Naruto: Ren the Sealmaster

It took both Naruto and Ren to physically restrain the enraged Kankuro and prevent him from strangling the Third Hokage's grandson with a noodle.

It really did not help that Konohamaru was a little misbehaved and spoiled brat, who had the audacity to laugh in Kankuro's face instead of apologizing.

Honestly, Ren felt a bit off. He had no idea if the scene with Konohamaru was going to happen. And he expected to be firmly on Konohamaru's side if it did happen because the canon Kankuro was kind of an ass, picking on a kid who ran into him.

So, it was weird that Kankuro's anger was actually justified here.

Unfortunately, with the catsuit-boy drenched in ramen, the tour through Konoha was finished, and the Suna team asked Ren to lead them directly to their hotel right after they quickly finished their ramen.

Ren didn't even have the time to tease Naruto about Koyuki, which was a major missed opportunity!

Even worse, the good mood between him and the Suna team might as well have evaporated with how distant and sour they became. Temari did give him an apologetic look, but that was it. She did not reignite their conversation about the Wind Release, despite clearly wanting to.

Ren... did not really understand what went through their heads, and was a bit put off by their sudden change in behavior. He thought they were friendly enough before that whole debacle.

He even offered to give them a second tour through

Konoha, considering the first one was cut short, but he was promptly rejected.

That happened three days ago, and Ren still felt a small sting in his chest because of it.

Stopping reminiscing about it, Ren let out a small sigh. He had not expected to enjoy his time with Kankuro and Temari, and a part of him desired to befriend them. It was illogical, especially since he knew what was going to happen between Konoha and Suna a month later, but he supposed emotions did not work on logic.

Shaking his head, he decided to put it out of his mind and turn his head toward Ino and Hinata, who were sitting on the floor in the living room, around them a massive mess of things, as they were packing up their storage scrolls for the second task of the Chunin Exams.

Ren didn't bother to watch the first one. He knew how that was going to go from the anime. And watching kiddies write a test was not his idea of prime entertainment.

Apparently, Naruto still had his Talk-No-Jutsu moment, and there were still more teams than there should be, but other than that? Things went pretty much the same from what Ino's memories showed him.

And yes, she recently learned how to project her own memories through the telepathy seal. That was neat.

"Do you have enough food packed?" Ren idly asked the girls while cradling a glass of orange juice in his hand.

Hinata smiled at him in return, "Yes. I've already packed enough to last both of us for two months."

"And you can teleport." Ino cheekily added, "If we run out, we just need to contact you."

"Nah. Not interested. I am good." Ren dryly refused, causing Ino to feign an offended gasp.

"You'd let us starve?" She exclaimed, but her twitching lips betrayed that she was playing it up. "What kind of boyfriend are you? Shame on you. That is practically spousal abuse. I should report it to my Da-"

"You are missing your toothbrush, Ino." Hinata interrupted her, causing Ino to stop speaking as she owlishly blinked before she checked her seal.

"... Oh. You are right." She nodded and stood up before heading toward the bathroom to retrieve it.

As Ino left the room, Ren exchanged a small exasperated look with Hinata. The blonde could be such a drama queen. He shook his head in amusement.

Honestly, he had no idea why they would need their toothbrushes in the Forest of Death, but he wasn't going to comment on it. Getting between a woman and her hygiene was never a smart thing.

Ino and Hinata's packing was a bit overkill, but the girls genuinely had no idea what to expect from the second phase of the Exams. Ren had not shared his knowledge with them. That would defeat the purpose of the test.

And preparing for the worst was kind of expected from the participants. They wanted to be chunin, and that required at least some level of foresight to prepare.

The kids did not know, but this was one of the things the proctors watched out for. They wanted to know if the participants had what it takes to be a chunin, and coming there without supplies would just paint them as unworthy, incompetent idiots.

The second phase was basically a simulation of getting an unexpected, impromptu, dangerous mission where their life could be put on the line for the village.

Anko told them to meet her at the entrance to the Forest of Death tomorrow morning.

That was a blatant hint, and the smart ones would realize it. Well, unless they are a certain Nara, who, according to Ino, needed some Ino trademarked kick in the shin before he was willing to put in the effort to think about the situation.

Poor boy.

The very first question the hint should have provoked, for both foreign and local ninjas, was, 'What is Forest of Death?'. And they were supposed to investigate. It's why they were given one day of free time, instead of being instantly dragged there.

Once they figured out that the Forest of Death was a very dangerous and big training ground, usually used for large-scale and long-term survival training exercises, it wasn't a stretch to realize that's where the second part would be taking place. They would not be meeting at its entrance unless they were using it. Which, logically, meant a several-day-long survival exercise.

Hence, anybody worth the chunin rank would naturally prepare themselves and pack enough supplies for an extended mission. This wasn't rocket science. Getting intel on the place of their next mission is basic stuff taught at the academy.

And yet, Ren knew many participants were going to show up without supplies.

Frankly? He was one of the people who did not like that only Shikamaru got promoted in canon. But living here, and seeing these intricacies and hidden parts of the chunin exams that the proctors were evaluating participants on, Ren was starting to realize why it happened.

There was a lot more to these Exams than what was visible at first glance, and while nobody expects flawless perfection, basic competency was a must.

That said, Ren watched as Hinata sealed a portable stove into a seal and gave the girl a deadpan look. He doubted the proctors expected that anybody would bring an entire kitchen to the Forest of Death.

He then felt, through the security seals inwoven in his apartment, that Ino sealed her bed into a scroll.

And he didn't even resist the urge to facepalm.

"Are you sure you have everything?" He asked with an incredulous expression hidden by his palm, just as Hinata finished sealing the last item from her pile, a big pot.

Why was she bringing a big pot, he had no idea. He supposed it could be used to bludgeon someone's head or something?

He could not really throw stones from his glasshouse. Sage only knew what kind of garbage he had sealed in his wrist storage seal.

"Oh! I forgot my teddy bear! Thanks for the reminder." The Hyuga girl happily sprang up and ran out of the living room, leaving the disgruntled Ren alone.

But as exasperated as he was, deep down, he couldn't be more proud of his girls.

Because really, sleeping on the ground was just not comfortable. Bringing a bed made sense, no?

A proper ninja brings his bed with him!

A smirk tugged on Ren's lips. He would have to ask Ino to send him the memory of her unsealing it during the Exams. He really wanted to see Shikamaru's expression once she did that in front of him.

And Hinata loved her teddy bear ever since he got it for her on her last birthday. It was supposed to help her practice with chakra strings to improve her chakra control.

But the girl had gotten the bright idea to sew in expensive chakra metal threads underneath its exterior, and if she channeled her chakra through them, the fluffy teddy bear would harden so much, she could blast tree trunks by swinging it like a weapon.

She called it Death by Hardened Fluff technique.

She could also channel her lightning chakra into the teddy bear through the chakra strings, giving it a facsimile of Lightning Chakra Armor while being able to control it like a puppet via her chakra strings.

It was a pity that the preliminary matches were fixed. He would have loved to see Kankuro's expression once Hinata whipped out her Teddy Bear of Lightning Doom and used it like a puppet against his puppets.

Being drenched in noodles might not have been the most embarrassing thing he had experienced in Konoha if that happened.

He was just lucky Ren had no way of altering the match-making.