Let's start this from the beginning

Grand Assembly

- Part 1 -

"Foreigners"

I

"You have certainly trained them well, Itachi-nii."

His lips tucked upwards at the compliment, but considering the state his three students were in at the moment, he decided to suppress a chuckle. There was really no need to hurt their pride any further. "Thank you," he said, "but that would sound much more convincing if you hadn't beaten them quite so thoroughly."

Unlike him, Haku did not bother to hide her amusement but giggled unabashedly. "It's you who gave them a handicap, remember? Without it, and if they hadn't already been exhausted by the time I arrived, I'm sure they would have done much better."

That might be true, Itachi inwardly admitted to himself. However, regardless of the circumstances and no matter how sincere you are, such words could easily be understood as condescending considering they can't even get up while you don't have as much as a speck of dust on your clothes.

"J-just give us five minutes," Kiba panted from where he was lying on his back a few feet away from them, not even managing to raise his head to look at them as he spoke. "We only need a short break. After that, we will be right back on our feet…"

Hinata and Shino, lying to Kiba's right and left respectively, heaved out a groan that could maybe have been an agreement.

It could have just as well been groans of despair, though.

"Well, they certainly have spirit!"

Itachi shot Haku a dry look that she ignored without batting an eye. With a serene smile on her face and her hands hidden under the long sleeves of her robes folded before her, she looked like a paragon of innocence. If one didn't know her, it would be easy to fall into the misguided belief that she had no mean bone in her body.

He knew better, of course. While she certainly wasn't evil or anything like that, she enjoyed teasing people much more than anyone unfamiliar with her would believe.

It was a shame that Sasuke wasn't here as he knew that better than anyone. His brother might have overcome the little crush he had on her when he was younger, but she certainly made sure to always remind him of just "how cute" he had been back then.

"It seems your own training is progressing smoothly, too."

While she had been holding back, the way in which she used her Kekkei Genkai had clearly improved by leaps and bounds since the last time he had seen her fight. Sure, the handicap he had given his student forbade them from using anything but Taijutsu, so the number of ways they could counter Haku had been severely limited, but the increase in her skills would still be hard to miss by the way she trotted them without much trouble.

Frankly, the fact that she was still only a Genin was almost impossible to believe.

"Thank you," she replied with a little bow. Then, without quite managing to hide her hopeful tone, she continued, "Maybe we could train together again sometime soon? We haven't done that in a while."

She wasn't wrong about that. Taking a team of his own had definitely taken up much of his time. He hadn't had much time for anything else in quite a while, now that he thought about it. "I think I should be free later this week," he told her, another smile forming on his face upon seeing her face brighten in excitement. "I will let you know when I know a specific time."

"I'm looking forward to it!"

Unfortunately, before Itachi had the chance to reply, a flicker to his right turned his attention to the ANBU that had just arrived.

He could make a good guess as to why they were here even before they spoke up.

"Itachi Uchiha, the Hokage wishes to speak with you."

Although he masked it well, Itachi's first reaction to the old man's words was surprise.

"Might I ask why you want my team to participate, Hokage-sama?"

That was a valid question in his opinion. After all, it wasn't every day that the Hokage himself asked a Jōnin instructor to sign their team up for the exams when they hadn't come forth to do so themselves as was appropriate.

Judging by the understanding expression on his face, he didn't hold it against him to question his order. But then again, he had never been the kind of leader that expected his commands to be followed without question in most situations, so this was probably not very surprising.

"You are still up to date on our plans for the upcoming Chūnin Exams, I take it?" Hiruzen asked mildly. When Itachi nodded in the affirmative, he took another puff from his pipe before continuing, "In that case, you will understand the need to have as many qualified teams partake in these particular exams as possible, and for them to not only be qualified to participate but also be competent enough to at least reach the finals and potentially even win."

