Chirrrrrp.
Morning light washed the road, and the bluestone along the verge gleamed like polished jade.
On her way to class, the "school Konome" slung her bag higher and glanced up.
A few sparrows hopped about the poplars, beaks full of worms, taking turns flitting skyward and chattering without end.
Maybe it was because summer's heat was finally ebbing, but she felt as if Konoha had suddenly filled with small animals.
Not only around her.
Out in the Forest of Death, where her true body and clones trained, there were even more. As if overnight the whole village had grown lively, life seeping from every corner.
It was not a good sign.
Things that peak, break.
The odd pulse in Konoha's air felt like an omen.
She had not seen Kakashi around the Hatake compound for nearly a week. That level of busyness could not last.
The bowstring was drawn tight.
The Uchiha massacre had to be only days away.
The school Konome rubbed her forearms, a rash of gooseflesh pebbling her pale skin.
This would be her first time standing inside a major event she knew from the original story.
Knowing the bomb sat nearby, ready to explode at any moment and possibly catch her in the blast, yet being unable to do anything about it.
It was a rotten feeling.
Uchiha Obito, Shimura Danzō, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Fugaku.
Five Kage-class figures moving against one another.
Jōnin and elite jōnin too many to count.
At her level she looked like someone of note on an ordinary day, but step into that grinder and she would be mince in seconds.
This was not a "fight between ninja."
It was factions colliding. War.
Only a Kage-class could claim a seat at a table where individual strength hardly mattered.
So even knowing every faction had thinned its lines, she had no intention of fishing in a fire.
That was not for the person she was right now.
It was a full grade beyond the syllabus.
She ran a conservative check on her own strength.
No Eight Gates, no ambushes or tricks.
In a straight fight, two or three jōnin of Kazama Etsu's caliber, properly equipped and working as a unit, could put her down at a manageable cost.
One-on-one and one-against-many were not the same game.
Two fists cannot beat four hands was not just a proverb.
No.
The true body needed to lay low for a couple of days.
Avoid the Forest of Death if possible.
An edge of tension kept pricking at her nerves like radar pings.
Keeping the true body safe mattered most.
Let the shadow clones handle the training for now. The safest place in Konoha at this moment was the Academy, tucked behind a shield of second-generation heirs.
Thup thup thup.
Just as she was thinking it through, a familiar sound came from the corner ahead.
She looked up.
Another her, tapping along with a blind cane, turned the corner.
"What are you doing here?"
The school Konome blinked.
"I am heading to the Academy to lie low. You all focus on training outside. Lately I cannot shake the sense something is watching."
Konome scratched at her arm.
That persistent, prickling sense of eyes on her had been needling her into a foul mood. She had swept the surroundings with the Byakugan again and again, and found nothing.
Any ninjutsu left a chakra trace.
Unless it was a Byakugan technique. But if a Hyūga had found her out, the clan would have moved already, not stayed quiet.
She could not puzzle it out.
Best to chalk it up to the village's tension making her jumpy. Hide at the Academy for now, wait for the Uchiha dust to settle, then move.
"Give me the bag."
The school Konome smiled.
Trust the true body. Same conclusion.
She tossed her satchel over. The school Konome dispelled in a puff of smoke.
Bag on her shoulder again, Konome walked through the Academy gates for the first time in days.
She had barely stepped into the classroom when
Whoosh.
A large body came flying face-first at her.
She raised a foot.
And met it.
Thud.
The boy shrieked, ricocheted, and bowled over two other runts. The three of them tumbled along the floor like gourds.
"Konome, are you okay?"
Naruto jogged up, sea-blue eyes wide with worry, the look of someone who knew he had just caused trouble.
"I am fine."
She waved him off.
Then she looked down at the trio.
They were the same boys who had fought over her notebook and roughed Naruto up.
Iruka had punished them after, and Shikamaru's bunch had given them a targeted thrashing. Their swagger had faded since.
They dragged themselves up, faces mottled with bruises, and could not quite keep the fear out of their eyes when they glanced at Naruto.
Konome had a pretty good guess.
"You got payback?"
"Uh, yeah."
Naruto's gaze skittered. Clearly there was more to it.
Konome nodded.
If he did not want to say, she would not pry.
All that mattered was Naruto getting stronger fast and learning to handle the Nine-Tails' chakra. She was not his mother. She was not going to arbitrate schoolyard beefs.
The little entrance scene passed.
She took a longer look at Uchiha Sasuke by the window.
Nothing obvious had changed.
He seemed oblivious to everything brewing around his clan.
His family was about to go to war with Konoha, and the second son of the clan head was still going to class like nothing was wrong.
Remarkable.
Konome could only shake her head.
"Morning, Konome."
"Morning."
Back at her desk, Shikamaru and the others were frantically finishing homework. They still found a second to wave.
Thanks to the school Konome's tireless effort, her standing among the group had only climbed.
"Keep at it. Do not mind me."
They ducked back over their pages.
Konome slid out her own homework notebook, still blank, set it on the desk, and lounged.
Blind students were exempt.
Whether the Third had given advance instructions or not, she did not know.
Forget homework. She did not even have to sit culture exams. As long as her field performance cleared the bar, she was fine.
They probably tagged her as an athletic admit.
Clack.
The front door banged open.
"Hurry, hurry."
She did not need to look to know who it was from the flurry behind her.
Tap tap.
Iruka Umino clapped twice on the board and brought the room to order.
"Announcement. No weekend break this week."
A wave of groans rose instantly.
"Quiet."
His voice cut through the noise.
"Four days from now, this Friday, the Academy will conduct a large-scale field survival drill. It will last three days and be held at Training Ground Zero. Prepare accordingly and bring food and water."
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