"Stop, Kankurō."
A cold voice came from another direction.
Young Kakashi and Sasuke Uchiha immediately grew tense. The Suna pair from earlier might not have been weak, but in the eyes of Young Kakashi—who had become a jōnin at age twelve through sheer talent and extensive real-combat experience—they weren't much at all.
For him, Obito, and the others, reacting on instinct was simply how things were in the era of the Third Shinobi World War. Back then, reacting a moment too slowly or failing to stay alert to enemies and the battlefield could mean dying on a support mission the very day a young ninja stepped out of the Academy.
But compared to those two Suna Ninja, the red-haired boy hanging upside down from a tree behind them radiated a level of killing intent and power far beyond theirs.
"I... Gaara..."
The youth called Kankurō—one of the earlier Suna duo, the one using chakra threads to monitor the Konoha genin—was clearly terrified of the boy who'd told him to stop. He froze instantly; when he spoke to Gaara, his voice stuttered and his expression twisted unnaturally.
Yet Gaara looked to be around the same age as Naruto and the others, maybe even two years younger than Kankurō.
Temari: "Gaara, listen—Konoha's people were the ones who—"
"Shut up, or I'll kill you."
Gaara hadn't even released true killing intent, but Temari and Kankurō clamped their mouths shut on the spot.
His strength was at least on the level of a standard Konoha jōnin.
Young Kakashi made his silent assessment.
Sasuke also judged that this boy, who had erased his presence and appeared behind them without a sound, likely wouldn't lose to Kakashi at the same age.
Naruto and Obito were shaken by the sheer pressure radiating from the red-haired youth with the character "愛 (Love)" carved into his forehead.
The two Suna Ninja he'd just intimidated kept bowing and apologizing, plastering on awkward smiles.
Gaara ignored them and instead looked straight at the strongest person present—Minato Namikaze in ANBU attire.
"My apologies."
His body scattered into sand on the spot. A heartbeat later, the grains swirled and reformed beside Kankurō and Temari.
Gaara held up a credential between two fingers for Minato Namikaze to see.
"We're ninja from Sunagakure of the Land of Wind, an allied nation of the Land of Fire. We were invited here to take part in Konoha's Chūnin Exams."
From where he stood, Minato Namikaze saw the portraits of the three on the ID and gave a small nod.
Curiosity filled his thoughts as he looked at the boy before him.
His hand unconsciously settled on Naruto's shoulder.
He could sense the Tailed Beast chakra inside this youth. The same age as Naruto, but shaped into someone powerful... with eyes like that—
Eyes that looked abandoned by the world, and yet as though he'd abandoned the world in return.
This boy felt like another possible future for Naruto in this ninja world.
A strange, indescribable emotion welled up inside Minato Namikaze.
As the three turned to leave, Minato suddenly called out, "Boy, your name is...?"
Obito, Kakashi, and Rin all looked at their teacher in surprise. They hadn't expected Minato-sensei to stop a boy whose very gaze made people uneasy.
Naruto especially noticed the slight tightening of his young father's hand on his shoulder.
The three Suna Ninja turned back.
Gaara said quietly, "I am Gaara of the Desert. Who are you?"
"I'm ANBU from Konoha. Under normal circumstances, we're not allowed to give our real names. My apologies."
Minato patted his future son's shoulder and said to Gaara,
"But if you ever need anything, you can reach me through Naruto and the others."
Gaara: "....."
He looked calmly at Naruto and Obito, then said bluntly, "Not interested. Too weak."
"What?!!" Naruto and Obito exploded in outrage, ready to rush over and pick a fight.
Gaara ignored Sakura Haruno and Rin entirely, shifting his attention to Sasuke Uchiha and Young Kakashi. "What are your names? Compared to those two" — he glanced at Naruto and Obito — "you two interest me more."
"Kakashi Hatake."
"Sasuke Uchiha."
Two geniuses from different eras announced their names with youthful confidence.
Minato didn't stop Young Kakashi from giving his name. None of them knew when they would return to their own timeline, and an SSS-rank mission that might decide the fate of the Ninja World wasn't going to wrap up anytime soon.
Given that, openly admitting they were from the past was better than hiding and making their movements awkward and limited.
Still, because of Minato's influence and status, it was better for him to keep a low profile when moving around.
In contrast to the pride of the two prodigies, the two dead-last boys from different eras sank to their knees, spiraling into despair.
"Naruto, are we really that weak?"
"Damn it! That stupid Sasuke always steals the spotlight!"
"Hmph! One day I'm gonna make dumb Kakashi eat his words!"
The two miserable brothers-in-suffering felt like throwing their arms around each other and bawling.
Sakura, meanwhile, was completely entranced by Sasuke and the young Kakashi-sensei. Her eyes sparkled with pink, heart-shaped fantasies.
Rin was a little more reserved, though her face was flushed as she watched Kakashi and Sasuke. She crouched down to comfort Obito and young Naruto.
"Don't give up, Obito! I'll be watching you. You're definitely going to get stronger!"
"Rin..." Obito was nearly crying from how touched he was. To him, the girl standing in front of him wasn't human — she was an angel.
Rin cheered him on, "And don't forget you still have that crucial SSS-rank mission! You have to avenge Kushina-san and Minato-sensei of this era and then save the world in style!"
"Yeah!" Obito nodded hard.
If she kept going, Obito would burst into tears, so Rin moved on to comfort Minato-sensei's son.
Even though Naruto was only twelve or thirteen, because he was Minato and Kushina's child — and because Rin had witnessed his birth — she couldn't help treating him like a younger brother, doting on him as if he were her student.
"Naruto, did you forget? You have that special training method with Shadow Clones. As long as you keep practicing, both your ninjutsu and taijutsu will catch up!"
