The first ray of sun pierced through the tattered curtains of Naruto Uzumaki's apartment, hitting his closed eyelids directly.
Naruto's eyes snapped open.
He sat up in bed with a sudden movement, completely awake, his heart pumping pure adrenaline.
"Today is the day," he muttered to himself, a huge smile spreading across his face. "Today is the day!"
He jumped up, feeling the energy vibrating under his skin. His muscles felt ready and hungry for action.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Three clones appeared in his small room with bursts of smoke.
"You, make breakfast. You, check the gear. And you..." Naruto pointed at the third clone, "...make sure my sandals are tied tight. I'm not going to trip in front of everyone like an idiot."
"Got it, boss!" the three clones responded in unison before scattering around the apartment.
One of the clones stopped at the kitchen door. "Hey, boss, how many bowls of ramen should we make?"
"Three. No, wait, four. I'm going to need extra energy today."
"Four bowls?" another clone poked his head out of the closet where he was checking equipment. "Are you trying to explode before the exam?"
"Shut up and do your job." Naruto threw a pillow at him. "You don't even eat."
"Technically, I do eat. It's just that my memories go to you when I disappear, so basically you eat four times."
"That makes sense," the kitchen clone nodded. "Although it sounds weird."
"Everything about us is weird." The third clone was inspecting the sandals. "We are copies talking to the original about how much ramen to eat."
Naruto laughed. "You guys are the worst clones in the world. Just do what I said."
He walked toward the small mirror hanging crookedly on the wall. He stared at himself, watching his own blue eyes shine with determination.
"Iruka-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Tsunade-baachan... you all believed in me," he said quietly, clenching a fist in front of his reflection. "Today I'm going to prove you weren't wrong. Today I start the path to becoming Hokage for real."
The [Leader Link] pulsed softly in the back of his mind, reminding him he wasn't alone. He felt the presence of every member of his family: Sakura, Hinata, Ino, Kurenai, Anko, and now Tenten. All connected.
"I won't let anyone down," he promised.
From the kitchen came the sound of pots clanging.
"Boss! The water is boiling!"
"Coming!"
****
In the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't slept.
The elderly leader stood by his office window, smoking his pipe with slow, thoughtful puffs while watching the sunrise paint Konoha in shades of gold and orange.
"Sir," the voice of an ANBU pulled him from his thoughts. The masked figure was kneeling behind him. "Security teams are in position. Double patrols in every sector. Detection barriers have been reinforced."
"And the foreign participants?" Hiruzen asked without looking away from the village.
"Monitored. Especially the Suna team. The vessel named Gaara hasn't slept in three days according to our observers."
Hiruzen clamped the pipe between his teeth. "Maintain constant surveillance on him. If he shows signs of instability, I want to know immediately."
"Hai." The ANBU hesitated. "Sir, should we establish a containment perimeter around him?"
"No. That would only cause diplomatic tensions. But if he approaches civilian areas outside the designated routes, intercept with caution."
"Understood."
The ANBU vanished in a flicker.
Hiruzen took another long drag from his pipe. "Three days without sleep," he muttered to himself. "That boy is a bomb waiting to explode."
The office door opened without ceremony. Tsunade entered with a firm step, already dressed in her full combat attire instead of her usual administrative clothes.
"You didn't sleep," Tsunade observed, closing the door behind her.
"Neither did you," Hiruzen replied, finally turning to look at her. "Your medic instinct keeps you awake."
"My ninja instinct," Tsunade corrected, crossing her arms. "Something is wrong, sensei. I can feel it in my bones. The numbers don't add up."
"The numbers?"
"Thirty teams registered. Ninety genin in total. It's the highest number in years." Tsunade walked to the desk and unfolded a map of Konoha. "Too many foreign ninjas inside our walls. Too many variables."
Hiruzen approached the map, studying the marked points. "Thirty teams is unusual, but not unprecedented."
"Yes, but this is different." Tsunade tapped the map with her finger. "I don't want any negligence in these exams."
"That is why you reinforced the security of the Forest of Death."
"Triple ANBU patrol on the perimeter. Kurenai and other jōnin will be at strategic points. Anko will be inside the forest supervising directly," Tsunade pointed to the forest area. "But even so... if someone wants to cause chaos, the second phase is the perfect moment."
Hiruzen set his pipe on the desk. "Do you suspect anyone in particular?"
Tsunade hesitated, biting her lower lip. "Orochimaru."
The name fell like a stone in still water.
"We have no evidence that he is nearby," Hiruzen said carefully.
