Chapter 69:
"The top sixteen matches have concluded. The quarterfinals will begin in thirty minutes. The first match will feature Konoha's Boruto Uzumaki against Kirigakure's Hassaku Onomichi."
Seeing Boruto's and Hassaku's portraits appear on the big screen, Sarada turned to Boruto beside her and said, "You've got good luck, Boruto. You actually got matched up with the weakest one in the top eight. If you still manage to lose to a guy like that, I'm really going to look down on you."
The last remaining member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and Kirigakure's final hope. In a normal Chūnin Exam, he would've made no impression at all. His place in the top eight was purely due to luck.
"Don't worry, Sarada. There's no way I'd lose to a guy like that. You should be more worried about yourself—I'm still planning to fight you in the finals," Boruto replied with a relaxed smile.
Even without using scientific ninja tools, Boruto was confident he could handle someone like Hassaku with just his own strength.
"Sigh, this year's Chūnin Exam is really tough. The champion will probably be either Shuyu or Araki," Sarada said, clearly lacking confidence in her own chances for the upcoming battles.
"...Contestants, please enter the arena!"
As they heard Rock Lee calling out for the fighters, Boruto instinctively touched the scientific ninja tool on his wrist and said to Sarada, "Don't be so sure. I'm also one of the hot picks to win this year's Chūnin Exam."
With the scientific ninja tool, becoming this year's champion would be a piece of cake.
"That guy Boruto, always spouting nonsense again."
Watching Boruto walk toward the arena, Sarada adjusted her glasses and muttered.
"Minato, look! It's Boruto—he's going on stage!"
Kushina grabbed Minato's hand excitedly as she cheered for Boruto, while Minato could only respond with a helpless smile.
Boruto's match against Kagura in the top sixteen had indeed been exciting and full of surprises, drawing more and more attention to him.
"Ah, Sixth Hokage, you're here."
Standing beside Moegi, Konohamaru greeted Kakashi, who was pushing Might Guy in a wheelchair.
"Yeah. The match hasn't started yet, right?" Kakashi nodded, then looked toward the arena below.
Since Konoha was hosting, and Boruto was Naruto's son, the crowd was almost entirely cheering for him.
"Perfect timing, Sixth. The match is just about to begin," Konohamaru replied, following Kakashi's gaze to Boruto, standing in the arena.
As the son of Naruto—the savior of the ninja world and currently one of the strongest shinobi alive—Boruto had always been under intense scrutiny from a young age.
"Kakashi, do you hear that? That cheer… it's the sound of youth! Damn it, even I'm getting all fired up!"
Might Guy struggled to his feet from the wheelchair, yelling, "Go, Boruto!"
"Whoa, calm down, Guy."
Kakashi tried to settle Guy down, acting like someone trying to calm his senile old partner.
"Yeah, Guy, your body really can't handle too much strain now."
As a new figure approached while speaking, Might Guy looked confused and asked, "And who are you again?"
"...Shunhi. I'm Shunhi."
Shunhi didn't take it to heart that Guy had forgotten him. After all, they didn't have much of a connection. They had once been friends, but Shunhi had never truly considered Guy a close friend.
He had only approached Guy to train his taijutsu and to find a chance to secretly copy the Eight Gates Technique. In the end, though, he gave up—not out of guilt, but because he couldn't endure the brutal training it required.
"He's Uchiha Dumbass, Guy."
Kakashi leaned in and whispered in Guy's ear.
"Oh! Why didn't you say so earlier? Uchiha Dumbass Shunhi! Long time no see!"
Shunhi gave an awkward smile and didn't mind at all. The more people underestimated him now, the more shocking it would be when he proved them wrong later. This was the classic case of building up tension before the big reveal.
"Long time no see, Guy. Honestly, if your last name weren't Might but Uchiha, you'd probably be known as one of the 'Three Uchiha Fools.' Count your blessings, Guy—your surname saved you," Shunhi said jokingly.
"Hey, Konohamaru, isn't that the owner of Ichiraku Ramen's second branch? He knows the Sixth Hokage?"
Moegi whispered to Konohamaru in surprise.
Konohamaru nodded and whispered back, "Shunhi-senpai is one of the very few remaining Uchiha. He was also in the same class as Kakashi-senpai back in the Ninja Academy."
"Wha—!"
Moegi gasped and looked at Shunhi, who was in the middle of making off-color jokes with Kakashi. "He looks so plain, and he doesn't seem powerful at all. He just looks like a regular guy… He's really an Uchiha?"
In her impression, the Uchiha were always synonymous with good looks and overwhelming power.
"That's exactly why Shunhi-senpai was able to leave the Uchiha clan and survive peacefully to this day."
Back when the Uchiha were wiped out, Danzō had been suspicious of Shunhi too and sent Anbu from Root to keep tabs on him. But Shunhi never approached any of his remaining clan members like Sasuke. He acted completely indifferent to clan matters and focused solely on running his ramen business. Over time, even Danzō forgot about him.
Moegi nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly said, "Everyone, the match has started."
Her voice cut off Shunhi's dirty joke and the half-interested, half-pretending-not-to-listen expression on Kakashi's face.
"Ahem, enough chit-chat. We'll talk more later," Kakashi said, brushing off Shunhi's disdainful gaze as if nothing happened.
Kakashi couldn't help feeling a sense of nostalgia.
Back in the Ninja Academy, Shunhi had agreed to Obito's request to help embarrass Kakashi in front of Rin. He'd always tell dirty jokes in front of Rin to sabotage Kakashi's image.
Even though Kakashi secretly wanted to hear them, he'd always pretend to be above it. Whenever an adult walked by, he'd righteously declare, "Let's stop here," while enduring Shunhi's scornful glare.
"It's really nice… having people you know still alive," Kakashi muttered to himself.
"Huh? What did you say, Kakashi?"
The older you get, the more you cherish the people still around you. Kakashi was no exception, and neither was Shunhi, who had spent most of his life in this world.
Nowadays, Shunhi often found himself reminiscing about his time at the Academy with Obito.
It had been short-lived, but full of fond memories.
He wondered when he'd finally be able to extract Obito's memories.
Watching the fight unfold below, Shunhi thought to himself.
"I was saying, why don't you try writing a novel? If you did, you'd probably rival Master Jiraiya in popularity."
Shunhi rolled his eyes instead of answering.
He was the Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., the mastermind behind recent chaos—and they wanted him to write dirty novels? What a joke. That would completely ruin his image.
He was a proper man who had memorized the Eight Honors and Eight Shames—not some clown to be laughed at.
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