Ibiki's voice echoed through the classroom, rough and imposing as he explained the exam's true purpose. But Arata was barely listening.
His gaze was fixed on the paper in front of him, but his mind was wandering far from that room. To another time. Another world.
Why am I so worried about changing the canon?
The question reverberated inside his head, louder than the interrogator's voice.
Many in his place would have considered it an advantage.
A dream come true.
To know exactly what would happen, when, and to whom.
To use it for their benefit.
To play with fate.
In his old world, it was easy to say: 'If I were there, I'd do this or that.'
"I'd win over all the cute girls," or things like that.
But it was easier said than done. This world was real.
The consequences were real, too.
And the characters he loved were not simple fictional figures, but living people who could die… for real.
He knew what was coming next.
He knew the arcs, the events, the deaths, the sacrifices.
He could list every tragedy with painful precision: the invasion of Konoha, the death of the Third Hokage, the emergence of the Akatsuki…
What would happen if a single action of his altered that?
What if Orochimaru died prematurely?
What if Gaara never became Kazekage?
What if the Akatsuki succeeded in their goal for the world?
What if Naruto… lost the path that would lead him to save them all?
That was his true fear.
He was terrified of destroying the very story that had once saved him.
But he… couldn't treat it so lightly.
"…The true purpose of the exam," Ibiki continued from the front, "was to evaluate your ability to gather information without being detected."
Arata looked up. He heard every word, and a bitter sensation washed over him.
Ibiki was right.
He had planned this with surgical precision.
Even among geniuses, this exam is impossible without breaking the rules, he thought. That's why the plants. That's why the impossible written questions. Because the objective was different: to learn how to be a real shinobi.
He had seen Neji, the Byakugan prodigy, subtly moving his eyes to copy answers.
Sasuke, relying on his Sharingan to do the same.
Even the most talented had to resort to deception.
Because that was the world of the shinobi.
And that was the point of the exam.
Naruto had passed without writing a single answer… but that was an answer in itself.
Determination, willpower, the courage to press on despite the fear.
But Arata…
He had wanted to prove something different.
I wanted to feel it for myself.
I wanted to be a ninja, not a spectator.
That's why he had done it.
That's why he risked using chakra vibration, listening to sound waves, capturing the answers from Ibiki's plants.
Because if he was going to live here, he had to prove he could survive here.
And he had succeeded.
And while it wasn't a monumental feat, for him, it was a significant triumph.
"I got lucky," he thought.
"I was reborn in the body of a failed experiment, probably one of the many Orochimaru and Kabuto discarded." The mere thought made him shudder.
How many bodies had passed through their hands?
How many lives destroyed in the name of knowledge?
If that was his new body, then his very existence here was an accident.
An error within a perfect system.
A sharp thud from the front snapped him back to reality.
Ibiki had closed the grade registry with a definitive snap.
"Congratulations," he said in that emotionless voice. "You have all passed the first test."
Murmurs erupted throughout the room.
Some genin celebrated; others sighed in relief.
Naruto was grinning from ear to ear, as if he'd just conquered the world.
Arata simply watched him.
For a moment, he envied that purity, that blind faith.
That innocence of believing everything would be alright.
But the sound of a window shattering interrupted his thought.
A feminine voice, arrogant and almost playful, filled the air.
"Well, well… you all look mostly intact. I hope you have the stomach for what comes next."
All eyes turned to the source.
There she was.
Anko Mitarashi.
The purple coat, the short hair, the predator's smile.
Her mere presence shifted the atmosphere, as if a whirlwind had blown into the room.
"I'm your examiner for the next phase," she announced, planting a hand on her hip and flashing a dangerous smile.
Anko Mitarashi's voice filled the hall with an enthusiasm as strange as it was unsettling. She moved with restless energy among the genin, a crooked smile on her face, her eyes gleaming with a spark that mixed madness and delight.
"Listen up, you brats." Her tone was playful, yet every word carried a latent threat.
"The next test will be different from anything you've faced. More than half of you will fail. Some of you… might not come out alive."
A heavy silence fell over the place.
Even Naruto, always so loud, grew still.
"Meet me at dawn tomorrow at the entrance to Area 44," Anko continued, crossing her arms.
"The Forest of Death will be your proving ground. Rest well, because you're going to need every last drop of energy."
Arata swallowed hard.
He knew what was coming, but hearing those words from her own lips sent a shiver through him.
"The Forest of Death…"
That name was more than just a metaphor.
It was the first real turning point of the Chunin Exams.
And also the first event where everything could change…
The memory of what was to come churned in his chest alongside his anxiety: Orochimaru's appearance, the cursed seal on Sasuke, the deaths of so many anonymous genin…
It was all etched into his memory.
But now, every scene he had once watched on a screen felt too real.
Too tangible.
Lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed as the rows of genin began to disperse.
His mind was a whirlwind of clashing ideas, strategies, and fears.
So absorbed was he, that he didn't hear the soft footsteps approaching from behind.
"What has you so distracted?" asked a soft, feminine voice.
Arata turned with a slight start.
Behind him stood Tsubaki, the girl with honey-colored eyes assigned to his exam group. Her expression was calm, but her gaze assessed him with an uncomfortable precision.
"Tomorrow is the day, Arata," she continued, her tone hovering between comrade and soldier.
"We must be in peak condition for Orochimaru-sama's plan to proceed perfectly."
The name pierced him like a dart.
Orochimaru.
Just hearing it turned his stomach.
Before he could respond, another figure approached.
Rei, the third member of their group, with his grey hair and serious eyes, crossed his arms.
"Don't lose focus," he said curtly.
"We aren't here for sightseeing."
Arata looked up, observing them both… and simply nodded.
"I know." He forced a faint smile. "I'm just a bit tired from the exam."
But in his mind, the words were different.
These kids… he thought.
Tsubaki, Rei… They're new. They don't exist in the canon. They're probably just that… filler characters.
And in this world, filler characters die first.
He sighed wearily and stood from his seat.
His eyes drifted for a moment toward Dosu's group.
Kin noticed and offered him a slight, almost imperceptible smile. A silent show of confidence, or perhaps recognition.
For the first time in a long while, Arata felt a strange sense of relief at seeing a familiar face… even if it was a future victim of the canon.
That night, the air in Konoha felt thicker.
A cloudy sky blotted out the moon, and the sound of the wind whispered through the tree branches.
The genin slept, or at least tried to.
Arata, however, remained awake.
His mind would not quiet.
Tomorrow, everything would change.
The most dangerous exam was about to begin.
And with it, the first point at which the story of Naruto…
might cease to be the story he remembered.
At dawn, the cawing of crows marked the day's beginning.
The genin gathered at the entrance to Area 44, a massive expanse of wilderness enclosed by a fence of metal and barbed wire.
Before them, Anko smiled like a child about to play her favorite game.
"Welcome to the Forest of Death," she declared, her voice rising as the gates slowly creaked open.
Wind, heavy with moisture, and the cries of wild animals filled the air.
A scent of earth, danger, and blood enveloped them.
Arata closed his eyes for a moment.
His heart beat a fierce rhythm against his ribs.
This is where everything truly begins to change.