The Chunin Exams Begin

Barbecue Q was as packed as ever.

But who was Mirai? With a subtle Sharingan genjutsu, an empty seat appeared immediately.

Tenten was stunned by what she saw.

"So that's how the Sharingan is used."

Tenten said curiously, only to be pulled over by Mirai and seated.

"Order whatever you like. I'm treating today!"

Mirai pushed the menu in front of Tenten, gesturing for her to order.

Tenten had always been cheerful, lively, and easygoing, so she did not stand on ceremony as she picked up the menu and began ordering.

Soon, the two of them started eating from a table filled with dishes.

During the meal, Mirai even wiped food from the corner of Tenten's mouth, making her blush once more.

After that, the two enjoyed their meal together.

In the end, they parted in an ambiguous mood.

After they separated, Mirai saw that he still had some time, so he decided to wander around before heading home.

However, along the way, Mirai spotted Dosu of the Sound Ninja Village acting suspiciously.

Seeing Dosu sneaking around, Mirai followed him out of curiosity.

As a result, he met someone interesting.

That person was Orochimaru, one of Konoha's former Three Ninja, known throughout the ninja world as the Cold Lord.

Long black hair, vertical golden pupils, purple eyeshadow extending to the sides of his nose, pale skin, and blue-green tomoe-shaped earrings gave him a sinister air.

"Reporting to Lord Orochimaru, the plan is proceeding normally!"

Dosu bowed halfway, his face full of reverence.

"Good. I'll leave everything to you."

Orochimaru truly lived up to the name Cold Lord; even his voice carried an icy chill.

Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!

Orochimaru raised his left hand, and his arm instantly transformed into dozens of white snakes that shot toward Mirai.

Mirai knew that he had definitely been discovered.

He had originally wanted to exchange a few moves with Orochimaru, but after thinking it over, he decided against it.

If he ruined Orochimaru's plan ahead of time, how would Orochimaru save Konoha later? How could Mirai raise his own status and importance in Konoha?

So, for the sake of his own plans, Mirai could only endure it.

With a Flying Thunder God, Mirai decisively vanished without a trace.

With a bang, Orochimaru's dozens of white snakes slammed into the spot where Mirai had just been hiding.

But they found nothing.

Orochimaru froze. Could it have been his imagination?

"I'll be leaving first!"

Perhaps it was just his imagination, Orochimaru thought before leaving.

Only Dosu remained standing there, his back drenched in sweat.

Clearly, Orochimaru had frightened him badly just now.

After Orochimaru had completely left, Dosu collapsed onto the ground.

And all of this had nothing to do with Mirai.

Or rather, Mirai knew nothing about it at all.

And now, through the Flying Thunder God he had just used, Mirai arrived at Ayame's flower shop.

Mirai's sudden appearance in the flower shop gave Ayame quite a scare.

The underwear she had been holding fell to the floor in fright.

Her face immediately turned red, all the way to the tips of her ears.

At a glance, Mirai understood.

Ayame had been preparing to take a bath when he suddenly appeared.

"Q-Mirai, why did you suddenly show up?!"

Hurriedly picking up the underwear from the floor and clutching it to her chest, Ayame's face was flushed red.

"Oh, I suddenly missed you, so I came to see you!"

Mirai casually made up an excuse.

It had to be said that such casual nonsense could sometimes be quite convincing, especially to a girl who already had feelings for him.

That destructive power was no joke.

"Is... is that true?"

"Of course it's true! When have you ever seen me lie?"

Mirai's lies came out incredibly smoothly, each sentence sounding completely genuine.

"I see you're about to take a bath. How about we bathe together?"

Under Mirai's utterly blatant gaze, Ayame's entire body heated up.

She hurriedly rushed into the bathroom and shut the door.

Clearly, she was too embarrassed to handle it.

"I'll wait outside your door until you call me!"

Mirai sat himself down outside Ayame's bathroom door and said with a lecherous grin.

Just then, faint footsteps sounded on the roof.

Mirai immediately stood up, flung open the bathroom door, and rushed inside.

Seeing Ayame completely naked, he wasted no words as he wrapped her in a bathrobe, hoisted her over his shoulder, and carried her out of the bathroom.

Ayame was stunned by Mirai's sudden actions and was just about to scream.

Mirai pressed his lips to hers, leaving Ayame unable to make a sound even if she wanted to.

"Don't talk. I heard footsteps above us just now!"

"I'll go take a look. Be careful!"

Mirai's expression was serious, no longer carrying the frivolity from before.

Ayame froze for a moment, then calmed down as well.

Though still embarrassed, she did not make another sound.

On the roof, a figure had just left, and Mirai arrived at that very moment.

Seeing the figure depart, he silently followed after it.

They went all the way to a secluded grove within Konoha.

"Everything will proceed according to plan. Once the plan begins, all of you will act as instructed!"

Dosu spoke seriously to several figures wearing masks and black robes.

Everyone nodded, indicating that there was no problem.

"I'm here!"

Zaku arrived only then and apologized slightly to Dosu.

So the one on the roof earlier had been Zaku.

Dosu did not dwell on it and first had the black-robed figures leave to make their preparations.

"How are the preparations for what our lord arranged?"

"Everything has been arranged. Once the Chunin Exams begin, the plan can proceed as normal!"

Dosu nodded in satisfaction at Zaku's answer.

"Oh, right. Our lord has assigned a new task..."

After that, Dosu began giving Zaku his instructions.

Once he was done, he took three scrolls from the ninja pouch at his waist.

"What are these?"

Zaku stared at the three scrolls with a face full of confusion.

"These are summoning scrolls. They are for Manda, the Wind Hunting Hawk, and a giant centipede!"

Listening to Dosu's introduction, Zaku stared at the three summoning scrolls in his hands in shock, his face full of disbelief.

"On the day the plan begins, activate these three scrolls in three different locations throughout Konoha and summon the summoned beasts. Our lord has already arranged everything!"

"You only need to summon the summoned beasts, and the mission will be complete. Do you understand?"

Zaku accepted the summoning scrolls and nodded seriously.

After everything had been explained, the two of them went their separate ways.

Clearly, each of them had their own matters to attend to.

Only after the two had left did Mirai reveal himself and step out.

Watching the two depart, Mirai smiled faintly. "This really feels exciting!"

"The Chunin Exams, Orochimaru, Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama... Suddenly, I'm actually looking forward to this."

Mirai could not help feeling a little excited.

After all, the people he would be facing then were all famous, powerful figures from the real world of Naruto.