Reborn into Naruto World with Tenseigan

“Well, if it isn’t Hatake Kakashi from Konohagakure… I heard you’ve been personally training Uchiha Sasuke. Are you sure you should be here?” Raijin asked without turning to face the man.

“I should be the one asking that question. What do you think you’re doing? This isn’t Amegakure; this is Konohagakure. Conflict between ninjas from different villages is prohibited within Konoha,” Kakashi said sharply, his eyes glancing at the ongoing battle between Tengu of Konohagakure and Shira of Sunagakure. He then added, “I request that you immediately stop this fight, remove the barrier formation, call back your companion, and return to the guest house assigned to the Amegakure ninjas.”

“Don’t be such a spoilsport… It’s just a friendly exchange between the ninjas of Sunagakure and Amegakure. It’s not like we’re out for each other’s blood,” Raijin replied nonchalantly, unbothered by the dangerous look in Kakashi’s eyes.

“A friendly exchange?” Kakashi murmured, his expression stunned. He hadn’t expected Raijin to respond like that. After a brief silence, he asked again, “If it’s just a friendly exchange, then why the need for this barrier formation?” His gaze shifted to Samsara, who was maintaining the barrier. The fact that Samsara from the Amegakure squad could single-handedly uphold such a high-level barrier covering such a vast area surprised Kakashi, but that wasn’t the main concern. The real question was the purpose of the barrier. Why create it? The formation seemed like something the Amegakure squad was using to restrict the Sunagakure Genin inside…

“Oh, this barrier? It’s just to confine the battlefield so the entire training ground doesn’t get destroyed,” Raijin shrugged, dismissing Kakashi’s suspicions. He knew Kakashi suspected him of being a member of the Akatsuki Organization and held a biased opinion of him, but it didn’t matter to him, rather it made things interesting.

Of course, what Raijin said wasn’t the true purpose of the barrier formation. The real reason was to prevent anyone from interfering in the battle or stopping it before Raijin could collect all the data he needed on Shira’s Seven Heavenly Breaths. But Kakashi and Guy didn’t need to know that.

“Is that so?” Kakashi muttered, pondering Raijin’s answer. He wasn’t sure whether Raijin was telling the truth and couldn’t make a definitive judgment.

“Anyway, Hatake Kakashi-san and Might Guy-san, are you interested in watching the exchange with us?” Raijin asked with a smile.

“Watching the exchange?” Kakashi repeated, stunned once again. He narrowed his eyes. “Are you okay with us watching?”

“Eh? Why not? If you’re going to watch us train in secret anyway, then why not just watch openly? Please observe the exchange and give me your opinion on the strength of those fighting,” Raijin said. He then turned to Might Guy and continued, “I’ve heard that Might Guy-san is the strongest, most genius Taijutsu user in Konoha… no, maybe in the entire world, or perhaps in the history of Shinobi. I’d love to hear your thoughts. What do you think of the two people confronting each other inside the barrier? And what do you make of the Secret Technique used by the Sunagakure Genin? It’s quite similar to the forbidden Technique of Eight Inner Gates that you use, isn’t it?”

Kakashi didn’t respond immediately; he was busy contemplating something else. As for Guy, he didn’t overthink it and instead began to focus on the Seven Heavenly Breaths that Shira was using. Of course, to provide an opinion on the exchange, he would need to watch it closely. Only then could he offer any insight. As a Taijutsu user, it would be wrong to say that he wasn’t interested in their exchange. In fact, if Tengu and Shira weren’t children, he would have personally rushed in for an in-depth exchange with both of them, especially Shira.

Kakashi, on the other hand, remained silent for a while. He sensed something off about Raijin’s explanation of the fight being just an exchange. ‘Why am I being overly suspicious of him? Is it just because of my bias, assuming he’s connected to Akatsuki?’ He couldn’t quite figure it out, but instinctively, he was wary of Raijin, and for a moment, even he didn’t fully understand why that was the case.

Suddenly, Kakashi realized a flaw in Raijin’s earlier answer and asked tentatively, “If this is an exchange between Sunagakure and Amegakure, why are there no other Sunagakure ninjas present? Why is Shira the only one here?”

Raijin shrugged again. “That’s something only the Jonin leader of Shira’s squad can answer,” he said, turning to look in a certain direction. “Anyway, haven’t you already sent two of your companions to call the Sunagakure ninjas? They seem to be arriving now.”

Kakashi, Guy, and Samsara followed Raijin’s gaze, noticing five figures moving swiftly through the trees toward them. Among the five were Sarutobi Asuma and Nara Shikamaru, along with Temari, Itsuki, and their Jōnin leader, Maki.

