Sena was greeted the most by far. It was almost absurd. Nearly all of Konoha's senior leadership and important people seemed to drift toward her side one after another, and she handled every single one of them with impeccable grace. From where I stood, it looked like even more people than before were trying to leave a good impression on her, almost as if they had grown more desperate to get closer to her and, by extension, her family in our absence.
That made me wonder if her family had gained even more influence in the village recently, but then again, she was a chunin now, so it made sense that her words would carry more weight than before. And that was without even mentioning the influence already standing behind her name.
I shrugged and looked toward Kaen. He was surrounded mostly by people from his clan, which made sense, but there were outsiders there too, and that was the strange part. They were trying just as hard to leave a good impression on the new Uchiha rising star and, by extension, his clan.
I became increasingly confused about what exactly had happened during our time away. Still, I was sure I would find out sooner or later. When I looked around more carefully, I noticed there was almost no presence from the Nara or Hyuga clans. That absence stood out.
It made sense that there were no Senju around, since they were all ancient and probably unaware of what was happening unless someone physically dragged the news to them and then dragged their old bodies here, but the rest felt wrong. Something had clearly shifted in Konoha, and I was becoming more eager by the second to figure out what it was.
However, there were also a lot of free food carts around me, and I fully intended to eat until I died.
So after a few hurried handshakes from people whose names I barely caught, I started walking around and found myself standing in line for a food cart that had an especially appetizing cloud of smoke rising from it. By the time I reached the front, I was already half lost to the smell.
The cook looked up, saw me, and physically recoiled for a moment. Fear flashed in his eyes before he remembered that the food had already been paid for, which seemed to calm him down a little. "What will it be?" he asked.
I scratched my chin, drool nearly coming out of my mouth as I replied, "How about two kilos of grilled meat and the same for chicken as an appetizer?"
The cook's mouth opened. He just stood there for a second before shaking off his shock. "Only two skewers per person."
I narrowed my eyes immediately, fully prepared to take this battle into unacceptable territory, but one of the Uchiha guards stationed nearby spoke first in a stern tone. "Please take only the allowed portion. We need to make sure what is available here is enough for everyone. Also, do not hold up the line."
The people behind me nodded approvingly, clearly pleased with this heroic act of public service. I clicked my tongue and said with deep resignation, "Fine. One skewer of each, then."
After I took my share, I rolled my shoulders and grinned. Time to sample everything.
Then, with absolute control, I flickered toward the next cart and began the serious work of eating from every single place offering free food.
Some time later, I ended up collapsed on a bench with my belly full and my dignity somewhere far behind me. Even drawing a proper breath felt like hard work.
I had settled near Sena and Kaen. Kaen had finally escaped the crowd and was now talking to Shisui, who looked extremely alert and on edge for some reason. Sena, meanwhile, still had a line of people waiting to greet her.
I chuckled as Shisui and Kaen came closer, nodding in her direction as I said, "Well, Sena is as popular as ever."
Kaen looked a little annoyed by how many people were competing for Sena's attention.
Shisui did not react. His tone stayed cautious. "Something is happening. No one is telling me anything, and the Hokage is not here."
I shrugged at first. "I thought the elders handled events like this most of the time."
Shisui nodded once. "That is true. But I asked an ANBU for a meeting, and he told me that it was not possible at the moment and that I would be updated on the situation soon enough."
That made me raise an eyebrow. The same edge in his voice started creeping into me too.
Shisui let out a slow breath and turned to Kaen. "Kaen, let us go speak with Fugaku-sama. We need to update him on what happened and ask about the current situation."
Kaen lifted his head with obvious pride. He could barely contain himself. He was probably already imagining the exact moment he got to tell the clan head that he had made chunin and awakened his three-tomoe Sharingan at such a young age.
Then Shisui looked at me. "For now, Noa, go back to your home in the Senju clan compound. You are a chunin now, so it should be all right as long as you stay inside the village. If I find out it is still not safe, I will come for you right away." Kaen gave me a sharp look before simply saying, "Be ready for our spar."
I nodded and waved them off as they began moving toward the new Uchiha clan compound within the village proper.
I exhaled slowly and tilted my head back, looking at the bright sky. The sounds of playing children and the cheerful atmosphere slowly sank into the background, and for a moment I felt like closing my eyes and sleeping for a few minutes while a cool, refreshing breeze drifted my way. I smiled, happy to be back home. However, at that exact moment, a dark shape appeared in the air.
