The winger will tomorrow night spearhead the Highlanders' attempts to reach their first Super Rugby final since 1999, hoping to continue a standout season against the Waratahs in Sydney.
It's a season that has seen Naholo earn elevation to the All Blacks - and a season that was originally intended as a last hurrah in New Zealand rugby.
It seems improbable, given his exploits for the Highlanders in the current campaign, but in February Naholo gave up on cracking it in his adopted country, deciding to cash in aged 23 and move to French club Clermont
Then again, during Naholo's first three seasons in New Zealand's top tiers, he was far from an All Black-in-waiting. He played well enough to find his way to the Super Rugby fringes, including an unlucky stint with the Blues, but little evidence suggested what was to follow.
Instead, Naholo blessed with a bevy of the physical skills - speed, strength, an ability to deceive - was unable to harness the sum of his parts into the whole package. Then the last 12 months happened.
The type of performances the Fijian produced over the previous year must filled his thoughts as he ran around with his friends in Sigatoka, throwing about a plastic bottle in lieu of a ball. Had he dreams of greatness, he could certainly see a blueprint, with countrymen Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu making their All Blacks debuts while Naholo was in adolescence.
But, rather than greatness, a simple desire for education and employment spurred a 16-year-old Naholo to shift across the South Pacific and settle in Whanganui with an uncle. And, as opposed to Rokocoko and Sivivatu, destined for black as they ascended in provincial rugby, Naholo endured a setback or two before being named in Steve Hansen's first squad of the year.
Such a call was some way off in 2009, when he made his first-class debut for Whanganui, scoring six tries on Saturday and Sunday afternoons after spending his weekdays at City College. In 2011, having helped New Zealand defend their Under-20 world title in Italy, Naholo was snapped up by Taranaki and, two years later, the Blues came calling.
In Auckland, however, Naholo's progress stalled. He played just two matches and scored one try during the 2013 season but, before the Blues are entirely lambasted for failing to shine the rough diamond, consider a couple of salient factors.
First, as part of the Hurricanes' wider-training group in 2012, Naholo's promise was initially overlooked by another Super Rugby franchise. And second, lost in the bright lights of the big city, a nervous Naholo floundered without guidance at the Blues, stuck in a self-defeating spiral of a lack of game time begetting a shortfall in confidence.
His self-assurance was rocked to such an extent that Naholo, having returned to Taranaki, failed to cross the sideline in six matches, with the electric running for which he would become known almost entirely absent. In 2014, though, Naholo flipped a switch.
Playing with a winning team helped, as Taranaki stormed to the premiership title, but there's a bit of chicken-and-egg about that scenario - Naholo scored nine tries and was one of the driving forces behind the success.
Naholo parlayed his breakout campaign into another Super Rugby shot with the Highlanders but, before the campaign began, he signed a two-year contract with Clermont, securing his future before heading into the unknown in Dunedin. In the deep south, though, Naholo found home, enjoying the environment, connecting with fellow Fijian winger Patrick Osborne and eventually reneging on his French deal.
And his comfort of the field was obvious - 11 tries saw Naholo break Jeff Wilson's 17-year franchise record, while leading all Kiwis in clean breaks (30), defenders beaten (54) and metres (1310) and saw Hansen describe the wing as "something special" after reading his name last Sunday.
Naholo, not near a television, believed the news only after the texts began to flood his inbox, realising a dream that, geographically and pragmatically, seemed a long way off at various points in his varied career.
Waisake Naholo
Age: 24
School: City College, Whanganui
Province: Taranaki
Franchise: Highlanders
Position: Wing
Did you know?: Naholo's international debut came at Westpac Stadium as part of the New Zealand sevens team and he lists sevens legend Waisale Serevi as his favourite rugby player
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