The late afternoon sun bathed Training Ground Seven in warm gold, the open field dotted with fresh craters and splintered logs. Raito lounged against a tree at the edge, arms folded, crimson eyes lazily tracking the "spar" in the center.
Calling it a spar was generous.
Sasuke moved like a blur, precise, controlled, lethal. Naruto, for all his boundless energy, was getting dismantled. Ever since Sasuke adapted to the Shadow Clone rush, the gap had become a chasm.
Unless he taps the fox's chakra… but Kakashi reinforced the seal. Doubt he'll break through anytime soon, Raito thought.
To his eyes, sharpened by Sukuna's template—both boys were riddled with openings. Thousands. The King of Curses hadn't just gifted raw power; he'd passed down that terrifying battlefield foresight. The way Sukuna instantly grasped Infinity's threat and used Megumi's own technique better than him… child's play for a mind like that.
Sasuke flicked his wrist. A flurry of shuriken arced toward Naruto.
The blond dodged the first wave—then the weapons clanged mid-air, rebounding on clever wires to strike from blind angles.
Raito blinked beside Sasuke in a flicker too fast to track.
Sasuke stiffened. He was thirty meters away a second ago.
"If one of those hits him in the face," Raito muttered, "he won't die, right?"
Sasuke exhaled. "At best, brain damage."
Raito tilted his head. "Doesn't he already have that?"
"No. He's just… dumb."
"How dumb do you have to be for people to mistake it for brain damage?"
Sasuke snorted. "I don't know."
A dull thud. Naruto hit the ground, blood trickling from a grazing cut across his forehead. Orange chakra flickered instinctively, knitting flesh with demonic speed. At least the kid had enough survival sense to twist away from anything fatal.
Sakura rushed over, she pressed bandages to the wound. Temporary measure—kept the bleeding in check until proper healing.
At least she's useful for something, Raito thought dryly.
Naruto bolted upright the moment the pain dulled, bandages half-falling. "Hey, teme! You trying to kill me or what?!"
He lunged at Sasuke again—only for Raito's palm to catch his collar mid-jump, lowering him gently but firmly to the grass.
Fresh blood seeped from the reopened cut.
"Don't make extra work for me," Raito said, voice flat.
He glanced at Sakura hovering nearby. "Step back."
She frowned but obeyed, retreating toward Sasuke—who'd already put cautious distance between himself and the blond idiot.
Raito's shadow stretched unnaturally across the ground, writhing like living ink.
"Round Deer—Madoka."
The darkness bulged. A massive stag emerged, four crimson eyes glowing, long ears curled beside spiral horns that pulsed with positive energy. It was no ordinary summon; the air around it thrummed with quiet menace.
Raito pointed lazily at Naruto. "Heal the idiot."
The deer dipped its head in silent acknowledgment, antlers glowing soft green. Reverse cursed technique flowed like warm light, sealing wounds in seconds—flesh knitting, blood vanishing.
Naruto sat up, fully restored, and immediately ruined the moment.
"If you could do that, why'd you let Sakura waste time bandaging me?!"
Raito's gaze could've frozen lava.
"Because your earlier injuries, while bad, didn't need me. But then you—half-dead and bleeding—charged Sasuke again like a moron and made them worse. I'm not your babysitter."
A rustle of leaves. Kakashi finally strolled into the clearing, bag of chips in hand, acting like he hadn't been watching from the treeline the whole time.
His visible eye lingered on the vanished deer, now dissolved back into Raito's shadow.
That wasn't a summon contract mark… it came straight from his shadow. Hokage-sama only mentioned a dog and a masked owl. This one's new.
A faint memory tugged—Hiruzen's private briefing, words delivered with uncharacteristic gravity.
Kakashi crunched a chip, gaze sharpening behind the laziness.
Something told him the old man's instructions were about to become very relevant.
____________________________________________________________________________
The Hokage's office was thick with pipe smoke, the sweet, aged scent curling around the gathered jounin like an old friend. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, fingers laced around the stem of his long pipe, eyes calm but sharp as he surveyed the room.
"As you're all aware," he began, voice steady, "the Chūnin Exams are approaching. I'd like to hear which of you wish to nominate your teams."
Kakashi stepped forward without hesitation, hands in his pockets. "I nominate Team Seven."
Asuma exhaled a stream of smoke and followed suit. "Team Ten as well."
Kurenai inclined her head gracefully. "And Team Eight."
