Closer to noon, the Forest of Death
My team wasn't in any particular hurry as we walked up to the tower in the middle of the training ground, and pretty soon we stepped into its wide entrance hall. The huge doors were open even in the evening, and the first thing that jumped out at you inside was a stone tablet. It had some inscription about the balance of heaven and earth, and also a pretty obvious hint that it was time to unfold the scrolls—which is exactly what we did.
We tossed the scrolls at an angle so one ran through the center of the other. Fuin flared across the surfaces, white smoke poured out of the combined seal, and a familiar chunin stepped out of it.
"Good evening, Iruka-sensei," Sakura greeted politely.
"Huh…?" He wobbled a bit, apparently thrown off by the sudden summon. Those scrolls really could call people over. "Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke—good evening! That was kinda sudden, haha."
Embarrassed by his crappy entrance, he sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
"We weren't rushing, and we didn't come in first," I shrugged.
"True." He nodded. "Two teams got here before you. But your result is still surprising. Ahh…" He sighed. "Feels like just yesterday they handed me my first group. You were so tiny back then, and you grew up so fast. And now you're taking the chunin exam. I… I'm so proud of you."
All of a sudden, Iruka's eyes started getting wet.
"…" We had no clue what to say, so we just stood there in silence and watched this guy basically stand there, radiating both sadness and pride, and start sniffing like he was about to cry.
"...Yeah. We're really glad you were our sensei too. Ahem," I managed. "So, uh… we should go?"
I was basically checking if he needed anything else from us for the exam. Iruka gave a small nod and kept drowning in nostalgia.
At the tent where they handed out the scrolls, they also told us we could take any room once we got here. Sasuke handled that, while Sakura and I headed to one of the offices—where I could feel the Hokage's chakra, and someone else's.
At first Sakura, a little embarrassed, kept saying she'd just be in the way. She had this whole reverent attitude toward the Hokage. I talked her out of it, saying she's gotta brag a little too.
When we walked in, it turned out to be a room packed with monitors, with a couple couches and tables those monitors sat on. The old man was on one of the couches, watching what was happening in different parts of the forest and at the tower entrance. Besides him there was one ANBU, sitting at a separate table a bit away, writing something down.
"Yo, Hokage-sama," I said lazily as we came in, and Sakura beside me nodded in greeting too.
"Naruto-kun… and Sakura," the old man said, pausing like he had to pull my teammate's name out of memory. He watched us walk right up to the couch next to his without stopping. I dropped into it, while the girl sat carefully. "Ahem. I was about to send a messenger for you when you arrived at the tower."
"Yeah, but we showed up preemptively," I nodded. "Guess we're here because of Orochimaru?"
"Correct, Naruto." Hiruzen nodded and shifted his gaze to the still-nervous girl beside me. "Sakura."
She tensed even harder, so I put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Helped a little.
Seeing she was uncomfortable, the Hokage spoke in an even tone:
"Our sensors picked up clashes of powerful chakra… rain being summoned, and other techniques. That was impressive. If I understand correctly—and from what I can see—it's thanks to Naruto?"
My teammate looked at me like: can I talk? I nodded silently, then answered myself so she wouldn't stress about accidentally saying something extra.
"And thanks to Sakura's talent—and, just as important, her effort. Sakura did great. She managed to beat the shit out of one very, very evil snake. And you've known about the changes in her for a while now."
"That is true. I keep an eye on all ninja in Konoha. But getting back to Orochimaru—this is serious. First, I want to know: are you all alright?"
"All good," I said, flashing an OK sign.
"And the other students? Aside from the Grass team."
"Sasuke, maybe. He's got a Curse Mark."
The old man flinched, clearly alarmed, but I didn't let him spiral.
"But don't worry. He lived, and I helped him get a grip on the mark, so he won't go flying off the handle and attacking people… well, probably. Sasuke wasn't exactly the most sane guy even without it, so I can't swear anything."
"That's good work—helping a comrade, Naruto." Hiruzen nodded approvingly, but his expression changed sharp when I added:
"We're even now."
"…"
That line told him straight up my help wasn't free, and he looked at me with some pretty mixed emotions.
