POV Uzumaki Naruto
The sun was already high when I left home. The cold morning wind made my hair even messier. My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn't eaten anything since last night. But it didn't matter. Ichiraku wasn't open yet—and even if it was, I didn't have any money today.
The streets in Konoha were full of people, but nobody seemed to notice me. Or maybe… they just didn't want to. I was used to it. Every time I walked by, people looked away, whispered, or crossed to the other side of the street. At first, I didn't get it. What did I do? Was I really that scary?
The worst part was the whispers… "Monster", "that boy", "dangerous"... That's what the villagers called me. I didn't know why. No one would tell me. Actually, finding someone who even talked to me was already hard.
Sometimes, I saw kids playing and laughing with their parents. They looked so happy. I wanted that too. I wanted someone waiting for me at home, someone to ask how my day went, someone to play with me. But that never happened.
Until I met Kenshin-nii.
He was the first person—other than the old man—who talked to me without looking weird. He didn't treat me differently or try to stay away. I still remember the first time he asked me to eat ramen with him. I didn't even know what to say.
I thought it was a trick. It was raining a lot that day, and I knew I had to stay out of the orphanage until bedtime. The lady there only had two rules: leave before the other kids woke up and come back after lights out. If I did that, I'd get a piece of bread waiting for me in my room.
But Kenshin-nii wasn't joking. He really ate ramen with me, talked to me, and even the ramen guy—Teuchi-san—was super nice.
I was so happy that day I almost cried! Ever since then, whenever Kenshin-nii shows up, my day gets better. He doesn't talk a lot, but I like being around him. He treats me like a friend. Not like the others.
Yesterday, he told me he was taking me to see something today. I didn't really get it, but I think it was some kind of tournament. He said something about "chūnin exams." I don't really know what that means, but if Kenshin-nii is taking me, then it must be super cool!
"Hey, Naruto!" I heard a voice I knew.
It was Kenshin-nii, standing on the street with his hands in his pockets. He had that serious face like always, but I knew he was nice deep down.
"Kenshin-nii!" I ran to him as fast as I could. "We're gonna see that thing today, right? That… that ninja tournament thing?"
He gave a small laugh and looked at me with that kind face of his. He always looked at me like that—it made my chest feel warm inside.
"Yeah, Naruto. Today's the last day of the Chūnin Exams." He explained. I tried really hard to listen. "It's a tournament for ninjas trying to become chūnin. You'll like it."
I didn't know what "chūnin" meant, but I got that there were gonna be ninjas fighting each other, so it sounded super fun!
"Wooooah!" My eyes lit up. "Are there gonna be super strong ninjas? Like Hokage-jiji?"
"Not that strong, but some are pretty skilled. Let's go or we won't get a good spot to watch."
Not get a good spot?! I couldn't miss this! I didn't even wait for him to finish—I just ran ahead, laughing. Kenshin-nii followed me to the arena.
I was so focused on getting in that I got surprised when a hand pushed on my forehead and stopped me.
"Hey, Naru-kun, why are you running so fast? Did Ken-kun scare you with that grumpy face?"
Ugh. That voice. It was him.
Jimei. Kenshin-nii's teammate. And wow, was he annoying. He always called me short every time we met and said lies like he was stronger than Kenshin-nii.
He was super annoying, but sometimes he came with us to Ichiraku at night. One time, he even tried to steal my ramen!
"Arrghhh! Let me go, you jerk!" I shouted, trying to push his hand away. "One day I'm gonna kick your butt!"
Jimei laughed and kept his hand on my forehead, like I was a little kitten trying to escape.
"Wow, such a dirty mouth for such a tiny kid! What would Ken-kun say if he heard you talk like that, huh?"
"I'm not tiny!" I shouted, still pushing his hand. "And Kenshin-nii wouldn't say anything!"
Jimei finally moved his hand—but only to mess up my hair and make me look silly. He bent down to my level, put his hands on his hips, and gave me that smug smile of his.
"Oh sure. You're just short, skinny, and kind of a dummy. But tiny? Never!"
