Chapter Thirty-Seven: Leaf of the Tree

Three months passed swiftly, and as expected, Feng Xue and his companions arrived in Konoha. In truth, there was never any reason to expect mishap; perhaps their low strength had played a part, for the three of them parted ways with Orochimaru early in the journey. Yet after only a few days, Orochimaru and his group caught up again, though their party was now short one member. However, for reasons unknown, they separated once more before entering the village, leaving only a Jonin, an Orochimaru shadow clone, to lead them. (In fact, the hunt for the Kazekage should have taken place in the month before the third exam, but since the original story doesn’t specify, let’s chalk it up to a difference in timelines.)

“As expected, the attack on the Kazekage triggered Kimimaro’s old illness again,” Feng Xue shook his head. The inertia of the plot is one of the greatest forces in a half-plane, second only to the protagonist’s halo. (That is, when the plot and the protagonist’s aura conflict, the aura will always prevail.)

After presenting his pass, Feng Xue entered this village favored by the world. If one could see the threads of fortune, it would be clear that at least seventy percent of the world’s luck swirled around this small settlement.

The atmosphere of Konoha was entirely different from that of the Sound Village. If the Sound was a standard military facility, Konoha was far more akin to a city from a previous life. The streets bustled with laughing pedestrians, children played and chased each other in delight, and vendors called out their wares from every corner. Compared to them, the passing shinobi seemed more like police officers.

“What a peaceful scene,” Mu Qianrou seemed to enjoy the ambiance, and in the blink of an eye, she appeared with several skewers of sticky rice dumplings bought from somewhere. At the next corner, she had another two bags of popcorn.

As the three wandered about Konoha, Mu Qianrou’s collection of snacks grew ever larger, until even Feng Xue and Xia Mi had to help carry them.

“How do you expect to eat all this? These are snacks, meant to be eaten immediately, you can’t possibly store them!” Feng Xue took a skewer of octopus balls from the pile he was holding and popped them into his mouth. He had to admit, these specialty snacks from the Land of Neon could only be tasted authentically in the half-plane.

“Snacks go into a different stomach! And stop sneaking bites!” Mu Qianrou snatched the food back from Feng Xue and handed them to Xia Mi, who wouldn’t sneak any, leaving Xia Mi looking ever more aggrieved.

“Bang!” As the three laughed and chatted, a figure suddenly collided with Feng Xue. Instinctively, Feng Xue grabbed the small figure and held him up before he could react, only to hear a voice—

“Let go of Konohamaru!”

“Damn!” Not only Feng Xue, but Xia Mi and Mu Qianrou were startled. They were representing the Sound Village, not the Sand! Isn’t this supposed to be Kankuro’s scene? Without this, how is Gaara supposed to make his entrance? And why is it that everyone else who crosses into Naruto gets to show off and casually stop Kankuro, while he ends up as the one getting stopped? Worse yet, he couldn’t let go now; that would ruin their momentum! Orochimaru might well be watching from the shadows, and if they showed weakness, it would only make him more likely to use them as sacrificial pawns!

“Kid, when you bump into someone, you should apologize!” With no choice but to act tough, Feng Xue pressed Konohamaru’s head down, putting on his best villain face.

“Um, sor—” Sakura stammered, trying to apologize. Feng Xue inwardly rejoiced; all they needed was a way out. Even an idiot wouldn’t assault the crown prince (or perhaps the great-grandson?) on his own turf.

“You, fox-face, let go of Konohamaru!”

“Damn!” Feng Xue’s face darkened as Naruto rushed forward, calling him fox-face. Really, he thought, you’re the real fox-face here, whiskers and all!

Still, he couldn’t let Naruto’s punch land, could he?

Without any visible movement from Feng Xue, Naruto was suddenly slammed against the wall, falling flat to the ground.

“So weak, are all Konoha genin like this?” Without realizing it, Feng Xue raised a flag, and immediately sensed a pebble flying toward his head.

“A bit earlier than the original, huh? Is it because I’m closer than Kankuro was, or did my words make Sasuke feel targeted?” Feng Xue’s mind raced as he watched the stone approach, unconcerned even though it was aiming for his head.

A mere twenty centimeters from his forehead, the stone abruptly stopped, as if all its momentum had been drained away, and dropped to the ground.

“What was that?” Sasuke was startled. Even if Feng Xue had blown the stone away, he wouldn’t have been this surprised, because he hadn’t sensed any chakra, nor had Feng Xue moved at all.

Feng Xue suddenly felt a cold, sinister gaze upon him. No doubt, it was Orochimaru. With this realization, Feng Xue decided to display some ability: “Hey, you Konoha shinobi are really lacking in manners. Not only do you not apologize after bumping into someone, you go on to provoke me again and again. Do you really think I’m easy to bully?”

The moment he spoke, everyone present felt a chilling, uncanny aura. It wasn’t bloodlust or anything so straightforward, but rather a terror akin to being exposed to a predator’s gaze—as if they were already on the plate, waiting to be devoured. It wasn’t fear of slaughter or blood, but a primal, instinctive terror.

“You’re strong!” a voice suddenly interjected, startling Feng Xue. He turned to see a smoky-eyed, punk-styled—well, it was Gaara.

“When did you get here?” Feng Xue was shocked, but mostly felt helpless at the plot veering off course. As previously noted, when the protagonist’s aura is in play, the plot’s inertia must yield. Now, a panda-eyed character had arrived to clear the protagonist’s name. It was simply unnatural.

Before Feng Xue could respond, Sakura spoke up, “Your forehead protector, you’re from the Sand, right? Although we’re allied nations, according to the treaty, shinobi from both countries can’t cross borders at will. And you three, you’re from another village, aren’t you?”

The atmosphere finally eased, and Feng Xue breathed a silent sigh of relief. Mu Qianrou took out their pass and continued, “You don’t know? We’re from the Sound Village, here to participate in the Chunin Exams.”

“Chunin Exams?”

And so followed a lengthy explanation of the importance of the exams. For Feng Xue, though, these were just empty words. The exams were indeed a microcosm of war, but had nothing to do with mission assignments. After all, even if someone from the Land of Water witnessed Konoha’s strength, they wouldn’t cross the sea to give them missions.

In truth, their real purpose was much like the military parades and exercises of his previous world: to showcase national strength, warn other nations not to cause trouble, and give the wealthy and the daimyos a chance to mingle and network.