Naruto: I'm Grinding Proficiency in Konoha

Chapter 24 – Chance Encounter

"Seimei, over here!"

On a street inside Konoha, Ryouji was waving from afar. Standing next to him was Shizuko.

Seimei walked over at an unhurried pace.

Once he got close, Ryouji complained, "Seimei, you're way too slow. We agreed to hang out together—you could've come earlier."

Seimei knew Ryouji wasn't really upset, just venting out of habit, so he didn't bother explaining. He simply asked, "Where are we going first?"

Ordinarily, with Seimei's personality, he would never waste time walking around the village.

There really wasn't much in Konoha worth wandering through anyway.

But lately, things had been tense. After some hesitation, he'd accepted Ryouji and Shizuko's invitation to relax for a bit.

It had been half a month since the effectiveness of the Reflection Technique had declined.

During this time, Furukawa had taken them on another C-rank mission.

This time, it wasn't bandit-hunting, but escorting a merchant caravan.

There were a few minor issues along the way, but nothing outside the scope of the mission—no real danger.

Seimei couldn't help but think once again: not having a protagonist's halo was a blessing.

"Let's go over there. A new dango shop opened up—really good stuff."

Ryouji pointed excitedly in a direction.

Seimei followed his finger. Sure enough, there was a new shop with a long line at the entrance. It probably tasted good.

Just as that thought passed through his mind, he suddenly heard a few familiar names.

"Kakashi, hurry up! Today we're celebrating Rin's missed birthday!"

"Ah, Obito, let's not…"

"No! We have to! I heard there's a new dango shop ahead, it's really good. My treat—don't fight me on it, Kakashi!"

'Kakashi, Obito, Rin…'

Seimei silently repeated the names in his heart and turned toward the voices.

At the other end of the street, three small figures walked together—one in front, two following behind.

The one up front had his back to him, with the Uchiha clan crest visible on his clothes just like Seimei's. If nothing else, that should be Uchiha Obito.

He was speaking animatedly, seemingly unaware of the people around him.

Behind him were a boy and a girl. Both were facing Seimei, allowing him to clearly see their faces.

Or rather… not quite.

One of them, about eleven or twelve years old, had silver hair, a short sword on his back, and wore a mask. His expression was cold and detached.

It was unmistakably Hatake Kakashi—still carrying the shadow of his father's death.

With that mask covering his face, even standing face to face, Seimei couldn't see him clearly.

As Seimei observed them, Kakashi's eyes locked onto his.

'What sharp perception!'

Seimei was still admiring it when, in that split second of eye contact, a wave of chill surged through him.

It was a strange sensation, like being stared down by a predator. It sent a shiver straight through his core.

He quickly looked away.

"Seimei, what's wrong?"

Shizuko asked, concerned, seeing that he had stopped and looked a little pale.

Hoo—

Seimei exhaled slowly and said, "It's nothing."

Then he stepped forward again. As he walked, his eyes inevitably met Kakashi's once more.

This time, however, he didn't flinch.

That's right—he had flinched the first time.

Yes, he had killed before. But those were just helpless bandits and thugs.

Kakashi was different.

He had fought on real battlefields, clawing through mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. They weren't even in the same league.

So feeling fear wasn't a big deal—what mattered was overcoming it.

On the other side—

Obito noticed Kakashi glancing over his shoulder and asked, "What's wrong?"

As he spoke, he turned to look as well.

With just one glance, he immediately recognized Seimei.

There was no helping it—that "ping-pong paddle" on Seimei's back stood out too much.

'A junior from the clan, huh?'

With that thought, Obito looked away and asked Kakashi, "What's up with him?"

Judging by Seimei's outfit and age, it was easy to guess that he was one of this year's graduates.

Obito couldn't figure out what about a kid like that would be worth Kakashi's attention.

Kakashi, hearing the question, simply shook his head without saying anything.

Soon, both groups arrived at the dango shop.

Kakashi, Obito, and Rin lined up in front, while Seimei and his two teammates waited behind them.

In the line, Obito and Ryouji chatted nonstop, with Rin and Shizuko occasionally responding. Kakashi and Seimei, however, remained completely silent.

A few minutes later, Kakashi's group bought their dango and walked off together.

Seimei stood in line, watching their backs as they disappeared into the distance, silently muttering to himself, "They're probably back to take the Chūnin Exams."

Yes—after some thought, Seimei had a good guess as to why they had returned to the village.

Konoha held Chūnin Exams twice a year—once at the beginning of January, once at the start of July.

It was now late November, meaning the next exam was just around the corner. Coupled with their age, it wasn't hard to deduce the reason for their return.

A month might feel long or short, depending on the situation.

In peacetime, it was plenty of time to get back. But during war, it was cutting it close.

While most genin were nothing more than cannon fodder on the battlefield, those selected by jōnin to take the Chūnin Exam were the exception.

Such genin were usually carrying out actual responsibilities on the front lines.

Recalling them wasn't as simple as issuing a command like with expendable troops. At the very least, someone had to be assigned to take over their duties.

And for their safety, escorts were likely dispatched as well.

In many ways, these genin represented the village's future. If anything happened to them en route, the consequences could be disastrous.

So, for safety's sake, they would never all return at once.

That made it unsurprising to see some of them arriving a full month early.

If Seimei's guess was correct, those three were probably among the first batch of returning genin. More would likely trickle back over the coming month.

And whether his assumption held water could be verified by watching how many young genin showed up in the village over the next few weeks.

Still...

'Chūnin Exams.'

Seimei had a gut feeling that once those exams were over, his generation—the fresh recruits—might soon be sent to the battlefield.

In other words, his time was running short.

The moment that thought crossed his mind, Seimei felt an overwhelming urge to run home and train.

But after glancing at the two teammates ahead of him, he reined it in.

Since he had already decided to take a break, he couldn't quit halfway.

As the saying goes: sharpening your blade won't delay chopping wood.

This brief rest was for the sake of training harder later.

"Seimei, what flavor do you want?"

While Seimei was lost in thought, Ryouji turned back to ask.

"Spicy."

Seimei answered casually.

[End of Chapter]

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