"What are you planning to do to Konoha?" Kurenai immediately drew a kunai, her guard up.
"Why don't you ask what I plan to do to you?" Uchiha Nagi stepped forward and, with playful interest, lifted Kurenai's chin.
"You... Mmph..."
Before Kurenai could finish, her words were muffled by a pair of masculine lips pressing against hers.
Kurenai's eyes widened. She hesitated for a moment, then plunged the kunai downward. But she didn't aim for a vital point, instead stabbing Nagi in the shoulder.
"Can't bring yourself to do it?" Nagi's lips curved into a smile as he looked at her.
"Don't move! Move again and I'll slit your throat!" Kurenai pressed the kunai against the man's neck, her voice a fierce threat.
But the beautiful woman's threat seemed to lack any real force. Nagi chuckled and gestured toward Kurenai herself.
"You should take a look at your own situation first."
Hm?! Kurenai looked down in confusion. A single word, "Release," whispered by her ear, and her vision blurred. The world spun, and only then did she realize she had been caught in a genjutsu.
"When did I fall under a genjutsu?" Kurenai asked, shocked.
"The moment you saw me. A physical suggestion combined with the Mangekyo, and you fell for it instantly," Nagi said with a grin.
Then... just now?
As if sensing Kurenai's confusion, Nagi stepped forward, lifted her chin again, and kissed her once more.
"Mmm..."
"What happened in the illusion was fake. This is real."
"Don't look at me like that. How about I play a song for you as an apology?"
Nagi smiled, took out a zither, and began to play a haunting melody.
What do you do when you're out for a stroll and happen to capture Kurenai Yuhi? Urgent...
Of course, Uchiha Nagi couldn't just kill Kurenai to silence her. Setting aside the fact that they had no real grudge, it would be a terrible waste to kill such a great beauty. Oh, no, it would be a terrible lack of conscience.
He took Kurenai to a town not far from Konoha and settled her there. During the Chunin Exams, the areas outside the village, while seemingly dangerous, were actually the safest. Inside Konoha, on the other hand, was where the real crisis was brewing. Of course, Ichiraku Ramen was probably the safest place of all. That ramen stand had survived several great wars in Konoha without a scratch. Its luck was off the charts.
After settling Kurenai, Nagi returned to Konoha. It wasn't far, just a single Flying Thunder God jump away. By now, the second stage of the Chunin Exams was underway.
The Forest of Death was filled with feral animals. To a jonin, or even a chunin, they posed no real threat. But for a genin or a civilian, a single careless mistake could be fatal.
Ever seen a wild boar the size of an elephant? They were everywhere in the Forest of Death. Pythons as thick as water barrels lurked in the giant, ancient trees, occasionally dropping down to snatch a person for a meal.
Naruto's team was making their way through this very environment. If it were just the harshness of nature, they could handle it. But the enemies were the real problem. One of them, Orochimaru, had come with his sights set on Sasuke's body.
Kimimaro's team didn't have it any easier. After grabbing a scroll, they ran into the Rookie of the Year, Gaara, on their way to the tower.
The slightly unhinged Gaara immediately took an interest in Kimimaro's team and attacked.
"I'll kill you! Sand Waterfall Funeral!"
Gaara was clearly much stronger than he was in the original timeline, opening with a massive technique that covered several hundred meters.
But unfortunately for him, he had run into the strongest new-generation shinobi from the Swordsmith Village. Genya's hands immediately flew through a series of seals.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
A dense forest of lush green trees shot up, blocking the path of the sand waterfall. To counter sand, you needed water. Amaru formed a hand seal, and a super-sized Water Style jutsu, a Great Waterfall Technique that was practically a flood, washed away the sand.
"Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
Gaara's sand was extremely vulnerable to water. Once wet, it became incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for him to control. His deadly sandstorm technique was easily neutralized by a single jutsu from both Genya and Amaru.
Nearby, Kankuro's jaw dropped. "Are... are you kidding me? A genin can use an A-rank jutsu? Do they have an endless supply of chakra?"
Temari was also in disbelief. "Are those two really genin?"
