And just like that, five years passed…
"We're gonna crush the Chūnin Exams, you know that, right?" A boy's voice rang out, cocky, confident, just a hint of a grin in it.
"Yeah, yeah… You've only said that every day since we signed up." The girl beside him answered, arms crossed, a small smirk on her lips.
It was none other than Z and Yugito, now both nine years old.
[Z's POV]
Yugito gave me a sideways glance and added with a teasing tone. "And you brag too much, Z. Technically, we're already Chūnin. The Raikage just stripped us of the rank so we could take the official exams with the others."
I chuckled, hands laced behind my head, walking casually beside her.
"True, true… but isn't it better this way? We get to show that our village is the best." I flashed a confident smile.
That's when I noticed it, her cheeks turning just a little red, and her gaze shifting away from mine a second too quickly.
'Shit… she's entered that phase.' I thought, blinking once, keeping the grin on my face but sighing internally.
Yup. I'd seen the signs for a while now.
The way she'd get flustered when I stood too close.
The way she tried to act cooler than usual.
Even Bee had started making weird rhymes about it.
"Come on, let's go. It's almost time to leave." I turned to her, voice steady but my pulse starting to rise a little with anticipation.
"Already? Hmph, well… you're probably right."Yugito sighed, her expression slightly disappointed, like she wanted to stay up there just a bit longer.
We made our way down from the rocky ledge overlooking the village, walking side by side. The streets were lively, the whole of Kumogakure knew what day it was.
People stopped and waved as we passed.
"Show those Konoha mutts what real shinobi look like!" An old lady shouted from her porch, cane in one hand, fire in her voice.
I didn't say anything, just nodded silently with a small grin. Yugito glanced at me, clearly used to the attention I got in the village, but never saying much about it.
We finally reached the Raikage's office, where my father stood tall behind his desk. His arms were crossed as always.
"You two ready?" he asked, his deep voice echoing slightly in the room."Bee's already at the village gate. You'll meet him there. This time, Konoha has insisted on standard three-man teams. So, you'll have a third member. Don't worry, she's talented. It should go smoothly."
I nodded firmly. "Understood, Father."
Yugito bowed slightly. "Yes, Raikage-sama."
We left without another word and made our way toward the village gate. The wind picked up a little, pushing at our clothes, rustling the trees lining the path.
As we arrived, we spotted Bee first, leaned back against a boulder, arms behind his head, humming one of his ridiculous raps under his breath. But next to him… was someone else.
A young girl, arms folded, hair blonde and smooth, a calm but focused aura about her.
I recognized her immediately.
Samui.
One of the most promising kunoichi of our generation, calm, composed, and smart as hell.
"Looks like we've got a solid trio." I said with a little smirk, stepping forward.
Bee straightened up suddenly, the usual grin on his face and his arms crossed confidently.
"Now that you're all here, let's hit the road, To the Land of Fire, mission mode."He said, full of energy.
Without wasting a second, we launched forward, leaping from tree to tree, the dense forests of the Land of Lightning blurring behind us.
After a while, the silence was broken by curiosity.
I glanced sideways toward Samui, who kept pace effortlessly, her face as composed as ever.
"You feeling confident, Samui?" I asked, not teasing, just genuinely wondering how she felt about it all.
She didn't even hesitate."Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"Her tone was flat, but not cold. Just matter-of-fact, like she had already run the numbers and saw no reason to doubt herself.
I gave a slight nod, brushing some strands of white hair from my eyes."Just making sure." I said casually.
Before I could say more, a soft, almost imperceptible "Hmph" came from behind me. I didn't need to look to know it was Yugito.
I suppressed a grin. She hadn't said anything directly, but that little sound said plenty.
Bee, of course, picked up on it right away and burst into laughter as he jumped past us.
Yugito's steps didn't falter, but I could see the way she glanced away quickly, as if trying to hide the slightest hint of pink creeping onto her cheeks.
She muttered under her breath.
I kept my eyes forward, preferring to ignore all that.
We had to make a few stops along the way from Kumogakure to Konoha.
After the Land of Snow, we passed through the Land of Hot Water, where we stayed in a small village built around natural hot springs. Bee made the most of it, jumping straight into one of the baths, singing off-key rhymes about steam and serenity. Samui mostly stayed quiet, probably enjoying the heat after the cold from Snow. Yugito and I ended up sparring lightly outside the inn, our breaths visible in the humid evening air.
The road itself?
Smooth for the most part. A few bandits tried their luck on the edges of the forest, desperate types who clearly didn't know what they were getting into. Bee let us handle them, said it was "good warm-up before the main dish."It didn't take long. They were nothing more than a minor inconvenience, and we continued on without any real delay.
And then, after few days of travel. The land grew warmer, greener.
That's when we saw it Konohagakure.
The Gates of the Hidden Leaf stood tall before us, guarded and imposing.
We landed on a tree branch overlooking the road leading to the entrance, the village stretched out just beyond.
I took a deep breath, staring at it with wide eyes. "So this is the Leaf…" I muttered, more to myself than anyone else.
Yugito stood beside me, arms crossed, eyes serious. "It's big. But not impressive."
Samui didn't say anything, just examined the surroundings quietly.
Behind us, Bee landed with a thud, arms wide, smile big.
"Here we are, the end of the line,But the start of glory, this place is fine."
We all chuckled softly.
And then… we stepped forward.