We made a tactical retreat as Shisui kept muttering about me. Kaen was deep in thought, while Sena narrowed her eyes at me. "Why do you treat merchants like that? I told you many times before, they hate you. We actually cast some influence so they would not outright refuse to sell to you."
I snorted and replied, "I will not apologize for fighting for the consumer. They are greedy and only looking to increase their already huge profits, even at the cost of the poor customer."
Sena shook her head. "Merchants have expenses too. They usually do not overdo it. The village monitors that."
I snorted again. "I will not apologize for fighting to avoid being taken advantage of," I said, turning my nose to the side to escape her fiery stare.
Yura was extremely amused by the conversation but remained silent, occasionally almost laughing, likely due to the crystal ball incident and the chaotic interaction that had followed. I still had the thing with me, which did not help.
Once we reached our flats, Yura spoke up. "I will come pick you up at noon tomorrow. You will get to see the other competitors, and the organizers will explain how the Chunin Exams will be held."
We all nodded as she waved goodbye and left, her gaze lingering on Shisui for a moment longer than necessary. He tried very hard to look occupied.
We walked into the boys' flat, and Shisui turned to us. "You all need to rest well. Whatever happens tomorrow, do not cause trouble or engage in fights with other contenders before the combat tests begin. Disqualification is a real possibility."
Sena nodded. "Thank you, sensei, for letting us know."
Shisui nodded in return as Sena left for her flat, and after a long, exhausting day, we decided to get some rest immediately.
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Sena POV
I walked into my flat and headed straight for the bedroom, stopping beside the Sand spying seal etched into the wall. I took a deep breath. What came next was extremely important, a true keystone in my family's plan.
With a small smile, I bit my finger. "Summoning Technique: Phantom Butterfly."
A butterfly made of pale light appeared in a soft pulse, its wings fluttering gently as ripples spread around it as if it were flying through water. It brushed against my cheek, leaving behind a faint, luminous hue, and I smiled at the familiar touch. Then I let the warmth fade from my expression. My tone lowered, controlled and serious, pitched just beneath normal hearing, low enough that the seal would struggle to catch it, but strong enough that its construction and sensitivity would still pick up fragments.
"Tell father that I made contact with Konoha's informant in the Hidden Sand," I said quietly. "He passed along information he obtained from compromised personnel regarding the Sand spies currently active in Konoha, as well as the merchants they use to relay non-urgent messages back to the village. It is not a complete profile, but with this new information the village will be very close to moving in to capture them. They should not suspect anything, and the Hidden Sand is currently focused on its internal matters and will not do anything reckless, so Konoha will most likely move soon once the information is confirmed. The scroll is currently being delivered through our usual channel to the authorities. I wanted you to know so we can take advantage of the coming opportunity."
The butterfly beat its wings harder, almost frantically, as if trying its best to confirm that it understood. Then it vanished in a soft puff of smoke.
I exhaled slowly. Father and mother would not waste this opportunity. They would push it as far as it could go, just as they always did. More influence first. Then more power. And after that, more money, a cycle that sustained itself and drove us closer to our ultimate goal.
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Noa POV
Yura came the next day exactly on time. Shisui immediately asked Kaen to open the door, clearly trying to keep his distance from her. Kaen was more than happy to please his idol and did so without any argument or hesitation. Yura smiled when she found all of us already prepared. "I do appreciate you all being so punctual," she said pleasantly.
We nodded as Shisui and I moved toward the door. I noticed that she had done something different with her hair and was even wearing perfume, which was unusual for a shinobi. Shisui looked like he was suffering on the inside. He probably had not expected his little game to work this well. I laughed quietly to myself at his misery as we stepped outside, Yura almost sticking to his side. He tried to subtly angle his shoulder away, but she gave him no chance at all. In the end, he sighed and simply walked beside her.
After a short walk, we reached a massive hall. The moment we stepped inside, we were greeted by the sound of countless genin and their sensei gathering together. These were the participants of the Chunin Exams. There were around seventy genin present, with powerful shinobi watching over them from every direction. I tried to look around, but the place was chaotic, and I decided not to extend my chakra sensing. Drawing that kind of attention right now would not be wise.
A Sunagakure shinobi stepped forward. He was tall, with green eyes and black hair, his sharply defined face marked by a large scar. His voice boomed through the hall, clearly augmented with chakra. "The Hidden Sand welcomes you all to this year's Chunin Exams. I hope you enjoyed your days of relaxation, because the tests begin now. To all genin sensei, please proceed to the hall on your left, where your team details will be recorded and the regulations explained. To all genin, head to the hall on your right, where the exam process will be outlined."
He stepped down as each sensei gave their teams a few brief words before leaving. Shisui only gave us a small nod before turning and walking away without saying anything.
We entered a crowded hall filled with tables placed deliberately close together, clearly designed to create friction as teams tried to sit and inevitably bumped into one another. A Kusagakure genin intentionally struck the back of an Iwagakure genin seated near our table. No one seemed to notice except me, sitting close enough to see it clearly. The Iwagakure boy shot to his feet. He was tall and fierce, his chakra leaking aggressively, especially after he caught sight of the other boy's headband, as he shouted, "Watch where you're going, you Kusagakure idiot. Weak villages like yours should not even look at someone from a village like mine."
The Kusagakure genin replied mockingly. "If you are so proud of your village, then why are you fighting someone from a minor village like me? Go fight someone from Konoha, or are you afraid they will kick your ass like they always do?"
The Iwagakure genin exploded with rage and punched the Kusagakure kid, sending him to the ground. He raised his fist again, ready to strike, but before he could land the blow, a Hidden Sand shinobi caught his wrist. "You are disqualified from the Chunin Exams."
The Iwagakure genin snarled, "Why? He's just a weakling."
The Sand shinobi released his chakra. It was Jonin level, heavy enough to silence the entire hall. Every eye turned toward him as he spoke calmly, his voice carrying clearly to everyone present. "We said the exam had already begun, did we not? A chunin must be able to control their emotions and think clearly. Those who fall for simple taunts doom not only themselves, but their entire team. You are not ready."
The Iwagakure genin and his team were escorted out in stunned silence. The remaining genin looked around as the Kusagakure boy stood up, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, a wide grin already on his face. He had planned it perfectly, executed every step with taunts alone. I almost applauded.
The Sand shinobi continued, "Now I will explain the stages of the Chunin Exams, so pay close attention."
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A/N: I'm looking for a few beta readers with deep Naruto lore knowledge. I mean really solid across the board: manga, anime, light novels, movies, and the weird edge cases most people forget. On top of that, you should be very familiar with Stormbreaker's own lore, rules, and long-running setups.
The goal is to help catch lore inconsistencies, canon conflicts, and moments where something doesn't line up with established Stormbreaker logic, which does happen sometimes given how bad my memory can be lol. Chapter review is part of it too. Grammar isn't the focus unless it breaks immersion.
Beta readers get early access to a crazy amount of advanced chapters, new chapters the moment they come out of the oven, and a say in keeping the story tight and internally consistent as things continue to escalate.
If you're interested, DM me with:
– How deep your Naruto knowledge goes
– How long you've been reading Stormbreaker
– How confident are you in helping me give our amazing readers the best chapters we can?
Only good and trustworthy people allowed hehe. Mostly because I want this to stay fun, chill, and drama-free.