The Genjutsu Devil of Konoha

Okay, so, today was like the written part of the test—the actual hard part of the test. The fighting would happen like a week or month later, so that when the winners of the battles were announced, they'd already be done with the written portion.

For efficiency's sake.

Anyway, it was easy for him. Very easy, in fact. Maybe a bit too easy.

Seijuro stepped in just as someone shouted, "Yo! They're up!"

Nawaki nearly knocked over a desk in his rush. "C'MON, I NEED TO KNOW I PASSED—"

Seijuro calmly walked to the front.

Eyes scanned the list.

1st Place: Kurama Seijuro – 140/100

2nd Place: Uchiha Mikoto – 97/100

3rd Place: Hyuuga Hiashi – 95/100

4th Place: Hyuuga Hizashi – 89/100

5th Place: Namikaze Minato – 88/100

6th Place: Senju Nawaki – 85/100

"Wait... what the hell?" Nawaki blinked. "140?!"

Mikoto turned to Seijuro, smiling warmly. "Congratulations. You're really something else."

Nawaki pointed at the board like it just insulted his ancestors. "How did you get 140 out of 100?" the boy practically shouted.

"I answered the bonus creations. They were at the end. Hidden," he said politely. Hm, maybe he might graduate early after all. He needed a solid excuse as to why he knew so many jutsu.

No, graduating at the same time as Nawaki would be good—maybe be placed in his squad or something. Maybe being friends with the big Senju grandkid wasn't all that bad.

"...There were bonus creations?" Nawaki asked, voice cracking. "Why didn't anyone tell me there were bonus crea—"

"You needed to flip the exam paper upside down," Seijuro said plainly. "And decode the question using basic cipher runes."

"....And you figured that... how?"

"I am smart and you are not."

As Nawaki was left fuming, Seijuro showed a light smile on his face—it was quite rare.

"Wait... you smiled!" Nawaki said, stunned.

"Did I?" Seijuro replied with a thoughtful face.

"No, I saw it. You smiled. You saw it too, Mikoto-chan!" He looked at Mikoto for assurance, to which she looked confused.

Wait—did she not see him smile?

"It must be your mind playing tricks on you," Seijuro said calmly.

Nawaki swore he saw a smile, yet he couldn't prove it. The thing was, Seijuro did smile—but everyone in the room except for him was in a Genjutsu.

Later that day...

The crew decided to celebrate.

Yakiniku Q.

Meat. Fire. Sauce. Laughter.

Nawaki was paying, since he was the one who "hosted the outing because he didn't place last this time"—his words.

Mikoto was graceful but had a devastating appetite, and Nawaki... Nawaki was trying to cook three cuts of meat at once while arguing with the grill tongs.

"You'll all see," Nawaki grinned. "In a few weeks, the real fight begins. Physical exam. And old man Hiruzen is going to be watching. You guys better show up strong!"

"Oh? You're confident," Mikoto smirked.

"Damn right," he grinned at Seijuro. "I'm gonna beat you this time. Promise."

Seijuro took a sip of tea, his expression unreadable.

"...I look forward to it."

For a second, their eyes locked. If only the boy knew... the immeasurable gap that stood between him and Seijuro.

Seijuro was closer to a Jounin than Nawaki was to him.

But hey, let him live in his delusion.

They ate. Laughed. Told stories. Even Seijuro allowed himself to lean back a little and just exist in the moment.

Eventually, Mikoto stood up. "I have to go. My father's expecting me."

Seijuro gave a slight wave. "See you."

She nodded. "You too."

One by one, the group dispersed.

Seijuro stepped into the late evening light, hands in pockets, sword strapped to his back.

He had things to do.

Training to continue.

Fangs to sharpen.

The week ahead would be anything but ordinary.

Plus, with his bug clone, he did learn something—there were more and more skirmishes happening between the borders of all the great villages. The war was brewing and was just waiting to happen.

Hm. He guessed the Uzumaki were going to get murked. He needed to find a way to get to them before that. Uzumaki sealing jutsu would be useful.

Hm. The test would be in a few months. With his Chunin-level strength, he could make it there in time to see the Uzumaki clan vanishing. Hm. He was still 9, and yet here he was, plotting ways to steal Fuinjutsu.

He had plenty of storage scrolls just waiting to be used. Hm. Decisions, decisions.

He really wanted to do it. He really, really wanted to do it. All his instincts wanted to do it. The Uzumaki clan Fuinjutsu was just too good to pass up. And sure, Mito was still there, but Seijuro didn't want to make it seem like he was using Nawaki. That old woman was perceptive. If she could destroy his bug clone the millisecond it entered the Senju clan barriers, then... well, he knew she would be able to read him.

Hm. Since when did he become so scheming? He was 9, for Christ's sake.