That was true for every Chūnin Exams, of course. Itachi was well-aware of the importance they held for the continued peace on the continent. Nevertheless, it wasn't customary for the Hokage to ask for the participation of a particular team. No matter who the team in question might be, it was up to their teacher to nominate them. It was them who knew best about their students' skills and abilities, after all, so if they didn't think their team was ready, there was usually a very good reason for that.

Itachi didn't think that the Sandaime would ask for this without reason, though, and he could read between the lines, so he realized what the other man was implying.

"I find it hard to believe that Konoha is so severely lacking in talented youths that we have to resort to the most recent batch of graduates."

The Sandaime let out a tired sigh. "We're not exactly lacking them, no. Unfortunately, however, the ones that have been judged capable enough for our purposes overwhelmingly belong to our latest graduates. Not the least because they all had the opportunity to receive additional training from a young age, I'm sure. Most of our other promising youth is just a little too old to participate."

That made a bit more sense. His brother's generation did have a surprising number of talented individuals who benefitted from their upbringing. That being said…

"Talent and training are not everything. No matter how talented one is or how much training one went through, nothing can replace experience."

It was probably a bit hypocritical for him to say that considering he himself was one of the few exceptions to that rule, but that didn't make it any less true.

"Do you think your team doesn't have enough experience to participate in the Chūnin Exams, then?"

"If these exams were regular ones, I wouldn't argue that they're ready. I might even have signed them up myself. These exams are different, however, as you very well know."

While he couldn't say for sure whether Hinata, Shino, and Kiba had competed in the previous timeline or if they had even been on the same team together in the first place, Itachi knew for a fact that Team 7 had. The gossip and excitement from the people at the time looking forward to seeing the last Uchiha in Konoha compete had been impossible to miss, and neither had their amazement at the fact that Naruto somehow managed to beat Hinata's cousin, who was hailed as a once in a lifetime prodigy.

Itachi had had the chance to test both his brother's and Naruto's strength not long after the exams during his and Kisame's visit to the village. Therefore, he could confidentially say that both of them were much better trained and prepared in this timeline than in the previous one. Judging by the fact that they had performed well even with their comparatively lesser combat capacities, Itachi could conclude that the exams in the previous timeline had been easier than what was to be expected from the upcoming ones.

Consequently, even though he wouldn't have hesitated to sign his team up if these Chūnin Exams were like any other, he hadn't come forth to do so until now.

"Be it as it may," the Sandaime said, "the problem remains that we simply don't have enough suitably talented, older Genin that could participate. Most of them are simply not at a level comparable to the competition that will likely await them this time. There have been a few potential candidates until recently, but even the youngest of them is already seventeen, and every single one also managed to gain at least some recognition from the public. Holding up their promotion any longer would have been too suspicious." He gave him a meaningful look. "I'm sure I won't have to remind you why we can't give anyone the chance to accuse us of foul play at this particular time."

He didn't, but that didn't mean Itachi was suddenly on board with the idea.

Only the most talented of Genin were ever sent to the Chūnin Exams considering their very purpose was to showcase the next generation's strength to the rest of the world. Sending weak or even just average Genin simply wouldn't make any sense. If anything, it would give the impression that the village was weak and consequently an easy target.

However, that didn't mean the various villages could send just anyone strong enough either. The average age for participants was somewhere around fourteen to fifteen, and sending someone noticeably older might be seen as either another sign of weakness and desperation because it looked as if the village didn't have anyone younger they could send, or as an attempt to manipulate the results in their favour by sending more experienced Genin to get an advantage over their competition.

As Itachi's own Chūnin Exams had shown, nations didn't take kindly to other villages trying to blatantly gain an unfair advantage like that. The Tsuchikage's failed plot to have only Genin from his own village participate in the finals back then, for example, had resulted in, among other things, much fewer missions and increased distrust from potential trade partners for months.

"Can I assume you asked Kakashi and Asuma-san to let their teams join as well?"

"I did indeed, yes."

"And Guy-san likely volunteered his team without further urging?"

"That is also correct."

That, at least, wasn't surprising. Not only were all of Guy's students talented in one way or another, but they had also undergone very throughout training and had a bit over a year to gain actual field experience.

