Fast Forward 1 week
The Chūnin Exam stadium shook.
Thousands of voices rolled through the massive arena in waves, rising from tier after tier of packed stone seating until the sound became something physical. Civilians from every district of Konoha filled the stands beside merchants, nobles, clan representatives, shinobi families, and visitors who had traveled days just to watch the final matches.
Flags snapped above the highest walls.
The red spiral of Uzushiogakure still appeared on the backs of Konoha flak jackets throughout the crowd, but today it shared the stadium with dozens of foreign colors. Delegations from allied nations occupied reserved sections while shinobi from distant villages watched from the stands, some openly enjoying themselves and others quietly studying every competitor who might become an enemy someday.
Food vendors shouted over one another in the aisles.
Children sat on their parents' shoulders waving tiny Konoha flags while shinobi argued over match predictions. Money changed hands in less official corners of the stadium as bets were placed on everything from the eventual champion to how quickly Gaara would make someone bleed.
At the highest point of the arena sat the most important spectators of all.
The Hokage's viewing platform overlooked the battlefield from beneath a wide ceremonial canopy. ANBU stood silently along the surrounding roofline while officials, advisers, nobles, and foreign dignitaries filled the protected seating nearby.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at its center.
The Third Hokage wore his ceremonial robes over the armor beneath them, the white-and-red hat resting firmly on his head. Age showed in the lines across his face, but from where he sat above thousands of people, there was nothing fragile about him.
Beside him sat the Kazekage.
The leader of Sunagakure remained concealed beneath the traditional robes and veil of his office. Sand shinobi occupied several nearby seats, their expressions carefully neutral while the two Kage overlooked the enormous arena together.
Far below them, the battlefield waited.
A massive circular field of packed earth stretched between the towering walls. Grass grew in scattered patches around the edges, and several trees stood near one side, deliberately left as terrain rather than decoration.
At the center stood one man.
Shiranui Genma rolled the senbon between his teeth.
The newly appointed proctor looked considerably less impressed by the occasion than everyone else.
He glanced toward the competitors' entrance.
Then toward the opposite tunnel.
Then at the clock.
Two contestants were missing.
Of course.
The finalists waited in a protected section overlooking the arena.
Shikamaru leaned against the railing like he'd been sentenced to attend his own execution. Kiba stood nearby practically vibrating with excitement, while Kankuro watched the field with his wrapped puppet resting against the wall behind him.
Dosu remained separated from the others.
Gaara stood completely still.
Nobody stood particularly close to Gaara.
Sakura sat gathered with the eliminated competitors, her attention moving between the arena and the entrance tunnels below. Ino sat beside her, Choji had somehow acquired food already, and Hinata watched the field with her hands resting quietly in her lap.
Sasuke wasn't there.
Neither was Naruto.
Kiba looked around.
"You've gotta be kidding me."
Shikamaru didn't move.
"Which one?"
"Both of them!"
"Sounds about right."
Sakura frowned.
Nobody had seen Naruto or Sasuke since last week, their respective sensei whisking them away. Sakura was only mildly concerned.
Hinata looked toward the entrance tunnel.
"He'll come."
Kiba snorted.
"He better. Neji's already down there."
Neji Hyūga stood alone near the center of the arena.
His white eyes remained fixed upon the competitors' tunnel.
The roar of thousands didn't seem to affect him.
He wore the same calm expression he had carried through the preliminaries, shoulders loose and breathing steady. Long brown hair moved slightly in the wind crossing the open stadium, his posture relaxed enough that an ordinary observer might have mistaken him for unconcerned.
Hinata knew better.
Neji was ready.
She could see it in his stance.
The slight positioning of his feet.
The way his hands remained close enough to move instantly.
Naruto had wanted this match.
Now everyone was waiting for him to appear.
A horn sounded.
The stadium began to quiet.
Conversation faded section by section until thousands of people were looking toward the Hokage's platform. Even the vendors stopped shouting as Hiruzen Sarutobi rose from his seat.
The Third Hokage stepped forward.
His gaze moved across the arena.
Konoha shinobi.
Foreign shinobi.
Civilians.
Clan leaders.
Dignitaries.
People who had come from across the Land of Fire and beyond to see what the next generation could do.
Hiruzen smiled.
"Welcome."
His voice carried through the stadium.
"To those who have traveled from distant lands, to our honored guests, and to the people of Konohagakure, I thank you for joining us today."