"Anko's mark has been reacting," Tsunade looked directly at him. "Stabbing pains, burning sensation. She says it's stress, but I know the symptoms of that mark's activation. Something or someone with chakra similar to Orochimaru is in the village."
"Have you examined her?"
"Three times this week. The mark is inactive according to standard medical diagnoses, but Anko isn't lying about the pain. She is feeling something."
Hiruzen rubbed his temples. "If Orochimaru is here, what would be his target? Sasuke Uchiha? Naruto?"
"Both, probably. Sasuke for his Sharingan, Naruto for the Kyūbi. And if he wants to cause maximum chaos, the exams are the perfect opportunity. Ninety genin in the Forest of Death, all concentrated, all vulnerable."
"I have doubled the surveillance around Team 7. And Team 8. Naruto could be an obvious target."
"It's not enough," Tsunade hit the desk with controlled frustration. "Maybe I was wrong and we should postpone..."
"We cannot," Hiruzen interrupted firmly. "Canceling now would cause a diplomatic incident. The Daimyōs are already here. The leaders of other villages too. Showing weakness now..."
"Could cost lives, sensei. Children's lives."
"I know." The weight of those words made Hiruzen look older than he was. "Believe me, Tsunade, I know. But ninja politics do not allow us to act on hunches alone. If we cancel and it turns out we were wrong, Konoha loses credibility. Other villages will think we are weak and paranoid."
"I prefer being paranoid and having everyone alive." Tsunade moved away from the desk, walking toward the window. "But I understand your position."
"That is why I trust you, Anko, Kurenai, Kakashi, and the other jōnin to keep those children alive. At any cost."
Tsunade closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she opened them again, her expression was hard.
"Understood. But if I see a single sign that Orochimaru is involved..."
"Then you have full authorization to act," Hiruzen nodded. "Do whatever is necessary, Tsunade. Protect this village."
"And if I have to destroy the entire forest?"
"Then we will rebuild it."
Tsunade gave him a hard look. "You aren't joking."
"I never joke about the safety of Konoha. If Orochimaru appears, destroy him. I don't care about the cost."
"Fine." Tsunade headed for the door. "I have to do one last check of the evacuation routes with Shizune. The exams will start soon."
"Tsunade."
She stopped with her hand on the doorknob.
"Be careful. If something goes wrong..."
"It won't go wrong," Tsunade interrupted him. "I won't allow it."
She left, closing the door firmly behind her.
Hiruzen remained alone in his office, looking at the map of Konoha. His fingers traced the perimeter of the Forest of Death.
"This is complicated," he muttered.
****
In the meeting area outside the Academy, the atmosphere was electric.
Ninety genin from different villages were gathering in nervous groups. Some looked confident, others terrified, most somewhere in between.
Anko Mitarashi was standing on a nearby rooftop, observing the crowd with trained eyes. Her right hand rested casually on the weapon at her thigh, but her muscles were tense.
Every face memorized, she thought while her eyes scanned methodically. Every movement analyzed. If one of you is a threat...
Her mark pulsed. A sharp pain that made her grit her teeth.
"Control yourself," she muttered to herself, massaging her neck. "It's just nerves."
But she knew it was a lie.
Her gaze stopped on the Suna team. Three figures dressed in black: Temari with her giant fan, Kankurō with his wrapped doll, and between them...
Gaara of the Desert.
The redhead boy was completely motionless, arms crossed and those sleepless eyes staring at nothing. Even from this distance, Anko could feel something strange emanating from him.
An unstable container, she thought with distaste. Perfect. As if we didn't have enough problems.
"ANKO-SAN!"
The cheerful and scandalously loud voice broke her concentration.
Anko spun around sharply, her hand already moving toward a kunai before processing who had shouted.
Naruto was standing below, waving with both arms in the air as if he were at a festival and not a potentially deadly exam.
"Good morning, Anko-san! Beautiful day to kick some ass, huh!"
Anko's serious expression cracked. She couldn't help it. A smile formed on her lips as she jumped from the roof, landing softly in front of the boy.
"Loud brat," she said, but her tone lacked real venom. "Did you sleep well or were you up all night like a kid on Christmas?"
"I slept awesome!" Naruto hit his chest. "I had a dream where I became Hokage and then everyone had to treat me to free ramen for a year."
"Such noble aspirations." Anko rolled her eyes, but internally she felt... relieved. Naruto's pure and unstoppable energy was like an antidote against the darkness she had been feeling. "And in that dream did you also pay your ramen debts to Teuchi?"
"Debts? I don't have debts!"
"Sure, sure."
Sakura appeared behind Naruto, pulling him by the ear. "Stop shouting! You're going to make everyone stare at us!"
