A sparrow landed on Neji's hand, pecking lightly at his fingertip with a few chirps.
Neji gazed down at the sparrow, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
The mysterious being who had claimed to be an ancestor of the Hyūga clan—where had he really come from? His appearance was unexplained, and Neji certainly didn't believe he was truly a Hyūga ancestor. Most likely, it was a fabricated identity.
Uchiha Sasuke had a similarly mysterious figure lingering around him. Could there be some connection between the two?
Were they part of the same organization?
Or... could they actually be the same person?
That manga that recorded the "future," stretching the story of Naruto into a saga spanning a thousand years of the shinobi world—who had drawn it? Was there truly an all-knowing, all-seeing god overlooking this world? Were shinobi merely sparrows trapped in the palm of such a god?
Could it be the Sage of Six Paths? And if so, what kind of existence was he really?
He had sealed away his own mother and passed down the miraculous power of chakra to ordinary people. Was that really an act of compassion...?
The more Neji learned, the more questions he had. And the more questions he had, the stranger this world seemed.
...
At the Uchiha compound.
Sasuke said, "I have a question for you."
The shadowy figure responded, "Speak."
Sasuke asked, "If Indra's and Asura's chakra are essentially the same, and if Asura's chakra has such an overwhelming, corrupting influence—each time they reincarnate, almost everyone sides with Asura—then why does Indra's chakra seem so... ineffective?"
"Even after a thousand years, the Sage of Six Paths can still maintain his consciousness through chakra alone. Naruto has Asura within him. So... is he really Uzumaki Naruto, or just a version of Asura with amnesia?"
The shadow said, "I don't know."
"...Huh?" Sasuke was taken aback. Up until now, his questions had always been answered—maybe not fully, but at least somewhat. But this time, he was getting nothing?
The shadow added, "This touches on questions of 'self' and philosophy. It's difficult for you to comprehend, so I don't feel like explaining."
Sasuke fell silent."...I kind of want to punch you right now."
...
A few days later, Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned Team 7 to the Hokage's office. He spent a long time droning on about the "Will of Fire," trying to impress upon them the importance of unity.
In short, Team 7 was still Team 7—they hadn't been disbanded or reorganized. Hiruzen was determined to bind Sasuke and Naruto together, to forge a true bond between them. If it really came down to it, he was even considering transferring Sasuke into the ANBU.
Hiruzen had expected he'd need to give Sasuke a lengthy lecture to get through to him. Surprisingly, Sasuke didn't seem to care at all. It was as if all his earlier hostility toward Naruto had been nothing more than a joke.
Over the next few months, Team 7 continued to laze around the village. Missions were scarce. High-level missions were far out of their reach, and even low-rank ones were almost nonexistent. Kakashi managed to find time to teach them how to walk on water... but that was about it.
Sakura's talent for genjutsu was promising, and her academic grades were excellent, but unfortunately, she hadn't found a good teacher. To this day, she still only knew the basics—the Three Basic Jutsu.
The "Land of Waves" arc that had been shown in the manga? Completely butterflied out of existence. Sasuke heard a rumor that the Land of Waves had been wiped off the map—literally.
Of course, even if Tazuna had managed to come to Konoha to request a mission, Sasuke would've made sure he never made it back. Anyone who tried to deceive Team 7 by lying about a mission's true rank and guilt-tripping them into risking their lives didn't deserve mercy. People like that deserved a sword through the chest, plain and simple.
When Tazuna falsified mission details, he was gambling with other people's lives! If it hadn't been for the absurd luck of Team 7, they would've been slaughtered by Zabuza.
...
Time flew by, and before anyone knew it, the Chūnin Exams were approaching.
When Kakashi saw the ninja falcon soaring over Konoha, he immediately got up and headed to the Hokage's office. All around the village, the other jōnin captains did the same.
"Finally," Kakashi murmured. "The real show is about to begin."
Inside the Hokage's office, most of Konoha's active jōnin had gathered. Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his desk.
"The reason for today's emergency meeting should be clear to all of you," Hiruzen said. "In one week, Konoha will be hosting the Joint Chūnin Selection Exams."
"Only seven days to prepare? That's really short notice," someone said.
"That's right," Hiruzen nodded. "I'm counting on all of you."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" the jōnin replied in unison.
...
Over the next few days, more and more unfamiliar faces began appearing around Konoha.
Team 7 hadn't officially received their exam notice yet. Naruto, meanwhile, had picked up a new little follower: Sarutobi Konohamaru. The two were constantly playing "ninja games" together. From a normal person's perspective... the two of them were pretty insufferable, often transforming into naked women in public for their "Sexy Jutsu." Honestly, it was beyond words.
The fact that Hiruzen named his grandson after the village showed just how high his hopes for Konohamaru were. But after a bit of secret observation, Sasuke concluded that Konohamaru was just an ordinary kid. Nothing special. He quickly lost interest.
Naruto and Konohamaru were chasing each other down the streets. Though most villagers hated Naruto, with Konohamaru around, nobody dared speak ill of him to his face.
Suddenly, Konohamaru ran straight into something solid and was knocked flat on his back.
"Are you walking around with your eyes closed?" A black-clad man with face paint grabbed Konohamaru by the collar and hoisted him into the air.
Standing next to him was a blonde girl wearing a forehead protector that didn't bear Konoha's symbol. She spoke up.
"Careful. This is Konoha. Don't cause trouble."
The two newcomers were Kankurō and Temari from Sunagakure.
Kankurō grunted, intending to drop Konohamaru, but then Naruto's furious shouting rang out:
"Hey! You jerk! Let go of Konohamaru!"
Kankurō's grip tightened, causing Konohamaru to struggle for breath. Seeing this, Naruto charged forward, yelling:
"You bastard!"
With a loud thud, Naruto managed to trip over his own feet and faceplant onto the ground.
Kankurō twitched, black lines forming on his forehead. He sneered disdainfully.
Just then, a red-haired boy silently approached. He stared at Naruto for a long moment, then turned around.
"Let's go, Kankurō. Temari."
The two siblings immediately followed after him, their attitude clearly showing a great deal of fear toward the redhead.
Naruto was left lying flat on the ground, completely ignored.
...
The next day.
"Here. These are your application forms," Kakashi said, handing the Chūnin Exam papers to Team 7.
Naruto and Sasuke filled out their forms without a second thought. Sakura hesitated, glancing at Kakashi. She only knew the Three Basic Jutsu and some basic taijutsu—was she really qualified to take the exams?
But Kakashi didn't give her a chance to voice her doubts. As soon as all three forms were filled out, he scooped them up and left.
Naruto was brimming with confidence. Sasuke, meanwhile, wore a blank expression as he silently pondered his plans for the Konoha Crush.
He secretly asked the shadowy figure, "Will Orochimaru really show up?"
The story had already gone completely off-script... and yet this crucial event hadn't been erased?
The shadow nodded reassuringly.
"Don't worry. I've got everything under control."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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