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"Diplomatic pass."
Mei Terumī's voice was flat: "An identity recognized by Konoha."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. That Sharingan was still seeping blood, and the area around his eye socket was swollen high, but he still stared at that scroll for a long time.
Then he let out a breath, a long one, as if loosening something that had been taut.
"...It really is the Mizukage."
His voice was hoarse, so hoarse it was like his throat was stuffed with sand.
Mei Terumī took the scroll back, not even sparing Zabuza a second glance.
"Take it."
She pointed at the transfer order on the ground: "Follow me."
She turned and walked into the mist.
Zabuza looked down at the scroll by his feet.
Haku's body lay not far away, a wound from the Chidori still gaping in his chest, no longer breathing.
His gaze swept over the corpse, just for a glance.
Then he bent down and picked up the scroll.
The movement was very slow.
So slow, as if he were being pressed down by something.
But the moment his fingers touched the scroll, he still gripped it tight.
Because at this moment, he had no other choice.
Either die here, or follow along.
Zabuza straightened up, tucked the scroll into his robe, and then dragged the kubikiribōchō behind Mei Terumī.
The mist gradually swallowed their figures.
...
Hearing Kakashi-sensei's words.
Half of Naruto's goggles were shattered, shards of glass embedded in his forehead, blood streaming down his brow bone.
But he couldn't spare the time to wipe it away, only staring at that patch of mist and the two figures currently being swallowed by it.
"Mi—Mizukage?!"
The word squeezed out of Naruto's throat, so dry it didn't sound like his own voice.
"Yes, it is indeed the Fifth Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village!"
Kakashi nodded and said: "We are completely outmatched. Even the Sharingan cannot track her movements."
"Could it be that, that jutsu where someone turns into someone else..." Naruto gripped his Kunai tight, his knuckles turning white.
"No."
Kakashi propped himself up off the ground, his knees wobbling before he steadied himself: "That seal is real. You can also tell that the Sandaime's handwriting is real."
Naruto froze for a moment. "But, but that Zabuza—"
"Is a rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist."
Kakashi interrupted him: "But the Fifth Mizukage has the right to pardon any rogue ninja. Furthermore, what she just showed was diplomatic identification. The Mizukage of the Hidden Mist is on an official visit to Konoha; Konoha must recognize her diplomatic immunity and the legitimacy of her entourage."
At this moment, Sakura, who was to the side, suddenly remembered that the woman hadn't stopped from beginning to end.
She just dropped the scroll, showed the proof, and then turned and left.
It was as if she was in a hurry, just passing through to find someone.
"That Mizukage just now, it seemed like she was looking for something..."
"How is that possible." Kakashi looked speechless, Naruto also didn't believe it at all, and as for Sasuke, he didn't pay any attention at all.
Sakura didn't continue speaking.
She didn't know why this thought popped up, but she just felt that person hadn't come to save Zabuza.
Zabuza just happened to be there, and was still alive and useful.
What she was truly looking for was something else.
Perhaps it was a woman's intuition.
...
Before the Chunin Exams
Sunlight leaked through the gaps in the leaves, falling onto the yellow dirt at the edge of the Konoha training ground.
The queue for exam registration stretched to the third tree.
Shinji stood at the end of the line, his eyes slightly closed.
It had been a month.
From the day he obtained the Sage Body until now, exactly one month.
Those jutsus that had taken years to master in the simulation, he had recovered them all in just one month.
The speed of hand signs, the control of Chakra, the instinctive reactions when facing an enemy—everything had melted into his bones.
He was now a well-rounded, qualified Chunin.
But he was still a little short of Jonin. It wasn't a problem of strength, but a problem of his body.
That version of him in the simulation was thirty-two, fully grown.
This current body was only twelve.
Muscle density, bone strength, the load-bearing capacity of his Chakra pathways—there were still gaps.
It needed time, to let his body grow more, to keep up with his consciousness.
Team Kakashi was also there to register.
In front was Naruto's spiky golden head, turning to chat and laugh with Sakura.
Sasuke leaned against the tree trunk next to the line, hands in his pockets, looking at no one.
Team Guy was also all there.
Neji stood with arms crossed and eyes closed, Tenten was checking her ninja tools, and Rock Lee stood at the very front, that green jumpsuit shining in the sunlight.
"Shinji-kun."
A very soft voice came from behind him.
Shinji turned his head.
Hinata stood there. Ash-purple short hair, white eyes, hands twisted together in front of her, her face slightly flushed.
The sunlight fell upon her, illuminating her entire being.
"Hinata? You're here to register at this time too."
Shinji froze for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face.
"I, I'm here to register..."
Hinata was also a Genin of this year, so of course she had to participate in the Chunin Exams, but her voice grew smaller and smaller.
"Are you alone?" Shinji asked.
"Kurenai-sensei and the others... are over there..."
Hinata pointed into the distance, where Kurenai Yuhi was standing in the shade of a tree, nodding toward this side.
Inuzuka Kiba and Shino Aburame were standing beside her, Kiba looking over here with that "here we go again" expression on his face.
Hinata lowered her head, her fingers twisting even tighter.
"Um... Shinji-kun..."
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's:
"Are, are you ready? I heard... the Chunin Exams are very difficult... especially the second stage... people, people die..."
When she said the last two words, her voice trembled slightly.
Shinji looked at her.
Hinata was lowering her head, so her expression couldn't be seen.
But he could see the girl's flushed ear tips, her slightly tensed shoulders, and her clenched fingers, her knuckles turning white.
Hinata was worried about him.
"I'm ready." Shinji nodded and said very seriously.
Hinata looked up, her eyes brightening for a moment.
"That, that's good..."
She said softly: "I will... I will cheer for you..."
From the distance came Kiba's shout: "Hinata, it's time to come over."
Hinata hurriedly replied, then glanced at Shinji and ran away, blushing.
Shinji stood where he was, watching that small figure run away, into the crowd, and back to her teammates.
Kiba was saying something, his mouth turned down.
Shino had no expression. Hinata was lowering her head, but the corners of her mouth were curved.
Shinji withdrew his gaze.
Continued to wait in line.
Ahead, Rock Lee had already begun his famous scene.
"Miss Sakura!"
The whole scene went quiet.
"I, I have something to say to you!"
Rock Lee's voice echoed over the training ground: "Please, please go out with me! I will risk my life to protect you!"
Sakura's smile froze on her face.
"...I'm sorry."
She paused, her eyes drifting elsewhere: "And... your eyebrows are too thick."
Rock Lee froze.
Someone nearby couldn't hold back and laughed out loud.
Naruto covered his mouth, his shoulders shaking.
Three seconds. Five seconds.
Rock Lee also realized it, took a deep breath, then turned around and pointed at the black-haired boy on the edge of the crowd who was resting with his eyes closed.
"Then, Sasuke-kun! Please duel me!"
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