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Kotetsu Hagane glanced at the clock and said to Ibiki Morino, “Time’s up, Ibiki.”
“Mm.” Ibiki nodded.
The jagged scars across his face twisted and writhed as the corners of his mouth curled upward.
“Now that most of the trash has been cleared out, it’s time for you all to tackle the tenth question.”
He paused.
A mean smile spread across his face.
“Oh, but before that, there’s one more precondition.”
CREAK, The classroom door swung open, and Kankurō walked in wearing a smile.
“Tsk.
Not bad, brat.
You managed to remember the time instead of getting lost playing with your dolls.”
“Urk!” Cold sweat broke across Kankurō’s face at those words.
Every trace of his earlier arrogance evaporated.
[This guy…
he saw through Karasu…]
“Heh.
Get back to your seat.” Ibiki waved a hand, expression blank.
[Naive little Suna brat.
I’ve interrogated puppet masters, eighty, maybe a hundred.
And you thought a cheap trick like that was worth celebrating?]
“Alright.
Now, regarding the tenth question — you need to make a choice.
Whether or not to answer it.”
Temari seized the moment.
“Then…
what if we choose not to answer?”
“If you choose not to answer, you’ll be judged on the spot as having scored: zero.”
“What!?”
“So any normal person would choose to answer!
Only an idiot wouldn’t!”
The room erupted.
Gasps and protests rose from every direction.
“Don’t get ahead of yourselves.
I’m not finished yet,” Ibiki added, his voice cold.
“If you choose to answer but get it wrong, then the examinee in question will be permanently stripped of the right to ever take the Chūnin Exams again.”
The moment those words landed, the entire classroom fell into a dead and eerie silence.
“You’re just making this impossible on purpose!
Where does a rule like that even come from!?” Kiba Inuzuka shot to his feet, jaw clenched.
“Making it impossible?
Absurd?” Ibiki walked up to Kiba and casually shoved him back down onto his stool.
“All I can say is — tough luck.
In this room, my rules are the rules.”
[Idiotic scar-faced showoff.
Bastard…] That thought surfaced in the minds of nearly every genin in the room at the exact same moment.
Saddled with nonsense rules and an examiner this insidious, any normal person would want to scream. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
“Heh heh.” Ibiki let out two cold laughs.
“I’ve already given you an out.
So.
What are you going to do with it?”
In the middle of the clamor, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha’s gazes landed on Naruto Uzumaki at exactly the same moment.
His fists were clenched so tight his nails were nearly drawing blood from his palms.
[Raise your hand.
Don’t worry about the two of us.] On the surface, Sasuke’s expression stayed as cold and unreadable as ever.
But his deeply furrowed brow told a different story.
Sakura watched Naruto struggling and felt something pull tight in her chest.
[That guy.
Always acting like an idiot, always going on about becoming Hokage…]
She took a slow breath.
Then she raised her hand.
[Sorry.
I’m not letting that impossible dream of yours fall apart.
Not here.]
Outside, the sun was warm and bright.
A walked alongside Kakashi Hatake, the two of them leaving the Academy and heading toward Yakiniku Q.
Kakashi was paying, naturally.
(The result of A’s relentless, shameless pestering.)
A’s argument: he was the Yellow Flash Minato Namikaze’s old rival.
Kakashi was Minato’s student.
So wasn’t it only natural, expected, even, for the junior to treat the senior to a meal?
Kakashi had given in.
What choice did he have?
He couldn’t use the Flying Thunder God Technique.
“Kakashi?
You’re here too.”
They both turned.
A solidly built man with a full beard was raising a hand in greeting.
Not far from him, at a comfortable distance, stood a woman with curly hair and deep crimson eyes.
“Asuma.
Kurenai.
What a coincidence.”
“Yeah, with our teams off duty, it’s a rare chance to relax.
Ha.” Asuma Sarutobi glanced past Kakashi toward A.
“And this would be…”
“Your guess is right,” Kakashi said.
“The Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure.
He’s visiting the village at the moment.”
A looked at them both and smiled, extending a large hand covered in thick calluses.
“Two of Konoha’s finest jōnin.
I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
Of course, that hand was aimed at Kurenai Yūhi.
“Oh, Lord Raikage is too kind.
I’m only newly promoted.” Kurenai extended her pale hand and gave him a polite shake, a faint color rising to her cheeks.
We’re nowhere near that level,” Asuma said.
He watched A shake hands with Kurenai, a trace of envy flickering in his gaze despite himself.
“Have you been comfortable in Konoha?
My father gave specific instructions that you were to be well looked after.”
“Very comfortable.
Quite satisfied.” A gave Asuma a warm, easy smile while simultaneously tightening his grip on Kurenai’s hand as she tried to pull it back.
“Konoha is going to be Kumogakure’s best partner.”
“Mm — Lord Raikage, you’re hurting me…” A flicker of genuine pain crossed Kurenai’s face.
The madmen of Kumogakure tempered their bodies with lightning every single day through their Lightning Armor training.
No matter how much A held back, the raw strength packed into those muscles didn’t simply disappear.
A soft-skinned genjutsu kunoichi simply couldn’t absorb a grip like that.
“Ah, forgive me, Jōnin Yūhi.” A offered an apologetic smile.
He didn’t let go.
“I have a subordinate with a passion for genjutsu.
He’s long admired the genjutsu master ‘Setting Sun’ Shinku Yūhi and has some questions about his practice that he’d dearly love answered.”
“Unfortunately, he came down with something recently and couldn’t make the trip.
He asked me to pass along his request in his place.
As I understand it, you’re Shinku’s daughter, so I imagine this is a fairly simple matter for you?”
Kurenai blinked, caught off guard.
She considered it for a moment, then nodded.
It wasn’t a big ask.
“Of course.
I’ll do my best to help.”
“That’s very generous.
Truly.” A smiled warmly.
“A tiger father begets no dog daughter.”
“Ahem, please don’t tease me, Lord Raikage.” Kurenai let out a shy laugh.
[The Raikage of Kumogakure is actually this…
approachable?
Nothing like what I’d expect from that village…]
A turned back to Kakashi and Asuma and gave them a wave.
“Then we’ll take our leave.
Kakashi, if you still want that grilled meat, go with Old Ma, Jōnin Asuma.”
“Ah, ja ne~” Kakashi watched A and Kurenai’s retreating figures for a moment, then turned back to Asuma.
“Let’s go.
Don’t tell me your stomach isn’t growling by now.”
Asuma stood rooted to the spot, hollow-eyed.
“I’m hungry.
I just…
don’t think I can eat right now.”
Kakashi grabbed him by the arm and steered him straight toward Ichiraku Ramen.
“Better to get a good meal in your belly than stand here thinking about things that won’t do you any good.”
Asuma let himself be dragged away, utterly devoid of spirit.
Behind them, left alone on the pavement, a freshly lit cigarette burned in silence.
➤ Next: Kurenai Yūhi’s Home, Anko Mitarashi Appears
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