To make sure Naruto believed her, Rin nudged the boy beside her with her elbow. "Right, Kakashi?"
"Huh? What's that got to do with me?" Young Kakashi blurted out by reflex, then remembered he'd also trained Naruto's team in the future. He cleared his throat and tried to act like the little teacher he technically was. "...Yeah." It was a reluctant agreement, but an agreement nonetheless.
Remembering that Naruto had such a cheat-like training ability — and a terrifyingly strong monster sealed inside him — Sasuke found himself instinctively comparing the two of them. A restless frustration stirred in his chest.
Maybe because Naruto had always been the dead last, Sasuke Uchiha — always ranked first overall — suddenly felt an unpleasant sense of being overtaken.
He didn't know what this feeling was.
He genuinely wanted Naruto to grow stronger and walk beside him, but deep inside, something else… another soul…
That soul didn't want Naruto to grow strong. It wanted him to stay behind forever, always the fool.
Minato placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "No need to rush. Your Sharingan is exceptional. Focus on training in that direction, and your progress will soar."
"..."
Sasuke knew the Fourth Hokage was trying to comfort him.
But when he thought of the Sharingan, he realized he'd taken at least one step closer to Itachi.
Because of the man standing before him, he was beginning to uncover questions he had never considered as a child.
The village, the clan…
What had the Uchiha of that era been hiding?
And what had Konoha concealed?
...
After the three Konoha genin who had tried to act tough but ended up bullied fled the scene, the students of Team Minato and Team Kakashi took over Training Ground #3.
Now that both Sasuke and Obito possessed Sharingan, sparring against each other pushed both of them to improve rapidly.
Sakura continued learning Medical Ninjutsu side by side with Rin, as well as chakra control techniques to enhance offensive power.
Naruto trained with Young Kakashi, who essentially acted as his personal instructor.
Since Naruto's talent with standard ninjutsu wasn't very high, Young Kakashi mostly drilled him in the basics of taijutsu.
One-handed wall climbing without chakra, walking upside down on one hand with weights, shuriken throwing…
For the first time, Naruto realized that genius wasn't just about being born talented.
In the places no one sees, their strict self-discipline is the real reason they stay ahead of everyone else.
"Yo!"
The older Kakashi who had left earlier suddenly appeared again, crouched on a tree branch not far away.
"Minato-sensei."
He greeted Minato first.
As he jumped down from the tree, he handed Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura each a document.
It was the same Chūnin Exam qualification certificate they'd seen earlier in the hands of the three Suna Ninja.
[Naruto Uzumaki, Obito Uchiha, Sakura Haruno. The above ninja are hereby recommended by Kakashi Hatake to participate in the Chūnin Selection Exams.]
[Signature: Jōnin Kakashi Hatake]
"Just like I said before, I've recommended you all for this year's Chūnin Exams."
Kakashi had barely finished speaking when—
"YES!! You're the best, Kakashi-sensei!!"
Naruto shot forward and latched onto him.
"Hey—cut it out!" Kakashi staggered as Naruto swung around his neck. He had never been handled like this before, especially not with Minato-sensei watching, plus Obito, Rin, and even his younger self standing nearby.
Flustered, he tried to pry Naruto off. "Don't stand so close."
"Pff—"
Rin couldn't hold back a giggle, and Minato let out a soft laugh right after.
"This looks exactly like Obito back then."
When Obito had received his own certificate, he'd thrown his arms around Minato's neck shouting, "You're the best, Minato-sensei!!"
...
"Mm."
Hearing the comparison, Obito's entire face heated with embarrassment.
Young Kakashi stood to the side. Even knowing that man was his future self, he still felt completely out of place in a scene like this.
"Chūnin Exams!"
Naruto waved his admission slip excitedly at Minato. "Once I pass this test, I'll be a Chūnin too!"
Sasuke looked equally fired up. He didn't just want to become a Chūnin—he wanted to rise to Jōnin as fast as Kakashi.
Sakura, on the other hand, was far more cautious.
Unlike Naruto, Obito, and Sasuke, who had all shown remarkable combat ability during the Land of Waves mission, Sakura had done little besides assist Rin and learn to treat injuries.
"Um… Rin…"
Sakura stopped her softly. "Is the Chūnin Exams… really hard?"
Before Rin could answer, Young Kakashi cut in, flashing a thumbs-down toward Obito. "Not hard. As long as none of you show up late."
Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto: "......"
The look they gave him said everything.
Even knowing young Kakashi never arrived late, they still wanted to roast him for his current-day habit of being late all the time.
Back in Team Minato, Obito had nearly fought Kakashi over that exact issue, with Rin always stuck mediating between them.
Watching the three of them interact made Sakura feel strangely envious.
It felt like Rin was an irreplaceable part of the connection between young Kakashi and Obito.
But she herself…
Maybe it was just her overly sensitive intuition as a girl, but watching Naruto and Sasuke clash one moment and synchronize perfectly the next, Sakura couldn't help feeling like she didn't quite belong.
Rin noticed and gently comforted her, then explained the Chūnin Exams to Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke.
"When we took our Chūnin Exams, it was already the eve of the Third Shinobi World War. Tension between the major nations was rising, and hostility between villages was intense. So only Konoha shinobi were allowed to participate—no ninja from other villages," Rin said softly.
Young Kakashi added, concise as always, "Normally, the Chūnin Exams have three rounds: written test, survival exercise, and combat. They're simple enough. Nothing complicated."
Sasuke let out a light snort. "Thought so."
Geniuses always have the confidence to back it up.
Naruto's whole body deflated the instant he heard the words "written test."
He quietly leaned toward Obito. "Hey… that written exam… is it hard?"
Obito didn't say anything, but his expression answered clearly.
Super. Hard.
...
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