Chapter 12: Assembly
"Lady Tsunade?"
"Guy-sensei?"
"Never heard of 'em."
When Naruto said this, Tenten and Lee exchanged a look. They both read the same information in each other's eyes: Naruto doesn't have memories of the future.
"Hey, Tenten..." Lee whispered, leaning in close. "Does that mean... Naruto..."
"Shh." Tenten pressed her index finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet. "You're only just now realizing this?"
She quickly composed her expression into a natural smile and said to Naruto, "Ah, Lady Tsunade is one of Konoha's medical-nin. She's a really incredible shinobi. All of us female shinobi really look up to her."
"As for Guy-sensei, he's an amazing Jonin. He's Kakashi-sensei's best friend."
Naruto scratched his head, looking totally blank. "Medical-nin? Jonin? Kakashi? But Iruka-sensei never mentioned them..."
Lee's face turned red, holding his breath. His fists were clenched so tight, he desperately wanted to tell Naruto the truth. But Tenten's glare shot over him like a knife, and he was forced to swallow his words, nodding vigorously instead. "Right! They're just really busy all the time! You'll definitely get to know them later, Naruto!"
Naruto looked at them suspiciously. He felt like something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
He shook his head and grinned. "Whatever! We're training together today anyway. We'll have plenty of time to get to know each other!"
Just then, the bushes at the edge of the training ground rustled, and a cold voice drifted out.
"So loud."
The three of them turned. Sasuke Uchiha was standing not far away, his hands in his pockets, his face blank. The black-haired boy's gaze swept over them indifferently, finally landing on Naruto. A flicker of an unreadable, complex emotion flashed deep in his eyes.
"Sasuke!" Naruto immediately jumped up, waving excitedly. "You're in this squad too!"
Sasuke didn't respond, just coolly looked away, as if he had zero interest in the conversation.
Tenten noticed, however, that Sasuke's eyes weren't the same as usual. Those weren't the eyes a twelve-year-old boy should have.
"Hey, Lee..." she whispered, her voice low enough for only him to hear. "Sasuke... he couldn't... have the memories too, could he?"
Lee's eyes went wide. "You mean... he also..."
Just as the two were about to investigate, another voice cut in at the wrong time.
"Of course Sasuke's in this squad. Don't you even read the bulletin board, idiot?"
"Arf, arf!"
It was Kiba Inuzuka.
Kiba stood with his arms crossed, one eyebrow raised at Naruto, his voice full of teasing. "Naruto, with the way you are, I really don't know how they let you graduate."
"Kiba, you're here!" Naruto happily ran over and threw an arm around Kiba's shoulder.
Kiba was one of Naruto's good friends. After all, one of them was in last place, and the other was in second-to-last. And they both shared the same dream: to become Hokage.
"Hey, hey, don't be so friendly!" Kiba pretended to push Naruto away in disgust, but he couldn't stop the corner of his mouth from turning up in a grin.
Akamaru ran circles around their feet, wagging his tail happily.
"I thought you'd be a little smarter by now, but you're still the same as always. But... the same old you is good, too," Kiba joked.
Naruto blinked his blue eyes, looking at Kiba in total confusion. "Same as always? Didn't we just see each other yesterday? You're saying weird stuff again, Kiba."
Kiba just laughed, scratched his head, and brushed it off.
Before long, the others began to arrive one by one.
"Hey, Shikamaru! Over here!" Naruto waved his arm, calling out to another one of his good friends.
Shikamaru Nara didn't even look up. He knew exactly which "idiot" was yelling for him. And though he muttered, "What a drag," his feet unconsciously carried him over.
Shikamaru slowly shuffled to Naruto's side, hands clasped behind his head, eyes half-closed. "So loud this early in the morning... This is such a drag..."
"Hey! Shikamaru! How are you still so lazy!" Naruto hooked an arm around Shikamaru's neck and shook him. "This is the first day of our special training squad!"
"Let go..." Shikamaru was getting dizzy. "You're always late, you idiot. How come you're so early today?"
"Early? You guys are the ones who are late!" Naruto complained. "It clearly said to meet at 8:00! When I got here, nobody was here. I thought I was in the wrong place!"
"You sure the notice said Training Ground 3? At 8:00?"
"Of course I'm sure!" Naruto pulled the crumpled note out of his pocket. "Look! Iruka-sensei wrote it himself!"
Shikamaru took the note, squinting at it. "Huh? It really does say 8:00. Hahaha."
"See! I got here at 8:00 and no one was here. Not even the teachers."
An image of a man flashed through Shikamaru's mind: Kakashi.
Then he smiled, relieved. No wonder everyone was late. Turns out Kakashi-sensei is involved this time. Everyone was just used to him being late.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, he froze.
Wait. Why did everyone... as if by some unspoken agreement... know the teachers would be late? Why did everyone arrive so late?
At that thought, a cold sweat soaked his back. Could it be... He didn't dare think any further. If the enemy... if they also know... will they come to Konoha early?
Can the Konoha of right now really stop them?
Nagato's Shinra Tensei had once leveled the village. Obito's Kamui was impossible to predict. With Konoha's current strength, could they really defend themselves?
He could almost see it: those powerful figures descending, the villagers screaming and fleeing, the shinobi fighting and dying, completely overwhelmed.
Should I... flee Konoha tonight?
Naruto, seeing Shikamaru just standing there silently, his face pale, couldn't help but tap his shoulder. "Shikamaru? What's wrong? Why'd you suddenly stop talking? You look terrible."
Shikamaru snapped back to reality. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
This wasn't the time to panic. At least, there was no sign of an Akatsuki attack yet. Worrying about it wouldn't help.
He forced a weak smile and shook his head. "It's nothing. Just... thought of something."
...Inside the underground cavern, Obito Uchiha sat on the throne that had once belonged to Madara Uchiha.
Since yesterday, he had been flooded with memories of the future.
Memories that didn't belong to this time washed over him like a tide. Fragments of what was to come flashed before his eyes, again and again, throwing his mind into chaos.
He closed his eyes, trying to sort through the confusion—the ruins of Konoha, destroyed by Shinra Tensei; Naruto's older, resolute face; his own masked figure, manipulating the Akatsuki; and finally, on the battlefield, the impact of that phrase from Naruto: "I want to be Hokage."
The memories were too clear. So clear, they made him wonder if it was all an illusion.
"The future..."
"Is it really... like that?"
~~~~~
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