As they arrived beside Raijin and the others, Maki glanced at the barrier formation, observing Tengu and Shira fighting inside, and the two Amegakure ninjas with a confused expression. Without saying anything, she turned to Kakashi and asked, “Kakashi-san, Might Guy-san, what are you doing here?”

Kakashi replied, “We noticed the barrier formation and the battle between Tengu of Amegakure and Shira of Sunagakure. To ensure there are no conflicts between the villages, we came here to stop it.” He then pointed at Raijin and continued, “The ninja from Amegakure claims it’s a friendly exchange between the ninjas of Amegakure and Sunagakure, so there’s no need for our intervention.” He paused briefly and then asked her, “Is that the case?”

Maki was silent for a moment, glancing at Raijin before looking back at Kakashi. With a light smile, she nodded. “That’s correct. This is indeed a friendly exchange. Our Shira and Tengu of Amegakure are learning from each other.”

Hearing Maki’s answer, Raijin smiled to himself. ‘Good job, Pakura.’

The reason Maki confirmed that the fight between Tengu and Shira was indeed a ‘friendly exchange’ was due to a message Raijin had sent to Pakura before locating Shira. While Samsara was still tracking Shira and Raijin was implanting a Byakugan in one of his eye sockets, he also sent a message to Pakura, informing her of his intentions and asking her to relay the same ‘message’ to her disciple Maki to avoid any trouble.

Raijin was fully aware that, outside of the exam phases, conflict between ninjas from different villages was strictly prohibited in Konoha. Violating this rule would result in the immediate disqualification of not only the ninjas involved in the fight but also the rest of the ninjas from that village. This rule had led to the representatives and Kages strictly forbidding their ninjas from engaging in any form of conflict with those from other villages. The potential for their entire team to be disqualified would be a significant shame for their village. This rule was established after Raijin’s previous fight with the Konoha Genins before the first phase of the Joint Chūnin Promotion Exam began, ensuring that even if ninjas harbored hatred for one another, they wouldn’t act on it.

It was only because of this rule that, even though the Raikage wanted to eliminate Raijin, he didn’t attempt it inside Konoha. Instead, he waited for an opportunity when Raijin would venture outside the village. Otherwise, with the Raikage’s temper, there’s no way he would have allowed a ninja who might master the most important and valuable technique of their village to live.

While Raijin himself didn’t care about disqualification, it would interfere with his plan for Sasuke, so he made sure to inform Pakura in advance to avoid such a result.

On the other hand, Temari and Itsuki were taken aback by Maki’s answer and thought to themselves, ‘Friendly exchange? Why haven’t we heard about this?’ Maki hadn’t informed them of any such exchange. Despite their doubts, they didn’t say anything immediately; they planned to question Maki when the ninjas from other villages weren’t around. For now, they stood silently, occasionally glancing at the battle between Tengu and Shira.

They hadn’t been there long, but what they had seen in just a few seconds surprised them. ‘Unexpectedly, the Amegakure ninja is giving Shira-kun a tough time… and he doesn’t even seem to be putting his all into the fight. Just how strong is he?’

Although Temari and Itsuki didn’t say anything, Kakashi noticed their surprise, which clearly indicated they were unaware of this ‘friendly exchange.’ However, since Maki, their Jōnin leader, confirmed it as a friendly exchange between the Sunagakure and Amegakure ninjas, Kakashi had no choice but to accept it as such, “I see.”

After a brief silence, he tentatively asked, “If it’s just a friendly exchange, would you mind if we watched the duel as well?”

Before Maki could respond, Raijin interjected, “There’s no need for that. We’re about to leave—the exchange is almost over.” Without waiting for a reaction, he instructed Samsara, “Disperse the barrier formation.”

“Understood, Raijin-sama,” Samsara nodded, stopping the flow of Chakra into the barrier formation Fuinjutsu. With that, the translucent barrier covering the training ground where Tengu and Shira were fighting vanished.

Everyone turned their attention to the battlefield. Tengu had retracted his wings, while Shira was on his knees. The golden aura around him, a result of the Seven Heavenly Breaths, had faded, and he had returned to his normal state. However, he seemed a bit distracted, lost in thought.

Seeing Shira in that state, Temari and Itsuki rushed over to him. “Shira… are you alright?” Temari asked, concerned. “Shira-kun, are you okay?” Itsuki added.

