With One Blade, Overturning Konoha!

As the Chūnin Exams date drew nearer, Konoha—already a flourishing village—became even livelier.

Beyond being shocked by Konoha’s prosperity, ninjas from the smaller villages found their perception of the “Number One Hidden Village” rising once again. Many of them even felt a growing desire to become part of Konoha.

There was no fear of talent going to waste here. A completely fair environment. Everything and everyone was put to proper use. Anyone could display their strengths.

As long as you had ability and were willing to work hard, you could absolutely prove your value and your purpose.

There was no need to worry about tomorrow’s meals, because what you ate tomorrow depended entirely on how hard you worked today.

This atmosphere of collective progress, this unity and harmony… it was truly the kind of life people yearned for.

One of the goals of the Chūnin Exams had already been quietly achieved the moment ninjas began touring Konoha’s streets.

After all, when Konoha previously conquered the smaller villages, its methods were admittedly rough. Many believed it to be a brutally oppressive village.

But after arriving here and seeing the place with their own eyes, they realized the truth.

This village was the dream they had imagined.

The ninjas’ mindset was changing.

“Saa… I never expected Madara Uchiha’s name to be engraved up there.”

Other than the Hokage Rock, Konoha’s most iconic landmark was the Wall of Honor in the central plaza.

For some inexplicable reason, when Orochimaru saw the characters “Madara Uchiha,” a faint emotion—jealousy—rose in his heart.

Madara Uchiha: Founder of Konoha.

Such simple words, yet they did nothing to diminish Madara’s contributions to the village.

This unwelcome feeling made Orochimaru turn to the red-haired, cloaked man beside him.

But clearly, this man had no opinion about Madara’s name being carved there. He only stared fixedly at the very top—at the name “Hakken Yoru”—his fists clenching.

“Nagato-kun, please remain calm.”

Narrowing his eyes, Orochimaru stepped in front of him. It wasn’t time to act. Moving now would, at best, only trigger Nagato’s power for a moment. But Nagato was merely one of his pawns; acting alone would ruin the plan.

“Hmph. Did you find Konan?”

Nagato loosened his grip and spoke coldly.

“We found her,” Orochimaru said awkwardly, “but I’d really rather not tell you.”

“Say it!”

Nagato’s breathing grew sharp and uneven.

“She’s become Hakken-kun’s maid. And based on my current perspective as a woman, she has already been used by Hakken-kun—and more than once.”

Snake Aunt patted her cheek regretfully. “Please compose yourself. Hakken-sama’s lust is known throughout the entire shinobi world. You should have expected this outcome.”

“I thought she was dead!!”

Nagato grit his teeth, exhaled heavily, and turned away.

“Well then, Hakken-kun… the game begins.”

After giving the Wall of Honor one last glance, Orochimaru followed Nagato out of the plaza.

…

What they didn’t realize was that, far away at the highest point of Konoha, two figures were leaning against one another.

Matching long hair—one black, one white.

Kaguya and Hakken watched the two clowns below grow smaller as they walked off.

“I was wondering what the trump card would be.”

Hakken calmly held Kaguya close, a slight smirk curling at his lips. His dismissive expression made Kaguya blink curiously.

“I sense a very complex aura around them.”

Indeed, complex. Like Hagoromo’s… but not quite.

Chaotic and disordered.

“Byakugan!”

Buzz!

“I see.”

“Damn, Orochimarui… changing your own gender is one thing, but how many other people’s cells did you shove into Nagato’s legs?”

As if he had seen something that burned his eyes, Hakken quickly withdrew his gaze.

No wonder the aura beside Orochimaru had felt familiar—it really was Nagato himself.

Good lord, his legs were completely healed.

But the genes inside them were constantly rebelling.

Nagato had become a monster: a hybrid bred from multiple foreign cells.

But…

Hashirama cells?

Even if Orochimaru inherited Danzō’s research and studied it thoroughly, it shouldn’t be enough to grow two functioning legs.

Frowning, Hakken suddenly remembered something and closed his eyes.

...

“With how crowded Konoha is right now, sneaking in should be easy, right~~?”

On a small hill several miles away from the village, two figures stood together watching the distant scene. After a long moment, one finally spoke.

“No rush. Let’s see what Orochimaru pulls off first.”

The other shook his head, signaling to wait.

Black Zetsu and Obito.

Of course.

Hakken’s thoughts clicked neatly into place.

