Hearing Zabuza's voice, Suigetsu shrugged, looking helpless.
"The two of us got held up by four Konoha shinobi. Right, Kimimaro?"
He glanced over. Kimimaro still didn't answer.
"Knew it," Suigetsu muttered, rubbing his forehead with a sigh.
"Yuto-sama and Ranmaru moved out ahead of us. We're late because of training, so we'll need to pick up the pace," Ameyuri said from a branch to the side, a flash of sharp teeth showing.
"Oh? So you mean…" Zabuza arched a brow at her, a spark of excitement in his eyes.
"Force a direct breakthrough," Kimimaro said, breaking his silence.
Everything stilled at his words. All eyes turned toward him.
"There's no inherent meaning in being alive. People live only to seek the meaning of life."
"For me, clearing every obstacle before Yuto-sama—that is my meaning for living."
Kimimaro's tone was calm. He pressed off with one foot and vanished, sprinting forward.
"Tch, what a troublesome kid," Zabuza said after a beat, standing and looking toward Konoha. His voice held annoyance, but his eyes glittered with the same excitement.
He wasn't the only one. The others all showed their own shades of eagerness.
At the edge of the group, Utakata stretched and glanced at their faces, mumbling, "Yeah, I'm really not suited to hang around a crowd like this."
"Um… aren't we waiting for the Kirigakure unit?" Haku asked quietly, looking at the others.
"They're too slow. We'll clear the road for them," Zabuza snorted—and in the next moment, his figure was gone.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
With a flurry of wind-slicing sounds, everyone on the spot disappeared.
By the time Kimimaro, Zabuza, and the others were on the move, the official finals of the Chunin Exams had begun inside Konoha.
Thunderous cheers rolled across the arena.
The vast stands were packed.
The Third Hokage of Konoha and the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure sat at the highest point of the stadium.
"Didn't expect the Kazekage to attend in person. A long journey—must've been tiring," Hiruzen said lightly, glancing at the figure beside him.
"Good thing the venue is Konoha. If we'd had to trouble you to travel, Hokage-dono, it would be exhausting. Better to settle on a successor sooner than later," Orochimaru—disguised as the Kazekage—replied, a chill threaded through his voice.
Hiruzen laughed heartily, his face showing no irritation. "Don't treat me like some doddering elder. I plan to keep going for five more years."
He rose, walked to the edge of the platform, and projected his voice to the crowd:
"Honored guests, thank you for coming to Konoha to witness the Chunin Selection Exams."
"Next, the eight examinees who passed the preliminaries will enter the official brackets!"
At his address, the stands broke into noise again.
In a slightly secluded corner near the arena—
Ranmaru looked up at the Third Hokage seated on high. After a careful glance, he drew his eyes back. "Yuto-sama, is that person our enemy? Should Ranmaru go finish him now?"
Yuto smiled wryly and ruffled Ranmaru's hair. "You'd be at a disadvantage if you went now. Besides, someone's already designated to deal with him."
Ranmaru nodded, a little dazed. "Haruna told Ranmaru not to do things where we get the short end."
Yuto raised a brow. So having Ranmaru spend time with Haruna wasn't without results after all.
A surge of cheers rippled around them.
Down on the field, the first match began.
Naruto vs. Neji!
Excitement swelled through the stands. Getting to see the Hyuga clan's Byakugan (White Eye) in the very first bout—many felt it was a fight worth the price of admission.
Expression cool, Yuto looked down at Naruto and Neji, a glint of interest in his eyes.
Both drew his attention.
Naruto was already woven into Yuto's plan, so of course he watched him closely.
As for the other one—Neji.
In Yuto's view, he was a rare combat talent.
"Leaving someone like that in Konoha… what a waste," Yuto murmured as he watched Neji.
"Yuto-sama came here for those two?" Ranmaru asked, curiosity bright in his eyes as he looked at the fighters below.
"That's right. They might be our companions one day. They're just… not there yet."
At that, Ranmaru's eyes lit up. Anyone Yuto-sama cared about, he cared about too. He fixed his gaze on the ring below.
By then, the fight had hit full boil.
"You! Why do you always make sweeping judgments like that?!" Naruto clenched his fists and glared at Neji.
"So you're saying anyone can become Hokage if they just work hard?"
"Very few truly become Hokage. Face reality. That's not something you become just by wanting it."
"This is fate. We all live under a fate we cannot resist."
"In this world, there's only one fate equal to all—death."
Neji's expression was indifferent; his voice was cold. A faint thread of hate rippled in those pale eyes.
Up in one of the stands, Hiashi watched Neji and furrowed his brows.
That look—he still hates the main family?
Hiashi fell silent. He felt some guilt, but there was no choice.
That is the clan. From the moment of birth, main family and branch family are decided.
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