"Ow, ow, ow! Sakura-chan, let go!"
"Good morning, Anko-san," Sakura greeted politely while maintaining her grip on Naruto's ear. "Excuse this idiot. He ate three bowls of ramen for breakfast and now he's hyperactive."
"It was four!" Naruto protested. "And three bowls is nothing! That's a light breakfast!"
"Four bowls," Sakura repeated with disbelief. "How have you not exploded yet?"
"I have an incredible metabolism."
"You have a bottomless stomach," Sakura finally let him go. "And you probably have a tapeworm the size of an anaconda."
"That's gross, Sakura-chan!"
Anko laughed. "I like this girl."
Hinata arrived shortly after, moving with her characteristic silent grace. "Good morning, Anko-san. Good morning, Naruto-kun, Sakura-san."
"Hinata-chan!" Naruto finally freed himself from Sakura's grip. "Ready for this?"
"Ready," Hinata nodded. "Today we show everything we have trained for."
"That's the spirit." Anko patted Hinata on the shoulder. "I like seeing you with that face, Hyūga. None of that shyness from before."
Hinata blushed a little but held her gaze steady. "Thank you, Anko-san."
Ino appeared with Shikamaru and Chōji following her. "Look who decided to arrive early," she said with a smile. "I thought we would have to drag you out of bed, Naruto."
"Hey! I'm always punctual for important things!"
"Last time you were three hours late to a training meeting," Sakura pointed out.
"That was because a cat attacked me!"
"A cat," Shikamaru repeated with a flat tone. "Troublesome."
"It was a ninja cat! It had claws the size of kunais!"
"It was a normal stray cat," Sakura corrected him. "And you threw food at it and then got scared when it came near you."
"Lies!"
Chōji was eating from a bag of chips. "I saw the cat. It was small. Like the size of my hand."
"Traitor!" Naruto pointed at Chōji dramatically. "You are supposed to be my friend!"
"I am your friend. But I am also honest."
Ino laughed. "You guys are ridiculous."
Sasuke arrived alone, walking with his hands in his pockets. He stopped at the edge of the group, looking at Naruto with an unreadable expression.
"Teme," Naruto greeted him with a grin. "Ready not to get left behind?"
"Shut up, Dobe," Sasuke replied. "Just try not to make a fool of yourself in front of the whole village."
"That's my line!"
"How do you feel, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, her tone shifting to a more professional one. "Did you take the medicine this morning?"
"I'm fine," Sasuke replied curtly.
"That doesn't answer my question."
Sasuke looked at her, noting the firmness in her voice. "Yes. I took the medicine."
"Good. Because if you collapse in the middle of the exam, Tsunade-sama is going to kill me. And then she's going to kill you."
"I won't collapse."
"You better not."
Anko watched the interactions, noting something that made her genuinely smile.
The Konoha kids, she thought. They are more united than people think.
Tenten arrived running from the distance.
"Naruto!" Tenten called, approaching the group. "Good morning everyone."
"Tenten!" Naruto gave her a thumbs up. "Ready to show everyone what you're made of?"
"More than ready," Tenten smiled confidently. Her hand rested casually on her weapon pouch, but Anko, with her trained eye, noticed something strange. The pouch didn't have the usual weight. It was too light.
Interesting, Anko thought. What are these brats planning?
"Isn't your team coming with you?" Sakura asked.
"Lee is doing warm-ups somewhere. Probably running around the village five hundred times or something. And Neji..." Tenten paused. "Neji arrived an hour ago. He's meditating alone."
"Wow," Naruto murmured. "He seems like a serious guy."
"Hey, you are serious too when you want to be," Ino pointed out.
"Yeah, but I am serious in a cool way. Neji is serious in a boring way."
"That is a stupid distinction," Shikamaru yawned.
"You are lazy in a troublesome way," Naruto shot back.
"Touché."
"Alright, listen up," Anko raised her voice enough for the whole group to hear. Her serious expression had returned. "The first phase starts in forty minutes. It's a written test in the Academy. I won't be there to babysit you."
"Don't worry, Anko-san," Naruto said with that annoying confidence that was somehow reassuring. "We are going to pass this easy."
"I hope so," Anko looked at each of them directly. "Because the second phase... that one is mine. And I won't be nice."
"We wouldn't expect anything less," Sakura said with a small smile.
"Are you going to throw snakes at us?" Naruto asked with genuine curiosity.
"Snakes, traps, who knows. Maybe I'll even chase you through the forest myself just to keep you on your toes."
"Awesome. I love surprises."
"Not when they come from me, brat."
