Naruto felt his heartbeat stop.
It was like he'd put on noise-canceling headphones—everyone's excited chatter and laughter faded away, leaving only those few words crashing in his skull.
They weren't eliminated… and they say they've found my secret. Does that mean they know I'm a transmigrator too?
His negative emotions surged and resonated with the Nine-Tails inside him. His mind dropped into his inner world, facing Kurama across the bars of the seal.
"Oh?" Kurama looked amused. This boy who always seemed unbreakable had clearly hit a wall—so much so that Kurama could feel the turbulence.
"Met a strong enemy?" Kurama chuckled. "Then loosen my seal more. You know my power can shake the entire shinobi world."
Naruto closed his eyes and sat down to meditate in the mindscape.
This was his emergency protocol: if his emotions spiked, he'd enter this state to stabilize.
It also gave him space to sort his thoughts.
Once he calmed down, he realized there was no reason to be afraid. With his current skill, even escaping under a jōnin's nose was possible.
What he feared was the unknown.
"Just can't lock down the enemy," Naruto said evenly, opening his eyes and looking at Kurama. "Nothing worth panicking over."
Kurama snorted. He'd wanted to see Naruto lose control. Seeing him regain it so quickly was quietly frustrating.
"Later." Naruto flicked his focus back to reality.
He scanned behind him with his forehead protector mirror, and felt a faint wave of relief.
Good thing he'd eliminated so many genin. At least they wouldn't become prey for this transmigrator.
What kind of lunatic writes "hehe" on a threat note? Not normal, that's for sure.
Naruto wasn't a saint, but he had basic morals. He hated pointless killing and didn't want others dragged into chaos.
Still, a rough outline of the situation began forming in his mind.
BOOM!! A crash exploded outside the window. A bound figure slammed into view, pinned by kunai to the ceiling and floor.
A woman in a long coat over fishnet armor, neckline wide open, yelled cheerfully:
"Don't celebrate so early! I'm the proctor for the second stage—Mitarashi Anko. Your next exam is waiting!"
The room gasped. Anko counted quickly and said to Ibiki behind her, "Eighteen teams. Still a lot left."
Ibiki smiled. "This year has plenty of talent." As he spoke, he glanced at Naruto, who was deep in thought.
Anko also met Naruto's eyes for a moment.
Naruto, meanwhile, was thinking: Should my grand harem plan include Anko too?
Sure, in Boruto she and Mei got… rougher, but that's because I wasn't there. If I train her properly, it'll be different.
Besides, stage two includes her clashing with Orochimaru. When she's anxious and vulnerable, her heart will be soft—perfect timing.
A woman gets soft, she looks for someone to lean on, and that's when I show up shining like the sun…
Perfect.
Naruto decided he'd flirt with the dangerous beauty while hunting transmigrators.
"…Since that's the case, let's cut you down to single digits," Anko said with a wicked grin. "I can't wait. I'll explain the rules at the arena."
…
Training Ground 44, entrance to the Forest of Death.
Team 7 stayed hidden in the crowd instead of standing up front like canon. They listened quietly to the rules.
Sakura looked around and whispered, "You said you had an idea. What is it?"
Naruto whispered back, "That guy specifically passed me a note. The tone was cocky. That alone tells us a lot."
"Like what?"
"Like they probably transmigrated into a named character. In this arc, the named ones are: the Konoha Twelve, Sand, Sound, Orochimaru's Grass disguise team, maybe even proctors like Anko. I suspect they're in one of these squads."
"What if they're just weird and actually a nobody?"
"Let's assume normal logic for now. It makes elimination easier." Naruto licked his lips. "Once we enter, we head for the middle of the forest and set up an ambush. We take scrolls off anyone we can. The transmigrator will eventually show their tail."
"Isn't that too loud?"
"It's fine. Outside of Gaara and Orochimaru, everyone else is basically free kills."
"What if they transmigrated into Orochimaru?"
Naruto went quiet for a beat.
"…Then the author stopped writing a power fantasy and switched to tragedy. I'd advise him not to be unwise."
Sakura stared at him, then said steadily, "We still need to consider that possibility."
Sasuke leaned in, eyebrow twitching. "You two have been whispering all morning. Is there something you can't discuss with me?"
Naruto looked at Sasuke and suddenly thought of the Curse Mark.
In canon, Sasuke would get the Heaven Curse Mark in this stage—a huge turning point in his life.
So the question was: should they let canon play out? And would the transmigrator interfere?
Sakura's eyes darkened too. She'd caught the same critical point.
Naruto gently nudged Sasuke away. "Bro… can you give us a minute to talk?"
Sasuke's eyebrow practically flew off his forehead. Naruto patted his shoulder with grave sincerity.
"Can't you tell? We're dating."
"…Huh?"
Sakura's brows shot up and her cheeks warmed instantly.
This bastard—
Naruto didn't even blink as he added, "Couples need private space. That's reasonable, right?"
He threw Sakura a look like they'd rehearsed it.
Sakura glared daggers at him. But thinking it over, they had been whispering way too often.
If they framed it as a relationship, everything suddenly made sense.
And they were probably going to keep whispering even more.
Sasuke, after hearing the explanation, felt increasingly awkward. His mind was all revenge, not romance, but he could definitely smell "third wheel" in the air.
And that smell…
…was coming from him.
"Ahem. Fine. But if this is about mission stuff, I need to be present." Sasuke stepped away a few paces.
Naruto exhaled, then turned to Sakura, who was still fuming. "My lady, is this really the time to care about that? We need to decide whether to let Sasuke get the Curse Mark."
Sakura rubbed her face, went silent for a moment, then nodded slowly.
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