The Enlightened One Ch.74 (Patreon)

I found myself walking down the streets of Konoha with no clear direction. The Preliminaries of the Chunin Exams were still going on, I’m sure, but I didn’t want to go back yet. 

There was so much on my mind, so many things that had happened that I hadn’t really taken time to reflect on yet. 

Beyond recent developments, there were things that I still hadn’t fully processed that happened years ago.

I’m someone with the potential to grow powerful enough to stop entire armies by myself. Someone who has near limitless potential and the greatest kekkei genkai in the world. Someone who has cells in my body that can boost people's combat potential threefold at minimum. 

More than all of that, I’m someone who’s going to be the next Hokage, and that fact is set in stone. 

I stopped in the middle of the street that I had been walking on and looked around at the bustling village. All of these people…would one day look to me to protect them, to lead them. 

That’s what I wanted, but only now did I seriously understand what that weight would feel like. 

Jonin, like Kakashi. Chunin, like Iruka, and all the genin and future shinobi to come, would view me as the ultimate force of power for the village. The mountain that shields it from threats and the lightning that strikes down our enemies. 

How long would it be until Gramps passed the hat to me? 

Hiruzen is old, and growing older, if I had to guess, it wouldn’t be any longer than three years until he deems I’m ready, and there’s a chance he passes it off even earlier than that.

Am I even ready? 

The thought of sitting behind a desk all day doing paperwork, Naruto’s bane during his time as Hokage, was not a hard one to envision, in fact, I deemed it one of the easier aspects of the job—but leading the most powerful village, ordering others, my own shinobi, to go on missions and potentially sending them to their deaths?

That…I don’t think I am. 

Not yet. 

My vision hardened as I continued walking while looking at the ground. 

There was a problem though…it doesn’t matter if I’m ready or not, problems would arise in the near future, and in about three years from this point, Madara would come back with the might of the Five Hidden Villages combined. 

The fact that I wasn’t prepared to take the hat is inconsequential. I would take it the moment I could, even if that meant sacrificing my own wellbeing. 

For the sake of this village I call home, the women I love, the friends I care about, the numerous children my women are bound to give me in the future and the amazing food that you can’t get anywhere else.

Konoha was my home, and I’d become whatever I had to if it meant keeping this place safe. 

Though, speaking of food…

I felt my stomach growl as I took a turn down a familiar street. Luckily I was in the area for some good old-fashioned food of the gods to quench this hunger of mine. 

I walked through the street and stopped at the ramen bar. I glanced at the man behind the counter, and upon spotting me, he waved and smiled.

“Lei, it’s been a while! Come, sit!” Teuchi said with a gruff voice filled with excitement. He waved his hand to call me over, and I obliged, walking over and taking a seat at the bar. 

“Yeah, it has, hasn’t it?” I asked, tilting my head a bit to see Ayame in the back. “Hey, Ayame.”

She turned, and her eyes met mine. She smiled and waved before returning to work. 

“So, where are the three princesses?” Teuchi asked as he started preparing a bowl of ramen in the front.

“Still in the exam. I finished early.” 

“And did you pass?” He asked, grinning as he looked back at me. We both already knew the answer to that question but I humored him with a small nod.

“As expected. It’s only a matter of time before those powerful rascals pass as well.” He chuckled, adding noodles to the hot water. 

“Something tells me you’re right.” I closed my eyes and leaned forward a bit, placing my arms on the counter. 

Naruko, Hinata, and Satuski were all powerhouses in their own right. Hell in an all out fight, they’d give me a hard time. Sure, I’d almost definitely win, but they damn sure wouldn’t make it easy. 

I frowned at the thought of the last girl. Satsuki.

When we had talked in the tower, she had shown me an anger that I’ve never seen from her. Even when she used to open up about her family and mention Itachi, she wouldn’t hold such visible anger. 

She’s been getting worse. The encounter with Orochimaru had done that, and then Danzo and his schemes had added even more fuel to the fire. 

I wondered, if she ended up becoming like her canon self, a person driven only by their hatred for others, could I stop her? 

Could I convince her that what she’s doing is wrong? Could I show her that her life is so much better when she accepts all the love we have to give her?

