"Quiet down, quiet down."
Shikage waved his hand at the group of kids, rolling his eyes.
"It's a rare day off from the Academy. Instead of staying home and enjoying it, you all came out here just to join the crowd?"
Naruto acted like he didn't even hear him. He was jumping up and down, pumping his fists, while the little fox, Kyu, clung desperately to his leg to keep from being launched into orbit.
"I came to cheer for Shikage!"
"What do you mean 'cheer'? We should be celebrating!"
Ino cut in, tossing her ponytail with a confident hmph.
"Shikage is definitely going to pass."
"Right, Sakura?"
Sakura nodded rapidly, her eyes basically turning into little pink hearts.
—Shikage looks so cool today!
Instead of feeling jealous about the two girls fawning over Shikage, Naruto completely agreed with them.
Because of Shikage and little Kyu, Naruto actually had a pretty good relationship with the girls in his class now. Sometimes they even hung out outside of school.
Sharing the same core value—admiring Shikage—had basically turned Naruto into their quintessential "guy best friend."
"Hey, Shikage, let me tell you a secret."
Naruto pointed a sneaky finger toward a familiar pineapple-haired kid standing a short distance away.
"Shikamaru snuck out here too. He specifically told me not to tell you."
Shikage had actually sensed his little brother's chakra a while ago. He shot a warm glance at Shikamaru, who was trying to blend into the crowd, before waving off Naruto and the girls.
"Alright, you guys should head back now."
"I've got an exam to take."
"Got it!" the three kids chimed in unison.
Stepping into the Ninja Academy's training ground, Shikage's eyes swept across the dense crowd of genin candidates.
Eventually, his gaze settled on the genin from Takigakure.
According to the briefing for his Anbu entrance mission, someone in that group of Taki ninja was carrying the Hero's Water.
The first step of any black-market deal was always inspecting the goods.
They probably gave the Hero's Water to a genin specifically to demonstrate its combat value to the buyer right in the middle of the Chunin Exams.
As for whether this would derail the exams or get innocent people killed?
Neither the buyer nor the seller gave a damn about that.
Thinking about it that way, Shikage already had a pretty good guess as to who the buyer was.
There was only one person arrogant enough to pull a stunt like this right inside Konoha.
Shikage smiled faintly, deciding not to dig any deeper into it right now.
After all, stopping the actual trade was the job of official Anbu members like Itachi. His job was just crowd control.
Pulling his attention back to his immediate surroundings, Shikage walked over to the clustered group of Konoha genin, flashing a friendly, approachable smile.
He knew most of the Konoha candidates here. They were all on decent terms.
Especially two very pretty girls, both of whom happened to be his former classmates.
"Natsu. Hana."
Shikage walked up to them, his handsome face lit up with a bright, sunny smile.
"Long time no see."
Natsu Hyūga, dressed in her signature maid-like attire, gave a polite nod and an elegant bow in greeting.
"Hello, Shikage."
Hana Inuzuka, dressed in a much more rugged, fiery outfit, sidled right up to him and threw an arm around his shoulder like one of the guys.
"Why didn't you show up to the last class reunion? You too good for us now?"
"Sorry, I was a little busy."
Shikage casually slipped an arm around Hana's waist. While enjoying the soft warmth, he offered a completely half-hearted excuse.
"Definitely next time."
Hana flushed slightly. She quickly swatted his hand away and took a step back.
"Why are you still such a pervert?"
Shikage shrugged, entirely unashamed.
"Can't help it. I have zero resistance to pretty girls."
After catching up with his two old classmates for a bit, Shikage looked around curiously.
"By the way, what are we all waiting out here for?"
"Why haven't we gone inside to take the test?"
Hana rolled her eyes at him.
"Did you seriously not read the exam guidelines?"
Shikage just smiled and nodded. He genuinely hadn't.
He hadn't planned on taking the Chunin Exams in the first place. He'd spent the entire last week buried in training for his Anbu mission and hadn't paid a single second of attention to the actual exam rules.
Natsu softly explained.
"They won't post the candidate numbers or classroom assignments until every single genin has arrived."