The arena remained silent.
"Over the past weeks, young shinobi from many villages have been tested not simply in strength, but in judgment, courage, teamwork, and their ability to continue forward when circumstances turn against them."
Several Jōnin watched from the stands.
Kakashi's seat remained empty.
Kurenai sat with Team Eight.
Asuma leaned against the railing near Team Ten.
Guy was already crying.
Lee looked equally emotional, still clad in casts on his left arm and leg.
"Those who stand here today have survived challenges designed to reveal the qualities expected of those who would bear greater responsibility."
Hiruzen's eyes passed briefly across the finalists.
"Today is not merely a tournament."
His voice strengthened.
"It is an opportunity."
"An opportunity for these young shinobi to demonstrate what they have learned."
"An opportunity for their villages to witness the generation that will one day stand in their place."
"And an opportunity for all of us to remember that the strength of a village is not found only in those who lead it."
Hiruzen looked across the sea of Konoha forehead protectors.
"It is found in those who come after."
Applause began somewhere in the stands.
Then spread.
Within seconds, the stadium erupted.
Thousands rose to their feet.
Konoha banners waved above the crowd as cheering rolled across the arena hard enough to make the wooden railings tremble. Hiruzen stood above it all, looking down upon the village he'd spent most of his life protecting.
For a moment, he simply listened.
Then he raised one hand.
The stadium gradually settled.
Hiruzen smiled.
"Let the final stage of the Chūnin Exams begin."
The arena exploded again.
Genma waited.
And waited.
The cheering eventually died.
He looked toward Neji.
Then toward the empty side of the battlefield.
Genma sighed around his senbon.
Of all the matches to start with.
He lifted one hand.
"First match."
The stadium quieted again.
"Naruto Uzumaki versus Neji Hyūga."
A murmur moved through the crowd.
Neji stepped forward.
Genma looked toward the tunnel.
Nothing.
Several seconds passed.
Still nothing.
Kiba leaned over the railing.
"WHERE IS HE?!"
Sakura covered her face.
"Naruto..."
Ino looked toward the clock.
"Does he know what time the finals start?"
"Yes!"
Sakura paused.
"...Probably."
Shikamaru sighed.
"Troublesome."
Genma waited another ten seconds.
Then twenty.
Neji's expression didn't change.
Genma finally looked toward the Hokage's platform.
Hiruzen was smiling.
That concerned him more than Naruto being late.
Genma sighed.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
His voice carried across the arena.
"Report to the fighting area immediately or forfeit your match."
Silence.
A bird flew over the arena.
Someone coughed.
Kiba grabbed the railing.
"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"
Then—
tap.
Neji's head turned.
Genma looked upward.
Another sound came from the stone wall surrounding the arena.
crack, crack, POP POP POP FOOSH BING BAM BOOM
Thousands of eyes followed.
A grand display of smoke and fireworks shot out from the highest section of wall directly opposite of the Kage Box.
Brighter and louder than any firework had any right to be, the spectacle stood out against the morning sky. The smoke cleared to show a black and orange clad figure posing for the crowd, knees bent, arm outstretched, finger pointed, hand covering his face.
Sakura blinked.
"...No way."
Kiba squinted.
"Is that—"
Hinata smiled.
Naruto Uzumaki looked down at the arena.
He had changed his clothes.
There was less orange.
In its place was a fitted black shinobi uniform designed for movement rather than attention. Dark pants disappeared into the straps of his new Phantom Step Sandals, while a black V necked long-sleeved combat shirt with orange highlights sat overtop the Shinobi Mesh protecting his torso.
A short green field jacket covered his upper body.
Kunai pouches rested against both thighs, and several small equipment pouches were secured along his belt. Sealing tags were hidden inside the jacket rather than hanging openly from his gear, while the Flash Anklet remained concealed beneath the fabric around one leg.
His forehead protector caught the sunlight.
Blond hair moved in the wind.
Naruto stood with both hands in his pockets.
He said nothing.
For five entire seconds.
Genma stared at him.
Neji stared at him.
Half the Rookie Nine stared at him.
Sasuke would've immediately recognized what Naruto was doing.
Unfortunately, Sasuke wasn't there to call him an idiot.
Naruto was aura farming.
Aggressively.
Kiba's mouth fell open.
"There's no way."
Ino blinked.
"Why does he actually look cool?"
Sakura stared.
That was the disturbing part.
He did.
Choji ate another chip.