Could I…cut her down if none of those things worked?

I quickly shook my head. 

No, I definitely couldn’t do that last one. I’d sooner let her take my life than end hers. 

Teuchi stepped forward, putting a bowl in front of me that shined with a golden hue. Oh, I had been so lost in my own mind that I hadn’t even known he had finished. 

“What’s got you looking so down, Lei?” The browned-haired man asked with a small frown as he stood behind the counter.

I let out a sigh and moved the noodles around as I looked up at him. “Just a lot of things I need to think about.”

Teuchi nodded and placed a hand on the counter. “In life, there’s gonna be a lot of things you need to deal with but know this…” He paused, earning my full attention. “...Never forget to stop and smell the roses. Enjoy yourself, have some fun, and spend time with people you love because someday, time will run out. Whenever that may be.”

I looked at the man with slightly widened eyes. A small smile grew on my face as I picked up some noodles with the chopsticks and began eating.

That was exactly what I needed to hear right now. 

— Later —

I walked into the tower in the middle of the Forest of Death and made my way over to where the Preliminary Round was taking place. 

I had been gone for a little under an hour at this point, so I’d be surprised if there were more than a few matches left.

Seems like I broke my promise, but I’m sure the girls won’t mind much that I managed to miss their matches. I’m sure that headpats and kisses would be plenty of compensation.

I stopped just in front of the door with my hand on the handle and looked through the glass. I raised an eyebrow at the interesting fight that was currently taking place.

Shikamaru Nara of the Leaf vs Kurotsuchi of the Stone.

That’s…a very interesting fight, but judging by the condition of Shikamaru, I must have missed most of it. I decided against opening the door to the room for now, as I didn’t want to distract anyone, nor take eyes off of the fight, so I settled for watching outside. 

I watched as Shikamaru was forced to maneuver himself away from the spouts of Lava Release that Kurotsuchi was firing at him. To most people it looked like this fight was already over. Shikamaru already had head burns on his body and he was completely on the defensive, but I knew better.

If Shikamaru truly believed this fight was over already, he would have surrendered. Why else would he waste his time getting hurt when he can be lying down watching clouds? 

No, he must have a plan that could win him the match if executed perfectly. 

I leaned forward closer to the glass in anticipation as Shikamaru rolled away from another blast of lava before stopping on one knee and bringing up a hand seal. 

A smile tugged at my lips as Kurotsuchi’s body froze. She looked down slowly to see that her shadow was locked in place, and as I looked closer, I could see how he managed to do it. 

Around every wall of the room were shadows that were naturally produced, and just behind Shikamaru was a trail where his shadow dove into the natural shadows. His shadow possession must have rounded all the corners of the room to reach Kurotsuchi who was standing parallel to him across the room. All because of being hidden within the natural shadows. 

Truly, Shikamaru wasn’t someone to be fucked with-

““What?!””

I heard a few people shout through the closed door and I raised an eyebrow at the sudden noise.

“What the hell do you mean you give up?!” A girl’s voice which I recognized as Naruko shouted in pure shock. 

Ah, I see. I watched as Shikamaru walked back to the stands, not answering Naruko’s question while Kurotsuchi just stood there dumbfounded. If I had to guess I’d say the situation was similar to what happened with Temari in canon. A pulse of my sensory chakra confirmed that thought. 

Shikamaru was low on chakra and beyond that he didn’t have many options. Even if he tried to back up and force Kurotsuchi to hit her head, it wouldn’t have worked because the Stone Princess is durable enough to take that hit, even repeatedly. 

Which means I was wrong, Shikamaru knew he couldn’t win, but his loss still proved a great deal. 

Had he had even one more teammate with him, Kurotsuchi would have been easy pickings, or beyond that, the sheer level of tactical combat he exhibited must have been enough to earn him a promotion. 

He didn’t want to win, he wanted to pass with the least effort required-

Fucking Shikamaru man…. 

I opened the door and walked in, all eyes shot down at me instantly. 

“Lei!” Naruko shouted, looking extremely happy for a moment before she seemed to remember something and frowned deeply at me. 