The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path could cultivate Hashirama cells—so they had already joined forces.

Obito, Nagato, Orochimaru, and Black Zetsu.

Quite the little four-man team.

“Now that I think about it, is Black Zetsu really your creation? He’s… a bit too ugly, isn’t he?”

Hakken pulled back his gaze.

He stroked Kaguya’s cheek, then tugged lightly at her hair.

As for the ancient Ōtsutsuki garb she wore—unique and mysterious—Hakken had studied it thoroughly during his years on the moon. He had rummaged through it inside and out countless times, finding nothing unusual.

Hmm.

And as for how pale, soft, and enticing Kaguya truly was… Hakken knew every detail intimately.

There wasn’t a single corner he hadn’t explored.

Which brought up the question—

Black Zetsu, who claimed to be Kaguya’s third child… was he really born from the consciousness of this pure, flawless Kaguya?

“He cannot be considered a child,” Kaguya said.

“He is merely a fragment of my consciousness—or rather, a technique. A technique given independent will.”

She shook her head slowly.

Consciousness was consciousness. A child was a child.

“For now, I do not have a true child of my own flesh and blood.”

“So… my lord…”

“You will need to work harder.”

As the topic drifted off course, Kaguya flushed and nestled even closer to Hakken’s chest.

But Hakken’s thoughts were nowhere near children.

He was still young—whatever happened, happened. And it wasn’t like he used protection.

Black Zetsu, however… definitely needed a proper conversation soon.

As for something like Infinite Tsukuyomi—Hakken could activate it with ease. He didn’t need his so-called ‘eldest son,’ that Daikuro, exhausting himself for it.

Hakken already had a plan for meeting Black Zetsu and for what would follow in the ninja world. There was no need to hurry.

For now, he wanted to see what other trump cards Orochimaru held besides this grotesquely modified Nagato.

Once the Chūnin Exams ended, the new era of the ninja world would officially begin.

“I’ll take you to meet your eldest son later. Let’s see if he’s worth acknowledging.”

Hakken traced a finger across Kaguya’s cheek, an odd smile spreading across his face.

…

The atmosphere in Konoha remained intensely charged.

Finally, under the eager gazes of countless onlookers, the Chūnin Exams officially began.

The first round was a written test of theoretical knowledge.

Early that morning, examinees filed into the testing hall one after another.

Just like in the original story, before the test even started, the genjutsu laid over the entrance confused many candidates.

But this did not include Naruto from the original timeline.

After all, this Naruto—driven by the desire to surpass Minato and Hakken—is now tied with Sasuke as the top-ranked student.

Sakura, meanwhile, was simply… average in comparison.

And for reasons she herself couldn’t quite understand, after Naruto and Sasuke’s rivalry evolved into genuine friendship forged through competition, Naruto no longer showed any romantic interest in her.

Which made Team 7’s current dynamic rather strange.

With two prodigies overshadowing everything, Sakura struggled to make her presence felt.

Lately, she had been dragging her feet, searching desperately for a way to improve, yet finding no clear path.

As she trudged behind Naruto and Sasuke up the stairs, a green blur suddenly appeared before them.

“Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun!”

Swish!

The figure stopped, and Lee bowed politely to the pair.

A familiar scene from the original story unfolded.

To prove that effort could surpass talent, Lee viewed Naruto and Sasuke as his rivals.

But unlike the original’s sudden brawl, this time Lee merely raised a thumbs-up and declared he would challenge them later. He didn't attack.

The reason was simple: lately, Guy-sensei had been hammering into him that he must show respect for comrades in front of outsiders.

If they were going to fight, it wouldn’t be here—it would be during the third-round matches.

“Please make it to the third round!”

Offering them a martial bow, Lee turned and left. As he passed Sakura, he gave her a polite nod.

“That thick-brow guy is pretty strong. I heard his teacher is Might Guy from the Night Owls—the one we saw at the village gate earlier.”

Naruto rubbed his chin while analyzing.

“He is strong. Judging from the way he walks, he definitely has something tied to his legs—looks like weighted training.”

Sasuke’s Sharingan had already activated, observing the fierce, sharp-footed stride Lee used as he disappeared around the corner.

“And his teammate is that genius from the Hyūga branch family—Hyūga Neji, right? He’s crazy strong. When Big Brother trained us, that Neji guy was insane. Even after practice ended, he'd force extra training for another hour.”