"And I suppose it's not just the fact that there are so few suitable Genin of the right age that plays a big part in this decision, but also that if these teams take part in the exams, twelve of the participating Genin, five of whom are clan heirs and two of whom are their clan's spare, graduated no more than a year ago?"

All he got in return was a small smile that was in equal measure sardonic and amused. That was more than enough of an answer in and of itself, however.

Just as having older Genin participate would likely result in a negative response from the other nations, having particular young Genin participate and succeed was a very effective way to demonstrate the strength of the new generation. That was clearly at least one reason why the Hokage had opted to take the unusual step of approaching Jōnin instructors who had not entered their teams of their own accord yet to make them do so.

Part of Itachi wanted to ask if Kakashi and Asuma had agreed to 'volunteer' their teams, or more importantly, what the Hokage's response had been in case they hadn't agreed. In Itachi's opinion, it was very likely that neither had been too keen on letting their teams participate this year. Not when they knew what was likely to happen. Neither was the type to risk their students' lives needlessly, after all.

Itachi kept his mouth shut, though. For all that the Sandaime generally didn't mind answering questions and explaining his decisions, and for all that Itachi's own plotting with the man over the years as a result of his rebirth had resulted in a much more open and trusting relationship between him and his village's leader than what was considered normal, he thought asking whether he would order him to let his team participate if he didn't agree would probably cross the line of what was and what wasn't appropriate.

He gave a small bow. "In that case, I will inform my team about their participation first thing tomorrow, then."

"Oh, I see someone is in a bad mood."

It spoke volumes about how deep in thoughts Itachi had been that he hadn't noticed Shisui's presence until he fell into step beside him.

"Good afternoon to you as well," he replied dryly, careful to keep his voice perfectly neutral.

Shisui merely rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Good afternoon and all that. So, what's up? Don't you wanna tell me what got you all worked up?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure, and I'm the Hokage," Shisui snorted. Then, he continued more seriously, "I have known you for most of your life, Itachi, and the only times you actually put so much effort into looking carefree is when you're bothered by something. So, seriously, what's the problem?"

Usually, Itachi found it charming when people close to him could read his mood even when he tried to hide it. It was occasionally somewhat bothersome, yes, but charming nonetheless. Now, however, there was little joy to be found in it. In fact, he actually felt a slight tinge of irritation flaring through his chest, but he quickly managed to quell it. There was no use in taking his annoyance at the situation out on Shisui just because he happened to be a convenient target.

Before he had the chance to reply, Shisui nonchalantly continued, "Well, if I had to take a guess, does this have anything to do with the upcoming Chūnin Exams?"

That immediately got his full attention. "You knew?"

"Just an educated guess," Shisui said with a wide grin before turning more serious again. "I have been pretty involved in the preparations, y'know. I suspected for a while now that Sandaime-sama might approach you if you didn't nominate your team on your own."

Now that he had mentioned it, it made sense. Itachi, being a Jōnin instructor, obviously didn't have a whole lot to do with the preparations, and what he heard from his friends, family, and mere acquaintances who were involved was usually limited to complaints about too much paperwork and too much overtime. The only part he had in the planning process involved something that would happen during the exams but not actually have anything to do with them; of course he wouldn't know something as inconsequent for his job as the number of talented Genin teams while Shisui, who was involved much more than him, would.

In that case, however…

"I would have appreciated a heads up."

"Nah, you know everything about this year's exams is very hush-hush. I'm technically not even supposed to know who's going to participate this far in advance. And besides, I couldn't know for sure if he would really approach you and thus saw no reason in potentially getting you worked up about what might end up as nothing."

Itachi quirked an eyebrow at that. "So it's okay telling me now that you know in advance who is going to participate already, then?"

Rather than feeling chastised and becoming flustered, Shisui only began to laugh before clapping his hands together in front of him and giving Itachi a sarcastic half-bow as they walked. "It should be okay, right? Not like ya are going to snitch on me or anything."

