As the saying goes, if you burn down someone's house, you'll end up rotting in prison.
Zabuza and Kisame had to use every bit of persuasion they had to stop Mei Terumī from actually setting Hayashi's house on fire. With her personality, she genuinely looked ready to melt the place down with a blast of Lava Release.
In exchange, the two of them agreed to pay for all of Mei Terumī's shopping today.
Fortunately, she was still young and hadn't reached Tsunade's terrifying spending habits yet. Otherwise, even if the two of them sold everything they owned, it probably still wouldn't have been enough.
The three had only just arrived at the center of Uchiha Plaza when they noticed something unusual ahead.
A large crowd had gathered in one corner of the street, completely blocking the road.
Mei Terumī's eyes immediately lit up.
"What's happening over there? A fight?"
Not far away, two groups of ninja were facing each other in open confrontation.
On one side stood a team from Sunagakure led by Yashamaru and Baki.
On the other side was Team One under Kakashi.
The cause of the conflict was surprisingly simple.
Earlier, Yashamaru had lost a considerable amount of money at an old Nara man's shogi stall. Kakashi's group happened to pass by and mocked the Sunagakure ninja for getting tricked by such an obvious scam.
The money itself wasn't the real issue.
Their pride was.
Well, the money still mattered too.
The argument escalated almost instantly, and the old Nara man wisely slipped away before things got worse.
Normally, Yashamaru wasn't the type to pick fights. His personality was gentle by nature.
But the moment he recognized who Kakashi and the others were, his expression changed.
The disciples of Konoha's Lightning Flash.
His anger flared immediately.
During the Third Shinobi World War, his older sister Karura had been captured by Hayashi. Although she was eventually returned to Sunagakure after the war ended, her years as a prisoner in Konoha had not been pleasant.
As her younger brother, Yashamaru naturally carried resentment toward Konoha.
He couldn't challenge Hayashi himself, so his hostility shifted toward Hayashi's students instead.
It was simply another example of the previous generation's grudges spilling onto the next.
Kakashi, Guy, and Asuma were fully aware of the history between their teacher and Sunagakure, so none of them backed down.
With the surrounding crowd cheering and provoking both sides, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Kisame originally had no interest in getting involved, but after noticing the excitement in Mei Terumī's eyes, he sighed helplessly.
"So, who are we helping?"
Mei Terumī answered without hesitation.
"Obviously Sunagakure."
Anyone opposing Konoha was automatically a friend in her eyes.
Kisame rubbed his forehead.
"Fine, but don't go overboard. This is still Uchiha territory."
He then turned toward Zabuza, only to find him already gripping a kunai with visible excitement.
"..."
The reason was simple.
Zabuza had spotted Kakashi.
Even with half his face hidden beneath a mask, Kakashi somehow managed to attract Zabuza's full attention immediately.
It was almost absurd.
One glance, and Zabuza completely locked onto him.
"Let's go," Zabuza said eagerly. "No matter who started it, if Konoha ninja are involved, we from Kirigakure should lend a hand."
Kisame stared at him silently.
Baki was nearly a full head taller than Guy and built like a fortress. Yashamaru was also older than Kakashi's group by several years.
No matter how he looked at it, Kisame couldn't figure out where Zabuza saw Konoha bullying anyone.
If you aren't using your eyes properly, you might as well donate them.
At that moment, Baki was using his imposing size to pressure Guy directly.
Unfortunately for him, Guy wasn't intimidated at all.
His talent in taijutsu far surpassed his father Duy's.
Meanwhile, Yashamaru had already begun confronting Kakashi head-on.
But Kakashi had long possessed the ability to become a chūnin. Under Hayashi's strict training, his combat ability had been sharpened far beyond ordinary genin.
Yashamaru couldn't gain any real advantage.
Just as the confrontation seemed ready to explode into a fight, three new figures entered the scene.
Both groups instinctively paused and stepped back slightly.
Everyone's attention shifted toward the Kirigakure trio.
"Kisame, Zabuza... Mei Terumī."
Kakashi calmly identified all three of them.
The intelligence network of Team One had already gathered information on the participants of the upcoming Chūnin Exams.
Among all the competitors, the Kirigakure trio ranked among the most dangerous.
The most famous among them was undoubtedly Zabuza.
After graduating from the Ninja Academy early, he slaughtered every participant during the academy's bloody graduation examination. The incident was so extreme that Kirigakure was forced to change its brutal traditions afterward.
Very few ninja were unfamiliar with the name Zabuza.
Kisame was known for his overwhelming chakra reserves and monstrous strength, though most people remembered him for his shark-like appearance.
Anyone who saw him once would remember him forever.
Except for Guy.
As for Mei Terumī, she was the least publicly known of the three.
However, Kakashi understood very well how dangerous she truly was because Hayashi had personally mentioned her abilities before.
She possessed two Kekkei Genkai.
Even one Kekkei Genkai was exceptionally rare.
Having two was almost unheard of.
And both of hers were incredibly powerful.
Compared to Yashamaru's group, Kakashi's attention was clearly more focused on the Kirigakure ninja.
A battle before the Chūnin Exams?
Honestly, Kakashi wasn't particularly interested in meaningless conflicts.
But facing opponents of this level was a different matter.
Mei Terumī and Zabuza shared the same thoughts.
Especially Zabuza.
Leaving aside Kakashi's identity as the son of the White Fang and Hayashi's disciple, the sword on Kakashi's back alone was enough to ignite Zabuza's fighting spirit.
The blade forged from Kiba drew his attention immediately.
And Zabuza never believed he would lose to anyone.
"Why aren't they fighting yet?"
High above the street, three figures crouched silently on a massive tree branch while watching the scene unfold below.
Minato glanced toward Hayashi.
"Are we really not stopping them?"
Technically, he and Nawaki were responsible for patrol duty in this area.
Public order here was under their supervision.
Hayashi waved his hand casually.
"No need to rush. Aren't you curious about the strength of the other villages' ninja? Those three from Kirigakure are all exceptional."
He wasn't worried in the slightest about Kakashi and the others.
Hayashi had complete confidence in his students.
Besides, young ninja being competitive wasn't exactly unusual.
As long as they were watching nearby, nothing truly serious would happen.
Nawaki also seemed interested in observing the competitors for intelligence purposes.
Hayashi immediately noticed his thoughts.
"How's Team Five doing lately?"
Nawaki sighed deeply.
"Don't even ask. Ebisu is decent enough, but Ryusei and Hyūga Kagami are pretty average.
If those two don't encounter some kind of breakthrough eventually, they'll probably stay genin forever."
"..."
Did he not realize that Konoha's strongest people somehow always ended up being genin?
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