Leaning against the railing, Kaito shot a glance at the girl beside him. When he turned back to the arena, the water wave had already passed cleanly through all three illusionary clones.
At that moment, Mito Monzō finally realized he'd been utterly tricked.
As the smoke cleared, a long-haired girl charged straight toward him.
Her fingers flashed through seals.
"Your chakra's low now, isn't it?"
"In that case… it's time for my genjutsu~!"
"Illusion Art: Cherry Blossom Season!"
The moment Yuhi Liuyun's spiritual attack hit him, Monzō's vision warped—
Liuyun dissolved into swirling cherry blossoms, and the entire arena transformed into a vast field blanketed in petals.
Beautiful, dreamlike—and dangerously deceptive.
Monzō snapped out of it quickly and tried to form a seal—
"Release!"
But having just blown most of his chakra on a C-rank Water Release, breaking a genjutsu Liuyun had poured all her chakra into was far from simple.
In the distorted illusion, a ring of petals spun toward him—
But in reality, Liuyun had thrown two shuriken connected by a thin wire.
She didn't dare assume he couldn't break her genjutsu, so she attacked from a distance.
Monzō flicked a kunai toward the incoming loop.
But what he saw in the illusion was a large circle of petals—
Reality, however, was a hair-thin wire.
His kunai barely grazed it.
And the next second—
Snick!
The wire loop tightened around him, and the two shuriken pinned into the ground, pulling him down.
The impact on his backside shocked him back to full clarity.
He blinked up at the arena ceiling… and then down at the wires binding him.
"Winner: Yuhi Liuyun."
Kaito nodded to himself.
This was essentially a contest of chakra quality and resource management.
If Monzō had maintained his earlier reserves, he probably wouldn't have fallen for a genjutsu like this.
Even Hiruzen and the other jōnin were openly impressed.
Liuyun had played to her strengths perfectly—one decisive strike, no wasted motion.
Match after match continued, and Kaito quietly absorbed two more elemental techniques along the way.
As for Shiranui Genma…
His luck had run out.
He'd been matched against the girl standing right beside Kaito—Shimura Yūko.
A genin with natural Wind Release talent and impressive taijutsu.
Even Genma's trademark "hidden senbon trick" was useless; she was too fast, too sharp.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Ninja Art: Thousand Senbon Rain!"
Wind vs. senbon.
The answer had already been demonstrated long ago by Tenten in the original timeline—projectile weapons are worthless without overwhelming quantity.
Genma's senbon were blown back, scratching his face.
"Surrender. Failure is simply your destiny," Yūko said calmly, lowering her hands.
Genma collapsed to his knees, exhausted and frustrated.
"To get this far… and still…"
Proctor Hirata Shinichi wasn't surprised.
Chūnin slots were limited. Those who were lacking simply had no place at the top.
"Winner: Shimura Yūko!"
A few more matches followed.
By the end, Kaito had learned three C-rank jutsu in total:
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique
Water Release: Wild Water Wave
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough
The final match concluded quickly.
Under Kaito's watch, an Inuzuka clan genin defeated Yūko and took the MVP title.
Kaito couldn't help but snort inwardly.
Ninja who rely on flashy ninjutsu always look down on taijutsu users—yet who survives to the end?
The one with stamina.
Other than Genma and one civilian-born ninja, every other genin passed and achieved chūnin rank.
Genma looked absolutely miserable.
Outside the arena, Yuhi Shinku came to comfort him, and invited Kaito to dinner—both to celebrate Liuyun's promotion, and to cheer up the defeated Genma.
After the meal, Kaito bid farewell to the uncle-and-niece pair and walked with Genma, who was still sulking.
"Take the exam again next year," Kaito said, patting his friend's shoulder.
"I'll go with you."
"Kaito… do you think I'm just not suited to be a ninja?" Genma muttered.
Kaito fell silent.
Plenty of people couldn't even master the Three Basic Jutsu.
Plenty of genin couldn't throw a kunai straight with their dominant hand.
Yet they still became ninja.
Genma wasn't worse than them—he just lacked an external cheat.
The two continued in silence until they reached a children's playground.
Kids ran around laughing, sliding down slides, digging in sand.
Kaito patted Genma's shoulder again and pointed.
"Remember?"
"Our childhood. All of us had moments like that."
"Even though you and I aren't from the same generation… you had memories like those too, right?"
"Yeah," Genma murmured.
That pricking sensation—
Someone's gaze.
Kaito could feel it the entire time.
Old man, seriously…
Do you have nothing better to do than spy on me with a crystal ball?
Is this payback because I refused to chat with you after the exam?!
"Then do you remember your childhood dream?" Kaito asked.
"To become Hokage."
Genma replied instantly.
Kaito smiled—not mocking Genma, but remembering how ordinary people, himself included, once dreamed of standing at the top… before reality's cold hand slapped them awake.
"Hokage's child has a better chance of becoming Hokage. Not just because of birth—talent, aptitude, and timing all matter."
"I wanted that dream too."
"But I know my limits. With the gap so wide between me and true geniuses…"
"I decided to move one step at a time."
"So."
"Even if you don't become a powerful ninja—being someone who can protect your family, your comrades, and your village… isn't that enough?"
Children pointed excitedly toward them.
"Look! Big ninja brothers!"
"I wanna be a ninja too!"
"So cool!"
Kaito waved back, then said:
"See?"
"They believe in us."
"So don't lose to children who still believe."
Genma's expression slowly hardened with resolve. He nodded firmly.
"I understand."
"Kaito… you mean that even if I never reach chūnin—or even if…"
His voice lowered.
"My final destination is only ever becoming a 'normal jōnin', I should still keep pushing… and use my strength to protect the next generation who believes in us."
"That's it, right?"
Kaito nodded.
Good.
That should reduce the old man's unwanted attention—
But when he later joined Squad One's briefing, Kaito nearly passed out in confusion.
Because at that moment—
Using his crystal ball to watch Kaito, Hiruzen Sarutobi's weathered eyes suddenly widened and blurred with emotion.
In his mind, he heard the fading voice of the Second Hokage during the First Great Ninja War—
"Monkey."
"Protect those who believe in the village and believe in you."
"And train them…"
"Starting tomorrow—"
"You will be Hokage."
…Kaito. I underestimated you.
If not for the shadows cast by your former squad…
Right now…
You'd already be a jōnin.
A pity… that Yasaki-sensei can no longer see this.
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