He wouldn't, of course. After all, he knew that the only reason Shisui brought this up in front of him was that he knew Itachi was involved enough in their village's plans to be already aware of Shisui's involvement in them and what his task would be later in the exams.

"I don't know," Itachi said, his voice deliberately thoughtful. "It might be a good lesson for you if I did."

Just because he wouldn't actually do it didn't mean he couldn't tease his friend a bit. Their conversation had improved his mood, so he was feeling like it.

Shisui stumbled and almost fell to the ground at his words, the action being so cosmetically over the top that it couldn't not have been intentional. "H-hey, c'mon, don't be like this now," he said, keeping up the act of being flustered by his 'threat' much to Itachi's amusement. "How about this? You don't snitch on me, and in return, I will look out for your team during the exams! That's fair, don't you think?"

While it was said jokingly, Itachi realized that Shisui really was trying to reassure him, and he truly appreciate it.

Whatever little irritation he might have felt in the aftermath of his conversation with the Hokage had all but evaporated by now.

"Aren't the proctors for the exams supposed to be impartial?"

And yes, Itachi was aware of how ridiculous that statement was considering what they had planned.

If Shisui noticed the hypocrisy of his words, he didn't show it. Instead, he just grinned. "Well, friends sometimes have to break the rules for each other, right? I'm sure no one would even notice if I help them out a little here and there."

"If that's so, I will gladly entrust them into your capable hands," Itachi said with his best imitation of an innocent and nonchalant voice, which he saw made Shisui immediately raise his guard. "I will hold you responsible if anything happens to them, then."

For the first time since the start of their conversation, Shisui seemed to be genuinely startled. "Wait, that's not what I–"

"Shisui? Itachi?"

Unfortunately for his friend, he couldn't even begin to defend himself and clear up the 'misunderstanding' before a new voice called out to them.

Turning around, they came face to face with a surprised-looking Izumi.

"I thought we were supposed to meet in the square in front of the teahouse?" she asked directed at Shisui.

The boy in question chuckled as he stepped forward to greet his girlfriend. "Ah, I was just on my way there, actually. In fact, aren't you a bit early? I thought your shift wouldn't end for at least another quarter of an hour?"

"The team on duty after me arrived early, so I could take my break a bit earlier than planned," she said, accepting the quick peck on the lips with a smile before turning to Itachi. "I suppose you just accidentally ran into each other?"

"Apparently," Itachi agreed with a smile, "although I wasn't aware Shisui had any specific destination in mind. I assumed he only approach me to bother me."

"Hey!" his friend exclaimed at that, fake irritation clear in his voice. "What do you think I am? A pest?"

Itachi and Izumi both ignored him with the composure of people used to dealing with his antics.

"Ah, yes, that makes sense," Izumi said, much to her boyfriend's incredulity.

Itachi nodded. "It wouldn't be the first time either."

"Nice to see what you guys think of me," Shisui muttered, but the quirk of his lips was impossible to miss.

"Anyway," Izumi continued after giving Shisui a placatory pat on the back, "Shisui and I planned to eat lunch together. Want to join us?"

He thought about the offer for a moment before shaking his head. "I left my team alone with Haku, so I should see if they're alright." Then, after another moment of consideration, he added, "It's about time for them to take a break, too, so I should make sure they take it easy and have a bite themselves."

Haku was as gentle a person as they got, but she had a habit of pushing her opponents a bit too far during training. Naruto and Sasuke had made that unfortunate realization several times in the past. It came from a place of good intention as all she wanted was to make sure the people she trained with learned as much as possible, yes, but that didn't mean Itachi wanted to have cut today's session short because his students were unable to continue.

"Why don't you collect the four of them and bring them with you?" Shisui asked, his earlier exasperation apparently already forgotten. "We haven't met your team yet, y'know, and it has been a while since I saw Haku. We can all eat lunch together."

Izumi nodded resolutely before giving him a bright smile. "Right! I wanted to meet them for a while now, too! This is the perfect opportunity!"

