Two days later, the Hidden Leaf Village welcomed the grand finale of the Chūnin Selection Exams.
Though many daimyō disapproved of the Land of Fire's political system, there was no denying that it now stood as the unrivaled power among the Five Great Nations. Especially after the annihilation of the Land of Water, a tremor that sent shockwaves through the shinobi world, the eyes of every village and nation were fixed on Konoha.
Even before the contestants entered the arena, the stands were already packed to capacity.
At the highest seats sat Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, alongside the supposed Kazekage of Sunagakure.
Senju Haruto, however, did not sit among the spectators. Instead, he had taken it upon himself to oversee the security of the event. He knew all too well that the man seated beside Hiruzen was not Rasa, the true Kazekage, but Orochimaru in disguise. And when the Four Violet Flames Barrier was inevitably raised, Haruto wanted to ensure he was not caught inside.
"The first match is about to begin."
Kakashi appeared at Haruto's side, speaking casually but with a trace of gravity.
Spectators filled the arena from every corner of the shinobi world—Leaf villagers, traveling citizens, and emissaries from rival villages and great nations. Ensuring their safety was paramount.
In addition to Haruto's own Root operatives, Hiruzen's ANBU were already deployed in hidden positions around the arena, ready to apprehend any suspicious infiltrators the moment they revealed themselves.
"Yeah," Haruto nodded, his eyes fixed on the battleground below. Though not seated among the crowd, his vantage point gave him a perfect view of the entire stadium.
Before long, Yamato, Guy, and Uchiha Izumi joined him, their expressions equally vigilant.
"The first match is Naruto versus Neji. Then it's Kankurō against Sasuke, Sakura against Gaara, and finally Temari versus Shikamaru," Kakashi recited the order of battles.
"I got it," Haruto replied tersely, returning his focus to the field.
Because of his existence as a traveler from another world, the timeline of Naruto had been thoroughly altered.
Take Hyūga Neji, for instance. Originally, Neji had harbored deep resentment toward the Hyūga main family after the death of his father, Hizashi, and even nearly crippled Hinata during the exams.
But due to Haruto's influence, Hizashi had not only survived but was grateful for Haruto's aid to the Hyūga clan. That single divergence had completely shifted Neji's path.
Now, instead of hating the main family, he cherished Hinata as a beloved younger sister—so much so that one could even call him overprotective.
In his earlier match, Neji's bout with Hinata was less a brutal duel and more like a guiding spar. In the end, Hinata simply collapsed from exhaustion, conceding victory to Neji.
And then there was the matter of the altered match-ups.
In the original timeline, Sasuke's battle with Gaara was supposed to follow Naruto versus Neji. But Sasuke had been delayed by training, which forced the organizers to shuffle the order.
However, because Team 7's strength had skyrocketed under Haruto's influence, Shino Aburame had ended up facing Sasuke instead—and was eliminated. That meant Sasuke was now slotted against Kankurō, while Gaara's opponent, through a twist of fate, became Sakura.
"Sakura against Gaara… who would've thought," Haruto murmured under his breath just as the announcer declared the official start of the Chūnin Exam Finals.
Notably, because of the changed timeline, Moonlight Gekkō had never uncovered Baki's secrets. He still lived and now stood as one of the exam's official proctors.
As the matches commenced, Naruto was the first to leap from the stands into the arena.
Thud!
He landed firmly on the packed earth, brimming with confidence and anticipation.
But…
Because he had left the village for training on Mount Myōboku, few in Konoha knew of his growth. None knew he had mastered Sage Mode, nor that he could now wield the Nine-Tails' chakra with ease.
So when he appeared, the crowd's reaction was less than enthusiastic.
"Isn't that the Nine-Tails brat?"
"How did he even become a shinobi? I don't remember him at the Academy graduation."
"Hey, is it really safe to let the Nine-Tails learn jutsu? What if he loses control?"
"Are we in danger just sitting here?"
"Relax, Senju Haruto's here. Nothing will happen."
The whispers spread quickly through the audience.
Hiruzen had long ago decreed that no one was to speak of Naruto being the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, but shock loosened tongues, and for a brief moment, the secret was forgotten.
Yet their mutters were drowned out almost immediately when Neji stepped onto the field, the crowd erupting in cheers for the Hyūga prodigy.
Of course, the Naruto of today heard every word.
But his personality had hardened; he no longer cared what others thought.
"When this exam ends, you'll all acknowledge me," Naruto murmured to himself, his eyes sharpening as they locked onto Neji.
Unlike Naruto, Neji was a scion of the Hyūga—already renowned as a genius among geniuses. The Byakugan's reputation preceded him, and many in the audience believed this match would be an easy victory for him.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Neji greeted with a slight smirk.
Neji's admiration for Haruto bordered on fanaticism. He had collected every scrap of information about Haruto and, by extension, about Naruto's connection to him.
To others, Naruto had always been the class failure, the dead-last. But Neji thought differently. To him, even a pig, if it stayed by Senju Haruto's side, would eventually become a warrior so fierce it could be called "Kage among pigs."
So no—Neji would never underestimate the Naruto standing before him now.
"My name is Hyūga Neji," he declared formally, settling into his Gentle Fist stance.
"Your fight with Hinata was impressive," Naruto called back, a grin spreading across his face. "But this time, the one who's gonna win… is me, Uzumaki Naruto!"
With that, he unleashed the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Because his Sage Mode and Nine-Tails Chakra Cloak had been restricted for the exam, Naruto relied on the simplest, most primal tactic available—overwhelming numbers.
After all, he had carefully studied Neji's earlier fight with Hinata. He knew the boy could seal chakra points with his strange taijutsu.
"So then… I'll go first!"