“Hey…” I chuckled. It didn’t take a genius to realize why she was upset with me.

I ascended the stairs and began to walk to my team, passing all the other teams as if they weren’t even there, ignoring the glares I received from the Sand Team and the Stone Team. I stopped at Shikamaru and gave the boy a smile. 

“Nice fight.” 

He blinked at me but smiled a moment later. “You saw it?” 

“He was standing outside of the door.” Asuma informed the Nara, earning a nod from me. 

“Thanks, I’m just happy to be done with this damn thing now. It’s been a serious drag.” 

“Yeah, you’ll get your beauty rest soon, buddy.” I patted his shoulder, earning an eye roll from him. I turned away and walked over to my team a few steps away and was immediately greeted with Naruko’s glare, though she wasn’t doing a good job at acting mad. 

“It’s about time you showed back up. How was your walk, Lei?”

“Eh, it was alright.” I shrugged. “Gramps was rather pleasant, as was the gallant Jiraiya.” 

Thanks to my wood bugs hidden in my clothes, I could see the small, very subtle reactions of the Sand team. Their whole operation was banking on overpowering Konoha after all, and hearing that Jiraiya was confirmed to be in the village probably did a number on their confidence, though Gaara didn’t seem to care.

Why would he honestly he thinks he’s invincible right now. I guess getting launched thousands of feet away in the forest didn’t teach him a lesson in humility. Well, me or any of my girls, depending on the order of the matches in the finals, will make sure to teach him that lesson well.

“So Lord Jiraiya is here then?” Kakashi asked, his lone visible eye narrowing, and I nodded, crossing my muscled arms over my chest. 

“Yeah, apparently, he needs my help with something in the near future, so I’ll have to deal with that.”

I didn’t even need to be looking at them to tell what the other teams’ reactions would be. If their mission was to kill me, such a task would be impossible if Jiraiya was gonna be guarding me for most of the break between the next Exam, and beyond that, even if they did succeed, they’d be starting a war for killing a Clan Head outside of the exams. 

“So you miss my fight and now you ignore me?!” Naruko finally spoke up, stepped over to me and got in my face. 

“Damn, I missed your fight?” I asked Naruko, and she quickly nodded, fake anger in her eyes. I looked at Hinata, and she shook her head; then I looked at Satsuki, and she also shook her head. 

So I missed Naruko’s fights but didn’t miss Hinata and Satsuki’s. Damn, that sucks, but it could have been worse.  

“I’m sorry.” I frowned, bringing my hand up to the blonde’s head and gently placing it there, rubbing her hair soothingly. Seriously, bless Kushina and her Uzumaki genes because this hair was SO soft!

She still stared at me with fake anger, but she leaned into my touch. 

“I’ll make it up to you.” I said, looking at Hinata and earning a smile from her. I could tell she didn’t actually care that much, hell, not even Naruko cared, but the Uzumaki girl wanted something from me, while Hinata was content with just having me back. 

“So, care to tell me what I missed?” 

“No problem.” Hinata stepped toward me and spoke up. “After you left, Naruko fought Choji and won, Shino fought the blonde haired cloud shinobi and lost. Then Tenten fought the cloud boy and lost. Sakura faced the Suna girl and lost-”

“Yikes people!” I shouted, looking back at all the Konoha shinobi Hinata just listed off. “We were dominating this exam, what the hell happened?!” 

“In my defense that guy is really good with a katana.” Tenten frowned, looking down at the arena. 

“And you?” I asked, looking at Shino. 

“She’s quite well-versed in all manners of combat.” He answered without an ounce of sadness or disappointment in his voice. 

I let out a sigh and glanced at Sakura, opening my mouth to say something but then pausing. The bruises on her body pretty much told me how that fight went, and after having her entire team die, I decided against chewing her out for something as small as this. 

“The fact that you fought that Sand woman shows just how powerful of shinobi you are, Sakura.” I stepped toward the pink haired girl who was utterly surprised by my words. I meant them as well, Sakura shouldn’t have stood a chance against Temari, but she still tried, and that deserves some respect. She’s taking the first steps to be my cousin’s successor as the greatest medical nin and I had to foster that.

