As the group started to move away, Kuro noticed someog from a nearby rooftop. A figure with dark circle in the eyes and red hair leaned against a railing, the se below with a cold, calg gaze.

  Gaara, Kuro realized, his stomach tightening. The infamous Sand sibling stood still, his presence oppressive even from a distance.

  “He’s watg,” Kuro murmured to himself.

  Reika followed his gaze and frowned. “Who is that?”

  “Gaara of the Sand,” Kuro replied, keeping his voice low. “Let’s just say he’s someone we don’t want to provoke.”

  Reika nodded, her expression serious. “Noted.”

  As Kuro tio think, he realized something odd: Sasuke hadn’t shown up yet. Nor had he seen Sakura. This wasly what he’d expected. He’d assumed things here would unfold the way he remembered—following the same pattern as the is. But clearly, something was different.

  Still, there was no point in dwelling on it now. Kuro didn’t have time to analyze all the ges just yet. Not today.

  The Hokage’s offi the Hidden Leaf Vilge was a moo authority and tradition, its wooden walls adorned with scrolls and old, dusty artifacts that seemed to whisper the secrets of the past. On the rge hall's high stage, was standing Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, surveyed the gathered shinobi and messengers with the practiced eye of a man who had spent decades holding the fate of the vilge in his hands. His expression was a mixture of calm and trol, though there was a certain twinkle in his eyes, as if he was secretly plotting something amusing for himself.

  "The in Exams," Hiruzen began, his voice carrying across the room like a gust of wind over a calm ke, "will en seven days. Inform the other vilges, and make sure everything is in order here."

  The moment those words left his mouth, a ripple of excitement surged through the vilge, spreading faster than a ninja with a top speed rating. Kuro, Reika, and Xero were among the first to hear the annou, but not in the dignified setting of a cil meeting. No, they were strolling through the marketpce, engaging in a very important and professional discussion about the merits of different kinds of street food, when they were intercepted by a shinobi messenger, running at full speed, who nearly khem all over.

  "in Exams!" the messenger shouted, barely pausing to catch his breath. "Starts in seven days! Get ready!"

  "Well, that was... abrupt," Kuro muttered, rubbing his shoulder where he'd been elbowed by Reika.

  Reika raised an eyebrow at him. "About time," she said with a mixture of excitement and mild annoyance. "We’ve been talking about this for weeks. And now we’ve got exactly seven days to prep. Do you even have a pn?"

  "About time?" Kuro echoed with an exaggerated look of shock. "Seven days? You think I’ve got a pn? Ha! That’s adorable. You guys basically kidnapped me to be here."

  Xero snorted from behind them, tapping his sword in a rhythm that suggested he was already imagining the battles to e. "You better have a pn, or yonhe one embarrassing us." He cracked his knuckles, a grin spreading across his face as he spoke. “You know, I’m really looking forward to this. It’s been a while since I’ve had a good fight. Maybe I'll actually find someone worthy of my sword skills.”

  Kuro groaned dramatically. "Ah yes, the cssie. 'You better train or you’ll embarrass yourself.' I practically hear the theme music building up in the background."

  "What the hack are you talking about? Seriously, though," Reika tinued, "the exams aren’t a joke. We o prepare. I’m going to head to the training ground, do some chakra trol drills. Kuro?" she turo him, and her gaze could probably cut gss.

  Kuro, whose hands were fortably stuffed into the pockets of his jacket, shrugged nontly. "Yeah, sure. But I’m not feeling it today."

  Reika’s eyes narrowed. "What’s wrong with you? We don’t have time for 'I’m not feeling it' excuses."

  "Yeah, Kuro, what’s up?" Xero asked, twisting his head as if he were iing Kuro’s soul for any obvious signs of weakness.

  Kuro grihough it didn’t reach his eyes. "What I say? Sometimes a man just needs a nap. The exams are in a week, not like I’m going to catch up with you two anyway."

  Reika and Xero exged a look, the kind that said, *Kuro is absolutely hopeless, but we’ll keep him around because he’s our hopeless teammate.*

  "You know what? Fine," Reika said with a dramatic sigh. "I’m going to train. You be zy. But when we’re all fag down the petition in the exams, don’t say I didn’t warn you."

  Kuro chuckled under his breath. "Oh, don’t worry, Reika. I’ll be the oh the st ugh. Who do you think is going to make it to the final rounds? Spoiler alert: it’s me. I’m just... letting you two take the lead so you don’t get disced."

  "Yeah, right," Xero muttered, turning to follow Reika toward the training grounds. "More like you’re letting us do all the work while you sleep in the shade."

  Kuro watched them walk off, a zy smile on his face. "You uimate the power of rexation," he muttered to no one in particur.

  ---

  By the time Kuro wandered out to the training grounds a few hours ter, Xero and Reika had already been at it for a while. Xero was in the midst of a sword-fighting drill, his movements fast and fluid, and Reika was sitting on a rock, meditating, her chakra flowing in perfect harmony with the natural world around her.

  Kuro, of course, didn’t break a sweat. Instead, he leaned against a tree, arms crossed, and just observed. He couldn’t help but notice how seriously they took this whole "training" thing, how Reika was focused on perfeg every little chakra movement, how Xero was already imagining some epic battle in his head.

  Meanwhile, Kuro was tent to stand there, mentally preparing himself for... well, nothing. He was essentially in “wait-and-see” mode.