"0286. Five total infractions—out! 0672, 0891... you're out too."
Three Genin wearing Kusagakure forehead protectors stood up awkwardly. Two of them shot 0286 irritated looks full of blame.
Naruto's heart skipped a beat.
Oh crap! It's only been ten minutes and someone already got caught cheating five times! What am I gonna do?! I don't understand a single damn word on this nightmare of a test!! (;￣Д￣)
To his side, Hinata sat with an empty seat between them. Her test paper was already half filled out—thanks to the Byakugan.
She didn't know how to solve the questions herself. But with her Byakugan's 360-degree vision, she had easily located three consistent sources of answers within the room.
Two of them had slight differences between their sheets, but the third—Sakura's—matched both in part and was the most complete.
So Hinata chose to trust Sakura's paper.
After all, compared to the Genin from other villages, Sakura was a walking cheat code for Konoha. This was their hidden advantage.
Hinata glanced at Naruto, whose face was locked in panic. The memory flashed in her mind—Naruto standing up for her when she was bullied as a child.
And lately, he kept calling Uchiha Hikaru "big brother" with such admiration...
She made a soft cough—twice—deliberate, controlled.
Her test paper was tilted slightly, just enough to be visible from Naruto's angle.
A nearby Chunin took note of the action and silently wrote down Hinata's name, but didn't act immediately.
Naruto turned toward the cough, saw Hinata's gentle, reassuring expression, and felt his chest warm.
Hinata... (´｡• ᵕ •｡`)
He leaned forward to copy... but before he could even pick up his pen, a deep voice rang out behind him.
"You! Out!"
Naruto froze, ready to defend himself—Wait! That wasn't me! It's my first time even trying!
But the Konoha Genin sitting directly in front of him slowly rose with a bitter look.
"0121 is out. 0328, 0339—you're all out."
The other two stood up with quiet frustration and followed their teammate out of the hall.
Naruto let out a huge sigh of relief.
Whew… that could've been me. (￣▽￣*)
0121 lowered his head, looking apologetically at his teammates.
"Sorry…"
"Hey~ it's no big deal! We'll come back next year!" one said cheerfully.
"That's right. If we rank up without you, we wouldn't even want to celebrate," the other added.
The three walked out of the exam room together, shoulder to shoulder.
Up above in the observation chamber, Tsunade sat next to Uchiha Hikaru, watching the big screen. Her eyes softened as she saw the Konoha trio walking out with dignity rather than resentment.
She gently tapped the table with her fingertips and smiled slightly.
"These three may lack strength for now, but their hearts are strong. I believe they'll succeed next year."
Uchiha Hikaru nodded silently, his eyes already turning back to the test hall.
Back in the room, Hinata gave Naruto one last glance. He still hadn't copied from her exposed sheet. She sighed quietly and withdrew the paper.
I've done my best… I've repaid the kindness. If he refuses help, there's nothing more I can do. ( ´•︵•` )
As more and more people were eliminated, the Genin who remained began showing off increasingly creative methods of cheating.
Tenten dropped a kunai from the ceiling. Using the blade's reflection, she copied Neji's paper below her.
Rock Lee set his forehead protector on the table and caught the reflection of Neji's answers.
Ino used the Mind Transfer Jutsu to briefly take over Sakura's body and memorized her paper—then used it again to relay the answers to Shikamaru and Choji.
Shino deployed a tiny insect to sneak up on Hinata's desk and carry the answers to Kiba, who was pretending to nap with Akamaru on his head.
Up on the screen, leaders from the other villages watched the Konoha Genin work together with terrifying efficiency.
Fear began creeping into their hearts.
This... is Konoha's intelligence-gathering ability...?
Byakugan Eyes... mind techniques... insect reconnaissance...
The synergy of it all was unreal.
Fourth Raikage A frowned as he watched Hinata's Byakugan guiding the whole network of cheating.
He remembered the failed attempt to steal the Byakugan bloodline years ago.
That corpse had yielded nothing. And now, it was too late.
Konoha, under Tsunade and Uchiha Hikaru, was no longer the village it was under Hiruzen and Danzo.
This new Konoha wasn't to be underestimated.
A clenched his jaw.
It felt like history repeating itself. Another Uchiha Madara. Another Senju Hashirama.
The terrifying part? This time... those bloodlines weren't just allies—they were descendants.
Uchiha Hikaru, the pride of the Uchiha Clan.
Tsunade, the last true heir of the Senju.
He shook his head.
A was reckless—but not stupid.
To wear the Kage's hat meant being the sharpest mind in the room, not just the strongest.
Beside him, Ōnoki sighed heavily as he watched the screen.
The current generation of Iwagakure ninja left him disappointed. No stars. No brilliance. No successors.
Kurotsuchi had potential, but she was of the same generation as Hikaru—and nowhere near his level.
As for his long-watched disciple?
Gone. Recruited into the Akatsuki.
Even his own son, Kitsuchi, left him feeling helpless. Kitsuchi had power, sure—but no ambition. No edge.
He didn't want to lead. And truthfully, he wasn't suited to it.
Ōnoki's envy was bitter.
Konoha… you bastards. (҂ `з´ )
Rasa, meanwhile, stared at the screen with narrowed eyes, watching Gaara closely.
Beneath the desk, Gaara's hand released a tiny grain of sand—forming a floating "sand eye."
It drifted through the blind spots of the room, scanning papers from above without ever being noticed.
Gaara etched answers in fine script using sand, one letter at a time, on Temari and Kankuro's desks.
Kankuro blinked, stunned.
Is Gaara... actually helping us...?
He'd been planning to use a disguised puppet examiner to smuggle answers to Temari under the excuse of needing the restroom.
But now... there was no need.
Temari saw the sand-formed letters on her paper—and felt an unexpected warmth bloom in her chest.
Something's changed.
He met that yellow-haired kid... and now he's different.
As Gaara's sister, she couldn't explain the feeling—but it was real.
Gaara himself didn't realize the warmth in his actions.
His mind was still a whirlwind of thoughts—Naruto's voice echoing inside him.
"I want to be your friend."
It clashed violently with the years of hatred, isolation, and bloodlust buried inside.
The desire to kill... and the deeper yearning to connect.
He didn't understand it yet.
But one thing was certain: he had to pass this exam. He had to see Naruto again.
Only then could he answer the storm inside.
Yashamaru's betrayal.
His father's assassination attempt.
His own terrifying ability.
What was real?
Could people truly care without expecting anything in return?
Was there such a thing as unconditional friendship?
For the first time, Gaara questioned everything he'd believed.
Because Naruto reminded him of something.
A version of himself long dead.
A child he'd strangled in the darkness long ago.
In Naruto's words... he felt that boy breathe again.
And Gaara didn't know whether to embrace it... or kill it all over again.
The answer would come in the next exam.
Eventually.
Soon.
...
...