“T-Thank you, Lei.” She said, putting her head down and shrinking into herself. I placed my hand on her head, and she responded by bringing her face back up to look into my eyes. 

“Stand proud, Sakura. You are strong.” 

“The arena is clear.” Hayate said with a small frown, as he looked up at the platform. “The next participants will be selected now.”

The screen came on and started rotating through the random names before stopping on two. 

I guess my timing wasn’t that bad after all-

[Hinata Hyuga vs Koku]

“Nice, Hinata’s fighting!” Naruko cheered, showing that she wasn’t actually upset at all. 

“Yeah…” I hummed, looking at the screen again. 

Who the fuck is Koku?

“This’ll be quick.” 

We all turned to the large Stone Shinobi who placed his foot on the railing and hopped off. 

Ah, background character 728. 

This should be easy for Hinata.

“Wish me luck.” Hinata smiled, walking up to me with her hands behind her back as she leaned forward with a warm smile. 

“Trust me Hinata, you don’t need it.” I returned her smile, making hers grow even brighter. 

God above, please never let that smile fade away.

“Fufu, I’ll take your word for it.” She giggled and hopped off the platform, landing on the opposite side of the floor from the Stone Shinobi. 

This one was gonna be quick. 

“Are both fighters ready?” Hayate asked, glancing between the two fighters, earning nods from both. “Then begin!” 

“Rah!” The large stone shinobi shouted as he jumped backward, weaving through hand seals. 

He opened his mouth and drew in a long breath before spitting out a wad of mud that came crashing toward Hinata. My Hyuga girlfriend eyed the attack as it drew closer to her before speed blitzing past the attack and toward the large shinobi. 

He noticed her approach and weaved through more hand seals, slamming his hands on the ground and erecting a large mud wall. 

I let out a low whistle as Hinata’s palm came crashing through the mud wall, her Byakugan eyes locked on her target. She used her momentum to launch her other palm at the Stone Shinobi’s stomach, blasting him into the opposite wall. 

His body dropped and he fell on his face, unmoving. 

Hayate walked over to the man, turning him over and seeing his unconscious face. 

“The match is over, the winner is Hinata Hyuga.” 

Silence filled the room as Hinata walked back up to the stands without a care in the world. I didn’t even look at the other teams faces to see their reaction to Hinata’s display of dominance. 

I doubt there was a single person in this room who thought Hinata was going to lose, besides maybe the Stone team, although I also doubt they expected it to end that fast. 

The simple truth is any type of defense oriented fighter is at an extreme disadvantage when facing Hinata. The only way to truly beat a Hyuga, and beyond that one as good as Hinata, would be to overwhelm them with powerful attacks from afar. Close combat with a Hyuga is basically suicide after all.

The Stone Shinobi had the right idea, but he wasn’t nearly fast enough to keep some distance between them, nor was he strong enough to keep Hinata back. 

Hinata walked past the other teams and stopped in front of us, before smiling with her eyes closed as if she didn’t just obliterate a man in a fight. 

“That was amazing, Hinata!” Naruko shouted, ending the silence. Her hands gripped her hair from how overwhelmingly hyped she was. 

“Thank you, Naruko.” Hinata smiled at the blonde before looking at me with a foreign look in her eyes. A glint of amusement and something more, something much more intimate. Something I couldn’t quite place. 

“I knew it would be quick.” I grinned at her, and she hummed in agreement, wrapping her arms around mine and pressing her body into it. 

“Well, it’s gotta be you,” Kakashi said, breaking Hinata and I out of our little moment as he looked at Satsuki.

“Wait, what do you mean by that?” I asked in confusion. 

“Satsuki and Kiba are the only ones who haven’t fought yet.” Kurenai said from a few meters away. 

I blinked at that. 

Oh yeah, Hinata never finished telling me about all the people who have fought and their matchups. 

Eh, I’ll see the board after this match anyway. 

“Give her hell, Kiba.” Kurenai cheered on her student, earning a slow nod from the surprisingly quiet boy. 

…Did I miss something? What happened to him? 