A genin's chakra reserves were usually only enough for D-rank jutsu. A C-rank jutsu was pushing it. But the two before them had not only used A-rank jutsu, but the kind that required massive amounts of chakra. Their reserves completely dwarfed her own and Kankuro's.
Seeing this, Gaara only grew more excited. He manipulated the sand from his gourd, sending it flying to capture them. The sand from his gourd was more agile and less affected by water.
"Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!" Kimimaro swung his Nichirin Blade, easily scattering Gaara's sand and positioning himself in front of Genya and Amaru.
But he had neglected to watch his feet. A stream of sand suddenly shot up from the grass, immobilizing his legs. Then, the sand that he had just dispersed flew back like magnets, enveloping him completely.
"Kimimaro!" +2
"Stay back! Both of you!" Kimimaro's calm voice came from within the sand. Compared to his teammates, his Shikotsumyaku, with its max-level physical defense, was not afraid of this level of attack. Kimimaro was more worried about them getting too close and being caught in the crossfire.
"Heh heh, got one," Gaara said, his face contorted in a ferocious grin as he made a fist. "Sand Coffin!"
[Dance of the Larch]
The sand suddenly exploded. After the blast, Kimimaro, his body covered in bones, shot out from within, heading straight for Gaara.
Temari quickly waved her fan, creating a gale-force wind. Gaara rapidly formed a wall of sand in front of him.
"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm."
Space itself seemed to ripple, and Kimimaro successfully eliminated all obstacles in his path. His blade slashed across Gaara's neck. After landing, he suddenly began to cough violently.
"Kimimaro, are you okay?" Amaru and Genya ran over to support him. Kimimaro's face was deathly pale. The intense exertion, combined with using his Shikotsumyaku, had caused him to cough up blood.
"Gaara!" Kankuro and Temari grabbed Gaara and quickly leaped away.
Halfway through their escape, Temari looked worriedly at Gaara and asked Kankuro, "Gaara... is he dead?"
Kankuro nodded grimly, then shook his head. "Gaara has a layer of sand armor under his skin. It blocked the fatal blow. But the wound on his neck is too deep. Luckily, the Shukaku inside him is constantly supplying him with chakra, keeping him alive."
All jinchuriki had a common trait: as long as they weren't killed instantly, they could hang on from even the most grievous wounds because the Tailed Beast inside them continuously supplied them with chakra. Although the Tailed Beast would revive, the experience of death was not pleasant. Whether passively or actively, the Tailed Beasts did not want their jinchuriki to die.
The two of them forgot all about the exam and rushed toward the medical ninja. Kimimaro did not pursue.
Mainly because his illness had worsened again. He was coughing up a lot of blood, and Amaru and Genya were tending to him. Amaru looked worriedly at Kimimaro.
"Why don't we just forfeit the exam? Sensei said the main point was to see the world. Winning or losing doesn't matter," Amaru suggested.
"Cough, cough... no. Unless it's absolutely necessary, we have to continue. We must let the entire shinobi world witness the strength of the Swordsmith Village," Kimimaro said, waving his hand. "Let's go."
"Right." Genya scanned their surroundings warily. With Kimimaro injured and unable to move, he was now the main fighting force.
Meanwhile, in Konoha's surveillance room, a large group of people had gathered. They stared in shock at the conflict that had just unfolded. Even the Third Hokage had been called over.
"Lord Hokage, it's that child with the scar on his face. He used Wood Style. The Deep Forest Emergence," an Anbu operative said, pointing at Genya. They had all been stunned by the appearance of Wood Style. When did Wood Style become so common? And how did it end up in the hands of an outsider? It was supposed to be Konoha's treasured kekkei genkai.
For so many years, only Orochimaru, after experimenting on countless infants, had managed to create Yamato. But Yamato's Wood Style was underwhelming, to say the least. At best, he was a jonin, and with the uniqueness of his Wood Style, he barely qualified as a special jonin.
The Third Hokage took a drag from his pipe and exhaled a puff of smoke. "I imagine it's Orochimaru's doing. After all, he's the only one with Hashirama's cells. That man..."
"Inform the Anbu to increase security."
Hiruzen looked at Genya on the screen. "As for the child who can use Wood Style, we'll deal with him after the exam."