I narrowed my eyes as it rushed closer at alarming speed. Is that a bird? I stood up to get a better look, but then, to my horror, it became clear that it was not a bird at all. It was a human figure that had jumped from a nearby high building.
The figure screamed after realizing just how fast it was coming in. I screamed too and tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. It hit me a second later. A crushing hug wrapped around me with enough force to nearly knock me backward, but I held my ground through sheer physical strength as Genta almost squeezed the soul out of me and nearly cracked a couple of my ribs in the process.
"You are finally back," Genta said, pure joy spilling out of his voice.
I was about to move when another pair of arms wrapped around me from behind. Shizuru's hold was tighter, quieter, and full of something much heavier. "We were so worried about you," she said, her tone sad and full of concern.
We stayed like that for a while before Genta finally let go. His eyes were a little red, and the sight immediately gave me ammunition.
"Did you tear up a bit?" I asked.
Genta looked away at once. "No. Since you left, my father has been torturing me with even crueler training methods. He said that since I decided to catch up, I needed the chunin training routine." Then he looked back at me with complete horror. "Noa, no matter what happens, do not agree to it if he offers. It is pure agony."
I nodded while laughing, but Shizuru still did not let go. She kept holding me as if she needed to make sure I was really here. Every bit of care and worry she had been carrying was right there in the way her arms stayed wrapped around me.
Eventually, she let go, but by then a few tears were already slipping from her eyes. "You stupid Noa," she said, her words unusually awkward and her voice unsteady. "Why did you make me so scared? If Sena had not sent me a message to calm me down and tell me you were getting better, I would have come all the way to the Hidden Sand. Genta was already packing his clothes and trying to leave too. If his father had not caught him and beaten some sense into him, he would have done it."
I looked at Genta with a grin, ready to make fun of him again, but then I noticed the injuries on his body and frowned. "Are you fine?"
He nodded. "I am good."
Shizuru answered for him, her tone returning to normal now that she had seen with her own eyes that I was alive and in one piece. "He pushed himself too hard during the last mission and got injured just to finish faster and make it back here around the same time you did," she said with clear annoyance.
Genta immediately panicked. "Noa, Shizuru, please do not tell my father."
I scratched my chin and asked in a devious tone, "That depends. How much are you willing to pay me?"
Genta and Shizuru both laughed, and a second later I joined them, pulled in by the sheer relief and warmth of the moment. Their happiness at seeing me again was real. So was the fear they had carried for me.
I breathed it all in. I was home again, back among the people I loved and cared for from the bottom of my heart.
----
By the time the full moon had risen over the village, Homura and Koharu were seated across from several of the Fire Daimyo's court attendants and nobles. The room was lit by steady lantern light, and the atmosphere was polite on the surface, but beneath that politeness, everyone was quietly measuring every glance, pause, and twitch of expression.
Koharu's thoughts were far from calm. Hirotaka had "encouraged" them to invite the Daimyo to the village on this exact day, the same day as the celebration he had arranged for the Chunin Exam team that had returned with three promotions. She could not deny the result. The timing had been excellent. The village had looked strong, cheerful, united, and prosperous. The streets had been filled with warmth instead of fear. It was the sort of image that stayed in a ruler's mind.
For that reason, neither she nor Homura had objected. Still, the entire display had been built without their real input, and that left a bitter taste in her mouth. A stage arranged by someone else was still a stage, no matter how beautiful the performance looked.
She glanced toward Homura. He noticed at once and gave the smallest nod. They had worked together for so many years that words were often unnecessary. He understood her thoughts, and from the faint tightening around his eyes, he shared them.
One of the nobles sitting across from them finally spoke, his tone careful and properly apologetic. "We ask your forgiveness. Lord Daimyo decided he did not wish to be formally received by the honored elders, nor did he desire a shinobi escort. He has his samurai guards, and he wished to enjoy the village at his own pace."
Homura smiled in the polished way of a man who had spent a lifetime shaping his face into whatever politics required. Inside, he understood the meaning clearly enough. The Daimyo had wanted to see the village for himself, not the version that would be presented to him under escort. He had wanted the streets, the merchants, the clans, the mood, the whispers, the little things that vanished the moment a guide began speaking too much.
It was a sensible decision. It was also irritating. But none of that reached his expression. "There is nothing to apologize for," he said smoothly. "Konoha is always honored to accommodate any wish of Lord Daimyo and his esteemed court."