Naruto let out a breath. “So many strong opponents.”

“Sasuke!”

Naruto suddenly shouted, eyes lighting with determination.

“Let’s go crush this!”

Sasuke: “?”

The written exam was being held on the second floor.

When the trio pushed open the door, they immediately sensed something was off.

After quietly scanning the room, they took a deep breath and walked forward.

This year’s exam had several times more participants than the original. Everyone here was a competitor.

Cameras had been installed in every testing room to prevent cheating.

These cameras fed directly into the observation hall where the leaders of each village were gathered.

Though it was just a written test, nearly every village head had come—hoping to study Konoha’s advanced technology.

At the front, watching the large screen, sat the Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

But notably, one person was missing: the Mizukage of Kirigakure, Terumi. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NoveI-Fire.ɴet

Without a doubt, what they had just seen onscreen moments ago was the scene of Konoha’s two top prodigies entering the exam room.

“His composure is quite good.”

Seeing his son behaving well and not shouting, Minato nodded with satisfaction.

“Hm. As expected of the Hokage’s son—impressive. But Hokage-sama, it seems the Mizukage isn’t giving Konoha much face today.”

Seizing the opportunity, Ōnoki—sitting beside Minato—leaned in and delivered his usual yin-yang sarcasm.

“No problem, he may simply have something to take care of.”

The Little Sun replied with a pleasant smile, refusing to take the bait, then shifted his gaze toward the door of the viewing chamber.

The leader of Otogakure.

From Hakken, Minato already knew the person’s true identity.

Orochimaru, huh?

But why did “he” look like a woman?

And with all the village leaders gathered here, he still dared to stroll in so boldly?

Minato frowned.

“Ah, everyone, my apologies for being late.”

Wrapped in the Mizukage’s cloak, Terumi stepped inside. Her rosy cheeks made it clear she had likely overslept and rushed here.

Of course, the real reason for her lateness began with a certain bastard who had jumped through her window last night.

Still, that exhausting night wasn’t without its… gains.

That bastard…

Sitting in her chair, eyes fixed on the large display, Terumi smiled the moment a certain man kicked open the doors of the exam hall.

...

“So this Ninja Info Card contains data on every examinee?”

As in the original story, Kabuto used this moment to introduce his cards, prompting Naruto and Sasuke to question him curiously.

“Not all of them,” Kabuto replied calmly, pushing up his glasses and giving a subtle glance toward the group of Otogakure ninjas in the distance. “Only those worth noting are included.”

Yes—since Lord Orochimaru had come in person, stirring up a little chaos wasn’t unreasonable.

Bang!

Unfortunately for him, the door to Exam Room 5 was kicked open ahead of schedule.

“I am Morino Ibiki!”

He strode in with confidence. As Konoha’s chief interrogator, the gruesome scars across his face indeed made him look intimidating.

But his true combat ability was nothing remarkable. His interrogation skills were solid, and scaring kids was well within his expertise.

The classroom fell silent, and Ibiki nodded with satisfaction.

“Next—”

Bang!

Just as he was about to explain the test rules, another deafening crash rang out.

This time, the kick was even more violent—so much so that the entire classroom trembled, and the door shattered pitifully into fragments.

The examinees stared wide-eyed at the figure in the doorway.

“Uh… I’m late?”

The man coughed lightly.

His martial attire was slightly messy, clearly thrown on in a hurry.

The lipstick smear on his cheek and the fading claw marks across his chest made it obvious he had just come from an intense battle.

But none of that was the damn point.

“What the hell is Konoha doing!?”

In the viewing chamber, the furious Raikage smashed his only remaining hand across his own face and pointed at the screen with shaking rage.

That brat!

He would recognize that brat even if he were reduced to ashes!

And they let that guy participate in the Chūnin Exams!?

“Yes, Hokage. He is one of Konoha’s heroes, after all.”

Ōnoki seized the opening immediately.

“His strength likely surpasses yours, no? They call him Konoha’s Kenpachi, after all.”

Ōnoki swallowed hard—he had to say something.

His granddaughter Kurotsuchi was taking this exam.

If she ran into Hakken Yoru, wouldn’t she die on the spot!?

“He’s Konoha’s Kenpachi? The one who beat the Raikage senseless?”

“Konoha… do you even care about appearances anymore?”

Someone muttered from the back, and the entire room shifted toward chaos.