Anko nodded, then lowered her voice so only the nearby group could hear. "If something goes wrong, Naruto..."
"I scream and run," Naruto completed. "I know. I promised."
"And if you can't run?"
"Then I scream louder."
Anko almost smiled. "Good. And the rest of you, keep your eyes open. There are a lot of weird people in these exams. Some teams are from small villages I've never seen. If something feels wrong, trust your instincts."
"Understood," the group responded.
"Good." Anko turned her back to them, preparing to jump back to her surveillance position. "Now get going. And brat..."
She stopped, looking at Naruto over her shoulder.
"...kick some ass in there. For me."
"Count on it!"
Anko jumped, vanishing among the rooftops. But from her new position, she continued to watch, her hand still pressing against her aching mark.
The group moved toward the Academy entrance along with the tide of other genin.
"Alright," Ino said quietly as they walked. "Let's remember the plan. Once we are inside and separated..."
"You use your mental communication jutsu," Sakura completed just as quietly. "You connect us all discreetly."
"Exactly," Ino nodded. "I can't maintain it for long without the examiners noticing, so I'll only use it to share critical answers."
"Can you connect us all?" Hinata asked curiously. "It's a lot of people."
"I can maintain a link with eight people simultaneously if I concentrate. That covers us."
"And the examiners won't notice?" Sasuke asked skeptically.
"My jutsu is subtle. It's not like the Yamanaka Mind Transfer which is obvious. This is just... mental whispers. Like thinking out loud, but everyone hears."
"Sounds useful," Tenten admitted.
"It is. But it has limits. If I get distracted or hit, the connection breaks. So everyone has to keep me safe."
"No one is going to touch you," Naruto said firmly. "I promise."
Ino smiled at him. "Thanks, Naruto."
"Kiba and Shino are on their own plan," Hinata explained. "Kiba is going to copy with Akamaru, and Shino... well, Shino has his methods."
"Bug methods," Shikamaru murmured. "Troublesome but effective."
"And me?" Tenten asked.
"Of course you are included, Tenten," Naruto told her. "You are part of us. Besides, with your new abilities, that written test should be a piece of cake."
"I'm not worried about the test," Tenten admitted. "I'm more worried about the second phase. That forest sounds..."
"Terrifying?" Sakura offered.
"I was going to say 'exciting', but yeah, terrifying too."
"The Forest of Death has a reputation for a reason," Shikamaru said. "Huge animals, poisonous plants, natural traps. And that's not counting the other teams that are going to try to kill us."
"How optimistic you are, Shikamaru," Ino elbowed him.
"I'm a realist. There is a difference."
They reached the Academy gates. The entrance was packed with genin pouring in en masse, a chaotic mix of colors, village symbols, and nervous energy.
"Here we go," Sakura took a deep breath, adjusting her new gloves.
"Hey, Sakura-chan," Naruto stopped her for a moment. "Those gloves look good on you."
Sakura blinked, surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah. They make you look like a serious kunoichi. Like someone who is going to kick ass."
Sakura felt heat in her cheeks. "Thanks, Naruto."
"You're welcome. Now let's go inside and show everyone that Team 7 is the best."
"Team 7, Team 8, and Team 10," Hinata corrected softly.
"All Konoha teams are the best," Naruto expanded with a grin. "But especially us."
"And remember," Naruto turned to all of them, his smile bright and unwavering. "No matter what happens in there, we are a team. All of us. We are going to pass this together."
"Together," Hinata repeated softly.
"Together," Ino confirmed.
"Even if it is troublesome," Shikamaru added with a small smile.
"Then let's not waste any more time!" Naruto shouted, raising his fist in the air. "Team Konoha, let's show everyone why we are the best!"
"Don't shout!" Sakura hit him on the head, but she was smiling.
The group entered through the doors, swallowed by the crowd of participants. The energy was palpable, vibrant, charged with anticipation and danger.
*****
On the top floor of the Academy, Ibiki Morino waited in the exam room, surrounded by his Chūnin assistants.
"They are ready," he told his assistants. "When they enter, I want maximum pressure from the first second. These brats need to understand that this is not a game."
"Hai, Ibiki-san."
One of the assistants, a young Chūnin, raised his hand. "What happens if someone tries to cheat in an obvious way?"
"Then you eliminate them. Along with their entire team."
"And if the cheating is subtle?"
"Then we watch them. If they are good enough to fool us, they deserve to pass. Subtlety is a ninja skill."
"Understood."
Ibiki walked to the window, looking down at the crowd of genin beginning to enter the building.
"Ninety participants," he murmured. "This is going to be an interesting exam."
*******
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