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One month later.
Underground, Danzo still hadn't moved from his spot. Weeks had passed in thought, and he hadn't taken a single step.
This wasn't out of helplessness, but simply this is his way when a matter grew too complex. His body would freeze while his mind moved.
The new feature… Word had reached him with astonishing speed; he'd known about it since day one.
An art store whose feature heals the disabled.
"Nonsense!" That was his first reaction when he heard about it.
But when he saw it with his own eyes, Danzo stopped saying nonsense… right up until today.
'If this continues…' He closed his eyes again.
'Uzumaki Rubiro will become sacred in the eyes of the people. No one will be able to touch him without igniting a popular uprising.'
This equation was crystal clear, not only to Danzo, but to all the Kage and the major powers of the Five Villages.
The military strength any village possessed had grown less valuable in the face of something far more dangerous.
'…Popular power.'
'People don't only follow the strong…' Danzo thought bitterly.
'They follow whoever gives them what they cannot find anywhere else.'
"…" After a long silence, Danzo suddenly opened his eyes.
Something appeared in them that hadn't appeared in a very long time. something resembling respect.
And at the same time, he has a final decision.
"He cannot be confronted from the outside," Danzo said in a low voice.
"Then shouldn't the battle be waged from within?"
Now that he had found the right path, he needed to think of a plan. A carefully calculated plan capable of bringing down Uzumaki Rubiro from the inside.
"But for now, it seems the time for Volume Five has come…"
...
[Volume 5: They've danced along the bridge of death during training, but Naruto and friends now face their most terrifying challenge: exams! The ninja-in-training have signed up for the Chunin Exams, which they must pass to advance to the rank of full-fledged shinobi. Passing or failing as a group, they're only as strong as their weakest link… Naruto!]
The art store in Konoha gleamed with new updates that day, as the new volume's poster and synopsis were unveiled for all to see. On the cover stood four familiar faces, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto, perched atop what appeared to be a giant frog.
"Finally, it's here!"
Jiraiya strolled up with his hands behind his head, swaying with a cheerful grin. This time, he'd arrived before the store opened, hoping to avoid any embarrassment like last time.
"Sensei… you're really eager about this, aren't you…"
Minato smiled, watching his teacher more excited than he was.
"What do you know, we're about to see more lovely female characters from the future! I'm absolutely thrilled!"
Jiraiya's expression shifted into something lecherous, but before it could get any worse, his head was crushed under a powerful punch.
The culprit was none other than…
"Ouch! Tsunade, that hurt! What's your problem!?"
Jiraiya clutched the lump rising on his head, groaning in agony.
"Wipe that idiotic look off your face… it's hideous," Tsunade said with a ferocious expression.
"Pfft—" Kushina couldn't hold back her laughter at the scene.
"You're all so loud this early in the morning…"
A graceful woman with neatly tied red hair approached. This was Uzumaki Mito, a living legend.
Given how many miracles the art store had been producing, it had somewhat overshadowed a rather alarming truth: this woman was over ninety years old and, by all rights, should have been dead by now.
...
People began flooding into the art store, which filled up twice as fast as any previous time. This was expected. Volume Five was a momentous event, not merely because it was a new volume, but because its title, "The Chunin Exams," meant something tangible to every shinobi in this world.
Everyone in the store was a shinobi who had, in one way or another, gone through that very exam.
"The Chunin Exams…" Sakumo read the title in a quiet tone, standing before the shelf with his copy in hand.
"So this is what awaits them." Young Kakashi hadn't opened the volume yet. He simply stared at the cover.
Four figures on the back of a massive frog.
'Naruto looks as fired up as always,' thought young Kakashi, with a faint smile hidden beneath his mask.
'And Sasuke looks as cool as always.'
'And Sakura…' He paused at Sakura.
She looked slightly different from the previous volumes, something about the way she was standing.
'She's going to grow a great deal during this arc.'
That was what his instincts told him.
"All right, this time we'll sit with Dai and his son and enjoy reading the volume together…"
Sakumo smiled, gesturing toward the spot where the energetic father-son duo had already settled in.
"Sounds good, Dad." Young Kakashi nodded.
Throughout the past month, he'd found himself thinking about the fact that Gai also had his own team, even during training sessions. Unlike Asuma and Kurenai, Gai himself had yet to appear, though his team had shown up before him.
Rock Lee… That intriguing student who, in some inexplicable way, resembled the father and son they'd just sat down beside.
...
[— Manga Scene —]
"I want to fight you."
"I want to test my techniques against the offspring of the genius ninja clan."
"Plus…" Rock Lee was in a fighting stance before shifting his gaze toward Sakura and winking.