I was about to punch him in the face, but Kenshin-nii stepped in before I could jump on him.
"Leave Naruto alone, Jimei. And don't act like you're so tall. You're not."
Jimei put his hand on his chest like he was hurt. "Ken-kun! How could you say that? I'm practically a giant next to this shrimp!"
I clenched my fists. "Don't call me shrimp, you ramen thief!"
Jimei laughed loud. "Ohhh, you still remember that? It was just a little piece of pork, Naruto! A real ninja learns to deal with loss!"
"I'm gonna be a ninja, not a loser warrior! Believe it!" I crossed my arms, all mad. "And you didn't take a 'little piece'—you took half!"
"Half is a flexible number. You gotta learn to see things in a more ninja-philosophy way."
I didn't even know what that meant, but it sounded like nonsense.
Kenshin-nii sighed. He always did that when Jimei started talking too much.
"Let's go already. If we stay here fighting, we'll miss the best fights."
Jimei smiled and patted my back. "See? Ken-kun knows what's important! But don't worry, Naru-kun. If you want, I'll share my snack with you inside."
"Hah! Like I'd ever trust you again!"
He laughed and shrugged while we followed Kenshin-nii into the arena.
As we walked, I looked at Kenshin-nii. He was so cool. He never treated me weird, never gave me that scary look like the other grown-ups. Even when Jimei annoyed me, it felt different. He annoyed me like a friend… not like those villagers who wanted me to go away.
I wanted to be strong like Kenshin-nii. If I trained really hard, maybe one day I could be just as awesome. Maybe one day… I'd have friends too.
We walked into the big arena. It was packed with people! So many! I'd never seen a crowd this big. It was super noisy, but I didn't care. Just being here with Kenshin-nii was already amazing.
"Hey, Kenshin-nii, do you think they sell ramen in here?" I asked again, looking around for a ramen stand as we walked to our seats.
"Err… ramen? I don't think Teuchi-san is selling here." Ken-nii said, reaching into his pocket. "But look, I brought a box of Pocky for you."
He handed me a box of Pocky, and I grabbed it like it was the most special thing ever.
"Eh?! Ken-kun, didn't you bring anything for me?" When I heard Jimei say that and saw him staring at the Pocky box in my hands, I hid it close to my chest.
"If you wanted Pocky, you should've bought some." Ken-nii said.
Serves that stupid ramen thief right.
After a little while, we found some seats near the edge of the arena. As soon as we sat down, some people nearby looked at me... and then stood up and walked away.
Why is it always like that? Why do they look at me like that? I hugged the Pocky box tight against my chest. I wasn't excited anymore. All around me, people whispered, turned away, or left like I was some kinda bad smell. The big smile I had was gone now, and it felt like all my happiness about watching the Chūnin Exams just puffed into the air and disappeared.
Kenshin-nii was always nice to me, and Jimei—okay, he was super annoying, but he never really treated me bad. But the villagers… they always looked at me like I didn't belong, like I was something gross.
I swallowed hard and stared at the floor. The arena was so loud, but everything sounded far away. Like I was stuck in a bubble or something.
Then—HEY!—someone grabbed my Pocky box!
"WHAT?!"
I looked up and saw Jimei holding it with this big dumb grin on his face.
"Hey! You jerk, give that back!" I stood up on the seat and tried to grab it, but he raised his arm and kept it away from me.
"Uh-uh, Naru-kun, you didn't even thank Ken-kun and you were gonna eat the whole thing? That's kinda rude!" He laughed and shook the box up and down.
"Thief! Give it back right now!" I jumped to get it, but Jimei moved to the side really fast.
"You're supposed to share with your friends, y'know? That's part of the ninja spirit!"
"What ninja spirit?! Give it back!" I kept jumping, but he was way taller than me and thought it was super funny watching me struggle.
Kenshin-nii sighed. "Jimei, stop that."
"Aww, Ken-kun, you're no fun!" Jimei finally gave me back the box and messed up my hair real hard. "Fine, fine, here's your precious Pocky."
