At the gates of the Sound Village, a red-haired girl was clinging to another red-haired girl, crying her heart out.
"Still crying..." Amane, being held, spoke with a helpless tone.
She hadn't cried when the teammates were assigned, but from the moment they started their last dinner last night, Karin began to let it all out.
First, she pleaded bitterly, "Can't you just not go?"
Then she said, "Isn't everyone so happy together?"
She even suggested, "Take us with you."
Actually, that suggestion wasn't bad; if they took Karin and hid Momohime well, there might have been some room for maneuver.
But when Amane brought it up, Karin went silent again.
As for the reason, Amane understood.
Karin now held a considerable position in the Sound Village, or rather, under Orochimaru's command.
Furthermore, under Amane's guidance, she was already able to use the Adamantine Sealing Chains, Kagura Minds Eye, and some advanced Sealing Jutsu.
Under these circumstances, what reason did she have to return to Konoha with Amane?
Unless Amane was her sweetheart or something, like Sasuke in the original work.
"But I can't bear to let you go, you're my best friend," Karin said while crying, making Amane sigh helplessly.
She had lost count of how many times this had happened since yesterday. The initial touch of sadness had now been worn down into nothing but annoyance.
"If you don't let go, I'll test you right now to see how your Sealing Jutsu practice is coming along."
Karin instantly let go and, along with her two teammates who hadn't dared to make a sound, retreated far back. Their speed was so fast that an average Chunin wouldn't have been able to react.
"Then I'm off. It's not like we're parting forever; with our strength, we won't die easily. In the future... protect the people important to you yourself."
Amane turned to leave after speaking, but her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a white figure.
[What is wrong with these people? Can't they all just come at once? Even saying goodbye has to be a battle of attrition.]
She grumbled in her heart and sighed again. Just as she was about to use the Body Flicker Technique to flash over to Kimimaro's side, the figure vanished from her sight, and his Chakra showed signs of leaving.
[...Forget it, as long as he's alive, there will be a day he understands.]
Brushing these thoughts aside, Amane spoke a few more words to Karin. Then, leading her two teammates and a nominal Jonin leader, she silently made her way out of the Sound Village gates and first stopped at an open space.
"Although we all know each other, since we're a team now, why don't we formally introduce ourselves? What do you think, Jonin Kusama?" Amane suggested.
The man called Jonin Kusama swallowed hard and quickly nodded, taking the lead to introduce himself.
Minoru Kusama. He was the Jonin leader for the Sound Village team invited to Konoha for the Chunin Exams.
Well, although in Amane's view, it was questionable whether this man's strength actually reached the Jonin level. But since he was indeed appointed by Orochimaru and had an official record, he was a Jonin.
Additionally, Amane recognized his face; it was the same one Orochimaru used during the preliminaries. One could imagine this man's future fate.
"My name is Dosu Kinuta. Nice to meet you."
The boy, whose face was wrapped in bandages leaving only his left eye visible, spoke while his gaze occasionally flickered toward Amane.
He knew very well that for this team's actions, the one who truly mattered was her.
But that was fine.
Most ordinary Ninjas in the Sound Village had received guidance from Amane and Kimimaro, Orochimaru's two confidants.
Compared to Kimimaro's fanatical style, Amane's way of doing things was clearly much more normal.
"My name is Zaku Abumi."
Another boy's voice rang out. His eyes also followed Amane, but the undisguised hostility and fighting spirit within them were completely different from Dosu's.
Perhaps in his view, Amane was about the same age as them, so why should she be so highly regarded by Orochimaru and hold a status far above theirs?
Amane ignored everyone's varying expressions. After a brief self-introduction, the four of them embarked on their journey to Konohagakure.
Looking at the map, the Land of Rice Fields was directly above the Land of Fire, so the distance was quite close. Even at a Genin's pace, it would take at most a little over a day to arrive.
[I'll be back soon.]
Amane's heart felt warm.
It wasn't just the joy of finally returning to her home of this lifetime. It was also because Amane still clearly remembered the oath she made in her heart that day when she emerged from the Root's underground and saw the daytime sun for the first time.
She was going to live honorably in this world as Uzumaki Tian Yin.
Now, she could be considered to have achieved success in her cultivation.
Coupled with her advance planning, she had a vast amount of intelligence on both sides, as well as substantial evidence of Danzo's intent to assassinate the Third Hokage. However, regarding the latter, Amane still needed to test the Third first.
The ruling class has its own internal rules; rashly flipping the table could easily backfire and cause big trouble.
Just as she said back then, you either need power that cannot be ignored or strength that is unrivaled.
When that time comes, she could even use the heads of the Konoha higher-ups as her seat cushions one by one.
Now, she had barely accomplished one of those things.
As long as Jiraiya didn't intervene, no one in the current Konoha could fight her with raw strength, and if she wanted to run, no one could stop her.
At most, she had to worry about Danzo, who had certain 'gimmick-kill' abilities.
Finally, the Konoha gates came into view. The entrance was bustling, with Ninjas wearing different Forehead Protectors gathered in groups of three or five, creating a noisy scene. Looking at the Village before her, Amane's mood became increasingly joyful.
She had finally seen the Konoha Village in reality!
The layout, every brick and tile, was exactly the same as in the anime! A wonderful sense of being there in person arose spontaneously.
[Right, right, let me see if those two are there.]
Her gaze moved toward the end of the line where countless Ninjas were queuing. There were registration windows specially set up by Konoha Ninjas, several of them in fact. All foreign teams coming to participate in the exam had to register and report there.
At an adjacent window, Amane saw a man wearing a bandanna with a thin, needle-like weapon in his mouth. Beside him was a man with a bandage across the bridge of his nose and spiky hair.
The Gatekeepers of Konoha, Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane.
Rumor had it that Pain chose to enter Konoha from the sky because these two were guarding the gate. Moreover, they survived from the beginning to the very end and even rose to become Special Jonin, hence their nickname, the Gatekeepers of Konoha.
"Hey! Izumo! Look at that."
Izumo Kamizuki finished stamping the team in front of him and looked in the direction his old partner pointed, momentarily stunned. A face from his distant memories surfaced in his mind.
The Fourth Hokage's wife, Uzumaki Kushina.
The red-haired girl in the Sound Village team before them looked sixty percent like Uzumaki Kushina!
After the Sound Village Jonin finished filling out the team's information sheet, Kotetsu Hagane took special note of it.
The name Uzumaki Tian Yin was clearly written on the information sheet.
[She's the one Kakashi mentioned...]
Thinking of this, Kotetsu Hagane gave Izumo Kamizuki a look, then called a Ninja over to replace him while he quietly left with Amane's photo and data... Rin no Sho (From Ninja Academy graduation to the end of the third stage of the Chunin Exams)
Name: Uzumaki Tian Yin.
Age: 12 years old
Height: 152cm
Weight: 43kg
Blood Type: B
Ninja Stats:
Nin (Ninjutsu): 10
Gen (Genjutsu): 6
Tai (Taijutsu): 7
Ken (Intelligence): 9
Riki (Strength): 7
Soku (Speed): 8
Sei (Chakra): 10
In (Hand Seals): 10
Total: 67
(Excluding Ninjutsu, Secret Techniques, Senjutsu, and equipment; includes physical bonuses from Hashirama cells. So take this for fun, it shouldn't be seen as actual combat power.)
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