svetikya Chapter 408: Shifting the blame
Chapter 408: Shifting the blame
Chapter 408: Shifting the blame
Day .
Above the Death Forest, the last signal flare rose into the sky, exploding into a scarlet flower against the hazy heavens.
The second exam has officially ended.
In the largest lecture hall of the tower, the twenty-four candidates who had passed the second exam sat scattered on the tiered seats.
Three teams from Konoha Village advanced:
Menma, Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga.
Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Choji.
Uchiha Sasuke, Sai, and Shigaraki Tanuki.
Two teams from the Star Kingdom advanced:
Gaara, Temari, Kankuro.
Whirlpool Fragrance, Black Earth, Ranmaru.
A team from Kumogakure has advanced:
Karui, Omoi, Atsi.
A team from Kirigakure has advanced:
Hozuki Suigetsu, Chojuro, and Uzumaki Hinokami.
One team from Iwagakure Village advanced to the next round:
Deidara, Sora Ohnoki, Mica.
There are a total of eight teams.
Twenty-four candidates.
Everyone carries scars of varying degrees.
But every pair of eyes shone with a light of resilience and confidence.
Mitarashi Anko stood on the podium, a string of three-colored dumplings dangling from her mouth, her arms crossed.
She squinted, scanning the twenty-four young faces below the stage, a smile playing on her lips.
"Wow, eight teams actually passed the test." She mumbled, chewing on a meatball, "You guys are so lucky!"
Laughter rang out sporadically.
Everyone knows this is not luck at all.
Everyone who stands here has proven themselves through their abilities.
If this exam hadn't been unprecedented in scale, these candidates would have all been promoted to Chunin in other ninja villages.
Unfortunately, this was a joint exam involving the five great nations and more than a dozen ninja villages, which was far from enough.
"There are so many test takers?"
A voice suddenly rang out in the classroom, tinged with sleepiness and a hint of teasing.
"Red Bean, your selection rate is even lower than Captain Ibiki's."
The classroom fell silent instantly.
The candidates looked at each other, glancing around.
Who is speaking?
The sound was very close, but the person was completely invisible.
He glanced sideways slightly, his face pockmarked.
Hinata's Byakugan quietly activated, and the veins around her eyes bulged slightly.
With one hand forming a hand seal, Kagura's Mind's Eye instantly detected the source of chakra, which was right next to Anko, less than a meter away!
The next second, the air around Hongdou distorted.
A man slowly revealed himself.
He was wearing the standard green vest of Konoha, his face was pale and sickly, and he had obvious dark circles under his eyes.
Hayate Gekko, a special Jonin of Konoha.
"Ahem!" He coughed twice and said weakly, "First of all, congratulations to everyone for passing the second exam. Let me introduce myself, I am the examiner for the third exam, Moonlight Gale."
He paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts.
"Ahem—Now, let's announce the rules and time for the third exam."
All eyes were on him.
Moonlight Gale pulled a scroll from his pocket, unrolled it, and glanced at it.
"The third exam will be held in five days at the dedicated arena in the northern part of Konoha Village. Daimyo from various countries, nobles, and a large number of ordinary people will be there to watch the competition."
He looked up at the examinees.
"The competition mode is a three-on-three team battle."
A slight commotion arose in the classroom.
Shikamaru frowned.
Deidara raised an eyebrow.
Hozuki Suigetsu licked his lips.
Gaara remained expressionless.
"The opponents will be determined by drawing lots," Hayate Gekko continued. "The winning team will have all members promoted to Chunin, while the losing team will be evaluated by the Jonin squad based on individual performance to determine if any members are qualified for promotion."
He closed the reel and then coughed violently again.
"Ahem, ahem—the specific matchups will be drawn on the day of the exam to ensure fairness and impartiality. Please get some rest and get ready."
He turned around, ready to leave.
"Wait a moment."
A voice rang out from the crowd.
Deidara stood up, his eyes sparkling with excitement beneath his short, golden hair.
