"Naruto's getting scarier by the minute…"
Nara Shikamaru muttered the words as he stood up from the waiting area, eyes drifting toward the arena below. When he spotted Temari walking down from the opposite side, he clicked his tongue.
"Why'd it have to be a girl? What a drag…"
Hands in his pockets, Shikamaru stared up at the clouds as he walked. Honestly, why was he even in the Chūnin Exams? If he remembered right, Asuma had signed him up without asking. Left to himself, he wouldn't have bothered.
But forfeiting outright would look bad. Cowardly. And losing on purpose wasn't exactly manly either.
So how did you preserve your dignity and avoid fighting a girl?
More importantly, becoming a chūnin didn't actually require winning, did it? Demonstrating combat ability, tactical sense, and judgment should be enough.
So the real question was how to show all that… efficiently.
Shikamaru reached the center of the field and stared at Temari with his usual dead-fish eyes, looking like he couldn't care less.
Fujimoto Tōma watched from the stands, faintly amused. If he remembered right, these two ended up together eventually.
Guess I'll have to hold back next time, he thought dryly. Wouldn't want to accidentally erase Shikamaru's future wife.
What followed was a textbook display of battlefield calculation. Shikamaru maneuvered Temari step by step into a perfect trap, predicting every move.
Just as everyone assumed he was about to win—
"I forfeit."
The entire arena froze.
"Out of chakra," Shikamaru said lazily. "If I keep going, I'll just get beaten up."
Tōma's eye twitched.
Yeah. Sure. That's totally believable.
So this was how it started for them?
The exams continued.
Because the Sound ninja Tsurugi never appeared, the proctor, Shiranui Genma, waited far longer than usual. When the audience began to grumble, Genma checked the time and sighed.
"So this is as far as we can stall."
He announced Tsurugi's absence and declared Kankurō the winner by default.
Then came the next match.
"Fourth round!"
"Uchiha Sasuke versus Gaara of the Sand!"
The stadium exploded with cheers.
This was what most of the crowd had come to see. The last Uchiha. A prodigy. After witnessing Naruto's overwhelming battle and Shikamaru's flawless tactics, they were now getting the main event.
Best ticket purchase of their lives.
Sasuke stepped onto the field quickly, but his mind was still stuck on Naruto's fight. That power… it was overwhelming. He'd thought mastering Chidori put him ahead.
Now he wasn't so sure.
If he could force a direct clash, Chidori might win. But Chidori wasn't something he could use recklessly. Especially not around allies.
Gaara, meanwhile, trembled.
The moment he saw Naruto's red chakra earlier, he'd understood. They were the same. Monsters sealed inside them.
Then why?
Why did Naruto smile?
Why did people stand beside him?
It's fake, Gaara told himself. All of it.
His killing intent surged uncontrollably. If he hadn't already crushed a couple of unlucky bystanders while entering the arena, he might have snapped entirely.
The instant Genma declared the start, Gaara's bloodlust flooded the field.
Sasuke didn't flinch.
Once you'd survived real killing intent, this barely registered.
Tōma observed calmly. Sasuke had spent the last month being pushed to his physical limits by Kakashi, all to amplify Chidori's lethality. Without Naruto's Wind Armor, Sasuke's fundamentals were honestly superior.
But that "without" didn't exist anymore.
Naruto's chakra reserves allowed him to maintain Wind Armor almost indefinitely, pushing him to Sasuke's level or beyond in multiple areas.
If Naruto avoided head-on clashes, his odds of winning were high.
But Tōma sighed.
Yeah right. Like Naruto would avoid a head-on clash.
As for this fight?
Sasuke beating Gaara was… difficult. Very difficult.
Lightning beat earth, but Gaara's strength already exceeded the normal tier. And that was with his mind unstable. A fully controlled Gaara would be outright lethal.
The Shukaku's influence was a curse and a blessing. The seal was terrible, but the power gain was immense.
A harsh trade.
Then Tōma sensed it.
Feathers drifted down from above.
He sighed softly. "So it starts."
The genjutsu barely brushed his awareness. It was useless against him.
Explosions echoed from the Hokage's viewing platform. Smoke bloomed. The arena descended into chaos.
Orochimaru's plan had begun.
The Konoha Crush.
Sound ninja emerged from hiding. Some tore off ANBU masks, revealing familiar insignias beneath.
Tōma exhaled. Security had been tight, but the Chūnin Exams meant open gates. Foreign shinobi everywhere. Infiltration was inevitable.
Still… this many?
Did the Sound Village bring their entire population?
Naruto and Sasuke would chase Gaara. That was fine. With Jiraiya nearby, they wouldn't die.
Tōma's battlefield wasn't the arena.
It was the village.
He appeared beside Yamanaka Ino, who was pale from shock.
"Tōma… what's happening?"
"Short version?" he said calmly. "The Sand Village betrayed the alliance and launched a surprise attack."
Ino stared. "During the exams…?"
"We'll be fine," he said, ruffling her hair. "Your abilities won't help much here. I'm sending you to my mom. Stay with her."
"Eh—?"
Her vision went dark for an instant.
When it returned—
"Oh! Tōma, Ino, you're here!" Fujimoto Sana said in surprise.
"Mom," Tōma said quickly. "Watch over Ino."
Understanding spread through Sana's eyes as she took in the refugees, the guards, the tension.
"Are you coming with us?" she asked.
"No."
Ino hesitated, then nodded. "I'll stay."
Sana placed a hand on Tōma's shoulder. "Be careful."
He smiled. "Relax. Your son's strong."
Then he vanished.
The civilians stared, awed. Whispers spread. Names followed.
Youngest jōnin.
Fujimoto Tōma.
Pride swelled in Sana's chest as people began praising her son. Some even started enthusiastically recommending their daughters.
Ino immediately bristled.
Good thing he brought me here, she thought. Someone has to guard him.
Elsewhere—
Tōma stood atop a rooftop, unsheathing his sealed blade.
The Black Ink Sword hummed softly under his fingers.
"Missed me?" he murmured.
His expanded perception washed over the village. Half of Konoha lay within his range.
The problem remained the same. He could sense shinobi, but not allegiances.
So he chose the simplest solution.
Go where fighting had already started.
He smiled.
Between stored Flying Thunder God markers and enough soldier pills to choke a horse, chakra efficiency no longer mattered.
Short-range teleportation barely cost anything.
This wasn't defense.
This was cleanup.
The hunt had begun.