Morino Ibiki's office.
He was sorting through materials from the first exam. These documents would be filed into folders after organization, then sent to the Hokage's office for the Third Hokage's review. Once approved, they'd be transferred to the records room for storage.
These materials recorded evaluations of exam candidates from other hidden villages—a form of strategic intelligence. During wartime, such information could play a crucial role.
Never ignore any seemingly inconspicuous detail. Sometimes, the most overlooked piece of information could prove unexpectedly vital at a critical moment.
This principle represented valuable wisdom gained through bloody lessons in the intelligence field.
Though Ibiki now primarily handled interrogation, his intelligence capabilities remained just as sharp.
At that moment, someone knocked on his office door.
"Come in!" Ibiki slipped the materials into a folder and looked up.
The door opened. A subordinate entered carrying a videotape. "Ibiki-sama, Anko Mitarashi asked me to give you this. She said it might help you."
Ibiki studied the tape in his subordinate's hand. What's Anko thinking? How could this help me? He couldn't figure it out, but the answer obviously lay within the recording.
He waved dismissively. "Play it."
His subordinate immediately followed instructions, preparing the video equipment. Everything was ready. Just one button press to view the contents. "Ibiki-sama, I'm starting it now."
"Go ahead." Ibiki held a document in both hands, replying casually as his eyes settled on the screen.
As the subordinate pressed play, the footage began.
Three figures appeared on screen. In front walked a boy with blonde hair. He stood tall, over 1.8 meters—as tall as an adult.
Behind him followed a young man and woman. The man supported the woman, whose complexion appeared poor.
"The second exam in the Forest of Death?" Ibiki muttered. He naturally recognized the team on screen—Team Seven led by Kakashi: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Uzumaki Naruto.
The reason Anko had sent him this tape was obviously because of Uzumaki Naruto.
Ibiki knew this without guessing. That interesting kid named Uzumaki Naruto had even declared he wanted to challenge him. Truly amusing.
Considering the circumstances at the time and his own position, Ibiki hadn't agreed to an immediate challenge. But he hadn't refused outright either. Instead, he'd promised Naruto could consider fighting after completing the Chūnin Selection Exam.
Ibiki had genuinely meant it. Such an interesting kid might prove entertaining to fight.
Anko bringing Naruto's exam footage suggested something remarkable had happened. She was sharing it with him because he'd mentioned Naruto to her, and she'd shown clear interest.
With this thought, Ibiki watched the screen with a smile, anticipating unexpected scenes from Naruto.
The footage continued. Team Naruto found a place to sit and rest, apparently planning to recuperate. After a while, another person appeared on screen.
Ibiki recognized this individual too—one of this year's candidates, a female ninja from Kusagakure.
The recording had no sound, but this posed no problem for Ibiki. As an intelligence expert, he'd specifically learned lip reading. He focused intently on the Kusagakure kunoichi.
But in the next second, Ibiki's pupils contracted sharply. His expression changed instantly.
He'd understood her lip movements perfectly.
"Let me introduce myself first. Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun—my name is Orochimaru."
Those were the ninja's exact words. Ibiki thought he'd read wrong. "Go back three seconds," he ordered urgently.
His subordinate complied.
Confirming again, Ibiki was certain he hadn't misread. The female Kusagakure ninja had indeed claimed to be Orochimaru.
Orochimaru. No one from their generation was unfamiliar with that name. He was one of the Legendary Sannin, as famous as Tsunade and Jiraiya, a disciple of the current Third Hokage.
But that identity wasn't what truly made Orochimaru infamous. His fame came from using fellow Konoha ninja for human experimentation—something intolerable and terrifying for any village member.
What does Orochimaru want, appearing in the Forest of Death?
Ibiki didn't panic encountering this revelation. Within seconds, he'd reasoned it through. The fact that this videotape existed in his hands meant the Orochimaru matter had been resolved.
So Ibiki continued watching patiently. He wanted to see exactly what Orochimaru had intended.
Simultaneously, for Team Naruto who'd encountered Orochimaru, Ibiki could only offer silent prayers.
The footage continued.
Ibiki read their words through lip movements. The content roughly matched what he already knew—Orochimaru had planned to invite both Naruto and Sasuke to join him. Both had refused.
Battle commenced.
First, Sasuke fought Orochimaru.
Seeing Sasuke dare to confront Orochimaru directly, Ibiki's face showed clear admiration. Even with his own strength, if he met Orochimaru he'd run immediately. He had no desire to become a test subject on Orochimaru's operating table.