"Three-on-three, so that means you can fight anyone, right?" He tilted his head, a smirk playing on his lips. "Winning means you advance?"
Hayate Gekko glanced at him, sensing that the kid seemed unusually excited. He frowned and said, "As long as you don't intentionally cause death or violate the basic rules of the competition, any tactic or ninjutsu can be used."
"Including detonating the clay?"
"----include."
"Including murder?" Deidara pressed.
Moonlight Gale paused in his coughing.
He looked at Deidara, his gaze calm, but his tone turned somber: "Intentional killing is prohibited in the competition. But if—the opponent dies under your technique, and it cannot be determined that it was intentional—he didn't finish his sentence."
But everyone understood the subtext.
The Chunin Exams are like a battlefield.
Death is permitted.
Deidara smiled and sat back down, satisfied.
A brief silence fell over the classroom.
Naruto clenched his fists instinctively, while Hinata gently grabbed Menma's clothes.
Sasuke lowered his head, deep in thought.
Gaara opened his eyes, glanced at Sasuke, and then looked away.
The opponents will be drawn at the exam venue five days later, so there will be no time for targeted training. The other seven teams at the venue could all be opponents in the third exam.
Moonlight Gale reeled in the scroll and turned to leave.
"Get some rest, kids." Hongdou glanced at the examinees one last time, unusually refraining from saying anything sarcastic.
She left those words and then left the classroom.
In the lecture hall, eight teams, twenty-four people in total, remained silent.
A subtle atmosphere permeated the air.
The eight teams left Examination Room No. 44, where the Death Forest was located, and went to their respective resting places.
Menma, Naruto, and Hinata stepped into the bustling streets of Konoha, where a lively atmosphere greeted them.
The aroma of food, the calls of shopkeepers, and the laughter of children create a lively and bustling atmosphere.
After enduring five days of survival challenges in the primeval forest, the sudden return to the familiar human world creates a sense of unreality, as if from another world.
"Finally out—" Naruto stretched out a big yawn, his arm almost touching the pedestrians passing by.
His clothes were still covered in forest dirt and leaves, but he was more energetic than anyone else.
Hinata followed Menma's side, gently straightening her clothes, which were somewhat disheveled from the long battle.
Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji followed.
"Wow—" Ino's eyes immediately lit up. She stood on tiptoe and looked around. "So many people! It's even more lively than during the New Year!"
It was certainly lively.
The main road of Konoha was bustling with people.
Everywhere were merchants and tourists from other villages. There were noble ladies dressed in various kimonos, traveling merchants carrying luggage, and even a few ninjas wearing headbands from other ninja villages, probably diplomatic teams that had come with the exam team.
New signs have been put up in the shops on both sides of the street.
Ramen shop, dumpling shop, ninja tool shop, inn —
Almost every store had a poster advertising the Chunin Exams.
The poster featured several heroic ninja figures and prominently proclaimed: "Sponsored by Konoha! The First Joint Chunin Exams of the Five Great Nations!"
"Witness the birth of a new era of ninjas!"
Finals tickets are now on sale!
Similar "GG" stickers are plastered all over utility poles, walls, and even the entrances to public restrooms.
Choji's gaze, however, was not drawn to these things.
His eyes were fixed on a convenience store on the street corner, where colorful bags of potato chips were neatly arranged in the transparent glass window.
"New flavor————"
He murmured to himself, his legs already moving in that direction involuntarily.
"Choji, wait—"
'
Before Shikamaru could finish speaking, Choji had already run to the convenience store entrance and turned back to wave at Naruto.
"Naruto! We have some new potato chips here! Want to try some?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Naruto was like a man possessed, and ran over in a flash.
Shikamaru watched the two figures walk away, raised his hand, and then let it fall limply.
He looked up at the sky and sighed, muttering in a voice only he could hear, "It would have been better if I had been eliminated in the second exam—"
"Don't be so discouraged." Menma walked over to him with one hand in his pocket, a slight smile on his lips. "Maybe you'll get lucky and draw a weaker opponent."
Shikamaru glanced at him sideways.
