Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these three days, many unfamiliar faces began appearing on the streets of Konoha.
Unfamiliar faces weren't rare, of course—they were often just ordinary outsiders.
But the unfamiliar faces appearing now were all wearing forehead protectors engraved with various symbols. It was clear that they were ninjas from different villages.
The villagers of Konoha weren't panicked by this. In fact, they were quite excited.
So many foreign ninjas showing up all of a sudden could only mean one thing—the Chuunin Exams were coming again. Soon, they'd be able to enjoy watching intense ninja battles.
Especially the shop owners—many had already started stocking up, ready to make a quick profit.
That was the Chuunin Exams—no matter which Great Ninja Village hosted them, they were always a grand event.
July 1st, 3:00 PM.
Team 8 gathered at their usual spot on time, carrying their application forms as they headed toward the Ninja Academy.
On the way, Shino Aburame spoke with his hands in his pockets, "Konoha is the host this time, so we're at a slight disadvantage. A lot of people have probably been gathering intel on us, while we know nothing about them."
"It doesn't matter," Izayoi chuckled. "Intel always gets outdated. I believe all of you have made progress these past few days."
Upon hearing this, both Hinata and Shino smiled confidently.
Before long, Team 8 arrived at the academy.
After months apart, stepping into the school again made both Izayoi and Hinata feel a bit dazed.
As they walked the familiar paths, it was as if their gazes pierced through time, seeing reflections of the past few years.
From chubby-cheeked little kids to slightly more mature children…
Back then, Izayoi and Hinata had always walked side-by-side, inseparable.
Thinking of this, the two of them subconsciously looked at each other. When their eyes met, it was as if they knew exactly what the other was thinking—and they smiled in sync.
Arriving at the familiar main building, Team 8 had just stepped onto the first stair when both Shino and Hinata's expressions subtly changed.
"This is… genjutsu," Shino quickly formed a seal with his hands and disrupted the chakra flow in his body.
Hinata did the same.
"To be exact, it's a genjutsu barrier," Izayoi smiled. "Looks like the Chuunin Exams have already begun."
Climbing to the second floor, the three saw the hallway was packed with people—some dazed and confused, others seemingly aware of the trick and blocking the stairs leading to the third floor. Unfortunately, they were being stopped by two Chuunin guards.
"Come on, get rid of this genjutsu barrier! We're supposed to go to the third floor!"
Before Team 8 even reached the stairs, they heard a familiar voice.
"It's Sasuke-kun,"
Hinata spoke the name of the voice's owner, but her eyes were on someone else in the crowd. In a soft voice, she said, "And there's Neji-nii-san… He's participating in the Chuunin Exams too."
As if he'd heard her, Hyuuga Neji, who had been watching Team 7's show, turned his head.
Seeing Hinata, he immediately stepped forward and bowed with a blank expression, "Lady Hinata."
His manners were impeccable, but his tone lacked any real respect—and in the moment he bowed, a flash of resentment appeared in his eyes.
"Neji-nii-san, good luck in the exam," Hinata said gently.
"You too, Lady Hinata," Hyuuga Neji quickly composed himself, straightened up, and nodded. "I hope we get to fight during the Chuunin Exams."
After saying this, he looked over to Izayoi beside Hinata and asked, "You're Izayoi?"
"Got something to say, top student of the last class?" Izayoi smiled.
"…You're strong."
Neji gave him a once-over before calmly saying, "But you should know your place. You and Lady Hinata have no future together. That's the difference in your bloodlines—it's your fate."
"Neji-nii-san, that's enough."
Before Izayoi could respond, a cold voice cut in.
Hinata's eyes were no longer soft. She stared at Neji sharply, full of warning.
Her entire aura had shifted.
"…My apologies, Lady Hinata."
Neji bowed in apology, then turned and left.
Watching her cousin walk away, Hinata returned to her gentle demeanor and said to Izayoi in a soft voice, "Izayoi-kun, please don't take it personally. Neji-nii-san didn't mean it."
A hand rested gently on Hinata's head. Izayoi ruffled her hair and praised her, "Hinata, you were so cool just now! What a shame I didn't have my camera ready."
"Yeah," Shino nodded in agreement. "That aura was intense."
The top three in the year really weren't ordinary.
This Chuunin Exam might just be the chance to witness the full strength of Izayoi, Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke.
"I-it wasn't much, you're exaggerating…"
Hinata was flustered by the praise. Her face turned red, she lowered her head, and her index fingers poked together—a complete contrast from earlier.
Anyone watching might've thought she was the one with a split personality, not Haruno Sakura.
"Yo—Izayoi, Hinata, and uh… what's-his-name, you guys are here too!"
At that moment, Naruto Uzumaki's voice came from nearby.
Team 7 had finished their little scene and was now walking over to Team 8.
"I'm Shino Aburame."
Hearing Naruto ignore his name again, Shino couldn't help but assert his presence.
"Oh, hey Shino,"
But just like always, Shino's effort went unnoticed.
Naruto just gave him a quick greeting before turning his attention back to Izayoi. Grinning widely, he said, "Izayoi, you guys came for the Chuunin Exam too, huh? This time, I won't lose to you!"
"Oh?"
Izayoi was intrigued. "With how confident you are, don't tell me you've learned a jutsu from Kakashi-sensei?"
If that were true, the butterfly effect would be enormous.
In the original story, to avoid making the main character overpowered, Kakashi got a lot of unfair hate.
A Copy Ninja who'd mastered over a thousand jutsu, yet couldn't even bring himself to teach the son of his former teacher a basic C-rank Wind Style technique.
And that was after Naruto had already mastered tree climbing.
But it couldn't be helped. Naruto already knew the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, and with his massive chakra pool, even learning just one C-rank Wind Style: Great Breakthrough would've made him one of the strongest Genin around. Then his underdog journey would've been pointless.
Imagine hundreds or even thousands of shadow clones all launching Great Breakthroughs together—the destructive force might've even outdone Uchiha Madara's Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame.
"Hehe… Just you and Sasuke wait and see," Naruto said smugly, rubbing his nose. "I'll blow your minds when the time comes!"
"Riddler, get out of Konoha."
Izayoi snarked, drawing some strange looks from Hinata, Shino, and even Sasuke.
Their eyes seemed to say, You have no right to call anyone else that.