My Techniques are a bit off

One Week Later, Konohagakure: The Day of the Chūnin Exam Finals

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for gathering here to attend the event hosted by our Konohagakure—"

A booming voice echoed through the speakers.

"It's so lively here."

In the audience, Iris restlessly glanced around before pointing to the center of the arena. "Look, it's the Kazekage!"

"Stop overreacting!" Ami complained, but then her gaze landed on Link, standing at the edge of the arena. She immediately stood up, waved enthusiastically, and cupped her hands around her mouth to shout, "Boss!"

"BOSS!!"

"Two noisy idiots..." Inuzuka Kiba, sitting nearby, made a disgusted face, while Akamaru, perched on his head, nodded in agreement.

Is someone calling me?

Dressed in his medical corps uniform, Link looked up and saw his two former teammates practically jumping with excitement.

"Those are your old teammates, aren't they? They're pretty lively," Kunshi teased, nudging his arm with a smile.

"No helping it," Link replied with a smile, though his gaze involuntarily drifted to the central stands where the Third Hokage and Fourth Kazekage were seated.

Approving all my pending jutsu applications right before the Konoha Crush...

How sly, Third Hokage.

Though he had once considered saving the Third Hokage, logic told him that recklessly intervening in the core battlefield involving three Kage and Orochimaru might just lead to his own untimely death.

The smartest plan would be to team up with Sasuke, now wielding the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and ambush Orochimaru after he lost his arms. Even if they couldn't kill him, they could at least severely weaken him. Alternatively, he could target the Jonin from the Otogakure and Sunagakure during the battle, securing his reputation for future promotions.

But—

No helping it.

Link smiled, feeling surprisingly light without his usual weights hidden beneath the medical uniform, almost as if he could leap into the air at any moment.

He waved back at Naruto Uzumaki, who was enthusiastically greeting him from the field, then exchanged a glance with the perpetually lazy Shikamaru Nara.

Wait... Is that Hayate Gekkō?

The proctor standing before the contestants was Hayate Gekkō, who was supposed to have been killed in the manga.

The changes to the story are piling up. My presence, like a gust of wind, has already started to turn the wheels of fate...

Link tilted his head, estimating how long it would take him to reach the Third Hokage from his current position. When his eyes met those of the Fourth Kazekage, his smile deepened.

Well then, why not let the winds blow even harder?

"Alright!" Naruto Uzumaki, battered and bruised, had barely defeated Temari, who hadn't even used summoning jutsu or gone all out. Despite his victory, it was hard to imagine him being promoted to Chūnin with his reckless shadow clone strategy.

The next match was Rock Lee versus Gaara.

The moment the match began, the tension in the air was palpable. A high-speed taijutsu specialist versus a long-range ninjutsu user—it was like a replay of Neji Hyūga's earlier battle with Gaara.

But this time, Lee was much faster.

Having seen Gaara's techniques before, Lee wasted no time. After a brief exchange, he unleashed the Primary Lotus, then escalated to the Hidden Lotus by opening the Eight Gates.

The intensity of the battle soared, with Lee seemingly overwhelming Gaara. However, an eerie chakra began to emanate from Gaara.

What is this...?

The Third Hokage's previously cheerful expression turned grave.

Feathers began to fall from the sky, and a kunai silently pressed against his neck. Calmly, the Hokage glanced toward the Fourth Kazekage nearby.

"Is the Sunagakure betraying Konoha to start a war?"

Before he could finish his sentence, a chilling voice sounded behind him. "Sensei, once the wind begins to blow, it cannot be stopped by your trivial words—"

"Action!" The Fourth Kazekage commanded.

Swish! Slash!

A blade of wind swept through the air, instantly slicing through the nearby Anbu. Baki and the other Sunagakure escorts quickly eliminated the remaining guards and leapt into the arena as a barrier began to rise, enclosing the area around the stands.

"I see..." The Third Hokage muttered as Orochimaru, disguised as an Anbu, seized him and moved to the rooftop. There, Orochimaru shed his mask and robes, revealing his pale face and sinister smile.

"Orochimaru, so you've allied with the Sunagakure—"

The Fourth Kazekage discarded his robes and hat, rising into the air on a wave of golden sand. His eyes, dark-ringed like Gaara's, brimmed with murderous intent. Unlike Orochimaru, who seemed to enjoy his theatrics, the Kazekage wasted no time, unleashing a torrent of sand to crush his enemies.

"Such a bore," Orochimaru remarked as he tore away his disguise, his pale skin gleaming. He smirked faintly. "Oh well, the target is—"

The Third Hokage quickly formed seals, spitting out a mass of dark earth to block the advancing sand while keeping a wary eye on his most dangerous former student.

Orochimaru began forming seals as well, and two coffins slowly rose from the ground.

Not good. I can't let the third one—

The Hokage clasped his hands together, stopping the summoning of the third coffin.

"In a battle between Kage," Orochimaru taunted, "how can you afford to be distracted, sensei?"

"Whoosh!" The sand broke through the earthen wall, enveloping the Hokage.

Snap!

The encasing sand was shattered by the Hokage's staff.

Creak!

The lids of the coffins began to slide open.

Crash!

Before the resurrected warriors could emerge, a figure suddenly leapt into the arena, slashing through the barrier with a massive chakra scalpel. The barrier shattered like glass, its fragments disintegrating mid-air.

The Four Violet Flames Formation dissipated into countless light particles.

"Third Hokage, I hope I'm not too late—"

Link landed gracefully, wielding a chakra scalpel with a blade over a meter long. His imposing, muscular frame—encased in a tight medical uniform—was comically mismatched with his childlike ten-year-old face.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Anbu quickly regrouped on the rooftop.

Baki and the other Kazekage guards were forced to retreat. Even a Kage would struggle against a coordinated assault from elite shinobi.

"Orochimaru, it seems your plan—" the Fourth Kazekage stated expressionlessly, "—has been flawed from the start."

~~~

Patreon(.)com/Bleam

— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!