His eyes screamed, "Are you serious?"
"Weak?" Shikamaru counted on his fingers.
The teams from the other ninja villages among these eight teams, whether it's Gaara's team or Kaori's team from the Land of Stars, are clearly not to be underestimated. Those three guys from the Hidden Cloud Village would have been eliminated last time if they hadn't run away quickly.
The Hidden Mist Village team has two members of the Ninja Swordsmen, and the Hidden Stone Village team has Deidara who also looks formidable. It seems that none of the teams this time are weak.
As for the other two teams from Konoha, Sasuke seems to have awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, and his two teammates seem to be from Root, so they're not simple characters either.
Shikamaru's gaze swept over Naruto, who was excitedly discussing with Choji which potato chips were better, then looked at Hinata, who was being pulled aside by Ino to whisper something and occasionally blushing while stealing glances at Menma, before finally settling on Menma, who always looked calm and composed.
As the heir of the Nara clan, Shikamaru had learned about Naruto's identity as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki through his own experience.
Hinata is the head of the Hyuga clan. Her taijutsu and Byakugan are top-notch, and her strength is even more terrifying due to her boss-like personality.
Menma, a genius top student from a commoner background, was even described by his father as having "the shadow of the Fourth Hokage." He was calm, powerful, and had a clear tactical mind that was unlike that of a genin.
In this comparison—
Shikamaru slapped himself on the face again, making a crisp sound.
"Is it possible—" Shikamaru looked at Menma one last time, his eyes filled with despair: "that we're the weakest team?"
Mianma blinked.
Then he laughed, patted Shikamaru on the shoulder and encouraged him, "You guys are the Ino-Shika-Cho trio of this generation. If you coordinate well, you might not be without a fighting chance."
"I hope so—" Shikamaru sighed.
On the other side, Ino was chatting with Hinata.
"Hinata, look at that—" Ino pointed to a kimono shop by the roadside, where a light purple furisode was hanging in the window, embroidered with delicate cherry blossom patterns.
"So beautiful—" Hinata whispered.
"Right, right! Let's go shopping together after the exams!" Ino's eyes sparkled, then she lowered her voice and whispered in Hinata's ear, "I can pick out a few things for you to wear for Menma~"
"Ino-chan—!" Hinata's face instantly turned red, all the way to her ears.
Ino chuckled, but her gaze unconsciously drifted towards Menma, who was talking to Shikamaru not far away.
The black-haired boy had a beautiful profile, and his expression when he spoke carried a reassuring gentleness.
"That's so nice—" Ino said softly, her tone tinged with envy but not jealousy.
She turned her gaze away and looked at Naruto and Choji, who were buying potato chips in the distance, and sighed helplessly.
A short while later, Choji and Naruto returned.
Choji was holding four or five bags of potato chips, a satisfied smile on his face.
Naruto was also holding three packets in his hand, with half a piece of bread still in his mouth. He mumbled, "Hmm—this new flavor is not bad, it's spicy and a bit stimulating."
The two men each gave a bag to their teammates.
Shikamaru took the potato chips, looked at the colorful packaging in his hand, and then glanced at his teammates crunching away beside him. Finally, he gave up thinking about it.
"Never mind—" He tore open the packaging, took out a piece, and stuffed it into his mouth: "There's always a way out."
Several people continued to move forward.
The streets became increasingly bustling, and the crowds grew denser.
Pedestrians dressed in all sorts of colors thronged shoulder to shoulder, their cries of vendors, laughter, and children's playful shouts blending together to create a noisy sea.
Just then.
The crowd in front suddenly stirred.
A white figure burst out from the crowd, stumbling and running wildly in their direction.
It was a middle-aged man with white hair, wearing a dark red coat, his wooden clogs making a clattering sound, and his face full of panic.
He was holding a pair of binoculars in his right hand and a notebook in his left, running and looking back as if he were being chased by someone.
Naruto stopped chewing on the potato chips.
"?" He blinked, recognizing the familiar face: "Perverted old man?"