Hearing that, Shikage pointed at himself, suddenly realizing why he was getting a few glares.
"Wait... am I the last guy?"
Hana smirked, pointing toward a Konoha Chunin who was just walking out to post the notice board.
"What do you think?"
Shikage started walking toward the board, completely unapologetic.
"Hey, you can't blame me for this."
"It's those kids' fault. They're way too clingy."
"Sometimes, being this popular is a real burden, you know?"
"Let's see here..."
"Candidate No. 35. Classroom 3B."
"Well, well. Hana, Natsu, you two are in luck. We're in the same room."
"During the test, do you want me to let you copy my answers? Or are you going to let me copy yours?"
"Shikage, you really have no shame."
"Hehe."
...
Looking at Maki, Shibuki felt nothing but deep respect and admiration.
But looking at Shikage? Shibuki felt nothing but pure, burning jealousy.
Maybe it was because they were the same age and gender. Watching Shikage effortlessly navigate the crowd and casually flirt with two gorgeous girls made a sour, bitter feeling twist in Shibuki's gut.
He wanted to be like that.
But glancing at the two massive, rough-looking brutes that made up his own genin team, Shibuki could only swallow his bitter disappointment.
He looked back at Maki, only to realize she was also staring intently at Shikage.
Gritting his teeth, Shibuki made a silent vow.
—I am going to completely outshine this guy!
In reality, Maki wasn't staring at Shikage because she was charmed by his handsome face.
Sure, he was good-looking and had great posture.
But what actually caught her attention was the complete and total absence of any chakra fluctuation around him.
Because of her years training in Sealing Jutsu, Maki was hyper-sensitive to chakra signatures.
But the feeling she got from Shikage was like staring into a bottomless, lightless shadow.
Just as Maki was mentally trying to figure him out, Shikage seemed to sense her gaze and casually glanced her way.
The moment their eyes met, Maki's heart skipped a beat. A primal, instinctual wave of fear and dread washed over her.
—This guy... is incredibly dangerous!
...
—This guy... is incredibly dangerous!
Kabuto quickly lowered his head, completely dodging Shikage's sweeping gaze.
According to his intelligence files, Shikage was supposed to be at the level of a mid-Chunin.
But for some terrifying reason, in that split second, the aura coming off the boy felt exactly like standing in front of Lord Orochimaru.
A cold sweat broke out on Kabuto's forehead. He swallowed hard, his mind racing.
—As expected of the target Lord Orochimaru specifically highlighted.
—His sensory perception is monstrously sharp. I need to be much more careful with where I look from now on...
...
—Kabuto Yakushi...
The image of the future "Dragon Sage" flashed through Shikage's mind as he casually looked away.
Running into Kabuto here wasn't surprising. What was surprising was realizing that Orochimaru had already painted a target on his back.
The only reason Shikage was so sure was because Kabuto's stare had been way too intense. It wasn't the casual, sweeping observation of an intel gatherer. It was highly focused and deeply serious.
—Orochimaru...
Thinking about the incomplete Curse Mark currently sitting on his No. 1 shadow soldier, Shikage figured it might actually be worth making contact with the snake Sannin eventually.
But only if he could guarantee his own absolute safety first.
Either way, that wasn't the mission for today.
Pulling his thoughts back, Shikage shot a weird look at the pretty Suna girl who looked vaguely familiar.
Why does it feel like she's terrified of me?
Shikage couldn't figure it out, so he just dropped it. Following the directions on the notice board, he made his way to his assigned classroom.
What he hadn't expected was that Shibuki, Kabuto, and that familiar-looking Suna girl were all assigned to the exact same room.
What a coincidence, right?
A knowing glint flashed in Shikage's eyes. He stared down at the exam paper on his desk, silently guessing what exactly Hiruzen Sarutobi was plotting by setting this up.
As for the insanely difficult questions that currently had the candidates around him tearing their hair out in frustration?
Even while completely distracted by his own thoughts, Shikage finished the entire test in less than twenty minutes.
Please. He used to be a teacher.