Perhaps because Orochimaru valued talent, he didn't immediately kill Sasuke. The Uchiha opened with several Fire Style techniques, then drew kunai for close combat.
Orochimaru produced his legendary Kusanagi sword to match Sasuke in taijutsu.
After watching briefly, Ibiki's brows twitched. The following scene shocked him. Sasuke suddenly vanished, reappearing behind Orochimaru. A spiraling sphere of chakra—a Rasengan—slammed into Orochimaru's back.
It was the first time Orochimaru had been caught off-guard.
But Orochimaru's setback wasn't the most important revelation. Why did Sasuke know the Rasengan? Moreover, that move where Sasuke suddenly disappeared looked remarkably similar to Flying Thunder God.
Flying Thunder God. Rasengan. In that moment, many thoughts flooded Ibiki's mind. He remembered that man—the Yellow Flash. If not for him, current Konoha would likely have been destroyed by the Nine-Tails.
His signature techniques had been Flying Thunder God and Rasengan.
The title "Yellow Flash" had been earned through Flying Thunder God's speed—unmatched throughout the ninja world.
Surprised and speculating, Ibiki continued watching. When Sasuke couldn't finish Orochimaru quickly, Naruto stepped up. The moment Naruto entered the fight, Ibiki's expression grew intensely serious.
Naruto was clearly the key focus of this tape.
As soon as Naruto engaged, Ibiki felt profound surprise. Sasuke's strength was already remarkably strong. Now Naruto's abilities proved equally impressive. Using pure taijutsu alone, he'd forced Orochimaru backward.
Afterward, Ibiki felt dizzy from shock.
Seeing Naruto transform into a ten-meter giant, Ibiki's eyes widened impossibly far. His mouth gaped open. He couldn't sit still anymore, half-rising from his chair.
His subordinate watching alongside showed even more exaggerated reactions.
When Naruto made Orochimaru cry, then the Third Hokage appeared, followed by Danzo, and Orochimaru suddenly attacked only to be obliterated by Naruto's punch—the entire sequence left Ibiki in shock. He didn't recover for a long time.
After half an hour, his subordinate regained awareness first. "Ibiki-sama, the recording has ended."
Hearing this, Ibiki shook his head vigorously. After a long moment, he sighed, placed documents in his subordinate's hand, and instructed, "Deal with these documents later and send them to the Hokage's office."
He stood abruptly. "I have an extremely important mission. I'm leaving immediately. If anyone asks for me, tell them I've gone on assignment. You don't know when I'll return."
"But—" Before the subordinate could finish, Ibiki had already turned and left the office rapidly.
The moment Ibiki left, he murmured softly, "Anko Mitarashi, thank you. I owe you a favor. I'll repay it when the time comes."
"Naruto, what did you just say?"
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen, who'd been pouring tea, froze mid-motion. He stopped his hands, looked up at Naruto, and asked carefully.
He'd thought he heard something just now, but hadn't caught it clearly.
Something about... a hammer hitting someone's head? Hiruzen thought, puzzled.
Naruto looked at Hiruzen. His solemn expression suddenly burst into a bright smile. "It's nothing, Grandpa Third. What were you asking about?"
He spread his hands helplessly. "After all, I know quite a lot of things."
"Oh, I was asking about Orochimaru's bounty. How did you know about it?" Hiruzen studied Naruto with curiosity, but his mind focused on that phrase: 'I know quite a lot of things.'
What exactly does Naruto know? Hiruzen suddenly realized the situation had slipped beyond his control. Mainly because Naruto's strength was too overwhelming. He wasn't confident he could subdue Naruto by force.
"Kakashi-sensei told me. During class, he warned us that if we ever encountered Orochimaru, we shouldn't hesitate—just run away immediately." Naruto dumped the responsibility on Kakashi without the slightest hesitation.
Hiruzen seemed satisfied with this explanation. He nodded. "Kakashi is absolutely right. When meeting Orochimaru, you really should flee. That man captures ninja to use for human experimentation."
Speaking of this, Hiruzen sighed deeply. "It's all my fault. I didn't have the resolve back then. I couldn't bring myself to kill Orochimaru. In the end, I still valued our master-student relationship too highly."
In that moment, Hiruzen seemed like an ordinary old man with normal human emotions—an elderly person who valued relationships deeply.
Naruto said carefully, "Grandpa Third is a good person. I killed Orochimaru. You won't blame me, will you?"
