143 Emerging Trends

While Orochimaru was busy issuing cryptic secret orders to his subordinates, the atmosphere at the Chunin Exam arena had become unprecedentedly grave and tense.

Rock Lee, having lost consciousness, lay deathly pale and motionless on a stretcher. Beside him stood the white-clad medical ninja of the Konoha medical team, looking troubled. This young man with thick eyebrows, who had been willing to fight to the brink of death to prove his way of the ninja to his opponent and to the world, had just been dealt a cruel diagnosis: his body could no longer sustain him as a ninja.

A profound silence descended upon the entire arena.

The young ninja, fresh out of the academy, wore expressions of horror and disbelief. In contrast, the more experienced and seasoned veterans showed faint flickers of sympathy, though they quickly returned to their usual, stoic composure. Whether they were accustomed to it or not, this was merely the beginning of a cruel and bloody life for a ninja. Some would endure, continuing along this cold and perilous path, while others would fall at the very starting line, unable to struggle forward for their ideals, their passion, or any other motivation.

That was all there was to it. In the world of ninjas, this was not uncommon.

Naruto watched, somewhat stunned, as the medical team lifted Lee onto the stretcher. Despite being well-raised by Kurama and Hades, and having witnessed—and even personally inflicted—bloodshed during the mission in the Land of Waves, Naruto remained an optimist. Perhaps it was the innate nature of a protagonist, or perhaps it was because Kurama and Hades had raised him so well according to the trajectory of his original character, but his understanding of the word "ninja" remained overwhelmingly positive.

Even though he knew the truth about the Uchiha clan massacre as clearly as Itachi and Sasuke themselves, and was fully aware of the history behind his status as the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki, Naruto had never truly viewed being a ninja as a cruel profession that forced people to taste despair so easily.

Until this very moment.

He looked at Lee, lying there with his eyes closed as if he might never wake up again. He thought of the boy’s exuberant and straightforward spirit in the forest, his hearty, toothy grin as he gave a thumbs-up to challenge him and Sasuke, and the resolute look in his eyes as he spoke of his way of the ninja.

The little fox could no longer control his emotions.

*Ah, this is bad.*

*If I go back now... Hades-san is definitely going to lecture me again, isn't he?*

He thought this with a bitter smile, yet he sprinted forward, intercepting the medical team before they could carry Lee away.

"Don't jump to conclusions so quickly!" He grabbed the edge of the stretcher, stopping the medical ninjas in their tracks. "What gives you the right to decide he can no longer be a ninja?"

The captain of the medical team frowned imperceptibly. He could understand the young ninja’s inability to accept the news that his companion had lost his future, but... "We are Konoha’s medical ninja. We do not make rash or irresponsible diagnoses for any patient."

He was annoyed, but he tried to be patient as he explained to the stubborn boy. To his surprise, the boy’s stubbornness only intensified.

"You say you're not being irresponsible, but he only shattered one arm and one leg! What is there to make such a big fuss about?" the boy said fiercely, ignoring the captain’s darkening expression. He turned his head, deftly dodging Kakashi’s hands as he reached out to pull him back.

"Kakashi-sensei, I’m not messing around," he said softly, his expression unexpectedly calm and rational. "I’m telling the truth."

Naruto’s gaze traveled past Kakashi’s shoulder to the Third Hokage, who stood watching with a calm expression. "Gramps, if I said I had a way to heal this guy, would you believe me?"

The Third Hokage’s eyes narrowed. He remained silent for a long moment, staring at Naruto as if trying to determine if the boy was merely spouting nonsense.

"You mean... Kurama?" the old man finally spoke in a low voice, his expression showing little surprise.

Naruto seemed entirely oblivious to this. "Yes, exactly!" He nodded frantically, his face breaking into a brilliant smile. "Kurama is the best! This kind of injury is nothing to him!"

"...Hmph!" Before the little fox could finish, the medical team captain, who had been interrupted by him earlier, let out a loud scoff. He did not believe Naruto’s claims. While a small part of his annoyance stemmed from Naruto’s public assertion that an unknown outsider was more skilled than Konoha’s elite medical team, the greater part of his frustration was that this reckless boy was treating a patient’s condition as a joke.

"Kid, don't be so arrogant," he said coldly. "Even one of the legendary Sannin, Lady Tsunade of the Senju, who is renowned for her medical ninjutsu, might not be able to guarantee a cure for such a tricky case, let alone an outsider who isn't even a ninja."

"Enough. Get out of the way. His condition is unstable; don't let your momentary recklessness delay his treatment!" As he spoke, the captain reached out to push Naruto aside.