Jiraiya's gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Naruto.
In that instant, his eyes lit up.
"Naruto!"
He rushed over in three strides and shoved the binoculars and notebook into Naruto's arms.
"You've come at the perfect time! I'll leave this matter to you!"
"—?!"
Before Naruto could react, Jiraiya had already dashed off and disappeared into the crowd in the blink of an eye.
Naruto looked down at the thing in his arms.
telescope.
notebook.
"What is this—" he asked blankly as he opened the notebook.
The first page is filled with handwritten text and hastily drawn illustrations.
The content of the illustrations —
Naruto's face flushed instantly, and he slammed the notebook shut as if it were burning his hand.
"That lecherous old man!!!"
Shikamaru leaned closer curiously: "You know that guy from earlier?"
Mianma had already raised his hand and pointed forward.
"I don't think now is the time to discuss this."
Shikamaru looked in the direction he was pointing.
A group of women were rushing aggressively from the crowd.
The leader was a middle-aged woman wearing a dark blue kimono, her hair tied up at the back of her head, her face contorted with rage.
Behind her followed seven or eight equally aggressive women, some young and some old, but all with remarkably identical expressions of anger.
"It's him!" the woman in the lead pointed at Naruto, her voice shrill: "Peeping tom!"
"What?!" Naruto's eyes widened.
The women rushed up to him, snatched the notebook from his hand, opened it, and held it up to his face.
"The evidence is irrefutable! Are you still trying to deny it?!"
Naruto stared at the explicit illustrations and text, utterly speechless: "No! This isn't mine! It belongs to that old man from earlier—"
"Uncle? What uncle? We only saw you holding this!"
"I'm really not a voyeur!"
"Then why are you carrying binoculars and this notebook?"
"This...this was given to me by someone else!"
"Ha." The leading woman sneered, "Do you think we'd believe such an excuse?"
Naruto was sweating profusely and turned to try to ask his companions for help.
But they discovered that Menma and Shikamaru had silently taken two steps back.
Ino pulled Hinata away as well.
Choji, chewing on potato chips, hesitated for a moment, then stepped back as well.
All that remained around Naruto was a group of angry women.
"You, you all—!"
"Come with us!" The woman in charge grabbed Naruto's wrist. "To the police department! Let the ninja thoroughly investigate how many times you've been spying!"
"No!!!"
Naruto's screams echoed through the streets as he was escorted by a group of women and gradually disappeared into the crowd.
"What an idiot!" Ino covered her mouth and laughed.
Hinata hesitated, "Wouldn't this be a bit inappropriate?"
Menma patted her on the shoulder: "It's okay, the police won't make things difficult for him."
After all, that guy is the fourth generation's son.
Moreover, after the reorganization of the Konoha Police Department, all power was concentrated in the hands of the Third Hokage.
A street corner in the distance.
Jiraiya leaned against a telephone pole, poked half his head out, and watched Naruto being led away by the group of women, letting out a long sigh.
"That was close! That was close!"
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, but a smug smile appeared on his face: "Kid, you're lucky to have saved your teacher from a disaster."
"Wow! You've gone too far! You lecherous old man!" A young voice came from behind, filled with exaggerated surprise.
Jiraiya was startled and turned around abruptly.
Boruto was standing behind him, hands on his hips.
Beside Boruto, Sasuke, a young man wearing a wide-brimmed hat, was watching Naruto being taken away.
Jiraiya's pupils contracted slightly, but he quickly regained his nonchalant demeanor.
"Oh, it's you guys! When did you arrive?"
"From the very beginning," Boruto scoffed, "I watched you push that idiot into the fire."
"Ahem." Jiraiya chuckled and scratched his head. "Oh dear, did you see that? Little brother, you can't say that. I was just testing my apprentice's adaptability!"
"Look, didn't he cleverly draw everyone's attention, creating the perfect opportunity for my master to retreat? This is an essential tactical skill for any ninja!"
"This is just shifting the blame!" Boruto retorted angrily.
Today's pain shouldn't be felt by me alone!