The attendants and nobles answered with practiced smiles of their own. The exchange ended exactly the way such exchanges always ended, with false apology meeting false reassurance, each side gracefully pretending the other had not been measuring every word for hidden meaning.
Koharu said nothing. She simply watched, letting the silence do its work while she studied which of the attendants looked most satisfied, which looked cautious, and which looked as though they had already formed an opinion they had no intention of sharing yet, storing it away as possible ammunition in the unlikely event that things went sideways.
Then footsteps approached from outside.
The room shifted before the door even opened. Conversations died without being asked to. Backs straightened. Hands settled. A moment later, the door slid open and a samurai stepped in first, his hand resting near his sword as his sharp eyes swept across the room with disciplined care. Once he was satisfied, he bowed and stepped aside.
The Fire Daimyo entered at an unhurried pace.
He was a man well past his youth, dressed in layered robes of deep color and expensive fabric that carried the quiet weight of wealth. His face was rounder than a soldier's would have been, but there was nothing soft in his eyes. They moved with calm intelligence, taking in the room, the people within it, and the space between them all with the ease of a man who had spent his life weighing smiles, lies, and ambition. There was comfort in the way he carried himself, but also unmistakable authority.
Homura and Koharu both froze for a fraction of a second, their eyes widening in disbelief, when Hirotaka stepped in right behind the Daimyo. Then they tensed at once.
The Daimyo looked genuinely pleased as he said, "Hirotaka. Visiting your estate is always one of the highlights of my trips to Konoha. If not for my wife, I might have stayed there for several days."
Hirotaka bowed, his smile warm and completely natural. "That is an honor, Lord Daimyo."
The Daimyo smiled softly. "Your wife, however, is one of the most pleasant women I have had the privilege of meeting." Then he leaned slightly toward Hirotaka and asked in a playful tone, "You must tell me, how did you ever convince her to marry you?"
Hirotaka could not help but laugh. He did not overplay it, knowing the observant Daimyo would notice. It was a genuine laugh instead. "If you beat me at shogi, my lord, I may share the secret."
The answer seemed to delight the Daimyo, who lifted his fan to hide part of his face, though the amusement in his eyes remained clear.
That small exchange alone made the truth painfully obvious to the two elders. This was not some distant political acquaintance. There was real familiarity here, the kind built through repeated visits, shared meals, private games, and an ease that allowed jokes without fear of offense. Whatever plans they might have had to gain the upper hand over Hirotaka were already doomed before the political game even began.
Then the Daimyo turned his gaze toward the Konoha elders with quiet interest before moving to the head of the table. Hirotaka followed and took a seat closer to him than some of the court attendants and lesser nobles themselves.
Koharu felt her expression tighten despite herself, while Homura did his absolute best to keep his emotions, body language, and expression under control.
The Daimyo settled into his place with calm ease. As his gaze lifted again, the warmth in his eyes vanished with frightening speed, replaced by something far sharper, and the mood in the room shifted with it. "So," he asked in a tone that left no room for political games, empty formalities, or false friendliness, "who will be the next Hokage?"
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A/N: Time to decide Noa's summon. (Open this link : https://discord.gg/SmpXHEwPhE ) to join the novel's server and vote on what Noa's summon should be. You can even add your own suggestion and let people vote on it too. You'll also find me there, along with some amazing readers who are always hanging around if you want to chat while the story is on break hehe. Don't forget to vote and help shape the future of the story yourself 🔥
A/N: And with this huge chapter, the biggest in the story so far, we reach the end of the third arc. The Chunin Exams were an absolute blast to write. This part of the story gave us so many memorable moments, from Sena shining the way only she can, to Kaen coming such a long way, to Noa, well... being Noa lol. I am honestly amazed by how far this story has come, and a big part of that is because of all of you. Your ratings, reviews, and comments are a huge part of what makes posting new chapters so rewarding for me. Now it is finally time for my break. Over the next 31 days, I will most likely be traveling overseas, enjoying a well deserved vacation, taking a breath after exhausting real life work, and seeing a bit more of the world. Just know that I will miss you all, and I am already looking forward to coming back even more than you are hehehe. Love you all. Take care <3
A/N: You, yeah you, handsome devil. If you've made it this far, liked the story, and still haven't rated it yet, please do. It only takes a few clicks and barely any time, but it would mean the world to me. A review would be even more generous. Just know that I would truly appreciate it, and I'll also give a shout-out to the awesome people who do, so go for it XD