Seeing the guilty expression on Naruto's face, Hiruzen shook his head firmly. "I won't blame you, Naruto. I can only say Orochimaru deserved his fate. Coming to Konoha this time, he probably had some terrible plan in mind."
He paused meaningfully. "Actually, Naruto has performed a meritorious service in this matter."
"Oh, really?" Naruto's eyes lit up immediately. "Then, Grandpa Third, is there a bonus for my contribution?"
Hearing this question, Hiruzen couldn't suppress a bitter smile. "Alright. I'll give you the bonus later."
"Give me Orochimaru's bounty too! Recently I've been too poor. The breeding farm is experiencing financial difficulties." Naruto's expression turned genuinely distressed.
Seeing Naruto's worried face, Hiruzen relented. "Fine, everything is yours. I'll arrange it all later."
Hiruzen agreed immediately. Of course, this decision factored in Naruto's tremendous strength. If Naruto had been merely a low-ranking ninja, Hiruzen wouldn't have agreed so readily.
"By the way, Orochimaru tried to invite Sasuke to join his organization. Sasuke refused." Naruto mentioned this casually.
Hiruzen nodded with approval. "Sasuke is indeed a good boy."
They chatted for a while longer. Hiruzen asked questions about Naruto's strength and probed other topics indirectly. Naruto cleverly avoided them all.
In the end, finding he'd obtained no useful information from Naruto, the conversation reached its natural conclusion.
The ending was proposed by Naruto, allowing him to preserve Hiruzen's emotional dignity. With Hiruzen's approval slip in hand, Naruto departed to collect his bounty and bonus.
Hiruzen obviously cared for Naruto greatly. He personally escorted him downstairs.
Coming down from the Hokage building, Hiruzen stood at the entrance, watching Naruto's retreating back.
Suddenly, Naruto, who'd walked several steps away, turned around abruptly. He looked directly at Hiruzen and spoke clearly:
"Grandpa Third, what I said earlier was:"
"My mother told me to smash your head off!"
Word by word, Naruto spoke with absolute clarity and seriousness.
Hiruzen's face froze suddenly. His expression became profoundly unnatural. He stared straight at Naruto. Naruto's expression remained deadly serious.
After a long moment, Hiruzen forced a smile onto his aged face. "Is Naruto joking with Grandpa?"
Naruto looked directly at Hiruzen, observing the strained smile on the old man's face. Suddenly he showed a pure, sunny grin, as if he'd never been serious at all. "Haha, I was just joking with Grandpa!"
Hiruzen maintained his smile rigidly.
"Okay, thank you for the bounty and bonus, Grandpa Third! I'll go collect them now. Goodbye!" Naruto waved cheerfully to Hiruzen, then turned and left.
Watching Naruto's back gradually disappear into the distance, Hiruzen finally allowed the smile to fade from his face. He spoke with cold calmness: "It seems some things haven't remained hidden."
His voice dropped to barely a whisper. "Otherwise, how could he have said that sentence?"
"The tone of that sentence... indeed very similar to Kushina's."
Filled with worries, Hiruzen slowly returned to the Hokage's office, his steps heavier than before.
After collecting his reward, Naruto inquired about Morino Ibiki's office location. He arrived at the door and was about to knock when a ninja approached.
"May I help you with something?"
Naruto explained, "I came looking for Examiner Ibiki. I have business with him." Naruto had come to fulfill his promise. Ibiki had said after completing the Chūnin Exam, Naruto could come challenge him to become friends.
The ninja shook his head regretfully. "Then you're too late. Ibiki-sama just left on a mission. No one knows when he'll return."
Ibiki's not here? Naruto felt slight disappointment. Whatever. I'll come back next time. A person must keep their word.
Returning to the farm, Zabuza approached immediately. "Naruto, Terumi Mei-sama is looking for you."
Zabuza provided Naruto with Terumi Mei's address, letting him go alone. Originally, Zabuza had wanted to lead Naruto there personally, but Terumi Mei had specifically said guidance was unnecessary—Naruto should come alone.
Could it be starting already? Didn't she say to wait until after my Chūnin Exam?! Naruto's thoughts raced. Oh right, I've finished the exam now. Terumi Mei's intelligence network is remarkably efficient.
With this realization, Naruto no longer hesitated. He activated Instantaneous Movement directly.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Terumi Mei. "Sister Mei, are we starting now?"
Terumi Mei didn't answer his question. Instead, she grabbed Naruto's arm, her voice carrying desperate pleading:
"Naruto, please teach me the vibration technique!"
Naruto: ???