I took it and scooted away a little, hugging it like it was treasure. But, surprise! I didn't feel so sad anymore.
Kenshin-nii looked at me and smiled a little. "Don't let those looks bother you, Naruto. They don't matter."
I blinked and looked at him. Kenshin-nii always said stuff like that. The kind of stuff that made my chest hurt less. I didn't say anything, but I nodded, and yeah… I felt a little better.
Then the noise in the arena got real loud again, and everybody turned to look at the center. Hokage-jiji stood up on his super tall chair and some big trumpets made this fancy noise. Everybody clapped a lot when he started talking.
"Welcome, everyone, to the final day of the Chūnin Exams!" His voice was loud and strong and kind of scary but also super cool. "Today, you will witness our young shinobi show their strength, intelligence, and determination! Among them may be the future leaders of our village!"
I stared at Hokage-jiji with big sparkly eyes. "He's so cool! I'm gonna be Hokage one day, just you watch! Believe it!"
Jimei laughed. "Ohhh, so you wanna be Hokage too, shorty? That's great! Now Kenshin-nii's got a tiny rival to crush!"
I blinked.
"Wait… Kenshin-nii wants to be Hokage too?!"
I turned to look at Kenshin-nii and he just nodded. "Yeah."
Whoa… Kenshin-nii wants to be Hokage too… So that means he's my rival? That felt weird. But… if it's Ken-nii, I guess it's okay. Hokage-jiji is already kinda old anyway… He can keep the hat warm until I'm ready.
Before I could say anything else, a man walked into the middle of the arena and raised his hand.
"For the first match of the day! Uchiha Itachi of Konohagakure versus Shunmino Nemui of Kumogakure!"
Everyone in the stands started whispering excitedly. I looked at Kenshin-nii and Jimei, and they looked super serious when they heard those names.
"That guy actually made it to the finals?" Jimei asked, looking more serious than ever.
Kenshin-nii nodded too, staring straight ahead. "Makes sense. Itachi is ridiculously strong."
Jimei crossed his arms. "Natsu's been acting weird since that mission… She's staying in the clan compound a lot. She even refused to come watch the finals with us. Said she'd be watching with her clan."
"Eh! You know that's not why she didn't come." Kenshin-nii said, but his voice sounded funny.
He sounded mad, but I didn't really get why. I tried to follow their convo, but they were talking fast and whispering. I think it was about their other teammate… That girl with the white eyes, Natsu… She didn't seem to like me much.
But then, before I could ask anything, the referee raised his hand and dropped it.
"Begin!"
The crowd went wild, and I totally forgot what I was gonna say. The fight was starting!
I didn't even blink.
The fighting place looked huge! The smaller boy—I think he was Itasu?—stood there without any weapons, just standing like he didn't care at all. The other boy, Nemui, was wobbling side to side like he was gonna fall asleep.
"Is he gonna nap?" I whispered, squinting.
Nemui fell forward. I almost laughed, but before he hit the ground—POOF!—he was gone! Just gone! My eyes went all big and a shiver ran down my back.
"Whoa…" Jimei whispered next to me.
A second later, a thunder sound BOOMED around the arena, and Itesu dropped to the ground and rolled away. A big flash of light zapped right where he'd been, with lightning sparking everywhere. It was all coming from Nemui's arm—even though he still looked asleep!
"So cool!" My heart was going boom-boom-boom. "Is he really sleeping?"
"Looks like it!" Kenshin said, eyes all shiny. He looked super focused. "If I didn't see it, I wouldn't believe it. It's like some kind of deep sleep fighting style… It's insane."
I didn't know what "insane" meant, but it sounded awesome.
Itusu threw a weapon straight at the guy's face! I almost screamed! But Nemui just leaned a little and dodged it… without even opening his eyes! That was even scarier!!
"He dodged? But isn't he asleep?!" I yelled, clutching the edge of the bench.
Itasu jumped again, dodging all the lightning moves from the bigger boy. It was like a dance—only one of them had his eyes open. I could barely breathe. They moved so fast! Every time Nemui attacked, Ituso dodged just in time. But… he didn't fight back.