"Fine… My student, Orochimaru…" Hiruzen wisely didn't get stuck on it and switched topics. "He was a talented sprout, but a hard life—and the death of his parents—left too deep a mark on him. I cannot blame him entirely for what he does… There is fault on my side as well. I did not watch him closely enough. Anko said he essentially declared war on us. We must act responsibly to protect the people of the Leaf."
"Sure, that's true. But it's also good they're planning to attack us."
"In what sense?" Hiruzen didn't catch it right away.
"Orochimaru, obviously, leads a whole ninja village. A criminal's underlings are usually criminals too. Means we won't have to go hunting them down."
"Ha…" The old man smiled bitterly. "You find something good in everything, Naruto. Is that… why you didn't kill Orochimaru?"
"Flattered by your faith." I nodded. "As for the snake—also because of your history with him. You spared him once, and you'd be pretty damn upset if he died."
After that, Sakura let out a breath—half a sigh—louder than usual. She clearly wanted to say something to the old man, something in her usual demanding style, but she stopped herself. The Hokage title didn't exactly let her call him out for being soft.
Hiruzen lowered his head. A grateful look flashed across his face, then almost immediately got replaced by grim resolve.
"The Hokage's duty puts the Leaf first. Orochimaru will attack again. And this time, if necessary, I will do everything to end him."
Sakura looked away a bit, like she was saying, "Alright, fine, at least you know what you're supposed to do."
"Uh… yeah. Anyway, we'll go?" I asked awkwardly.
"Yes. I won't keep you."
After that, Sakura and I left the room.
Walking down the corridor, I kept my hand on her shoulder and asked:
"Why were you so worked up? He's just an old man."
"But the Hokage is a very respected person, Naruto…"
"Respected, yeah, but still a person. Unlike us, haha!" I patted her shoulder and dropped my hand. Also couldn't help noticing my Sakura respects authority way more than canon Sakura. Is that because with the Sasuke-obsession gone she's actually paying attention to the world? Whatever. I asked something else: "How about we go play cards with Hinata's team? They got here recently."
"Let's go," she nodded, a bit more lively—finally something that felt like a normal break for her.
So we walked the corridors, and I also thought about my talk with Hiruzen. Basically, we traded info—nothing super important, but still. Motives too: his motives, and mine. When I said I didn't kill Orochimaru because I didn't want to hurt the old man's feelings, that was me holding back the full truth, not lying. I really did feel bad. Same as how I really do see a "plus" in them attacking. Without that chat, some dumb misunderstanding could've hung between us. Now, even if we ended on a kind of meh note, our actions are clearer: if Orochimaru sticks his nose in here again, he needs to be stopped—even if it ends with the snake dead. Though whether I actually kill Orochimaru or not, I'll decide depending on the situation.
When Sakura and I dropped in on Hinata's team, we got the cards out like we planned, and we fleeced Kiba five times in a row. And that's with his dog Akamaru constantly trying to help him by peeking at the cards. Even in the game where we let the little dog see the hands, the dog boy still lost. After that—and after our ex-classmate yelling that he's never playing with us again—we split up in a good mood.
More accurately, Sakura, Hinata, and I teleported to my mansion. I spent a whole five minutes convincing these "proper" girls that leaving the tower is fine as long as nobody notices. The original plan was to send them to their homes, but they refused hard—especially Hinata. Because yeah, she's a good girl, but her family in this stuff is way harsher, and for her it was just straight-up impossible. Sakura's parents would've started asking questions too—her dad's a shinobi, he'd instantly figure out his daughter was "skipping" something important. And when I suggested they sleep over at my place, they started blushing…
Still, under my pressure they gave in. Because in the tower, one team gets one room, and everyone treats that like it's normal. At my house they'd have their own rooms, private.
The following days, we mostly rested. Our little Leaf hangout circle was grateful as hell because I dragged in a bunch of board games. Sakura—and me too, honestly—liked chilling with them. Me and the pinkhead, plus Hinata, would sometimes go out for air (thanks to me), and we'd also dip out for other stuff. But everyone else had to rot in the tower.
Though it's not like everyone was bored. Sasuke definitely found himself a "hobby." He sat in what basically became his personal room and trained how long he could stay in the activated Curse Mark and how well he could control it. Only came out sometimes to eat or take a piss. From behind his door you'd occasionally feel chakra packed with rage and killing intent, which kicked off a whole wave of gloomy rumors about the gloomy guy. Uchiha got himself a reputation.