I saw him staring off past me with uncertainty, and a glance showed his eyes were locked on Satsuki who was carelessly looking at the arena. 

I still didn’t know for sure what was bothering him, but now I think I have a guess. 

“The last two participants, Kiba Inuzuka and Satsuki Uchiha. Make your way down now.” Hayate ordered.

“Good luck, Kiba.” 

Everyone from Konoha immediately grew surprised at the words of the Hyuga girl who was looking at her Inuzuka teammate with a small smile. 

Kiba’s mouth was hung open, and his eyes were wide in shock.

Did Hinata…just cheer Kiba on?

I glanced at her in confusion, but seeing as her eyes were locked on him, I decided to just watch things play out. 

His surprise slowly shifted to a cocky yet thankful grin as he gave Hinata a thumbs up.

“Yeah, thanks, Hinata! Let’s go, Akamaru!” 

“Arf!” 

Kiba jumped down to the arena and settled on one side, meanwhile, Satsuki was still in the stands gazing at Hinata.

“Gonna explain what that’s about?” She asked, sounding not too happy. 

“Who doesn’t like an underdog?” Hinata asked with a small, innocent smile. 

Satsuki stared at her for a while before huffing and jumping down to the floor. She walked over so that she was standing opposite Kiba and placed her hands in the pockets of her black shorts.

“So, do you guys think Kiba has a chance?” Naruko asked as we waited for Hayate to start the match.

“Nope.”  “No way in hell.” “When pigs fly.” Hinata, Kakashi, and I all answered immediately. 

“Yeah, I thought as much.” Naruko sighed, clasping her hands together and sending a quick prayer for Kiba. 

“She’ll go easy on him at least.” I frowned. “...I hope.”

“Doubtful.” Kakashi eyed me. 

A man can dream, can’t he? 

“Are both fighters ready?” Hayate asked, looking at both, earning a nod from Kiba as he dropped lower into a stance. Meanwhile Satsuki closed her eyes, and when she opened them, three tomoe Sharingan stared at Kiba with indifference. 

“Then, begin!” 

“Let’s go, Akamaru!”

“Arf!” 

Akamaru hopped off of Kiba’s head and began running forward with him. A moment later a puff of smoke enveloped Akamaru's body and from it revealed a second Kiba. 

“Fang over Fang!” Both Kiba’s shouted, spinning and launching themselves toward the stationary Uchiha Head. 

Satsuki watched them both coming with a bored look and as their bodies neared her, she blitzed down the middle, avoiding their attack. 

CRASH

As their drill-like bodies slammed into the ground, Satsuki brought up a single-hand seal and launched a ball of fire from her mouth, which connected with the still-spinning pair. 

“Argh!” Kiba shouted and a loud whimper escaped Akamaru. 

Yikes…

As both stopped spinning, Akamaru reverted back to his original state and had burns that singed his fur, meanwhile Kiba wasn’t looking much better. 

The sheer concern and worry that met Kiba’s face when he saw his downed Ninja dog actually made my heart beat a bit slower. 

“Akamaru!” Kiba shouted, dropping to his knees and picking up the downed dog.

SHING

I watched with a deep frown as Satsuki’s kunai was placed against Kiba’s neck as she stood behind him. 

“Give up.” She ordered.

Kiba looked down at Akamaru, sadness filling his features before his face hardened and he glared back at Satsuki. 

“I give up.”

“The match is over; the winner is Satsuki Uchiha.” Hayate announced for the last time, signaling in the medics. They entered the room and arrived at Kiba and Akamaru, attempting to take the dog before getting their hands slapped away.

“Heir Inuzuka. We must take a look at your shinobi aide to perform a correct diagnosis of the extent of his injuries so that we may heal him.”

“...” Kiba didn’t say a word as he looked at Satsuki for a moment, his teeth grinding in anger as he stood up with Akamaru in his arms. The medics followed him out of the room, leaving Hayate and Satsuki standing on the ground alone. 

“Damn, that was a bit harsh, don’t you guys think?” Naruko asked us with a bead of nervous sweat falling down her brow. 

“A bit yeah.” I frowned, earning a nod from Hinata. 

