Naruto : Reborn As Sukuna Haruno

The crowd's excitement was slowly turning into impatience.

The first match of the Chunin Exam Finals was supposed to have started several minutes ago, yet the arena floor remained occupied by only a single participant, Kiyomi Uchiha.

She stood calmly in the center of the battlefield with her arms crossed, seemingly unaffected by the thousands of eyes currently focused on her. The audience, however, was far less patient. Murmurs had begun spreading throughout the stadium as spectators whispered amongst themselves, wondering what was causing the delay.

Some had traveled for days to witness the finals, while others had paid enormous sums for their seats, and none of them had come here to watch an empty arena.

Standing near the edge of the battlefield, Genma glanced toward the entrance one final time before raising his voice. "Neji Hyuga." His words echoed across the massive stadium, carrying into every corner of the arena.

There was no response, no indication that Neji was even present within the stadium. Genma frowned slightly before calling again, this time louder than before. "Neji Hyuga." Once again, nothing happened. Even Kiyomi's expression shifted slightly as she looked toward the entrance.

Both were hospitalized at the same time. While she was out in a few days, there seemed to be no news of Neji after that.

'Was he not healed?' she questioned herself.

High above in the Kage section, Hiruzen's expression became increasingly concerned. Over the past month, he had been occupied with preparations for the finals, diplomatic matters involving the visiting Kages, and the countless responsibilities that came with being Hokage.

In truth, he had not personally checked on Neji's condition recently, having trusted the hospital's reports that the boy was recovering. Now, seeing the absence firsthand, he found himself turning toward one of the ANBU guards stationed nearby. "Has there been any update regarding Neji's condition from the hospital?" he asked.

"If he was not discharged or would not be taking further participation in the Chunin Exam, then why was there no report from him, the hospital, Guy, or the Hyuga Clan for that matter?" Hiruzen almost asked with baffled exasperation.

The ANBU vanished without another word.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere within the stadium continued to deteriorate. The audience had grown visibly restless, and some had even started voicing their displeasure openly. Genma could hear complaints spreading through the stands, and he knew he could not delay the event much longer.

The Chunin Exam Finals were a spectacle as much as they were a military evaluation. Every minute of delay reflected poorly on Konoha. Finally, after waiting several more moments, he released a tired sigh and turned toward Kiyomi. "If Neji doesn't appear soon, I'll be forced to disqualify him."

Kiyomi simply shrugged. "Fine by me."

Genma nodded before stepping forward. "Due to Neji Hyuga's absence, I declare—"

His words abruptly stopped as both his and Kiyomi's eyes widened.

The entire stadium, which was noisy a second ago, went almost completely silent as they saw someone suddenly standing on the fighting ground beside the Uchiha girl and the proctor.

Neither Genma nor Kiyomi had sensed anyone approaching. There had been no footsteps, no chakra signature entering the arena, and no movement whatsoever. One moment the space beside them had been empty, and the next moment a person was standing there as though they had always been present. A collective gasp swept through the audience as thousands of spectators stared in shock. Even the visiting Kages narrowed their eyes.

It was a boy of Kiyomi's age, wearing a white jacket with a Konoha forehead protector. And he had white eyes.

"Hyuga Neji?" Genma asked, seeing the white eyes, though he was looking keenly at how the boy had suddenly appeared there while he couldn't even sense him coming.

A smirk rested upon his face. It was not Neji's usual expression. Not the typical stoic and slightly haughty look which most Hyuga seemed to possess. No, the look on his face was different.

The calm confidence he normally carried was absent. The cold pride that often accompanied his words was gone as well. Instead, there was something almost arrogant about the smile on his face, something openly mocking that immediately felt wrong to anyone who knew him.

And Kiyomi, for once, felt a strange sense of familiarity from it. Something which gave her chills.

Neji, on the other hand, casually looked around the arena, taking in the crowd and the stadium before finally turning his attention toward Kiyomi. He did not even acknowledge Genma's presence. His eyes locked entirely onto the Uchiha girl.