Just as the Uchiha and Hyuga clans would retrieve any of their eyes that fell into outside hands, kekkei genkai were something that the great villages never let slip away. Once discovered, they would do whatever it took to retrieve it.
Therefore, since Genya had used Wood Style, he was now a target for retrieval by Konoha, even if it meant going against another ninja village.
But this time, the Third Hokage was mistaken. Genya was not one of Orochimaru's experiments. He was a natural product. As a demon-eating boy with a rare constitution, after four years of constantly absorbing White Zetsu cells, Genya had evolved naturally, without any side effects.
He didn't have to worry about turning into a tree after using his Wood Style power for too long, like Danzo. He was like Yamato, having made the Wood Style his own power.
Furthermore, Uchiha Nagi had continuously supplied Genya with Uchiha clan cells. The combination of the two would allow him to awaken the power of all creation in the future.
In four years, Genya had moved on from White Zetsu cells to Hashirama cells. He no longer touched those miscellaneous demon-eating cells, now only absorbing Uchiha and Hashirama cells.
The chemical reaction between the two types of cells had caused his chakra to skyrocket to a Kage-level amount, which was why he could use Deep Forest Emergence. But having the chakra didn't mean he had the strength.
Among the three of them, the only one who could truly fight at a Kage level was still Kimimaro.
Before long, Naruto and his group also reached the tower. They were shocked by the scene of devastation at the finish line. A great battle had clearly taken place here. Fortunately, the combatants were gone, and they passed through safely.
After they left, a group from the Sound Village also arrived at the tower. Among them was the disguised Orochimaru. Orochimaru licked his lips in satisfaction, his eyes fixed on Sasuke's direction. This vessel was even more outstanding than he had imagined.
One by one, the other teams also reached the finish line. The final stage of the Chunin Exams, a brutal series of one-on-one battles, was about to begin.
"Kakashi, Kurenai-neechan is missing. And I ran into Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. He's infiltrated the Chunin Exams."
In the sealing room, Anko Mitarashi spoke worriedly to Kakashi. Kakashi had just applied a seal to Sasuke's curse mark, but his sealing jutsu was only half-assed. If Sasuke didn't control it himself, the curse mark could still emerge.
"Ah, I see. Have you reported it to Lord Hokage? It's just one troublesome thing after another," Kakashi said, still with his usual lazy demeanor. His forehead protector now covered one eye, this time because there was no Sharingan in the socket.
However, his strength, which had been stagnant for years, had begun to loosen up after losing the Sharingan. Kakashi's long-lost chakra reserves were slowly beginning to grow.
It wasn't just the Hokage; many jonin had sensed the undercurrents of this year's Chunin Exams. From the first death, Hayate Gekko, the situation in Konoha had become tense. Kurenai was the second missing jonin, and now Wood Style and Orochimaru had appeared.
But even though the jonin sensed something was wrong, they were powerless to stop it. What they didn't know was that this Chunin Exam was a transaction between the great clans of Konoha, Danzo, and Orochimaru.
Their common goal was to have the Third Hokage die during the exams.
Only the Sand Village and the Swordsmith Village were kept in the dark. They were the sacrifices for this exam, the offerings for Konoha's rebirth through fire.
Soon, three days later, it was time for the one-on-one combat portion of the exam. The matchups were drawn by lottery, but of course, a lottery like this could be rigged.
The first match, surprisingly, was between Genya and Naruto.
"Alright! Watch this! I'm going to win this fight beautifully before Sasuke even gets here!" Naruto declared confidently, jumping down into the arena.
With cheers from Amaru, Genya also slowly walked down to the field. He then pulled a revolver from behind his back, holding a sword in his right hand.
"Huh? What's that? I've never seen anything like it!" Naruto said, looking curiously at the revolver.
"Not good! That's a handgun!" In the stands, Shikamaru's face changed the moment he saw the weapon. This type of weapon, which had appeared four years ago, was already being sold for an astronomical price on the black market. It was a projectile weapon that didn't rely on chakra.
Anyone below jonin level was in danger of being killed instantly by it.
Shikamaru immediately shouted at Naruto, "Naruto! That's a gun! It fires bullets from a distance! Stay out of its line of fire!"