Kakashi had only one thought in his mind.
The sky over Konoha…
is unbelievably dark.
Naruto was his student—so Kakashi knew exactly what level Naruto was at.
Sure, Naruto had improved.
He was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
And over the past month he had trained with Jiraiya, who had helped him grow stronger.
But Naruto's Nine-Tails power had never truly been developed.
Even Jiraiya couldn't possibly make Naruto undergo a qualitative leap in such a short time.
And Neji Hyūga?
Although he belonged to the branch family, he had already graduated a year ago.
His jōnin instructor was Kakashi's close friend—Might Guy.
The Hyūga clan excelled at taijutsu, and Guy was one of the strongest taijutsu users in all of Konoha.
Put the two together—
And the result was overwhelming synergy.
At least in Kakashi's eyes, Naruto's chances of winning were extremely slim.
Is this giving the Hyūga clan some "face"?
Kakashi rubbed his temples.
After hearing so much about Ren's "human relationships," it was hard not to think along those lines.
Which left Kakashi feeling rather depressed.
"Alright! I'm first?!"
Unlike Kakashi's gloom, Naruto was extremely excited.
He wasn't thinking about anything complicated.
He immediately rushed toward the arena.
Naruto had gained several abilities recently:
Shadow Clone TechniqueSummoning TechniqueA half-completed Rasengan
Jiraiya's training had clearly paid off.
And Naruto himself was different from before.
Without Orochimaru's interference sealing the Nine-Tails chakra, Jiraiya had far fewer complications during training.
Combined with Ren's guidance, Naruto no longer spent all his time pulling pranks.
Although he still couldn't match Sasuke or Shikamaru academically—
He had learned to focus.
As a result, his ability to learn techniques had improved dramatically.
As the two competitors entered the arena, cheers erupted throughout the stadium.
Naruto's blood boiled at the sound.
But when he looked at Neji—
He frowned slightly.
That guy… is way too calm.
Compared to Naruto's excitement, Neji looked completely composed.
Because of Ren's rather blatant "arrangements," Hinata had never crossed paths with Neji in the earlier rounds.
So the tension between them wasn't as intense as in the original timeline.
Up in the spectator stands, Sasuke turned to Karin.
"Do you think Naruto has a chance?"
Karin gave him a strange look.
After thinking for a moment, she nodded.
"He definitely has a chance."
"Just watch."
She didn't elaborate.
In truth, she had asked Ren about this match.
And Ren seemed quite optimistic about Naruto.
But she wasn't about to reveal that.
Shiranui Genma stepped forward as the referee.
"Both competitors ready?"
He glanced at them while holding a senbon between his teeth.
"Begin!"
He immediately jumped away, leaving the battlefield to the two fighters.
Naruto's excitement faded into focus.
Although the cheers from the stands continued—
In Naruto's eyes, only Neji remained.
"Uzumaki Naruto… I've heard about you from Guy-sensei."
Neji suddenly spoke.
"He said you remain optimistic even though everyone once despised and rejected you."
"And eventually you became a proper ninja… and gained friends."
Naruto blinked.
He wasn't sure what Neji meant.
But he nodded.
"I was lucky."
"I met someone good."
"Someone who guided me whenever I was about to go down the wrong path."
"He has a terrible personality sometimes…"
"But he's still a good person."
Neji nodded.
"Perhaps."
"But unfortunately…"
His tone suddenly changed.
Chakra surged through his body.
"Some things are predetermined by fate."
"No matter how hard you struggle, nothing changes."
"Those who despise you will always despise you."
"Those who look down on you will always look down on you."
"Because fate is fate."
Naruto stared at him blankly.
Where did this lunatic come from?
"Ha!"
Neji dashed forward.
Naruto gritted his teeth and met him head-on.
The battle began instantly.
From the stands, Ren observed the fight calmly.
"Guy, your student seems to have some personality issues."
Guy blinked in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Before he could respond, an ANBU operative appeared behind Ren.
"Ren— I mean… Hokage Advisor."
Ren turned with a grin.
"Tenzō. No need to be formal."
Kakashi rolled his eye.
How did this conversation become my fault again?
Tenzō lowered his voice.
"All ANBU units are ready."
"Evacuation routes are prepared."
"Residential areas and schools have already been arranged."
"If anything happens, civilians can be evacuated immediately."
Ren nodded.
"Good work."
Root forces had already been deployed as well.
ANBU handled internal evacuation.
Root would deal with combat.
Everything was ready.
Meanwhile, Naruto's battle intensified.
He realized he couldn't defeat Neji directly.
