If there's one thing I learned after that mission, it's that turning into a killer alongside your teammate might just be the best team-building exercise out there.
I'm not saying things are perfect between me and Natsu or anything like that. But we are definitely doing better. We just reached a sort of unspoken agreement. She wouldn't voice her opinions about Naruto in front of me, and I'd make an actual effort for the sake of our friendship.
It worked out well, especially since earlier that day, Dekai-sensei gave us three registration forms for the Chuunin Exams, which is set to start in two days. Definitely not the time for our teamwork to fall apart.
All three of us agreed immediately: We are going to do this. After that bandit-extermination mission, our heads are in a much better place, and I'm confident we'd make it through the exams without too much trouble.
Despite his usual distant attitude, Dekai-sensei actually helped a lot when it came to dealing with our first kills. On the way back to the village, he spoke more than he had during our entire time as a team. He told us that in a career like ours, it was important to have a hobby—something to keep us sane.
And honestly? That made a lot of sense. Most ninjas I knew from the manga had hobbies. Dekai-sensei told us that his hobby is collecting rocks… Weird, sure, but somehow it fit him.
Jimei picked up weapon forging in his free time, and I'd heard Natsu had started a small garden for medicinal herbs. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I could do, and I eventually decided that since I missed music so much from my past life, I'd try to learn to play an instrument.
When I mentioned it after our team meeting today, Natsu said she knew a shop in Konoha's shopping district that sold great instruments at good prices. Jimei said he'd tag along too.
And that's how the three of us ended up walking through the streets of Konoha, heading toward the store. As we walked, I noticed—just like last time—that there were plenty of shinobi from other villages wandering around the Leaf.
"So, Ken-kun! What are you gonna get?" Jimei asked, poking me in that annoyingly familiar way.
"Hmm… Not sure yet." I brushed his hand away as I answered.
"Meh! If I were you, I'd go for something cool, like a taiko drum or a koto!" Jimei said, miming drumming with exaggerated movements.
"Hmm… A taiko might not be the best. It's huge..." Natsu chimed in, a little hesitant. "And I've heard the koto is really hard to learn… I think an ocarina would suit you, Kenshin-kun."
An ocarina? Huh… I mean, I could probably learn the Legend of Zelda theme. I already wore green, just needed a sword and a princess to save and I'd have a pretty solid Link cosplay going on.
I was still lost in thought, debating which instrument to get, while Jimei and Natsu continued arguing about the pros and cons of each option—when I stopped in my tracks, recognizing a few familiar faces up ahead.
Tokuma stood with his arms crossed, staring down a ninja from another village. But it wasn't just any village and it sure wasn't just any ninja. The headband he wore marked him as a shinobi from Kumogakure. He looks older than us, tall and muscular. Beside him were another ninja and a kunoichi—probably his teammates.
But what really mattered is that I recognized that ninja from Kumo.
Tall, dark-skinned, with messy white hair and a sword strapped to his back, he has this exhausted look on his face like existence itself was a chore someone forced on him.
Holy crap. That is the future Raikage of the Hidden Cloud! Darui! Ever since I first saw him in the anime, he always struck me as one of the coolest guys in Kumogakure. He was strong without constantly yelling about it, had a slick fighting style, and used the Third Raikage's techniques in a way that felt uniquely his own.
But what I liked most about him was his personality. He wasn't arrogant like some of the other Kumo guys, and he wasn't explosive like the Raikage. He was calm, but he had presence—the kind of person who doesn't say much, but when he moves, people pay attention. I never thought I'd run into him this early in life, especially here in Konoha.
And the blond guy next to him… Is that... C? Yeah, I remember him. He didn't leave as strong an impression on me as Darui, but I remember how he managed to hold off Sasuke for a moment during their fight—back then, anyone who could stall a Sharingan user earned my respect.
If I remember right, he was also a sensor-type, wasn't he?
The only girl near them I didn't recognize, but man… she was gorgeous. Her skin was the color of warm coffee, and she had dark blue hair tied up in a high ponytail, with a few loose strands framing her face.
But honestly, that wasn't what caught my attention.
What caught my attention was how tight her outfit was… I knew she was older and from another village, but hey… Looking doesn't hurt, right? Still, it wasn't the time for thoughts like that.
I noticed Natsu looked a bit tense seeing Cloud shinobi in the village, so I placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to show some silent support as we walked toward the group.
"I'm surprised someone from your cowardly village had the guts to even step into Konoha." Tokuma said, and as we got closer, I noticed his Byakugan was active.
"And why wouldn't we?" C replied with a smug smile that I was sure pissed Tokuma off. "Competition's the best way to show real strength. Kumo didn't come here to play."