“She disabled half of his fighting ability in one jutsu. It was an excellent show of skill, speed, and craftiness.” Kakashi chimed in with a hum. 

“But she-” Naruko went to add before being quieted by a lone-eye stare from Kakashi. 

“She won her match. Was that not the purpose of this exam, Naruko?” 

“But…yeah, you’re right Kakashi-sensei.” Naruko gave up the fight before her eyes trailed back to the victorious, yet emotionless Satsuki. 

I side-eyed Kakashi and saw him watching Satsuki as well with a scrutinous gaze. He definitely understands just how hard she went on Kiba. She’s strong enough and fast enough to take out Kiba with taijutsu alone, yet she decided to hit him from behind with a Fire Ball Jutsu. It was unnecessarily harsh, especially to a fellow Konoha shinobi, even if it ended the match quickly.

I could recognize this new Satsuki for what she was. A first step into the Uchiha’s curse. The Curse of Hatred. 

Fuck, I need to salvage this before it gets out of hand. 

“The Preliminaries are over. Make your way down here so we can proceed to the matchups of the Final Round.”

“We’re fighting now?!” Karui shouted in shock and a bit of anger, earning a shake of the head from the nonchalant and sick Jonin. 

“Nah, you’ll be fighting a month from now, but you will know your matchups now.” 

“Good.” She huffed back, and everyone began making their way down. 

Our teams stopped just beside Satsuki and congratulated her on her win. When I saw Naruko ready to question the Uchiha about her methods to win, I quickly stopped her. 

I’d talk to her alone about this, without involving anyone else, so as to not blow up the situation and accidentally make her angrier and untrusting of us. 

“Now then, here are the matchups.” Hayate announced as he placed his hand on the ground and a puff of smoke appeared. As the smoke cleared, there was a screen that displayed a bracket. My eyes scanned to the start of the bracket and a small grin crossed my lips. 

[Lei Senju vs Kurotsuchi]

I glanced at the Stone Princess and saw her already glaring at me. She likely didn’t even care about the other matches once she saw I was gonna face her, and I had to admit, I was flattered. 

But there was no way in hell she was getting past the first round. I don’t care what personal mission she’s on, or what’s at stake for her village. I’m gonna cook her shit all so I can reach the next matchup. 

[Rock Lee vs Karui]

This…This! 

This is what I’ve been waiting for! 

My eyes shot over to Lee to see him smiling at me with eyes full of determination and two rows of sparkly white teeth. He gave me a thumbs up and I punched my palm, my body practically dancing in anticipation of the arena-shattering fight we would have in just a month’s time. 

[Temari vs Samui]

Now this one would be interesting to watch. They wouldn’t stand a chance against the winner of the next match though. 

[Hinata Hyuga vs Gaara]

I side-eyed Hinata to see her looking at the board with indifference. So she’d be getting a rematch with Gaara. Honestly in the last fight with him, she didn’t even actually need my help, so I’m curious to see just how good she does against him. One thing that’s for sure is she’s going to win. Gaara’s fighting style and hers are literal opposites for the most part, and I’m certain Hinata’s offense will crack down and defeat Gaara’s defense.  

[Naruko Uzumaki vs Omoi]

I clasped my hands together and sent a silent prayer Omoi’s way. I didn’t know just how strong he was in this Alternate Universe, but since I haven’t heard praises sung about him yet, I assume he’s relative to his canon power, if not significantly weaker due to how much younger he is now. 

Naruko should clear him, especially if she can use this month to excel in that jutsu… 

[Satsuki Uchiha (BYE)]

That’s…disappointing, but understandable. 

So Naruko and Satsuki will face off in the second round…interesting. 

This entire Final Exam will be a show for the ages! Now we just have to prevent a one-eyed-stealer-jackass and a pedophile from ruining what will go down as the greatest display of Genin power in history. 

— Chapter End —

Beta-reader: @Dragonboy1

Author’s Note: Sorry for the late update, going through some familial grievances that are both slowing down my production and completely stressing me out. It’ll be like that for the next week but I’ll try my best to stand on business and update at the regular times. Also expect Spider either later tonight or tomorrow, I’ve been putting it off long enough.