Sakura trailed behind Naruto and Sasuke. Their path through the Forest of Death was strangely quiet—no one dared to challenge them. Before long, the three of them reached their destination with ease.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the forest, Gaara took a very different approach.
"Run! He's a monster!"
A shinobi from a minor village shouted in terror. Faces pale, they scattered in every direction.
Gaara's reputation had spread far and wide. Still, some overconfident genin who fancied themselves strong enough had gathered together, hoping to take him down.
They thought they were hunting a prodigy. They didn't expect to be staring into the eyes of a demon.
Gaara showed no mercy. He had survived his entire life drenched in blood. Though he had changed in some ways since before, his ruthless killing instinct had never faded.
Those who attacked him fell one after another, their blood soaking into the sand that crushed and shredded them. Their mutilated bodies piled up, and Gaara's expression remained utterly cold.
The surviving genin were petrified. The sheer weight of his killing intent seeped through the dark forest, making escape feel impossible.
Gaara smiled thinly.
"The game has begun."
To him, the Chūnin Exams were far too easy. At least these ambushes gave him some amusement.
He allowed his prey to flee and began the hunt, savoring the chase.
As he passed through a patch of tall grass, Gaara suddenly snapped his head toward a distant thicket. Three figures were concealed there, holding their breath. Kankurō and Temari glanced at him as they continued forward, their forms vanishing into the trees.
Gaara had noticed the hidden team without effort.
Three pairs of frightened eyes peered out from the grass. The suffocating pressure he radiated made their bodies tense until he was gone.
Only then did they dare to breathe again.
It was Shikamaru, Ino, and Chōji.
"Tch… why do we have to take the Chūnin Exams at the same time as that monster?" Shikamaru muttered, his voice dripping with helplessness. The oppressive aura Gaara exuded was beyond any genin—and even most chūnin.
"Is he really just a genin?" Ino whispered, shivering. The killing intent alone left her chilled to the bone.
Thankfully, Gaara hadn't considered them worth his time. Watching his retreating figure, Ino felt only lingering dread.
At the Hokage Building in Konoha, Anko appeared before Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Third Hokage's expression was composed, though his muttered words carried weight.
"Orochimaru…"
He looked at Anko again.
"So Naruto said it was him? And the white-haired shinobi—Jiraiya has returned?"
Hiruzen clearly accepted Naruto's version of events. If Orochimaru had indeed appeared, then the other figure could only have been Jiraiya.
"These are troubled times," he sighed.
That Orochimaru would dare to return to Konoha now… what was his goal?
Still, if Jiraiya had come back as well, it eased Hiruzen's worries slightly. The Chūnin Exams were a major event—one attended by the Land of Fire's daimyō and countless nobles. No mistakes could be allowed. And Jiraiya's presence was a reassurance.
"You may go," Hiruzen said with a wave.
Anko bowed lightly and left the building.
When the door closed, the Hokage alone remained, quietly puffing on his pipe. After a moment, he raised his hand, and a figure appeared in the shadows, kneeling before him. A cat-faced mask gleamed faintly in the light.
Anbu. His most trusted guard unit.
This operative's codename was Owl.
"Owl," Hiruzen said gravely, "take a squad and track Orochimaru's movements. But remember—unless the situation is absolutely critical, do not reveal yourselves."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Owl answered respectfully before vanishing into the darkness.
As the Chūnin Exams progressed, more and more genin teams successfully cleared the Forest of Death. Though events had diverged somewhat from the original course, the differences weren't drastic.
Soon, the exams moved into the combat phase.
Naruto and Sasuke stood alongside Neji and Lee. Neji gave Naruto a small nod, and Naruto returned it with subtle acknowledgment.
The group made their way to an open space and began to talk.
The weather was clear, a few white clouds drifting lazily across the sky.
They stood by the railing, overlooking the arena below where the matches would take place. The stands around it were already filled with Konoha villagers, buzzing with excitement.
Whether by coincidence or arrangement, today's match list was identical to the original timeline.
Soon, the examiner stepped onto the stage—thin, pale, with a constant cough, and a senbon clamped between his teeth.
Naruto recognized him instantly: Gekkō Hayate, childhood friend—and almost lover—of Yūgao Uzuki. But under Naruto's interference, that relationship had long since unraveled. The bond that should have ended in marriage was broken.
Naruto felt no guilt about this. In fact, he thought he had done the right thing. How could someone like Yūgao, a rare beauty, be left a widow so young?
Not only her—Kurenai Yuhi too, unknowingly swayed by Naruto's subtle mental nudges, had begun to distance herself from Asuma Sarutobi.
Naruto's Genjutsu skill and spiritual power had already surpassed Kurenai's. Against harmless, passing suggestions, even she noticed nothing.
In Konoha, the Hyūga Clan was still praised as the foremost noble clan.
But in truth, the wealthiest clan was none other than the Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had sat as Hokage for decades, and under his reign the Sarutobi Clan grew rich and powerful. Many of the largest surface-level businesses in Konoha were directly managed by them.
It hadn't always been so. When the Sarutobi first settled in Konoha, their foundation was nowhere near as deep as the Ino–Shika–Chō trios, the Hyūga, or the Uchiha.
Most of the Uchiha Clan's vast property and industries, after the massacre, had been carved up between Hiruzen, Danzō, and the other high-ranking elders.
The Uchiha had been one of the richest and most resourceful clans in the village. Their wealth alone could have sustained countless shinobi. Yet what did Sasuke inherit from it? Practically nothing.
At most, Hiruzen ensured Sasuke had a few million ryō—barely a fragment of the clan's accumulated fortune.
The true treasure wasn't just money. The Uchiha's collections of Ninjutsu scrolls, clan techniques, and ancestral records were priceless. Yet in the original story, Sasuke wandered for years with only the Great Fireball Technique at his disposal.
That loss crippled his growth.
Now, under Naruto's influence, Sasuke had begun pressing Hiruzen directly about his clan's inheritance—especially their secret techniques. But the Hokage only offered vague answers, dodging with perfunctory reassurances.
Sasuke was left deeply disappointed in the village.
In the original timeline, he might have been too consumed by revenge to notice. But this Sasuke had changed. His thinking was sharper, broader. He understood what the Uchiha had truly possessed, and how much had been stolen.
Not all shinobi needed the Academy. The Uchiha themselves had mostly raised and trained their own, sending only a few to school for appearances' sake.
Even Itachi and Sasuke had been enrolled at Fugaku's insistence, to make the clan seem more integrated with the village. Within the clan, however, education was still private and far superior to what the Academy offered.
The Uchiha's pride was not unfounded. They were unmatched in Genjutsu, unrivaled in Fire Release, and feared for their dōjutsu. With such a heritage, their arrogance was only natural. After all, what clan born with a Kekkei Genkai wasn't proud—let alone one with the Sharingan?
As Naruto and the others spoke in hushed tones, events continued to move along. Just as in the original story, Jiraiya had returned to Konoha.
...
TN:
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