements one another so thoroughly, the overwhelming advantages are more than enough to outweigh a few minor disadvantages."
Hinata's solemn praise made Sakura beside her blush, though the pink-haired girl was also clearly pleased. Theoretical knowledge happened to be her specialty. As for just how strong Sakura was in that area, well~~ put it this way: in the original story, she could complete a written exam that even Jonin might fail and still achieve a perfect score purely through her own knowledge.
"I see~ In that case, whether it's written tests, combat, survival, puzzle solving, or anything else, none of it will be able to trouble us."
Shikamaru theatrically waved his "war fan" a couple of times and was just about to continue when Shino suddenly spoke beside him. "Bugs are coming."
Almost at the same moment, a very loud voice sounded from the entrance of the BBQ Restaurant. "Hey, hey~! What kind of attitude is this place giving us? Is this how you treat guests who've traveled from far away?"
"I'm sorry, honored guests~ But our restaurant really has been reserved today~~"
The owner's strained explanation made what was happening obvious. Hinata's tyrant-like decision to reserve the entire restaurant had clearly irritated a few hotheaded chuunibyou visitors.
"Huh? But we came a really long way to get here. Are you seriously going to turn us away at the door?"
Listening to the commotion outside, Shino's dark glasses flashed slightly. The insect-user raised his right hand and quickly extended three fingers in sequence: his middle and index fingers together, followed by his thumb alone.
The signal was simple. Two people of roughly equal strength were standing at the entrance, while a third person stronger than either of them was positioned some distance outside. Without question, Shino's recent training had given him better reconnaissance habits and abilities, and this was one result.
Hmm~~ Three-person teams appearing in Konoha at a time like this, and acting so arrogantly... could it be...?
Hinata narrowed her eyes slightly and spoke coldly. "What's going on? Why has it suddenly become so noisy?"
"Ah~ I'm terribly sorry, Hinata-sama. It's just that this guest from outside insists on coming in to eat..."
The sweating restaurant owner hurried over and bowed apologetically to Hinata. Following his footsteps, two figures came into everyone's view.
One was clearly male, dressed in a black martial outfit with strange purple face paint that gave him the eerie appearance of a stage clown. Without question, the loud voice from earlier had belonged to him.
The other was a beautiful girl about the same height as Sakura and Ino, with a remarkably full chest and well-developed curves through her waist and legs, together with daring fishnet stockings. Her pretty, delicate face carried a wild beauty that was difficult to ignore, while her playful four-bun hairstyle added a mischievous edge to that wildness.
"What the heck~ They're just a bunch of kids?! Hey, don't you know reserving an entire restaurant makes things difficult for everyone else, huh?!"
Kankuro was clearly not what anyone would call calm or mature at this point. As a Sand shinobi who had traveled for a long time before finally reaching Konohagakure, all he wanted was a comfortable meal and a good rest. Running into a situation where he was refused entry immediately ignited the short temper of an adolescent boy, which was how this dispute had started.
"Um~ sorry. We only wanted something to eat. We didn't mean to disturb you~"
Compared with Kankuro, Temari was obviously more rational and mature. In fact, the moment she saw that the people inside were a group of Konoha Genin, she had already felt a sudden jolt of unease. The expressions of these Genin were strange. None of them looked angry at being looked down upon by Kankuro, and none seemed unsettled by an unexpected incident. There was only the very peculiar sense of... being appraised.
Temari could not quite describe it, but the closest comparison she could think of was the gaze of someone watching monkeys in a zoo. There was no deliberate contempt or mockery, because the two sides simply did not seem to exist on the same level.
"You aren't shinobi of Konohagakure."
Seated in the place of honor, Hinata raised her glass and drained the juice in one swallow. Both her words and the motion made the attentive Temari's heart skip a beat. She instinctively stepped back slightly before answering. "Ah~ We're shinobi from Sunagakure. We've come to Konohagakure to participate in the Chunin Exams. Weren't you informed?"
"As far as written notice goes... no, we received none."
Shino spoke calmly from his seat. Clearly, he already understood what Hinata intended.
"I see... then that's troublesome. Shikamaru, if we discover shinobi from another village inside Konoha without prior notice, what should we do?"
Hinata narrowed her eyes, making no attempt to conceal the killing intent around her. Shikamaru closed his eyes and exhaled weakly. "Subdue them on the spot, then turn them over to the village Anbu."
"Very good~ Then seize them."
Hinata lightly brushed the hair away from her forehead and issued the order in a flat voice.
"If they resist, kill them on the spot."
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