So he made the obvious decision.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Boom—
Hundreds of Naruto clones appeared.
The crowd erupted.
"Is that really a genin?!"
"That chakra volume is insane!"
"Those are real shadow clones!"
Neji frowned.
Facing hundreds of opponents was overwhelming.
"Eight Trigrams: Rotation!"
Blue chakra exploded outward as Neji spun.
Shadow clones burst into smoke upon contact.
But Naruto simply created more.
His strategy was simple:
Exhaust Neji.
Eventually Neji's Byakugan faltered.
At that moment—
Naruto's real body rushed forward.
In a flash, his kunai pressed against Neji's throat.
"I win."
Naruto breathed heavily.
Then spoke seriously.
"You said fate can't change."
"But if you try… there's always a chance."
"Complaining without changing anything means you'll never escape it."
"I was lucky."
"I met someone who believed in me."
"He taught me that hard work matters."
"And now I have my own ninja way."
"I'll break fate."
"I won't sit around feeling sorry for myself!"
Genma stepped forward.
"The winner of the first match…"
"Naruto Uzumaki!"
The arena exploded in cheers.
Up on the main platform.
Rasa watched thoughtfully.
"That boy… is your jinchūriki, isn't he?"
Hiruzen nodded calmly.
"Yes."
"Tsunade will answer from here."
Tsunade spoke bluntly.
"Speaking of jinchūriki… your son is one as well."
"Bringing him to Konoha was a risky decision."
Rasa smirked.
"You planning to detain him?"
Tsunade shook her head.
"Konoha isn't that barbaric."
"As long as nothing suspicious happens."
Gengetsu chuckled awkwardly.
Why did this conversation drag Mist into it…
The second match ended soon after.
Temari vs Shikamaru
Although Shikamaru had her trapped—
He surrendered out of laziness.
"Winner: Temari!"
The audience was baffled.
Temari was furious.
Then the third match appeared.
Sasuke Uchiha vs Gaara
Excitement erupted.
"The last Uchiha!"
"This will be interesting!"
Gaara walked down to the arena with a twisted grin.
Sasuke followed calmly.
Genma announced:
"Begin!"
Gaara's sand shot forward like blades.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan, dodging rapidly.
From the stands, Ren chuckled.
"Kakashi, you've trained him well."
Kakashi nodded.
"He's improved a lot."
"But I'm still not an Uchiha."
Nearby, Hikari frowned.
"That red-haired boy…"
"There's something dangerous inside him."
Ren smiled.
"The One-Tail."
"But honestly… it's not that troublesome."
Below, Sasuke unleashed Chidori.
Lightning roared across the arena.
The attack pierced Gaara's sand armor.
Blood spilled.
Gaara screamed.
Inside him—
Shukaku began awakening.
Rasa's face darkened.
This wasn't part of the plan.
Feathers began falling across the stadium.
Genjutsu.
Civilians collapsed asleep.
Sand and Sound ninja revealed themselves.
Rasa stood.
"Today…"
"We expose Konoha's hypocrisy!"
Orochimaru appeared beside him.
"Long time no see, Sensei."
He smiled at Hiruzen.
"And congratulations, Tsunade."
"This is quite the celebration."
Then—
A monstrous roar echoed across Konoha.
The One-Tail had emerged.
But something strange happened.
Instead of panic—
ANBU calmly began evacuating civilians.
As if everything had already been prepared.
Outside the arena.
Obito saw the signal.
"It's time."
But Nagato spoke through Pain.
"Don't rely on the One-Tail."
"Ren has already defeated the Three-Tails and Eight-Tails."
"Shukaku will lose even faster."
Obito frowned.
Then suddenly—
Shouts erupted across Konoha.
Everyone looked toward the arena.
Even Kakuzu chuckled.
"Looks like the One-Tail really isn't taken seriously."
Near the battlefield.
Ren stepped forward alone.
"Hello, One-Tail."
Shukaku roared wildly.
"Perfect!"
"Fresh out of sleep and already someone to kill!"
It launched a massive Air Bullet.
But as the attack approached Ren—
It disintegrated.
Like a breeze passing around him.
Ren sighed.
"All the other tailed beasts can use Tailed Beast Bombs."
"Why can't you?"
He shook his head.
"Never mind."
"You're all the same to me."
"Goodbye, One-Tail."
Suddenly—
Massive wooden vines burst from the ground.
They wrapped around Shukaku instantly.
Binding it completely.
Branches grew wildly.
Leaves spread like a forest.
Shukaku screamed as its massive body disintegrated—
Turning into sand.
Blown away by the wind.
The One-Tail—
Had been defeated.
In seconds.
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