"Little Sora, are you messing with your big sis?" Mei Terumī narrowed her eyes. "That Jinchūriki girl must be way younger than me, right?"
Though phrased as a question, her tone made it clear—she already knew the answer. Kakashi, Minato's student, wasn't even that old yet, so that girl had to be around the same age!
"Then there's nothing I can do." Sora shrugged nonchalantly.
Unwilling to give up, Mei bit her red lip. "Since we can't get the Three-Tails back, aren't you Konoha folks going to offer some sort of compensation?"
Sora had been about to flat-out refuse. After all, Konoha had every reason to keep the Three-Tails. But when he thought about the long-term, a sly smile curled on his lips.
"Sure. For the next ten years, as long as you don't cause any trouble, Konoha guarantees Kirigakure's safety. How about that?"
There wouldn't be any major conflicts for at least the next ten years anyway—the Fourth Great Ninja War was still thirteen years off. So why not use this opportunity to keep the Three-Tails permanently in Konoha?
"Deal," Mei agreed, flashing such a radiant smile that Sora momentarily froze.
Snapping out of it, he awkwardly scratched his head. "Well, since we're done here, I'll head back and get some rest. Been traveling all day."
He hurriedly left, heading back to his quarters.
Watching Sora's somewhat flustered exit, Mei let out a charming laugh and muttered, "Hmph, even a kid like you isn't immune to my beauty."
What she didn't know was how she'd feel years later—when the ten-year guarantee ended, and the other villages couldn't be bothered to even glance in Kirigakure's direction.
After Sora left, Ao handed him a file before departing.
Inside was detailed information about the upcoming Chūnin Exams, giving participants a chance to study beforehand.
Kirigakure had invited all the Five Great Nations, but only Konoha had sent a team. Iwagakure and Sunagakure were still dealing with their Tailed Beast crises, while Kumogakure simply refused to attend.
As a result, aside from a few minor villages, Konoha's squad was the only significant one.
The exam was divided into three parts. The first was a written test, focusing on foundational knowledge to weed out clueless candidates.
The second was a survival trial, derived from Kirigakure's infamous Bloody Mist legacy, where participants would have to hunt beasts and retrieve special items in a danger zone, earning points along the way.
The third stage would be individual matches—a performance round to attract more missions.
After skimming through the file, Sora quickly lost interest.
Every joint Chūnin Exam was more or less the same—just rebranded versions of the old format. Nothing novel about it.
As the team leader, all he needed to do was make sure the kids were safe. Let them handle the rest. And no, this wasn't laziness—it was about cultivating independence.
Returning to the inn, he tossed the materials to the three kids. "Here, this is everything you need to know about the exam. Study it yourselves. I only have one requirement—don't embarrass Konoha."
Then, without waiting for a reply, he returned to his room for a nap. After traveling all day, he was exhausted.
The next morning, the Chūnin Exam officially began. Before Sora even woke up, the three kids had already left on their own.
When he did wake up, he wasn't worried. It was just a written test—what could possibly go wrong?
If Kirigakure couldn't even handle a basic exam without incident, they might as well shut the village down.
After breakfast, Sora strolled out of the inn and began leisurely exploring the village.
He'd been to Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and even got a distant glimpse of Sunagakure—but this was his first real visit to Kirigakure.
Wandering through the streets, all he could think was: This place is seriously underdeveloped.
It looked even worse than Konoha had been when he first arrived in this world. It was almost painful to look at.
But then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Ao walking with a child—no more than five or six years old, with a red mark on his forehead.
The sight stirred something in Sora's memory, but he couldn't immediately recall who the kid was.
He let it go at first, figuring the kids should be returning soon anyway, and turned around.
Halfway back, Sora suddenly slapped his forehead. "Damn! That kid was Kimimaro, wasn't it?!"
Thinking it over, it made sense. With Orochimaru no longer manipulating things behind the scenes, Mei would've been able to clean up Kirigakure and bring Kimimaro under her wing.
Just realizing this made Sora feel like he'd lost a billion. All the time he spent messing with Konoha drama—how many potential talents had he missed out on?
If he'd just come to Kirigakure earlier, he could've secured not only Kimimaro but also Haku.
Those two were easily on par with the future Konoha Twelve. With proper training, they'd be full-fledged Kage-level shinobi. But now? It was too late.
Still, thinking about it further, maybe it wasn't such a loss. Haku was probably already on the run with Zabuza, and Kimimaro's illness wasn't something Sora could cure anyway.
So maybe… he hadn't lost much after all?
When Sora returned to the inn, the kids were indeed back, and they ran up excitedly. "Lord Sora, we all passed the first exam!"
They chatted for a bit, then went to their rooms to rest for the next day's challenge.
To encourage them further, Sora promised that if they successfully became Chūnin, he'd teach each of them one personal jutsu.
The kids were thrilled. Dozens of elite shinobi in Konoha dreamed of receiving personal instruction from Sora—and these three had just been handed that chance.
Their spirits ignited, they couldn't wait for the next phase to begin.
The next day arrived in the blink of an eye. After escorting the kids to the testing ground, Sora began observing them from the shadows.
This part of the exam was different from the last—this time, death was a real possibility.
He had to watch over them personally, just in case. He had plenty of faith in Itachi, but no one could predict accidents.
Still, as the test progressed, Sora was so bored he nearly dozed off. The three kids were unstoppable—killing beasts and opponents alike with ease.
Driven by Sora's promise, they were like machines—no rest, no hesitation.
Once he confirmed they were safe, Sora quietly slipped away and returned to the inn.
This second phase would last five whole days—no way was he going to babysit the entire time.
Meanwhile, Mei Terumī had been closely monitoring Sora's every move. She had people shadowing him at all times.
Of course, this was something Sora was fully aware of—and permitted. After all, with someone like him on your turf, who wouldn't want to keep tabs?
When she got word that Sora had gone back to the inn, Mei finally relaxed.
She had already instructed her shinobi not to cause trouble for Konoha's team—but accidents happen.
If Sora ever got angry, whether Kirigakure could even survive the aftermath was an open question.
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