The day before the first stage of the Chunin Exams, the tension in Konoha was thick enough to cut with a kunai. But in Training Ground 7—the place where it all began for Kakashi's team—the tension was of a different kind.
It was the tension of a reunion. And a challenge.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked, sitting on the memorial stone, eating a dango stick.
My crew was lounging nearby. Zabuza was sharpening his sword (again), Yagura was napping in a tree, and Dr. Bushy Brow was comparing leg warmer elasticity with Might Guy, who had seemingly spawned out of nowhere to investigate the "Handsome Doctor."
Standing before me were Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi.
They looked ready for war.
"We're sure," Sasuke said. His Sharingan was active, two tomoe spinning in each red iris. "You said if we got stronger, we could challenge you."
"I said Naruto could try to hit me," I corrected. "I didn't say I'd fight the whole circus."
"We're a team," Sakura said firmly. She tied her headband tighter. "We fight together."
"And I'm helping," Kakashi added, stepping forward. He pulled up his headband to reveal his Sharingan immediately. "Because frankly, if they fight you alone, they'll die in three seconds. With me, maybe we last ten."
I finished my dango and tossed the stick into the bushes. I stood up, the black cloak settling heavily on my shoulders.
"Alright," I sighed, a small grin playing on my lips. "Show me what you've learned. No Haki. No Divine Departure. Just hands and steel."
"Zabuza!" I called out. "Time me."
"You want a timer?" Zabuza asked.
"Yeah. Give them five minutes. If they can land one clean hit—a touch, a scratch, anything—in five minutes, I buy dinner."
"You're on!" Naruto yelled. "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"
POOF.
A hundred Narutos exploded into existence, filling the clearing with orange.
"CHARGE!"
The army of Narutos rushed me.
I didn't draw Gryphon. I kept my hand on the hilt, using the scabbard as a shield if needed.
"Too loud," I noted.
I moved. Soru.
I vanished from their sight. I reappeared in the middle of the clone horde.
Whack. Smack. Thud.
I moved with minimal effort, weaving through the clones. Every time I passed one, I tapped them on the forehead or flicked their nose. They burst into smoke.
Poof. Poof. Poof.
"He's fast!" a clone yelled before vanishing.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke's voice rang out from above.
He was in the air, blowing a massive sphere of fire down at me.
At the same time, Kakashi burst from the ground beneath me. "Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"
"Coordinate attacks. Nice," I praised.
I stomped my foot.
CRACK.
The ground shattered. The shockwave disrupted the earth around Kakashi, forcing him to abort the jutsu and leap out to avoid being crushed.
I looked up at the fireball.
" Rankyaku."
I kicked the air upward. A blade of vacuum wind sliced through the fireball, splitting it in two. The flames washed harmlessly around me.
But hiding behind the flames was shuriken. Dozens of them.
And attached to the shuriken were ninja wires.
Sasuke landed, pulling the wires tight. "Got you!"
The wires wrapped around me, binding my arm and legs.
"NOW, NARUTO!" Sasuke screamed.
The real Naruto dropped from the tree directly above me, a swirling blue ball of chakra in his hand.
"RASENGAN!"
"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "He learned that?"
The attack was close. Inches from my face. I was bound.
Or so they thought.
I flexed.
SNAP.
The ninja wires, made of reinforced steel, snapped like sewing thread under the pure explosive force of my muscles expanding.
I freed my right arm. I didn't dodge the Rasengan. I caught it.
I caught Naruto's wrist just as the sphere of grinding chakra touched my palm.
GRRRRIND.
The Rasengan ground against my palm. It burned. It tore at the skin. But I coated my palm in a thin, invisible layer of Armament Haki (I cheated, just a little, to save my hand from being blended).
I stopped the rotation with grip strength alone.
Naruto hung there in the air, suspended by my grip on his wrist, his eyes wide.
"No way..." Naruto gasped. "You stopped it?!"
I tossed Naruto aside gently. He landed in a roll.
"Good power," I complimented, shaking my hand. "Stings a bit."
"Cha!"
Sakura was there. She had used the distraction to flank me. She punched at my ribs.
I saw it coming, but I was impressed by her timing. She had masked her presence well—the "Paper" training paid off.