"And what strength would that be?" Tokuma shot back. "Far as I know, all Kumogakure's good at is kidnapping children."
Ouch. Tokuma wasn't pulling any punches. Makes sense, though—despite it being a few years since the attempted kidnapping of the Hyuuga heiress, that was still a sore spot in Konoha's history. No one here liked to talk about it.
Judging by the looks on the Cloud ninjas' faces, they didn't appreciate the reminder. C's face turned red with anger—Tokuma had clearly hit a nerve, and C looked ready to turn it into a fight.
"What did you just say, you damn mutt?" C snapped, stepping forward.
"If you couldn't hear it with those filthy ears of yours, I can repeat it." Tokuma said coolly, subtly adjusting his stance. "Your village's great strength lies in snatching children in the dead of night and then playing the victim afterward."
Darui placed his hand on his sword, and the lazy look in his eyes now held a sharp glint of alertness.
"Hey, C, chill…" he said in his slow, dragging voice. But C didn't even flinch—his fists were already clenched.
"Repeating that to our faces was a mistake." His voice was tight with fury. "You know damn well that story was twisted by your village to justify murdering one of ours."
"Twisted?" Tokuma scoffed, stepping forward. His Byakugan flared to life, veins bulging around his eyes. "Kidnapping an innocent child and then pretending to be the victim? You're pathetic."
C's jaw tightened. Static electricity crackled around his body.
Crap. He was ready to throw hands right there in the middle of the street.
As much as that idiot Tokuma annoyed me, he was still from our village. I couldn't just let him start a fight alone against three shinobi from another village.
And then I saw it. A lightning surging around C's fist. His hand shot forward, wrapped in pure electricity, heading straight for Tokuma's face. Too fast for him to react.
In less than a second, I was in front of C, blocking his punch with nothing but a single raised finger.
The impact was strong, but not enough to move me. The lightning fizzled out against my finger, crackling in the air.
It didn't affect me. But C jerked his hand back, eyes wide, like he'd just been zapped by his own technique.
"That's enough!" I said, my voice firm as I stared straight into his eyes. "You'd better save that energy for the exams, don't you think?"
For a moment, pure shock crossed his face. He glanced at his arm, then at my finger, as if trying to process how his strike had been so easily stopped.
The kunoichi from Kumo narrowed her eyes at me, finally looking genuinely interested. Even Darui raised an eyebrow.
C clenched his jaw, still tense, but took a step back, flexing his hand as if trying to understand what had just happened.
"Who the hell are you?" he asked, his voice now laced with curiosity.
I crossed my arms and met his gaze. "If it bothers you that much, why don't you find out during the exams?"
Then I brought my finger to my lips and blew lightly. The remaining electricity dispersed into the air, and I didn't take my eyes off him the whole time.
Darui let out a long sigh and pulled his hand away from his sword.
"That's enough, C. Remember, we're representing Raikage-sama. We don't have time for this kind of nonsense. We'll deal with Konoha's shinobi during the exams."
C gritted his teeth, clearly frustrated by how things turned out, but he didn't argue. He stepped back, shooting me a long, sizing-up look—like he was committing my face to memory.
The Kumo kunoichi, who had been silently watching with growing interest, gave a small smile as she crossed her arms.
"You know… I thought Konoha shinobi were kind of boring. But you…" She looked me up and down, then licked her lips. "You seem interesting. Too bad you're so young…"
Tokuma let out an annoyed "tch" beside me, and Natsu subtly stiffened, clearly bothered by the kunoichi's comment.
Meanwhile, Jimei leaned in and whispered, "Dude, Ken-kun, you're attracting foreign hotties now!"
Ignoring my annoying friend, I shrugged.
"'Interesting' is just the polite way of saying 'trouble.' But if you really want to get to know me, you'll find me at the exams."
She chuckled softly and turned to her teammates.
"Looks like Konoha might be fun after all. Let's go, boys."
Darui gave me one last look—then glanced at Tokuma—before sighing and walking off, unhurried. "Come on. We don't have time for this."
C hesitated for a moment, still visibly annoyed, but eventually followed the team.
Just before turning away completely, he looked back at me and muttered low enough that only I could hear:
"See you at the exams, smartass."
I watched the Kumo team walk off, then turned to Tokuma.
"You really know how to attract trouble, huh?"
Tokuma scoffed. "I just told the truth."
"You told the truth and almost started an international incident in the middle of the street." I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Well, at least now we know Kumo's shinobi won't be easy to handle."
A chill of anticipation ran down my spine.
There was no doubt those three were going to be a problem. C and especially Darui were clearly powerful—and even that girl seemed strong.
As the future Eighth Hokage would say…
This exam's going to be troublesome.