"Ewww!! Those lower eyelashes are ewww!!!" Sakura shuddered, utterly unable to accept this.
"Hairstyle is lame… and those thick eyebrows…"
"Muah… You are an angel!!"
Sakura dodged the path of his flying kiss just before she hit the ground face-first.
'That was close…'
('God damn it!!! Always Sasuke!!!') As for Naruto, he was provoked by the sight of every opponent heading for Sasuke instead of him.
"Challenging me, knowing the Uchiha name… Frankly, you're a fool." Sasuke said, with a piercing look.
"You're about to learn what this name means, thick brows," he added.
"Please." A confident smile rested on Rock Lee's face.
'I'm lucky to already get to face the #1 rookie, and I'll prove myself, Gai-sensei.'
As they prepared for their duel of self-worth, Naruto cut in.
"Wait… I'll take care of thickbrow… Just give me 5 minutes."
"Who I wish to fight is not you… It's Uchiha," said Rock Lee.
"Damn it!!! I'm sick of hearing about Sasuke!!!"
Naruto lunged at Rock Lee, only to be beaten with effortless ease.
"I'll say this… You guys cannot defeat me."
"Because right now I am the strongest Leaf Genin."
[— End Scene —]
While the manga pages depicted Naruto being knocked aside in a matter of seconds, the readers were still laughing at the absurd scene of the flying kiss Sakura had dodged, only to plant her head into the ground.
"Hahaha!" Jiraiya burst into laughter, slapping his thigh hard.
"This kid has legendary nerve! Sending a flying kiss in the middle of a school hallway, right in front of his opponent? That's my style exactly! He's a natural-born pervert!"
Tsunade, her face contorted in genuine disgust, delivered a swift punch to Jiraiya's shoulder.
"Shut your mouth, you idiot! Look at the girl's face, she looks like she's seen a summoning beast, not a kiss! Those eyebrows… they're moving like living creatures!"
...
Shikaku Nara shook his head with weary boredom as he stared at the page.
"What a headache… even in the future, women always find a way to ruin the mood."
"Though honestly, I don't blame her; those lower lashes could pierce shinobi armor, they're that hideous."
But the moment Rock Lee demonstrated his combat superiority by dropping Naruto, who'd essentially taken himself out, the laughter dimmed, and then faded entirely.
In the spot where Sakumo and Kakashi sat beside Dai and Gai, the air had become charged with a particular energy, the kind only those who had pushed themselves to their absolute limits could recognize.
Sakumo and his son could feel that extraordinary energy radiating from Dai and his son, as though they were wolves on the verge of howling.
"Look, Gai! Look!" Maito Dai cried out, tears flying from his eyes.
"This boy! He has no Sharingan, no beast chakra, but he has that look! The look of someone who has never let a single day pass without pushing past his limits in training!"
Young Gai was trembling with excitement, his eyes glued to the image of Rock Lee, still standing in his rigid fighting stance even after flooring Naruto, as if it had meant nothing.
That was Naruto. The fearsome Kyubi beast, which had crushed Haku when his rage was unleashed. If Rock Lee didn't know that, they as manga readers certainly did.
"Father… he's like us! Not just the jumpsuit or the eyebrows, but the way he ignores Sasuke and Naruto entirely to stay focused on his goal. He's completely confident in his own strength."
Then young Gai suddenly paused, his voice dropping low.
"He said he'd prove himself to Gai-sensei… Does that mean that in the future, I'll be an inspiration to someone this determined?"
"That's not all… It's clear your counterpart is his teacher…"
Dai's smile grew brighter as he said, "I look forward immensely to seeing your future counterpart, my son!"
Beside them, Sakumo watched the scene with a seasoned smile.
"Dai, you're right," he said. "This boy, Lee, doesn't use ninjutsu. His movements rely on pure physical force. Look at his foot position in the scene; he's ready to move at a speed that surpasses nerve response."
"Pure taijutsu…" Dai replied with a smile.
Sakumo turned to his son Kakashi, who was staring at the manga with intense focus.
"What do you think, Kakashi?"
Young Kakashi didn't answer right away. His mind was analyzing the scene where Rock Lee had brushed off Sasuke's challenge.
"Sasuke is making a serious mistake," Kakashi murmured from behind his mask.
"He's leaning on the Uchiha name, while this boy is relying on his own physical strength. At this rate, Sasuke is going to lose."
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 120: A Humiliating Defeat for Sasuke.
Chapter 121: Amegakure's Art Store!
Chapter 122: The Appearance of Maito Gai!
Chapter 123: The Nine Rookie Generation… and the Clash of the Clans!
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