I shifted my weight, letting her fist graze my cloak. But instead of retracting, she opened her hand and slapped a paper tag onto my side.
Hiss.
An explosive tag.
"Boom," Sakura whispered, jumping back.
BOOM.
The explosion engulfed my side. Smoke filled the clearing.
"Did we get him?" Naruto asked, coughing.
The smoke cleared.
I was standing there. My cloak was scorched. My shirt had a hole in it, revealing tanned skin that was slightly red, like a mild sunburn.
"Not bad," I said, dusting off the soot. "Using yourself as bait to plant a tag. Smart, Sakura."
"He took an explosion point-blank and didn't even bleed," Kakashi muttered, appearing on a branch. "This is ridiculous."
"Two minutes left!" Zabuza called out.
"Okay," I said. "My turn."
I disappeared.
I appeared behind Sasuke.
"Too stiff."
I chopped him lightly on the neck. He collapsed.
I appeared in front of Sakura.
"Too hesitant."
I flicked her forehead. She stumbled back, dazed.
I looked at Kakashi.
"Chidori!" Kakashi charged, lightning chirping in his hand. He was going for speed, using his Soru-enhanced movement.
He was fast. Much faster than before.
But I was the Emperor.
I stepped into his charge. I grabbed his wrist with my right hand, redirecting the lightning into the ground.
Z Z Z Z T.
The ground blackened.
With Kakashi immobilized, I swept his legs. He fell, but substituted with a log instantly.
Poof.
"Classic," I smirked.
I sensed Naruto behind me. He wasn't attacking. He was charging something.
"Multi Shadow Clone... UZUMAKI BARRAGE!"
A hundred clones launched the real Naruto into the air. He came down like a meteor, his heel aiming for my head.
"SHANKS-NII!" Naruto roared. "ACKNOWLEDGE ME!"
I looked up. The kid had spirit. He had guts. And his leg was coming down with enough force to crack a skull.
I could dodge. I could block.
But I wanted to see.
I stood still.
I let him hit me.
THWACK.
Naruto's heel connected with the top of my head.
The impact drove my feet into the ground up to my ankles. Dust billowed out.
Naruto bounced off, landing backflipping and hitting the ground in a crouch.
Silence.
Sasuke sat up. Sakura rubbed her head. Kakashi emerged from the bushes.
They all stared at me.
I stood there, half-buried. I reached up and touched the top of my head.
There was a bump. A small, throbbing bump.
"Time!" Zabuza called out.
I pulled my feet out of the dirt. I looked at Naruto. He was panting, terrified that he had actually hurt me, but also hopeful.
I rubbed the bump. Then, I grinned.
"Ouch," I said.
Naruto's face lit up. "I hit you! I really hit you!"
"You did," I nodded. "You have a heavy foot, Anchor."
"Dinner!" Naruto screamed, jumping in the air. "You owe us dinner! Ramen! All the ramen!"
I laughed, a deep, belly laugh that echoed through the woods.
"A deal's a deal! All-you-can-eat Ichiraku! On me!"
Team 7 cheered. Even Sasuke cracked a smile.
Kakashi walked over, sheathing his kunai.
"You let him hit you," Kakashi whispered.
"Maybe," I whispered back. "But he had to have the guts to take the swing knowing I could snap him in half. That's what matters."
I looked at the three Genin, celebrating their 'victory'.
"They're ready," I said to Kakashi. "For the exams. For the world."
"I hope so," Kakashi said, looking at his dented vest (a new dent from my grip). "Because if Orochimaru is here... they're going to need every bit of that guts."
"Don't worry, Scarecrow," I draped my arm (my only one) over his shoulder. "If the snake bites... I'll bite back."
"Come on!" I shouted to the kids. "To the Ramen Shop! Zabuza, you're paying!"
"Why am I paying?!" Zabuza yelled from the sidelines. "It was your bet!"
"Captain's orders!"
As we walked out of the training ground, the sun setting behind the Hokage monument, I felt a warmth in my chest. This world was dangerous. It was messy. But these kids... they were worth fighting for.
And if anyone tried to snuff out their light in the exams... well, they'd have to go through a one-armed pirate to do it.