Genji had just left the Hokage Tower when he took to the rooftops, moving on instinct toward the Sarutobi compound.
The village spread beneath him in warm afternoon light, peaceful in that way only Konoha ever managed to be.
That was when the noise reached him
"C'mon! I just need someone for now!"
Naruto Uzumaki.
Of course.
Naruto wasn't exactly hard to spot. Loud, bright, emotionally radioactive. Famous to some, infamous to most. There wasn't a soul in the village who didn't know who he was.
Genji slowed and dropped onto a rooftop overlooking the street.
Naruto was pacing in front of three other teens, waving his arms like the world personally owed him something.
Genji recognized them as the heirs of the Nara, Akimichi and Yamanaka clans.
So this was a reunion of sorts, old friends catching up after Naruto's long absence.
"Hey, Ino," Naruto said, desperation creeping into his voice. "You busy? I really need someone right now to fill the gap on our team."
Ino winced apologetically. "Sorry, Naruto. Choji and I already got assigned a mission. Day after tomorrow."
Naruto visibly deflated, shoulders slumping.
Genji exhaled softly through his nose.
"My first impression," he muttered to himself, "isn't that great..."
Still…
Appearances were often deceiving.
Uncle Hiruzen used to speak very Highly of the Boy.
Genji let a thin sliver of killing intent leak out. Just a whisper. Barely enough to be noticed.
The reaction was immediate.
Naruto stiffened like a live wire. His hair practically stood on end as his head snapped toward Genji's hiding place, blue eyes sharp and alert.
Interesting.
'Sensor type,' Genji thought. 'That's rare...'
Shikamaru felt it too, but unlike Naruto, he didn't know where it was coming from.
Before Naruto could react further, Shikamaru casually hooked an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close as if nothing was wrong. He leaned in and whispered something Genji couldn't hear.
The tension diffused instantly.
The group changed direction and began walking away, unhurried, blending back into the street.
Genji watched closely.
"I have to say," he murmured, "this might get interesting."
It was subtle, but Genji caught it. Shikamaru's fingers twitched in a sequence of near-imperceptible signals. Choji and Ino adjusted their spacing without breaking stride.
Textbook coordination.
Naruto, meanwhile, walked stiffly, his movements just a little too rigid.
Yeah. That would need work.
Genji followed them from above.
Then Naruto did something interesting.
A single, discreet hand sign.
A shadow clone poofed Into existence on an alley behind them, vanishing almost immediately.
Setting an ambush.
"…Not bad," Genji admitted.
He made a hand sign and cast a quick transformation jutsu—civilian clothes, unremarkable, forgettable. He kept his face the same. No need to overdo it.
The group led him into a quieter district of the village.
And then it happened.
Shikamaru's hand seals snapped into place.
The shadow of a nearby pillar stretched unnaturally, racing toward Genji's feet.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu," Genji said as he leapt back. "Troublesome indeed..."
A Naruto clone burst from behind him, fist swinging straight for his face.
Genji sidestepped, redirected the momentum, and sent the clone stumbling off the rooftop.
Below, the real Naruto and Choji charged forward. Ino hung back, hands already forming the seals for her clan's technique.
'This is going to be tricky,' Genji thought.
Naruto came at him again—five shadow clones this time, attacking in a rough but aggressive formation.
Genji slipped between them, countering with clean, economical strikes. One by one, the clones dispersed in puffs of smoke.
A distraction.
"CHOJI!"
Choji roared, his arm expanding mid-charge into a massive fist that came crashing down toward Genji's position.
Genji jumped—but that was the mistake.
The moment his feet neared the ground, he saw it.
Shikamaru's shadow rushing toward him.
The instant he landed, he'd be caught.
"Tch."
Genji flicked a shuriken toward a nearby post. A reinforced wire snapped taut as it embedded itself, and he swung away just ahead of the shadow, landing on another rooftop.
Naruto was already there.
They exchanged blows. Naruto hit like a freight train and didn't slow down for a second.
No fatigue. No hesitation.
"Infinite stamina," Genji noted grimly.
He ducked under a punch, grabbed Naruto by the jacket, and yanked him in front of himself just as Ino's mind transfer jutsu collided.
The "Naruto" in his grip vanished in smoke.
A clone.
And the assault didn't stop.
Naruto and Choji rushed him again.
"What the hell do you want from us?!" Naruto shouted between punches.
Genji didn't answer. He just kept fighting.
Then—
"Enough," Shikamaru's voice cut in from below. Calm. Certain.
"Naruto. Choji. Stop."
They froze.
"…Damn," Genji said, almost disappointed. "I was just starting to enjoy myself."
Naruto and Choji stared at Shikamaru, confused.
"He wasn't fighting seriously," Shikamaru continued. "This was a test. And from the way He kept forcing Naruto into specific openings… I'm guessing he was the target."
Naruto's jaw dropped.
"WHAT?!"
Genji sighed, then raised his hands in mock surrender. His transformation faded, revealing his uniform.
"Well," he said mildly, "you caught me."
Ino's eyes widened. "I.T Division…?"
Genji smiled faintly.
"I have to say," he said, looking over them one last time, "you're much better than I expected..."
His gaze lingered on Naruto, who still looked completely lost.
"I'll see you around, Orange boy."
And then he vanished in a shunshin, leaving nothing behind but disturbed air—and four shinobi who would remember this encounter for a long time.
"…Who the hell was that?"