Eve of the Chunin Exams

"Wow! Hole-Hole Monster, is this your new home? Can I live here too?"

Naruto curiously inspected the clean house and counted the rooms. There were exactly four, so he shamelessly made the request.

"I'm your adorable eldest disciple! If I live here, I can train with you more effectively!"

After giving it some thought, Naruto decided that was the most fitting reason.

Sure enough, Uchiha Sen thought about it and found Naruto's argument reasonable. No matter what, Naruto was the first local he had recruited after coming here.

"Uh, all right. But you have to pay."

No one could take even a single penny from Big Sen—not even Double-Zero Two! Though he could eat a little more meat.

"Wait, Big Sen, you became a Leaf Village ninja too?!"

Naruto stared excitedly at the Leaf Village forehead protector tied around Sen's left arm. It was wonderful that his best friend had become a Leaf Village ninja too!

"Yeah. I formed a team with those two."

Naruto grew interested and pulled Sen into a conversation.

"Oh! Then what's your team's codename? What's a codename? Like how Kakashi-sensei, me, and the others are Team 7. Every team has its own name."

Sen scratched his head as if he had thought of something. Then he suddenly stood up and declared passionately:

"Then our team will be called One Piece! I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man determined to become the Pirate King!"

Uh...

[Reminder, Host... this is not the world of One Piece...]

Sen seemed to think of something and pointed at the stunned Zabuza beside him.

"You're Roronoa Zoro!"

"Me? Oh, okay."

Zabuza assumed this was going to be his codename for future operations. In any case, the two of them were Sen's subordinates, so he could choose whatever codename he pleased.

"You're Nico Robin!"

Sen turned and pointed at Haku, who was pouring him some water.

"Mhm, all right, Lord Sen..."

Haku happily accepted the name.

"This won't do. I'm still short eight crew members... Forget it, this will do for now~"

Once a plate of delicious rice crackers was brought to the table, Sen quickly forgot all about it.

"Haku, when you have time later, go to the Hokage Building and register the team's information with the Third Hokage."

Sen could ignore these rules, but the other two could not. This was also the Third Hokage's intention.

It seemed Konoha's situation was rather complicated too...

Zabuza Momochi could not help recalling what he had seen outside the Hokage's Office yesterday.

Half an hour later

"Team codename: One Piece... Monkey D. Luffy—Uchiha Sen, Roronoa Zoro—Zabuza Momochi, Nico Robin—Yuki Haku... What even is all this..."

"All right, I understand. There probably won't be any troublesome missions for you in the near future. If you have nothing to do, you can walk around the village. If you want to leave the village, you must report it to me."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. Uchiha Sen's strange behavior was nothing new. In fact, after spending enough time with him, one would find that he was quite easy to get along with. As long as one went along with him and satisfied some of his little requests, there would be no problems at all. After giving Haku a few simple reminders, he let him leave.

"Send word out. All instructors currently in the village are to gather in the conference room in one hour."

Hidden Leaf Village Conference Room

"I did not summon you for anything else. Seeing who has gathered here, you should understand why..."

With his beloved pipe in his mouth, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, spoke from above.

"So it's that time already..." The experienced Kakashi quickly understood what this was about.

"You've already notified the other countries, right? After all, we've been seeing them around the village from time to time." Asuma Sarutobi also knew that the Chunin Exams were approaching.

"So, when will it be?" Kurenai Yuhi asked.

"One week from now," said the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"That's a little rushed..."

Kakashi's head was starting to ache. With only a week left, this would be troublesome. It looked like he would have to give those kids some special training.

"Huff."

After exhaling a cloud of smoke, Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi formally announced:

"Then seven days from today, on July 1st, the Chunin Exams will officially begin!"

Konoha Streets

With a large amount of cash tucked away on him, Uchiha Sen looked around like a curious child.

"Haku! Buy some of those seaweed rice crackers to take back! And these chocolate candies are delicious too!"

Zabuza Momochi noticed something unusual.

Recently, Konoha seemed to be brewing up some major event...

There were more and more outsiders on the streets, and likewise, more ninjas from other villages. Even though this was a time of peace...

The Sound Ninja Trio secretly noticed Uchiha Sen.

Dosu: "I heard that guy is one of the two people who survived the Uchiha Clan massacre night."

Zaku: "Why is Lord Orochimaru interested in that guy? He looks rather ordinary, not much like an Uchiha Clan member. He looks more like a lunatic."

Kin: "Is that Demon Zabuza beside him?"

Dosu: "Yes. We received word that he defeated Demon Zabuza by himself and successfully subdued him. His strength should not be weak."

Zaku was somewhat unconvinced. How could someone who looked about the same age as him possibly do that?

"How about I go test him?"

"Don't act rashly. Don't forget the purpose of our trip."

At that moment, in front of Uchiha Sen

[Ding! Dangerous entities detected. Analyzing...]

[Name: Kin; Strength: Genin; Danger Index: 3]

[Name: Zaku; Strength: Genin; Danger Index: 3]

[Name: Dosu; Strength: Chunin; Danger Index: 4]

"Don't block me from buying tasty food! Haku, hurry, take more of that meat. Make sure the beef is tender. Big Sen likes it braised in sauce."

After storing all the items in a scroll, Haku softly reminded him from the side:

"Lord Sen, it's getting late. Shouldn't we head back and prepare dinner?"

"Mhm, then let's go back."

Sen found Haku's respectful attitude very pleasing and nodded.

Inside the house, Sen sat on a stool, bored out of his mind.

"Sigh, why won't headquarters send me a television? It's so boring staying here."

[...Headquarters acknowledges!]

A large blue screen appeared before Sen. It was playing the first episode of Ultraman Tiga.

"What are monsters that shake the earth like Golza, or monsters that split the sky like Melba? Before Big Sen, they're nothing more than a single shoe's worth of enemies, you little brats."

[...]

A little later, Naruto entered the house with an excited expression.

"Big Sen, I'm going to take the Chunin Exam!"

Sen ignored him and shouted excitedly instead:

"Hahaha! There's only one way to awaken the giant: Daigo has to become light! The Victory Team is stupid! Ultraman Tiga, beat him up! That's it, left hook, right roundhouse kick!"

Naruto looked helplessly at Zabuza, who was equally clueless, and quietly asked:

"What is this??"

Zabuza nodded.

"Yeah. He's probably having another episode..."