In that rhythm the five days ran out, and… since too many genin made it through, it was time for the selection round before the third stage of the chunin exam.
But at the same time, somewhere else—someplace darker—other important stuff was happening too.
Fourth day since the start of the Chunin Exams. Shimura Danzo Interlude
A black-haired man sat at a desk in an office drowned in darkness. Stuffed with filing cabinets and with nothing extra, the room screamed ascetic owner. Even the ceiling light was just a couple of tube lamps casting a dim yellow glow. One of them flickered now and then, but it didn't bother the person below—if anything, it only made the vibe more grim.
Once one of the Hidden Leaf's elders and the Darkness of the shinobi world, he was now forced to sit in a cramped, spare, hidden base belonging to what was left of the old Root organization.
Shimura was slowly filling out one of the papers.
Spying and recon, collecting secret and forbidden techniques, manipulation, conspiracies, political intrigues—Root used to do it all. And it was exactly those actions, extreme and radical as they were, that earned its leader that title.
Those methods were necessary, he believed. Not for him personally. He acted for all of Konoha, and every step he took had to benefit the Village. That was the plan. And the way he saw it, that was how it should be.
And almost all of it had turned to dust.
All because of one person…
Crack.
The pen snapped under his hand as it clenched without him meaning to.
His eyes—wrinkled around the edges—closed without emotion, focusing on the ink slowly bleeding across the document from the broken piece of stationery.
"Something… troublesome is coming." Danzo wasn't often hit with flashes of anger. Usually he was cold and calculating. But he was still human, with his own weaknesses. "Hiruzen, my rival. Soon you'll regret everything."
He snorted at the irrational thought and went back to work.
"Not that."
But the uneasy feeling didn't leave him.
For the most part, the world was calm. Small scuffles around the Grass Village hinted at a big attack on them, but that wasn't Konoha's problem. What actually mattered was the revolution in the Bloody Mist growing stronger. Just four days ago they finished taking the third island in the island nation of Water, cutting off the route to the Land of Noodles and shutting down the shortest path to the western continent—where all the other Great Villages and their countries still were. According to one of the planted spies, they were taking a short break to dig in on the new territory, and in a few months they'd keep going.
Spying is expensive work—and kind of thankless. But over time it pays off. Sometimes with fruit so priceless that whoever eats it gets to decide who lives and who dies. Root—and Danzo specifically—still had plenty of spies, and some of them sat pretty high up.
Right now Shimura needed to assign new squads for new, especially delicate jobs. That's what he did.
He filled out paper after paper, signed them, and hours passed. From the outside it looked boring and simple, but it demanded insane focus.
It would've kept going like that, if Shimura hadn't felt a signal: one of the alarm barriers had been tripped by a familiar chakra signature.
His face wrinkled up. The ex-elder wanted to spit and swear—he hated the guest so much that the guy just casually showed up like this. But instead, Shimura, as a "respectable and important" man, quickly shoved the important documents into a drawer, set his face like a brick, and waited for the door to open.
Because of the darkness in the corridor it was hard to make out the visitor's clothes, but his posture twisted like a snake. Long black hair moved with his body. Combined with the pale face you could actually see and the gold-glowing eyes, it made a creepy picture.
"Pompous turkey," Danzo tagged him coldly in his head. Obviously Orochimaru. "But he's too important for what comes next… Unfortunately, I'll have to listen."
"Danzo…" the one who came in said, dragging out the last syllable. There was obvious coldness—and barely contained rage—in his voice. "Explain why an S-rank kunoichi is participating in the exam, and you didn't report it. We had a deal about the Uchiha, and you assured me no one would interfere."
He stepped closer. Two of the most monstrous shinobi in the world locked eyes.
Danzo was surprised by the question, but didn't show it.
"S-rank kunoichi? Who? Tsunade came back? Some foreign kunoichi?" Shimura had no idea what this sick bastard was talking about. "Unless… Hiruzen raised someone behind my back?"
He stuck on that thought. Hiruzen, that old fox—yeah, he's "kind," but you'd be an idiot to underestimate how sly he can be. Someone could've helped him "raise" a new weapon too. And Orochimaru not recognizing an S-rank from another country? That was extremely unlikely. The exam was only really special because two jinchuriki were in it, but they were male, and this clearly wasn't about them.