Shira nodded. “Just some scratches and a little tired…”

“What do you mean? You’re bleeding from the chin!” Temari exclaimed, her voice full of worry as she glared at Tengu. If not for Itsuki holding her back, she would have created Scorch Orbs and turned the Amegakure Genin into a mummy. Despite being restrained, she still growled, “It was supposed to be a friendly exchange. Why did you injure him?”

Tengu remained silent in response to Temari’s question.

In reality, he was a bit flustered. The one shouting at him was his elder sister. He didn’t have many memories of Temari or Kankurō, as he was very young when he was supposedly ‘killed’ by their father. But he still remembered that the person in front of him was his sister, and he didn’t know how to interact with her. Moreover, he worried that revealing any details about his true identity to Temari might blow his cover, causing problems for both Sunagakure and possibly even Kuroto.

Temari interpreted Tengu’s silence as indifference. “Why you…!”

But before she could act, Shira interrupted her. “It’s alright, Temari-san. I’m fine. It’s just a scratch. I’ll have Yome-chan heal me with her Iryō-ninjutsu.”

Temari frowned. “But Shira-kun…”

“It’s alright,” Shira assured her with a nod. “Please, believe me…”

“Fine… if you say so,” Temari nodded, sighing as she shot Tengu an annoyed look.

At that moment, Raijin and Samsara approached Tengu. Raijin spoke, “Come on, let’s go. The friendly exchange is over.”

Tengu nodded. “I understand, Raijin-sama.” He glanced at Shira once more, then briefly looked at Temari—causing her to frown—and also at Itsuki before following Raijin and Samsara.

As the Amegakure ninjas departed, Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, and Shikamaru nodded to Maki and the three Sunagakure Genin before leaving the area as well.

Now, with only the Sunagakure ninjas remaining on the training field, Temari couldn’t help but ask Maki, “Sensei, what was that about a ‘friendly exchange’?”

Itsuki also turned to Maki, expecting an explanation.

Maki, however, was just as in the dark as they were. All she knew from Pakura’s message was that Tengu of Amegakure would have a scuffle with Shira. If any ninjas other than herself or Raijin and Samsara of Amegakure witnessed it, she was to tell them it was a ‘friendly exchange,’ not a battle. This strange and limited information left Maki baffled, and she truly didn’t know what was going on. So, in response to Temari’s question and Itsuki’s expectant gaze, she simply said, “It’s not something you need to worry about for now… we’ll talk about it later.”

Maki’s response left both Itsuki and Temari stunned. It was the first time they had received such a vague answer from her. But both of them were perceptive enough to realize that Maki probably couldn’t explain things to them and decided not to press her further.

Maki then turned to Shira and asked, “Shira-kun, how are you feeling? Are your injuries…?”

Shira shook his head. “It’s alright, Sensei. It’s nothing serious, just some scratches.”

Maki sighed in relief. “That’s good.” For a moment, she had been worried that Shira might not be able to compete in the final phase if he had suffered severe injuries. But now that it was confirmed to be nothing serious, she felt reassured.

At this point, Shira spoke up. “But from this battle with Tengu of Amegakure, I realized something… I’m really weak. I thought I had come a long way, but it turns out I’m still too weak.”

“Huh?” Maki, Temari, and Itsuki all looked at Shira in confusion, wondering what he meant by being ‘too weak.’

Temari asked, “What do you mean, you’re too weak? You’re one of the strongest Taijutsu users in the village!”

Itsuki nodded in agreement. “Yeah, you’re not weak at all, Shira.”

Although Maki didn’t say anything, she felt the same way. In her opinion, Shira wasn’t weak at all. He was the most talented Taijutsu user in their village.

But Shira still shook his head. “That’s not the case, as I realized today. I used to think I had become strong… but it turns out I’m still too weak.” He glanced in the direction the Amegakure ninjas had left, and touching the wound on his chin, he added, “The only reason I’m alive is that that person didn’t intend to kill me. If Tengu of Amegakure had really wanted me dead, I would be dead.”

“You’re not serious, are you?” Temari said, feeling that Shira was being absurd.

But Shira shook his head again. “I am serious, Temari-san,” he insisted. “That person is much stronger than me… much stronger. I could tell he wasn’t even using half of his strength against me, while I was giving it my all. If he had gone all out, I’d be dead.”

Hearing Shira’s response, Itsuki, Temari, and Maki exchanged looks, then turned their gaze toward where the Amegakure ninjas had departed, their faces filled with disbelief. Maki, in particular, wore a troubled expression as she wondered why Tengu of Amegakure wanted to spar with Shira and why Pakura, the Kazekage of Sunagakure, wanted to keep this scuffle with an Amegakure ninja buried under the sand, portraying it as a friendly exchange.