"So you're the one," Neji said, his voice carrying across the arena. "The girl who nearly killed this body."

The statement immediately caused confusion for both Kiyomi and Genma.

This body?

Even Genma blinked. What was the boy talking about?

Fortunately, Neji wasn't loud enough that the others in the audience could hear him.

Neji's smirk widened further. "Honestly, I expected more. Then again, you're a woman, so maybe my expectations were simply too high."

The audience erupted into murmurs. That was awfully unhinged for a Hyuga, wasn't it?

Several people exchanged confused glances, now questioning whether this boy was really a participant here.

And those who knew Neji simply stared at him with utter confusion. This wasn't how Neji was supposed to act.

Did that attack to his head leave behind scars or something?

That did not sound like Neji at all.

Even Hiashi Hyuga's expression darkened from his seat in the audience.

He knew more than anyone there. And he didn't like the changes in his nephew.

It wasn't long ago when Konoha Hospital had called them, stating that Neji couldn't make it, only to later take back their statement, calling it an error in management. Hyuga Neji was completely fine.

If not for being happy that his nephew was alive, Hiashi would have had two thoughts about complaining about the hospital's degrading management crisis to the Hokage himself. The mistake was far too serious.

How could those people in the hospital make a mistake like that? Declaring a patient dead—that was not irresponsibility, it was complete neglect of one's duty.

However, Hiashi had far more important matters after that to worry about.

Because Neji seemed to have changed after he woke up.

For a second, even Hiashi couldn't believe that the boy in front of him was his nephew Neji.

Needless to say, the difference was so jarring that Hiashi was worried that his nephew hadn't healed yet. He didn't wish for him to take part in the Chunin Exam. If anything, he wished for a Yamanaka to look into his nephew's mind and see what was wrong.

However, Neji wouldn't have it. If anything, he looked eager to fight against the Uchiha girl who had put him in that condition in the first place.

And he wasn't the only one who was concerned about Neji's complete change in behavior. His daughters, some branch family members, and his team—all of them were worried.

Yet while everyone else was focused on the sudden personality change, Kiyomi was distracted by something far more alarming. She could feel it. A familiar presence was leaking from Neji's body, one that should not exist anywhere within this world besides a few selected people, and she was one of those selected people.

High in the stands, Sukuna's eyes narrowed as well. He was arguably the best sensor when it came to these things. He felt that particular flare of negative energy far before anyone else.

'Curse Energy.'

He muttered with half exasperation and half irritation at why suddenly another one of the lunatics from another anime world had shown up.

He was no longer surprised, having already seen this before and by now having formed enough theories to perhaps even figure out what was happening.

Beside him, though, Izumi wasn't as calm. Her expression had become serious.

She was arguably the first one to come here, unlike both Kiyomi and Sukuna, who were born here.

Being reborn into the body of a dead shinobi of this world certainly held no novelty for her.

Her eyes tossed toward the pink-haired boy a little further away from her, as if asking him, 'If you've figured something out, haven't you? Mind sharing, because I'm lost.'

Sukuna clearly saw her glare at him; however, he ignored it. His eyes were focused entirely on Neji, who wasn't Neji anymore if what they had seen so far was anything to go by.

Unfortunately, there was no time to investigate. The match was already starting. Both could only hope that whoever this person was wasn't as deranged as most of the curse users or Jujutsu sorcerers, for that matter.

And of course, that Kiyomi could handle him.

Genma finally recovered from his shock and stepped forward. Whatever strange situation was unfolding could wait until after the match. The finals had already been delayed long enough. He looked between Kiyomi and Neji before raising his hand into the air.

"Both participants ready?"

Neither answered.

Their eyes remained locked onto each other.

Genma took that as confirmation.

With a sharp motion, his hand came down.

"Begin."

xXx

A/N : Ah... I'm certain most of you have realised who this is. But still tell me in the comments.

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