"Based on my information, it was supposed to be a normal exam. Hiruzen sent no one, if my spy is to be believed. The jonin instructors—among whom there are S-rank shinobi—aren't supposed to arrive until tomorrow."
"I got that information," Orochimaru confirmed in a hissing voice. "No one besides the genin really was there. But tell me how you didn't notice a freshly graduated girl who can already rival the Third in Water Release ninjutsu, and who has a body-enhancing Kekkei Genkai?"
There was way more contempt in the snake's tone than usual.
"And how—and why—did you fail to confirm for sure that the Uzumaki has space-time jutsu at that level? I need every detail! Why can't your organization dig up everything about him?"
"I know nothing about that," Danzo replied coldly, not showing even a drop of the confusion that flashed in his mind.
Looks like whatever intel network Root had left screwed up hard. Orochimaru wasn't in a position to lie about this, and he had no reason to—he and Shimura were chasing the same goals.
Neither of them looked away. The room went quiet. No words. Just the two of them testing each other's patience.
The Sannin cracked first.
"Tch. If you still want our plan to happen, you'll take this problem on yourself."
This time Danzo's face actually twitched. Operatives didn't grow on trees, and to "handle" a problem like that would take way more than a couple ninja. And Danzo had already assigned people for the attack during the third stage. So what, he's supposed to send almost everyone in Konoha? Still, instead of making excuses, the ex-elder answered straight to the point:
"Once we understand this in more detail, Root will deal with her during the attack. It's too early to act and draw attention. If we do that, our plan risks becoming unworkable."
That would make the odds of Root getting compromised way too high. If the organization gets exposed, Hiruzen will take steps to shut down what's left of it. Danzo wasn't delusional—his position was weak right now, and it could get much worse if he took stupid risks.
"Fine. About the jinchuriki—it'll be better if the One-Tail's host handles him. This time I'll make adjustments and personally make sure the beast gets released immediately. But don't get comfy. I remember your screw-up. You'll pay for it later. The girl is on you—don't you dare just sit on your ass like you wanted to. You know what happens then!"
After the last words, Orochimaru opened his mouth wide, letting a long, slimy tongue spill out, with big drops of thick saliva sliding down it. That sight usually made people feel wrong in the head and scared. But there were no softies in this room.
The snake pricked his finger on one of his fangs, pushed his sleeve back, and drew a line of blood along his arm. As soon as he finished, his body exploded into a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, nobody was there. Only a puddle of clear liquid on the wooden floor reminded Danzo the talk even happened.
Danzo's face twisted in disgust, then in rage.
"Brazen brat! If I was still an elder and Root was what it used to be, you wouldn't dare talk to me like that," Shimura thought. He had plenty of nasty thoughts, but right now thinking was all he could do.
His whole deal with Orochimaru was complicated, but it rested on simple things. They both wanted Hiruzen dead. They both wanted revenge for one thing or another. And they'd split the future rewards of that revenge—and of course the obligations.
Danzo gave Orochimaru serious support: Root's leftover operatives, making their revenge possible, and he didn't get in the way. In return, after Hiruzen died, Shimura would get the chance to become Hokage—and, honestly, the satisfaction of watching the man he envied (and who was better than him in so many ways) finally die. Orochimaru would get his revenge too and close that old grudge. Maybe he wanted to be Hokage as well, but with his reputation that was basically a joke, so the snake settled for more realistic gains.
But those parting words from Orochimaru were a hint: during the attack he might just wreck Konoha, and then Danzo would have nothing to rule. That's why the ex-elder was furious.
"Brazen, disgusting, fucking drunk on his own impunity…" Danzo had a whole list of names he wanted to throw at that slimy bastard, but he kept it all in his head so he wouldn't ruin his reputation in front of the subordinates still around.
"Mizunoe!" he called after he calmed down, summoning one of the operatives who should've been on duty outside. A big-looking shinobi with yellow markings on his mask walked in. "Clean it up."
Danzo pointed at the puddle the guy almost stepped into.
So now Shimura had even more on his plate: first espionage, and now the brain-breaking problem of how to kill a kunoichi he knew almost nothing about.
Still, he had time to think. The third stage of the exam, when the attack was planned, was still far away. The second stage wasn't even over yet.
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