"Black suits him."
Shikamaru opened one eye.
"He definitely practiced this."
Hinata covered a small smile.
He absolutely had.
Naruto looked across the arena.
Thousands of people were watching him.
A month ago, that would've meant something different.
Naruto had spent years wanting this.
The village looking at him.
Seeing him.
Knowing his name.
For most of his childhood, he'd imagined himself standing somewhere high while everyone below cheered.
PING
+3 Charisma for drawing the attention of thousands and multiple nations!
Now that it was actually happening—
Naruto found himself looking at individual faces instead.
Iruka.
He found him almost immediately.
His old Academy teacher was standing near the front of one section, staring upward with an expression Naruto could read as pride and exasperation all in one.
Teuchi and Ayame were several rows behind his former sensei.
Konohamaru was practically hanging over a railing until Ebisu dragged him backward by the collar.
Kurenai.
Asuma.
Guy.
Lee.
Team Eight.
Team Ten.
Sakura.
People he knew.
People who knew him.
Naruto smiled.
Then remembered he was supposed to look cool.
The smile disappeared.
Serious face.
Much better.
Genma's eye twitched.
"You planning on coming down?"
Naruto looked toward him, relishing in the final seconds of unabated attention.
Genma rolled the senbon to the other side of his mouth.
"Come down."
Naruto sighed.
"Fine."
He stepped forward.
Straight off the wall.
Several civilians gasped.
Naruto fell.
His black shirt snapped violently in the wind as the arena floor rushed toward him. Sixty feet became twenty, then ten, yet Naruto made no attempt to slow himself.
Neji watched.
Five feet.
Naruto twisted.
Chakra reached his feet.
He landed on one leg, hands in his pockets looking downward.
Silence reigned. His fall had not made a single sound upon contact with the ground.
The Phantom Step Sandals had eliminated almost all sound from his landing itself.
Genma looked at the blonde contestant.
"You could've used the stairs."
Naruto brushed dust from his shoulder.
"Didn't know where they were."
Genma stared.
Naruto paused.
Someone in the audience laughed.
Then another.
Within seconds, laughter spread through the stadium.
Naruto's serious expression broke.
He grinned.
Neji hadn't laughed.
Naruto noticed.
The Hyūga stood thirty feet away, pale eyes studying him carefully.
Not his clothes.
His movement.
Naruto could tell.
Neji's gaze dropped briefly toward the Phantom Step Sandals before returning to Naruto's face.
"You kept everyone waiting."
Naruto walked toward the center.
"Fashionably late."
"Delaying your fate is understandable. You only have defeat awaiting you"
Neji's expression remained flat, confident in his own beliefs.
Naruto stopped across from him.
For the first time, the noise of the stadium seemed to disappear.
This was it.
A month.
Naruto thought about everything that had happened since the preliminaries.
Jiraiya.
The Four Elements Seal disappearing.
Fūinjutsu.
Water.
Wind.
Sasuke.
The Flash Anklet.
The Phantom Step Sandals.
Basic Toad Fist.
Summoning.
And something warmer sitting much deeper inside his chakra network.
Something red.
Something angry.
Something Naruto had finally begun learning how to touch without allowing it to touch back.
His hand briefly tightened.
He was ready.
Or at least as ready as he was going to get.
Neji shifted his feet.
The movement was tiny.
Naruto recognized it anyway.
Gentle Fist.
Neji's hands rose.
One extended forward.
The other remained closer to his body.
His posture settled.
Calm.
Precise.
Dangerous.
Naruto's grin returned.
He'd been waiting a month for this.
Genma stepped between them.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto looked toward him.
"Neji Hyūga."
Neji's eyes never left Naruto.
Genma glanced between the two. His arm raised in a knife hand.
The hand lowered in a flash.
"Begin!"
High above them, Hiruzen watched closely.
Beside him, the Kazekage remained motionless.
Clan heads leaned forward.
Foreign shinobi studied both competitors.
Thousands of villagers waited.
Hinata's hands tightened together.
Kiba stopped talking.
Sakura leaned against the railing.
Even Shikamaru opened both eyes.
The stadium became quiet.
Not completely.
Thousands of people could never truly become silent.
But close enough that Naruto could hear the wind moving across the battlefield.
Neither moved.
For one second, two of Konoha's most promising Genin simply stared at each other across the battlefield.
Then Naruto disappeared.
Updated stats to be revealed upon initial contact with Neji!