"Is he waiting for something?" Jimei asked, squinting.
"He's analyzing…" Kenshin said, really serious. "Trying to figure out how to beat that technique. Once he does… it'll be over."
My chest got tight. That sleepy guy… something about him felt weird. Like he wasn't really there or something.
The fight kept going for a long time. My neck hurt from looking back and forth so much. Nemui kept attacking, and Ituso kept dodging. Over and over and over.
But then… something changed.
Nemui stopped for a second. He was shaking. From where I was sitting, I think—I think—he opened his eyes for a tiny moment. It was so fast I thought I was, um… what's the word? Delusional.
Just a blink. A teeny blink.
But Ituso smiled.
His eyes turned red. A weird cold feeling ran over my skin. Nemui blinked, confused. Then he screamed.
A high, scared scream.
I gripped the bench super tight. My heart was beating so hard it hurt.
Nemui fell backwards, shaking. He tried to attack again, but he was slower now. His eyes opened and closed way too fast. He was sweating. And crying.
I wanted to ask what was happening, but no words came out.
"Sharingan…" Kenshin-nii said seriously. "Itachi got him. Now it's just a matter of time."
"I hate that stupid thing. Should be banned." Jimei muttered, but I wasn't even listening anymore.
What was happening? Why was the sleepy guy so scared? And why did Itoso's eyes turn red?
Nemui was gasping, eyes wide. He kept trying to close them, but every time he did—he screamed and opened them again.
He was scared to sleep.
I got goosebumps.
The whole crowd was super quiet. No one knew what was going on. But I felt it. I felt Nemui's fear. It was like… crawling out of him. His hands were shaking. He dropped to his knees and started sobbing.
"N-no… I don't wanna die…" He whispered, then said it louder. Then he was yelling. "Help me… Please…"
My chest got all weird and heavy. He wasn't fighting anymore. He just wanted to run away.
The referee ran between them.
"We have a winner!"
The silence broke. Everyone started talking. The match was over.
But Nemui kept crying. He kept saying "I don't wanna die" while people carried him out.
And even though the fight was done… It felt so heavy. I thought these matches were for fun... to see who's strong and who gets to be a chūnin. Not… not to cry like that.
I looked around and everyone was cheering again, clapping and laughing. I didn't get it. Didn't they see what I saw?
I looked at the boy, Itoso. He was standing still, serious, his eyes going back to normal. But his face looked... distant. Like he already knew this was going to happen.
"As expected… He won easily. He's probably gonna be promoted." Kenshin-nii said while the boy walked out of the arena.
"Tch… Even though that Nemui kid looked strong, he didn't last long against him." Jimei sounded even more annoyed.
I looked at the two of them, frowning. "Is that guy really that strong?"
"Yes." Kenshin-nii answered without even thinking.
He answered so fast it surprised me. I looked at Kenshin-nii, kinda scared, and bit my lip.
"Is he stronger than you, Kenshin-nii?"
Everything went quiet after I asked that. Even Jimei stopped and looked at Kenshin-nii with a weird face. What was wrong with my question?
"For now…" Kenshin-nii finally said, and my eyes went wide.
"For now?" I repeated, blinking 'cause I didn't really get what he meant.
Kenshin-nii messed up my hair, and I puffed my cheeks and pushed his hand away. "Don't worry, Naruto. It won't take long."
I made a face, but deep down, I knew it. Kenshin-nii was just being humble. He would DEFINITELY beat that Itachi guy! Believe it!
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Last chapter of the first arc!Honestly, I'm really proud of what I've accomplished so far. As a beginner, being able to write and update consistently means a lot to me.The next chapter will feature a 6-month timeskip leading into the Chuunin Exams arc — one of the most important arcs for the MC's development. Expect intense battles, clan drama, and much more!I'd love to hear your thoughts so far — I know the pace has been a bit slow, but things are about to pick up!
Oh yeah, and I almost forgot! Itachi fight agains Nemui is on Itachi Shinden!