37 The Calm Before the Storm (2/2)
”Ku-Kuromaruuuu! Waiiiit!”
”...”
A human groveling in front of a dog, how the mighty had fallen... Hikari didn't know what to feel as a fellow member of the same species...
Those kind of peaceful days passed by quickly as everyone settled back into their routines. Before long, summer had finally arrived, bringing clear weather and scorching sun with it.
---
The sky was especially restless that day.
Shadows flashed down the street as countless birds flickered above, moving busily from one end of the village to the other.
”Do you think that something is going to happen?” Akamaru whispered while being perched on top of Hikari's shoulder.
She was leisurely walking down the village with a bowl on her hand. The silken tofu inside wobbled slightly with each steps that she took.
”I guess so. Something always happen in this place as of late,” the girl sighed. ”More importantly, are you sure you don't have to accompany that brat?”
”They're in the middle of training right now, so I'm free to do what I want,” the puppy replied while wagging his tail.
”How carefree... hmm?”
She turned her attention to the commotion down the road. A group of children were messing around noisily. Although she didn't recognize most of them, one boy stood out from the rest.
That yellow spiky hair and orange jacket... who else could that be but the resident troublemaker, Naruto?
He was talking with three other younger kids and a pink-haired girl in red sleeveless dress who looked around his age. That girl was actually the most quiet among the group, but when one of the younger kid made a gesture with his pinky finger, she suddenly threw a straight punch right onto Naruto's face, sending him flying until he crashed into a nearby fence.
””...””
Well, that escalated quickly.
”That's... that's actually a good punch...”
”Hmmhmm...” the puppy nodded slightly. ”Think you can get her as your disciple, Huang'er...?”
While they were making jokes about the situation, the loudest kid among those three yelled at the pink-haired girl-
”How dare you do that to our leader, you ugly hag!”
-which then prompted another round of beating so fearsome that even Hikari and Akamaru had to turn their eyes away.
In the end, Naruto and that kid laid sprawled on the ground, bruised and defeated. Only then did the girl finally feel satisfied enough to walk away.
”Damn it... that ugly gigantic forehead... is she really a girl, bro?”
The kid muttered out loud, thinking that she couldn't hear him from this far.
Bad decision.
Her neck turned around in an eerie, choppy motion, sending shivers down their spine. She then proceeded to run back toward the group, prompting them to take flight to the other end of the street, where Hikari and Akamaru were standing.
”Eh? Ehh??”
The two ended up running alongside them.
”Why are we running?” Akamaru whimpered.
”If we don't, the tofu will get knocked away!” Hikari retorted in a panicked tone.
”Yo, puppy-stealing girl! Long time no see, ya'know! Eh, the puppy's here too...”
Naruto's swollen face popped up right beside her.
”...Can you guys just... forget that nickname ever existed...?” she groaned.
He was about to say something in return when the chase train was suddenly interrupted by the loud kid's yelp.
”Ouch!”
He fell to the ground with a soft thud while rubbing his forehead that throbbed after hitting something hard.
”Hey...”
When he looked up, he saw two figures glaring at him.
The person on the left was a girl with teal eyes and sandy-blonde hair tied into four pigtails. She was wearing a set of mesh armor under her purple dress.
The other one was a boy dressed in black full-body suit and a cowl covering his head. He was carrying a mysterious bulk the size of his own body behind him, which was entirely wrapped in bandage except for the messy, hair-like portion at the very top. A triangular pattern was painted over his face, complimenting his intimidating appearance.
Both the girl and the boy wore forehead protector, the former around her neck while the latter over his cowl, but the symbol on the plate was different from Naruto's.
The loud kid shuddered as the black-clothed boy stepped forward, his hands reaching out toward the kid's neck.
”...That hurts.”
His lips curved up into a dangerous smile.
---
In the Hokage's chamber, the old Third sat on his throne as ninja responsible for educating the newer generation arrived one after another. Behind him stood a group of Anbu in charge of safeguarding the occasion. Among them was the man in the bear mask.
Aside from Chuunin and special Jonin holding teaching positions in the academy, there were also instructional Jonin commanders leading the teams of Genin standing before the crafty old Hokage.
His piercing gaze was especially directed at four Jonin commanders, who held that year's four rookie Genin teams under their watch.
”You've been assembled here for one reason. Although, it should've been obvious from the moment that you got my summon.”
”It's already time for 'that', huh...”
A lazy grumble came from a masked man with silver-colored, spiky hair and a forehead protector tilted downward to cover his left eye. While his peers were quite anxious about the situation, he was the only one who was treating it like a hassle.
”Other villages already got the notifications, right? I've seen some of them roaming the downtown this morning,” a special Jonin behind him commented.
Everyone in the room was already aware of it, that was why they were so concerned. After all, letting foreign elements inside their village for a long period of time would pose a serious security problem.
”When will it start?”
Someone had finally asked the one question burning in everyone's mind.
”In a week.”
The Third suddenly declared, silencing the growing hubbub.
”I'll announce it properly later on.”
Exhaling smoke out of his mouth, the old hound's wrinkled face held a mischievous smirk.
”On the first day of the seventh moon, the Chuunin selection exam shall commence.”