Tejima Shinichi pushed open the door to Classroom 301.
The scene inside came into view.
The classroom was large, yet it felt cramped.
Dense clusters of people stood scattered about; at a glance there were at least a hundred and fifty.
Most gathered in threes or fives, forehead protectors of different styles marking them as ninja from various villages.
A low buzz of conversation filled the air, laced with a faint undercurrent of tension.
His arrival instantly drew many eyes.
In the window-side corner of the room, Sunagakure's trio looked over almost in unison.
Temari's brows instinctively knitted.
Kankuro's expression turned uneasy; he even took half a step back, as though still feeling the choking grip on his neck from that day.
"It's that guy…"
Gaara's vacant eyes locked onto Tejima Shinichi.
After arriving in Konoha they had asked around and quickly learned of Tejima Shinichi —the prodigy personally taken as a disciple by the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, the top student whose overwhelming strength even before graduation had earned him the label of Konoha's new-generation monster.
Across the room, a young man with round-framed glasses and gentle silver hair also noticed the commotion at the door.
Yakushi Kabuto adjusted his glasses; the gaze behind the lenses swept over Tejima Shinichi, the friendly smile at the corner of his mouth deepening ever so slightly.
'The Third Hokage's disciple…!'
"Shinichi-kun!"
Right then, a voice rang out.
Ino Yamanaka hurried through the crowd, smiling and waving energetically, entirely oblivious to the complicated stares following her.
Behind her trailed the listless Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji, who was focused on munching potato chips.
"Ino." Tejima Shinichi paused, nodded to her, then glanced at Shikamaru and Choji. "Shikamaru, Choji."
"Yo."
Shikamaru raised a lazy hand in greeting, his eyes lingering on Shinichi for a moment as if recalling his father Nara Shikaku's words.
Choji merely grunted through a mouthful of chips.
"Shinichi-kun, you're taking the Chunin Exams too!" Ino bubbled with excitement. "I knew you'd come! Oh, right —Hinata and the others are here as well!"
She stepped aside as she spoke.
Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino walked over.
"Shinichi-kun."
Hinata greeted softly, her gaze flicking toward him before dropping again.
Aburame Shino simply inclined his head. "Shinichi-kun."
"Yo! Shinichi! Didn't expect you here —this is gonna be fun,"
Inuzuka Kiba grinned, full of energy, while Akamaru barked once in his arms.
But then his tone shifted, competitive:
"Still… even if you're our year's top student, we haven't been slacking off. I won't lose to you easily in this exam."
Ino frowned, hands on hips. "What are you on about, Kiba? You think Shinichi-kun hasn't trained? Don't forget —he's the Hokage's disciple now!"
Cornered by Ino, Kiba froze, mouth opening and closing. He scratched his head, clicked his tongue, and let the topic drop.
Ino turned back to Shinichi, looking past him. "You're alone? Where are your teammates?"
"Oh… they're behind me; should be here any second."
As if on cue, more movement sounded at the doorway.
Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū stepped in together, still rattled by the "youth" of Might Guy and Rock Lee downstairs.
They spotted Shinichi in the crowd and hurried over.
"Shinichi! You sure ran fast!" Kobayashi exhaled in relief, then noticed the gathered Konoha Genin. "Whoa, everyone's here."
Immediately after, another group poured in.
Might Guy's squad appeared. Rock Lee looked battered but burning with fighting spirit; Tenten walked beside him, while Hyuga Neji brought up the rear in silence.
Almost on their heels, Team 7 arrived —Sasuke and the rest!
With that, nearly every Konoha Genin taking the exam this year had converged on this corner.
The Konoha Twelve plus Shinichi's two teammates —over a dozen clustered together, instantly drawing attention.
They greeted one another and chatted quietly, a stark contrast to the wary tension between ninja of other villages.
"Hey, hey, how come it feels like we Konoha guys are everywhere?"
Kiba looked around proudly, shaking his head.
"It's our home turf, after all."
Ino laughed, glancing unconsciously at Shinichi again.
By now Naruto and Kiba had leaned together, arguing about something.
Sakura tried to talk to Hinata, but Hinata's gaze kept drifting toward Naruto.
Sasuke leaned alone against the wall, though his eyes occasionally flicked toward Shinichi.
Neji likewise stayed silent, most of his attention fixed on Shinichi.
The lively scene naturally drew the rest of the room's notice.
Perhaps finding them too noisy, unfriendly stares converged on their corner.
Just then, a figure walked toward them.
"Hello, you must be this year's newly graduated Genin from Konoha?" he greeted. "I'm Yakushi Kabuto, your senpai and also a candidate in these Chunin Exams."
His appearance made the Konoha group pause; every eye turned to him.
Shinichi gave him a glance. The spy who would one day be called the "master manipulator" was now playing the perfect role of a gentle upperclassman.
"Senpai?" Naruto looked him over curiously.
"That's right." Kabuto adjusted his glasses, smile unwavering. "Seeing you all so lively brings back memories. But please, mind the setting —look around."
Everyone quieted and followed his gaze.
The entire classroom —over a hundred examinees —was staring at them with open hostility.
The sudden shift silenced the once-boisterous group.