That actually isn't a bad idea, Itachi thought. It might even be beneficial for them to get to know each other. Shisui in particular, now that they have to participate in the exams.

"Sounds good to me," he said, smiling when he saw their enthusiastic faces.

"Great!" Izumi exclaimed. "We were planning to go to the usual place, so you shouldn't have any problems finding us. Let's meet there in, shall we say, fifteen minutes?"

"That's fine," he agreed. "That's more than enough time to collect them and get there."

With that, they all said their goodbyes before heading off in different directions, Shisui and Izumi going ahead to their destination while Itachi first went back to the training ground where he had left his charges before following suit, a bunch of exhausted children in tow.

"Man, what should I do?"

"Huh?"

"Ah, it's nothing. I was just wondering what I should do if I accidentally kill someone important during the exams. I'm kinda scared of what would happen if I provoked some other important nation."

"Don't be ridiculous! People die all the time in these exams. Why would anyone care about one person more or less?"

"But Karui, what if I kill someone from a prominent family? Or even someone related to a kage? They might get super offended, demand from Kumo to surrender me to them to get even, and then kill me! Or they might get so angry that they instantly declare war! I don't want to be responsible for the outbreak of another war, Karui!"

"Argh, shut up already you damn idiot! There's no way something like that will happen!"

"But what if it does?!"

"It won't!"

"But–"

"No–"

"Both of you need to shut up," a third voice interrupted them, its calm tone only barely hiding the annoyance that simmered underneath. "This is getting nowhere, just like any other argument between you."

"Oh, just stay out of this, Kurisu," Karui snapped, her voice rising notably in volume. "This is between Omoi and me!"

"I don't know," the boy in question murmured just loud enough for everyone else to hear. "I don't mind if she puts a stop to it. If we continue, you will only get angry and attack me again, and then I might get hurt and be unable to participate in the exams, which then means–"

"Stop being always so pessimistic dammit!"

"I'm not–"

"You are!"

"Both of you, this is–"

Deciding that enough was enough, the final member of their group of four joined the conversation at last.

"That's enough, girls."

All three of them snapped their mouths shut as one, and while Omoi mumbled something under his breath about him being a guy, that too lasted only a second or two before a pointed look in his direction made him keep silent as well.

"We have almost reached Konoha," she continued when she was sure the full attention of her three students was on her, "and although I hope you have noticed it yourselves by now, we have been watched for a while already. Normally I don't mind you arguing as long as it doesn't interfere with our missions, but right now, it's not befitting your position. Do not forget that you are to act as representatives of our village for the duration of the Chūnin Exams. Behave accordingly."

"Yes, Sensei!"

She kept her eyes on them for a few more seconds, approvingly noting that they all stood a bit straighter and appeared more attentive now. They clearly haven't noticed our watchdogs, though, she mused as she observed them trying to find their silent observers. Oh, they were trying to be subtle about it, but she had been training them for long enough to recognize the signs of what they were doing. Well, it's no big deal. Whoever Konoha sent to watch us are definitely very talented. I suppose I can't blame the three for not noticing them.

Hell, even she found it hard to keep track of them. She knew that there were at least four of them, but until half an hour ago, she had thought there were only three, so there might be even more she wasn't aware of.

It seems they're taking their security even more seriously than in previous years, huh?

But then again, considering what the Raikage had told her, that was probably not very surprising.

Frankly speaking, she didn't care much about any of that. All that plotting, backdoor diplomacy, and politics in general were of little interest to her. Because of that, she had almost decided not to volunteer her team to be one of the two Kumo sent to this year's exams at all. It simply sounded like too much trouble. She wouldn't be able to object to a direct order, of course, so if she had been told that she had to go, she wouldn't have had a choice, but as things stood, some other suitable teams had also been in discussion. Therefore, she didn't have to go.

However, a certain memory from ten years ago had ultimately changed her mind and convinced her that paying a visit to Konoha might not be such a bad idea after all.

I wonder how much he has grown since then…

With this thought in mind, Yugito smiled.