During the final month, Konoha Village seemed calm on the surface.
The candidates who had advanced to the third round were all in their final sprint… except for Shikamaru, who couldn't muster the motivation. Who wouldn't want to give it their all in this last push?
Ran began training in the Eight Gates Technique, following Lee's template.
She trained until her body was black and blue every day, but still got up the next morning to continue.
Although she was naive, she wasn't stupid. She knew becoming stronger was definitely not a bad thing.
Utaha was still working on the Rasengan.
But clearly, not everyone could be Naruto. She just couldn't break through to the second stage.
This wasn't surprising. If it were that easy, after Minato's death, Naruto wouldn't have been the only one to learn the technique.
As for Megumi, she was practically invisible this month.
She was receiving 'private tutoring' from Makoto.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
Konoha Village was livelier than New Year's Day. The arena at the village center was packed early with spectators… locals and visitors from neighboring countries alike, many bringing their families to watch the final showdown of the Chunin Exams.
Fireworks exploded in the midday sky, signaling the start of the matches.
The candidates filed out from the contestant tunnel and lined up in the center of the arena.
In the stands, the eliminated Konoha rookies occupied a section.
Beside them sat players like Yui and Chizuru.
Higher up… Mrs. Yukinoshita, Eri, Sayuri... the players' parents had all gathered too.
"Long time no see, Makoto!"
Sayuri, who had arrived with her daughter, waved cheerfully like a young girl when she saw Makoto approaching.
Makoto nodded and was about to say something when Mrs. Yukinoshita, accompanied by her husband and youngest daughter, approached him: "Makoto."
"Long time no see, Mrs. Yukinoshita."
Sitting nearby, Eri watched this scene with mixed feelings… both mothers had gone to greet him. Should she...
"Hey, Nishikawa-kun!"
Suddenly, Sonoko stood up and waved vigorously.
Makoto was momentarily surprised.
'This young lady from the Suzuki Family was greeting me on her own initiative? Wasn't she afraid of me?'
Still, since she was being friendly, he didn't want to be rude and raised his hand in response.
His gaze lingered on her face for a second, and he casually remarked, "You look better with your hair down."
When he was a child watching Conan, Makoto had actually liked Suzuki Sonoko quite a bit.
Not in a romantic way… he just thought she'd be a good friend. She was loyal to her friends, though he felt she was a bit like Sakura… not bad-looking, but not particularly attractive either.
As he got older and understood the importance of background, and saw her with her hair down...
Yeah, she was perfect girlfriend material.
Sonoko's face flushed slightly, her eyes brightening: "Is that so? I'll try it then."
Eri: "..."
'Well done. Casting a wide net and hitting targets precisely, huh?'
…
Time was approaching.
Hayate, who was supposed to host the third exam, didn't appear. Instead, Shiranui Genma, one of the Fourth Hokage's guards, took his place.
He held a senbon in his mouth and glanced at the candidates:
"Hayate has something to attend to, so I'm hosting this round. It's time… but Uchiha Sasuke hasn't arrived. After discussion, his match will be moved to the final bout of the first round."
Naruto and Sakura in the stands both breathed sighs of relief.
"Alright."
Genma shifted his senbon, "First match: Kato Megumi versus Yukinoshita Haruno. Everyone else, go wait."
The candidates dispersed, leaving only two slender young women in the center of the arena.
Just then, Makoto noticed two men wearing bamboo hats approaching the Third Hokage in the highest seats of the stands.
One hat was marked with [Wind], the other with [Water].
The Fourth Kazekage.
The Fourth Mizukage.
Makoto narrowed his eyes.
'Interesting. Much livelier than the original work.'
He shifted his gaze to another direction… the masked man wearing a Kirigakure forehead protector.
Uchiha Obito.
'What are you planning to do, Obito?'
The corners of Makoto's mouth curled up slightly.
'If I couldn't get Itachi's Mangekyo, using yours as a substitute... wouldn't be bad either.'
"First match, begin!"
Genma raised his hand.
Haruno's hands moved swiftly through hand seals.
To ordinary spectators, nothing seemed to happen.
But in Megumi's vision… Haruno's body began to split: one, two, three... countless copies of Haruno surrounded her from all directions.
"Genjutsu."
Megumi murmured.
In the stands, Makoto chuckled lightly: "Specializing in Genjutsu? That suits someone who lives behind a mask."
Mr. Yukinoshita's eyes showed a flicker of displeasure, but he quickly suppressed it.
He didn't dare to contradict Makoto.
Yukino remained silent.
She had to admit, Makoto's words... hit the mark perfectly.
"That hand seal is..." Asuma blinked.
"Genjutsu: Mist Servant Technique." Kurenai beside him picked up.
It was her frequently used Genjutsu, perfect for torturing novices.
Once those illusionary clones touched the target, they would 'explode'.
Of course, it was fake, but that was the essence of Genjutsu: if the brain judged the explosion was real, the body would suffer real damage.
"However,"
Kurenai's tone shifted, "Since she's that prodigy's student, dispelling this level of Genjutsu should be a piece of—"
She didn't finish.
"Um, I'm sorry, I forfeit."
Just as the illusionary clones were about to make contact with Megumi—
Megumi raised her hand to signal.
Kurenai's mouth fell open.
'N-No...'
'What, why did she do that?'
Silence fell over the arena.
Thousands of spectators stared blankly at the girl raising her hand in surrender.
Megumi raised her right hand, trembling slightly: "I'm sorry... I really can't think of a way to counter this technique... I forfeit."
The senbon in Genma's mouth nearly fell out.
To be honest, he absolutely didn't believe that Makoto's student couldn't even dispel a Genjutsu.
'Was it because she wasn't as pretty as the other two, so he'd given her less attention, just like Kakashi did with Haruno Sakura?'
But since the participant herself had said so, he could only announce: "Winner... Yukinoshita Haruno."
Haruno stood in place, her face full of disbelief.
'I won?'
'Was this real?'
The players in the stands were collectively dumbfounded.
Haruno was certainly excellent… but Megumi was Makoto's student! Even if she was the least conspicuous of the three, losing in one move was too much, wasn't it?
Yukino secretly glanced at Makoto, who was standing on the steps.
She saw the corners of his mouth curl up slightly, revealing a Yagami Light-style smile.
A strong sense of foreboding welled up inside her.
'This guy... is definitely up to something.'
At the contestant tunnel entrance, Ran and Utaha were helping Megumi inside.
Megumi kept her head down, her shoulders still trembling slightly, as if she had truly suffered immense psychological damage.
Watching their backs, the curve of Makoto's smile deepened slightly.
'Well done, Megumi.'
'Everything was going according to Keikaku.'
That technique consumed a massive amount of Chakra. He couldn't waste let Megumi waste it on something trivial like the Chunin Exams.