Kazuyama Gekkō looked at Fugaku Uchiha, whose body was wrapped in anger and resentment, and sighed.
"Hey, Fugaku, that night wasn't your fault."
"The enemy was clearly well-prepared. You did your best leading the whole clan this far."
"Hey, I'm talking to you—could you at least respond a little?"
He was about to explode.
He, Kazuyama Gekkō, had always been the one to irritate others. No one had ever dared to irritate him like this! Damn Fugaku, why was he such a fragile man?
"Fugaku, look at me. It's me, Kazuyama Gekkō."
"Did you finish that medicinal wine I gave you? If not, I'll bring you more."
"Does your son need more toys? I can buy some. I'll just end up secretly breaking them later anyway."
"Your wife need any new skincare? The Land of Birds just released new products."
"Fugaku…"
To drag Fugaku out of his mental pit, Kazuyama unleashed his full chatterbox mode, spitting words like a machine gun. One line after another, until Fugaku's stiff, corpse-like face finally began to twitch with faint signs of emotion.
At last, he snapped.
"You bastard, Kazuyama Gekkō!"
"Don't think that just because you helped the Uchiha, you can act like this!"
"Take this!"
Sharpening his blade? Forget sharpening—it was time to use it! Right now, Fugaku wanted nothing more than to cut this idiot in half!
Kazuyama grinned. "There we go."
He leapt backward, easily dodging Fugaku's sweeping slash. The man was seriously strong—no way he was taking that hit head-on.
"Damn it, don't run!"
"Stand still, you coward!"
Missing his first strike only enraged Fugaku further. He genuinely wanted to kill Kazuyama now. But that only made Kazuyama laugh harder.
"Come on, Fugaku. You haven't managed to cut me all these years—what makes you think today's the day?"
"Anyway, don't forget to go watch your son in the Chūnin Exams."
Kazuyama turned to leave, ignoring Fugaku's growing irritation.
Seeing him walk off, Fugaku lowered his blade but still called out.
"Hey, that group—any updates?"
"Nothing. They've vanished like smoke. You know their dōjutsu—once they decide to run, no one can stop them."
Muren Uchiha's dōjutsu, Mugen no Me, truly lived up to its name. Even Kazuyama had to admit how terrifyingly effective it was as a support ability. Just one glance and they were thousands of meters away. Ridiculous.
"Hmph. If you hear anything, let me know. The clan's revenge must be repaid."
Great. Now he was fired up again. Those Mangekyō eyes—didn't they hurt?
Kazuyama glanced at him, sighed helplessly, and left. After all these years, he'd found nothing—no trace of them. Now, at least there was someone else waiting for their return. That was something.
Fugaku Uchiha was among the strongest in the clan. Having him as an ally against those inhuman foes wasn't a bad thing at all.
...
At the entrance of Konoha Academy.
Pakura was training with Michihito Gekkō and Senko Gekkō when they ran into a new batch of Genin preparing for the Chūnin Exams. If Kazuyama were here, he'd definitely shout, "Whoa! Nine of the Twelve Little Strong Ones!"
Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Hyūga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chōji, and Yamanaka Ino.
When they spotted Pakura and her students, surprise flashed across their faces before they quickly gathered around.
"Pakura-sensei, you're back!"
Pakura smiled and nodded. She'd met all these kids before. Though she'd spent most of the past few years away from the village, she occasionally returned to teach for short periods. Kazuyama did the same.
"Brother Michihito, you're back too!"
"Let's all take the Chūnin Exams together!"
Though Naruto's parents were alive in this lifetime, his personality was still as loud and energetic as ever. Since childhood, Kushina had often brought him to mooch dinner at the Gekkō household, so he was close with both Michihito and Senko.
"Yeah, we're joining the Chūnin Exams. From what Dad said, Sunagakure, Takigakure, and Amegakure are sending teams too."
"Should be interesting."
Michihito had grown a lot—nearly one meter seventy now—with a sword still strapped to his back. His presence alone was sharp as steel. He didn't look like Kazuyama at all; he resembled Pakura more—a clean-cut, spirited young man.
Senko, on the other hand, was the perfect blend of both parents—gentle yet fierce. Though still young, her presence was striking and confident.
"Oh? Other villages' Genin are joining too?"
"But hey, Brother Michihito, there's a problem. Don't the exams require three people per team? You and Senko only make two."
Naruto looked thrilled at first—he loved meeting outsiders—but quickly turned puzzled.
Michihito and Senko just looked toward their mother. Pakura shrugged helplessly.
"Don't look at me. Your dad said he'd handle it. Let him worry about it."
"He's been a Chūnin Exam examiner for years—he'll figure something out."
"Alright, you kids wait for your jōnin sensei. I'll take Michihito and Senko to see Principal Hatake, then we'll go train."
Once the three left, the Nine Little Strong Ones began their next round of discussion.
"Naruto, Kakashi-sensei said if Michihito and Senko take the exam, we must be in separate groups."
"Otherwise, something really bad will happen."
Sakura, ever the rule-abiding student, repeated her teacher's warning. Their instructor was still Kakashi, though this version of him was far more attentive and supportive than the one in the original tale.
And he gave them proper guidance too. Like about Michihito and Senko.
"Yeah, our sensei mentioned it too."
"Kurenai-sensei said those two are insanely strong—way beyond our level. But they look about the same age as us, right?"
Kiba Inuzuka, with Akamaru perched proudly on his head, looked confident as ever. He clearly thought he could win.
His remark was immediately shot down by three others.
"Are you kidding? You've never seen Brother Michihito fight. His sword technique—man, he can slice an apple into threads! Sasuke, back me up, you've seen it too!" Naruto said, visibly unsettled.
Sasuke swallowed hard before speaking.
"Yeah… he's stronger than my brother. Even Itachi wouldn't underestimate him. But the one you should really worry about isn't Michihito—it's Senko."
"Right. The one who inherited Konoha's Ghost's Transparent Escape and Crystal Release—the terrifying pink crystal maker, Senko Gekkō…"
That final line came from Shikamaru Nara. After all, he'd heard about them from his father—and the rumors alone were terrifying.