"Ugh, are you related to that guy?" Harry asked nervously, his voice faltering slightly. "Not that there's something wrong with it... but he sounded so full of himself, right?"

His eyes darted to Kouchi as if he were afraid of offending him, hesitant to speak his mind.

Kouchi grinned, finding Harry's discomfort amusing. "Ah, I might be related to that kid... probably! I mean, I might be. But who knows? Honestly, I don't care much. And yeah, you're right. He was full of himself. He reminded me of the kids back home. Makes me sure it'll be fun to mess with him."

Kouchi's smile was innocent, but the words didn't match the sweetness of his expression. He could tell that Harry, unsure of how to respond, quickly stepped back.

Not that Kouchi had any interest in bothering him. Harry wasn't the type to entertain, and right now, he didn't seem nearly entertaining enough to be worth Kouchi's attention.

Hagrid returned not long after, quickly engaging in a conversation with the muscular man. Kouchi listened half-heartedly, his thoughts drifting elsewhere. He was more intrigued by the surroundings—this world, its magic, the possibilities.

The pet store caught his attention briefly; he could feel the lure of the exotic creatures there. But for now, he had to follow Hagrid, so he did. They soon arrived at another ancient-looking shop, the next stop on their tour.

"We're here to get your wands," Hagrid said, his voice serious now. "A wand is a wizard's most important tool, so make sure you get one that feels right for you."

Kouchi raised an eyebrow. He wanted to say that the shopkeeper looked like the oldest man he'd ever seen, but that would have been a lie. The Shinobi world had far surpassed anything these wizards could comprehend. Old age was more of an inconvenience than a limitation for the powerful.

Still, the man in front of him had a strange aura. There was something off about him. Kouchi could feel it.

The old man turned sharply as his eyes met Kouchi's, and the tension in the air seemed to shift. "Mister Ollivander, we're here to get wands for these new students," Hagrid announced, gesturing toward Harry. "This here is—"

"Harry Potter! I see!" Ollivander interrupted with a gasp, clearly impressed.

Kouchi let the others handle Harry's wand selection. He had more important things to observe. His eyes wandered over the shelves of wands, each one seemingly pulsing with its own unique properties, like strange mixtures of chakra and materials. Every wand was clearly tailored to different kinds of magic.

The more Kouchi examined the store, the more he was convinced that magic was nothing more than a different form of chakra, controlled and enhanced by external objects. This world's magic reminded him of hand signs in Shinobi practice—similar principles, just a different manifestation.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Once he understood the theory behind it, he could master magic the same way he had mastered chakra control.

"Kouchi, it's your turn!" Harry's voice broke through his musings, and Kouchi reluctantly turned to face the counter. "Hurry up and choose a wand!"

Though Harry seemed to be done with his choice, Kouchi wasn't particularly excited about this step. Still, he had to maintain his mask of enthusiasm.

"Here, take this one," Ollivander said, handing him a wand. "Be gentle with it. Remember, it's the wand that chooses you, not the other way around."

As soon as the wand touched Kouchi's hand, it exploded in a burst of energy.

The force of the explosion rocked the shop, and Kouchi barely had time to step back. He'd sensed immediately that the wand wasn't suited for him, and sure enough, it had failed spectacularly.

Poor Ollivander looked devastated, but there was a spark of excitement in his eyes as well. "You're quite the formidable opponent, kid," he said with wide eyes. "I can't quite figure out what kind of wand would suit someone like you. We may need to try every wand in the shop before we find the right one."

Ollivander was clearly capable of sensing magical auras and using that to gauge what wand suited each student, a remarkable ability. But Kouchi knew this wouldn't work on him. He couldn't feel the magic aura here. It was like trying to sense water without ever having seen it.

Kouchi stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Can I get a wand with an empty core?" he asked casually. "Something with no inherent magical properties would probably suit me better."

With the vast chakra he possessed, Kouchi doubted any wand would be able to handle his output. It would be more practical to get a neutral wand—one that didn't require excessive energy.

"Empty core? Blasphemy!" Ollivander gasped. "How would a wand channel your magic? Think about it, lad!"

Kouchi raised a hand in reassurance. "Yeah, I know it sounds strange, but with my... unique constitution, it might work. Can you try?"

For a moment, Ollivander seemed to consider the idea, his mind racing, before he brightened. "Hmm… you're right. With your unique constitution, this might just work. Hold on a moment."

The old man hurried off into the back of the shop, his movements surprisingly spry for someone of his age. He returned shortly with a pure white wand. It gleamed under the dim light of the shop, and when Kouchi took it in his hand, a sense of familiarity washed over him.

'Wait… is this made from the remains of the Ten-Tails? How did they get a hold of it?' Kouchi thought, his mind racing. The implications of this were deeply troubling. He'd need to report this back to the village as soon as possible.

But despite the storm of thoughts racing through his mind, Kouchi kept his face neutral. He smiled politely at Ollivander, who was watching him with gleaming eyes.

"Here," Ollivander said, his voice eager. "Try this. Give it a wave and see if it suits you."

Kouchi didn't hesitate. He knew that even if the wand didn't work, he couldn't leave it behind. It was too dangerous. So he took the wand and gave it a quick, casual wave.

"This will work for me," Kouchi said nonchalantly, though his mind was already elsewhere. "But this material…"

The wandmaker beamed with pride. "This is a very rare material. I bought it from someone at an exorbitant price because I thought it would make a fine wand. But for you, lad, I'll sell it to you at a regular price."

Despite Kouchi's internal alarm bells ringing, he saw no reason not to accept the wand. The old man was kind, and there was no harm in taking it. He quickly stashed it away, careful not to let anyone else get their hands on it.

'Looks like I'll have to keep a much closer eye on this world than I originally thought,' Kouchi mused, the weight of the situation settling in. If they could get their hands on parts of the Ten-Tails, who knew what else they might be dealing with.

'I'll need to report this back to the Hokage,' he thought. 'Ugh, he's going to grill me about this, isn't he?'