Sure enough, barely half an hour later, the door to the Archives was violently shoved open with a loud clang.
Uchiha Fugaku strode in, his expression dark and oppressive. Gripped tightly in his hand by the collar—like a struggling chick—was none other than Uchiha Yoshihiro, who had clearly run back in tears to complain.
"Father, it's him! It's that guy!" Yoshihiro cried out the moment he spotted Hiroki. He struggled wildly, pointing at him with trembling fingers, his voice thick with grievance and indignation.
Fugaku ignored his son completely. His sharp gaze swept across the Archives before finally locking onto the black-haired youth who calmly stepped out from behind a bookshelf.
The instant Fugaku clearly saw that face—so composed, so utterly devoid of emotion—his entire body froze.
It's him?!
The mysterious "Genius Who Copies Ninjutsu."The one both the Third Hokage and Lord Danzo valued so highly that they had gathered all the jonin to spar with him.
That monster… was actually this boy?!
Fugaku's mind raced. This child had disappeared around the same time Hanzo was captured. There was no way that coincidence was meaningless. It was highly likely—no, almost certain—that Hanzo's capture was connected to this boy.
A wave of icy dread surged from Fugaku's feet straight to the top of his head.
His legs nearly gave out. Cold sweat drenched his back in an instant. Only moments ago, he had been furious, ready to storm in and demand justice for his son—but now, sheer terror consumed him.
What had he almost done?Bring people to confront a future Hokage candidate?Or worse—a monster capable of crippling someone known as the "Half-God"?
Slap!Slap!
The sharp sounds echoed through the Archives.
To everyone's shock—especially Yoshihiro's—Uchiha Fugaku suddenly backhanded his son twice, the blows ringing loudly in the quiet hall.
"You ungrateful bastard!" Fugaku roared, then immediately cast a cautious glance toward Hiroki. "How have I raised you?! Even if the other party were ordinary civilians—or just common genin—you absolutely must never use your power to bully others!"
Yoshihiro stood there in a daze, clutching his rapidly swelling cheeks. His eyes were filled with disbelief, confusion, and deep grievance.
Wasn't this how the Uchiha clan had always operated?When had his father ever said something like this before?
Fugaku offered no explanation. He seized Yoshihiro by the collar, dragged him forward, and slammed his head down with a heavy thud, forcing him to kneel before Hiroki.
As a jonin, Fugaku understood immediately—Hiroki's presence in this section of the Archives meant something confidential was underway. This was not information he could afford to let leak.
"You must have tried to bully him again!" Fugaku barked. "Apologize. Right now!"
"I—I didn't!" Yoshihiro protested desperately, fear finally creeping into his eyes. "I didn't even hit him!"
"Then why couldn't you beat him?!" Fugaku snapped. "If you're weaker, you should be training harder! Look at him—he's stronger than you and still studies diligently! And what about you?!"
"All you do is play all day and bully others! Now you lose to someone else and still have the nerve to run crying to me?! I'm ashamed of you!"
He snorted coldly. "Have you practiced Fire Release even once in the past month? I told you to master ninjutsu—it's for your own good!"
"And yet here you are, trying to make others clean up your mess!"
Fugaku suddenly yanked down Yoshihiro's pants, slipped off his own shoe, and raised it menacingly.
"Wait—Dad! Stop! At least don't take off my pants—!"
Hiroki's eyelid twitched. For a brief moment, he genuinely debated whether he should intervene.
But before he could act—
A strange, oppressive silence filled the room.
Without warning, a figure appeared behind them, soundless and unmoving, as if he had always been there.
"Hoo."
It was an ANBU ninja wearing an animal mask.
His cold gaze swept over the kneeling father and son before settling on Hiroki. In a professional, emotionless tone, he spoke:
"Uchiha Fugaku, take your child and step back. I have archives that need to be deposited here."
To Fugaku, it sounded like a pardon from execution.
He immediately grabbed his completely terrified son, hauled him up, and hurried out of the Archives without daring to look back.
What kind of secrets could exist in a room that only stored B-rank files or lower…?There was definitely something he wasn't meant to hear.
After they left, the ANBU ninja approached Hiroki, knelt on one knee, and respectfully presented a scroll with both hands.
"Lord Hiroki. This was ordered by the Sandaime. It contains the final roster of participants from the Hidden Sand Village and Iwagakure for the joint Chunin Exams."
Hiroki accepted the scroll, doubt flickering through his mind.
Why would the Sandaime specifically send ANBU to deliver this to me?
…Is he worried I still won't be able to handle the competition?
He slowly unrolled the scroll.
The names written on it struck his eyes like a bolt of lightning.
[Konohagakure Representatives]Minato Namikaze
[Sunagakure Representatives]Rasa, Pakura, Sasori
[Iwagakure Representatives]Roshi
Hiroki's pupils contracted violently, his breathing hitching.
Minato Namikaze—the future Fourth Hokage, the genius of Flying Thunder God. A top-tier ninja beyond question.
Rasa—the future Fourth Kazekage, wielder of Magnet Release, controller of Gold Sand.
Pakura—the Scorch Release user, a future hero of Sunagakure, destined for tragedy. Participating as a genin? At only twelve years old?
And then there was Sasori.
Nine years old.A genius puppeteer.The future "Sasori of the Red Sand."A master poisoner capable of creating lethal toxins.
And finally—
Roshi?!
Are you kidding me?!
A jinchuriki? Participating as a squad leader jonin?!
A jinchuriki in the Chunin Exams?!
This was practically a reenactment of Naruto's Chunin Exams. When things escalated, wouldn't Roshi just unleash his power outright? Would the three Kage end up fighting on the rooftops?
Dust Release.Iron Sand.The Third Hokage's full-powered techniques—
Hiroki felt a bone-deep chill spread through his body.
Sunagakure and Iwagakure were clearly planning something.
But why would Konoha allow this?
His thoughts raced—until a terrifying realization struck him.
How old was Roshi during Shippuden?About fifty.
Which meant that right now… he was probably only in his twenties or thirties.
That left one horrifying possibility—
Konoha doesn't know Roshi is the Four-Tails jinchuriki.
And worse—Roshi likely had no public combat intelligence on record.
Hiroki stared at the scroll, feeling as though he were holding a bomb rather than a piece of paper.
This wasn't just a Chunin Exams.
It was a preemptive battlefield—a massive free-for-all packed with future legends.
And the Third Hokage still wanted him to erase the ninjutsu of other villages' geniuses during this exam.
For the first time, Hiroki felt that this mission might be just as dangerous as facing Hanzo at his peak.
Did the Sandaime truly understand what kind of lineup this was?
Did he know a jinchuriki was hidden among them?
If he did—
Would he still allow them to enter?
Turmoil churned violently in Hiroki's chest. He wanted nothing more than to rush to the Hokage's office and warn Hiruzen Sarutobi that this roster concealed a danger capable of overturning the entire village.
But he couldn't.
How could he explain that he knew their futures?How could he reveal Roshi's secret?
In the end, all he could do was remain silent—
And prepare for the worst.
Because this Chunin Exams might not just be a test.
It might be the opening move of a Konoha Crush.