Hiruzen gave a small nod of acknowledgment, but before he could speak again, Iruka shot to his feet, face flushed with disbelief.
"That's insane!" the academy instructor blurted. "Kakashi-sensei, your team is a fresh batch! I taught most of them from day one—except Sasuke, none of them are ready for the kind of brutality the exams bring. Please, all of you, reconsider!"
Kakashi's visible eye curved in lazy amusement. "I appreciate the concern for my team, Iruka-sensei. But I know what's best for them. You should stick to teaching the academy kids."
Iruka's jaw tightened, teeth grinding audibly, but he forced himself back into his seat.
Might Guy, ever the enthusiast, clapped Kakashi hard on the back—hard enough to make the Copy Ninja sway.
"Iruka's got a point, my eternal rival!" Guy declared, thumb raised. "I waited a full year before entering my own youthful squad! The Chūnin Exams are no laughing matter,"
Hiruzen cleared his throat, drawing every eye back to him. Smoke drifted from his lips as he spoke.
"Kakashi," he said quietly, "I assume you've already realized—Raito will not be participating. He is ineligible. He'll remain a bystander only."
Kakashi shrugged. "Obviously."
Iruka blinked, confusion deepening. Raito? Raito Yagami? The S-rank prodigy? What's someone like him doing on a genin team?
He must have muttered it aloud, because Kakashi glanced over with a low chuckle.
"I thought the exact same thing when I heard," he admitted, eye crinkling. "Turns out the old man has his reasons."
The room fell quiet again, the weight of the upcoming exams settling over them like the haze from Hiruzen's pipe.
Three rookie teams nominated.
One with a demon in human skin watching from the sidelines.
Iruka rubbed his scarred nose, already dreading the outcome.
______________________________________________________________________________
The morning light filtered through the leaves of Training Ground Three, casting dappled shadows over Team 7. Kakashi lounged against a tree, his ever-present orange book dangling from one hand while the other fished three crisp admission forms from his vest.
He tossed them lazily to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.
"Chūnin Exams," he said simply. "Fill them out if you want in. No pressure."
Naruto caught his mid-air, eyes sparkling. Then he glanced around, brow furrowing. "Hey… where's Raito's?"
Raito leaned against a nearby post, arms folded, utterly unbothered by the missing fourth form.
Sakura tilted her head. "Yeah, Kakashi-sensei, why didn't Raito get one?"
Naruto nodded vigorously beside her.
Sasuke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm surrounded by morons."
He shot the two a flat look. "Remember the day he showed up? That pressure that forced us to our knees without him lifting a finger? You really think someone like that is a genin?"
Naruto blinked. Sakura's mouth formed a small 'o'.
"It's obvious," Sasuke continued, voice cool. "No team has five members. We're 'special' because he's not actually part of the roster. He's here for something else."
Kakashi's visible eye curved in approval. "Finally, one student I can be proud of."
He tucked the book away and straightened slightly.
"Raito is a couple years older than you three, sure. But he's already jōnin rank—same as me."
Even Sasuke's composure cracked. His eyes widened a fraction, fists clenching at his sides.
A jōnin… at barely fourteen? Then why… why am I still so weak?
Kakashi's tone grew more serious. "And don't let the age fool you. Remember Momochi Zabuza?"
The trio nodded slowly, the memory of that mist-shrouded bridge still sharp.
"Raito once wiped out an entire enemy squad—multiple shinobi on my level—plus the man who held the title of Swordsman of the mist before Zabuza. Did it without a single scratch."
Raito's lips curved into a faint, amused smirk.
Getting glazed like this is kinda fun. Well… it's all true, so whatever.
Naruto's jaw dropped. "WAIT—RAITO, YOU'RE THAT INSANE?!"
Raito shrugged, voice dripping sarcasm. "Nah. I just paid Kakashi to hype me up."
Naruto's eyes went wide. "Damn it! I actually believed—"
Sakura elbowed him hard. Sasuke just exhaled through his nose, hiding a twitch of his mouth.
Kakashi chuckled softly.
"Anyway," Raito said, pushing off the post and stretching, "don't factor me into your exams. I'll be in the stands for moral support. Try not to die."
He flashed a lazy four-eyed grin that wasn't entirely his own, then vanished into the shadows of the trees—leaving the three rookies staring at their blank forms, the weight of the coming trials suddenly a lot heavier.