The blonde boy, however, clung stubbornly to the stretcher, his bright blue eyes fixed intensely on the pensive Third Hokage.

The old man sighed deeply. "If you can convince Kurama to intervene..."

He spoke with what appeared to be "helplessness" and "compromise," yet many who knew the Third Hokage well caught a glint of success hidden in the corner of his mouth.

*That Kurama... is he really such an extraordinary person?*

For years, most members of Konoha had only been able to infer that Kurama—the mysterious guardian who rarely left the Uchiha compound—was an incredibly successful mentor based on the obvious growth of Sasuke and Naruto. They hadn't realized that, beyond his talent for training others, he himself possessed such exceptional skills that even the Third Hokage acknowledged him.

Many began to weigh their options. If even a grave injury like Lee's, which had effectively ended his career, could be cured, any ninja would want to be on good terms with such a healer. After all, who doesn't face a time when they might be injured or even at death's door? A glimmer of hope is always better than despair.

In the end, although Lee was taken away by the medical team, Guy’s demeanor was significantly more stable than in the original account. When Kakashi put an arm around his shoulder to lead him back to the stands, the man who usually relied on nonsensical narcissism and posturing was uncharacteristically serious and silent. He reached out and punched his friend on the shoulder.

"Thanks."

"..." The silver-haired ninja stared at him with his dead-fish eyes.

The moment their gazes met, they both suddenly burst out laughing.

"You’ve raised a remarkable student," Kakashi said with a smile.

Guy habitually flashed his pearly whites. "Of course!" He gave a thumbs-up, extremely practiced. "And yours isn't bad either!"

The two foolish teachers exchanged a few more heavy, competitive slaps on the shoulders, looking less like they were offering praise and more like they were trying to see who could knock the other out first.

Sakura rolled her eyes hard. "Seriously... and here I was, actually feeling a bit sentimental and down..."

It had all been ruined by these two. What a mood-killer.

Ino, who had somehow made peace with her after that shameless fight, nodded silently beside her. The two girls linked arms and turned to watch the final match below, while Kurama and Hades, hidden in the shadows, exchanged a glance and vanished from the arena in the next second.

There was no helping it; they had to get home and wait to be called to heal Lee. They could only blame their little fox for being so quick to sell out his team. Before leaving, Kurama cast a look at Naruto that was neither a smile nor a frown, leaving the boy with a chill running down his spine.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." he muttered, though his attention was quickly drawn away by the match below.

Sasuke, standing beside him, gave him a silent, sidelong glance. "Idiot..." he hummed under his breath.

***

Not long after Kurama and Hades returned home, someone from the Konoha hospital arrived. The visitor was polite to a fault, clearly operating under the philosophy that it was better to be respectful than to offend—a testament to how highly valued top-tier medical ninjas were in the village.

Kurama did not hesitate to agree, and Hades, as his partner, naturally accompanied him. Their relationship was no secret in the village; they were always seen together in broad daylight, making it impossible for anyone not to notice.

Kurama’s talent for manipulating plants, combined with his long-term study of Nen, had resulted in a unique mutation. For a long time, even without using plants, he could achieve excellent healing results using only the abundant life force within himself, so he felt no pressure regarding Lee’s injuries. However, keeping a low profile was always wise, so what could have been a single-session cure was diagnosed by the Demon Fox as needing gradual recovery, claiming that Lee’s "shattered meridians could not withstand such a violent surge of energy."

Because he had to treat Lee at the hospital, Kurama could no longer continue training Naruto and Sasuke. Thus, the powerful inertia of the original plot, after twisting and turning through countless detours, finally returned to its original track. Sasuke was taken away by Kakashi for secret training, and Naruto, after some back-and-forth, was taken under the wing of Jiraiya to learn ninjutsu.

Time passed slowly amid their "arduous training." A month later, as the final round of the Chunin Exams officially began...

While Naruto waited anxiously in the arena for the late-arriving Sasuke, in a corner outside the village, Orochimaru stood with his eyes narrowed, staring with an inscrutable expression at a mysterious visitor cloaked in a black robe with red clouds.

"'Just capture the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails and the One-Tail during the chaos'? You certainly have a lot of nerve," he chuckled lowly. The voice was incredibly soft, yet the tone was chillingly cold. "The original agreement... was not like this."

"...Madara."

With that, Orochimaru suddenly raised his eyes, staring directly into the eyes of the person opposite him. Before his gaze, a face wearing a strange, spiral-patterned mask stood clearly revealed.