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"Sakura, are you okay?"
"Hehe… I almost got killed. Luckily, Ryūsei arrived just in time."
As soon as Ryūsei finished healing Sakura, Hinata and Shino appeared in a flash.
Hinata immediately checked on Sakura's condition, using her Byakugan to examine the flow of chakra in Sakura's body, ensuring there were no blocked meridians or internal injuries.
Fortunately, aside from severe chakra exhaustion, Sakura hadn't suffered any serious harm.
The two close friends then stepped aside to whisper among themselves.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Meanwhile, Ryūsei formed hand seals and created three shadow clones. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he pulled out three storage scrolls and had the clones collect the bodies of the Sound Three.
This surprised Sasuke Uchiha slightly—why would Ryūsei bother retrieving the enemy's corpses?
But he didn't ask. After all, these bodies were Ryūsei's spoils of war.
Shino, however, didn't seem the least bit surprised. He likely assumed Ryūsei had used another one of his hidden techniques and didn't want others discovering his secrets.
Once the shadow clones finished gathering the bodies, they returned the storage scrolls to Ryūsei and handed him the Earth Scroll.
Ryūsei first secured the storage scrolls, then held up the Earth Scroll and asked Sasuke, "We've already collected both Heaven and Earth Scrolls. Do you want this one?"
"No. We'll get our own."
Just as Ryūsei expected, the proud Sasuke refused without hesitation.
"Then we'll see you at the central tower."
Ryūsei stored the Earth Scroll and walked over to Hinata. Turning to Sakura, he said, "Sasuke's awake now, so we should get going. After all, we're technically enemies at the moment."
"Yeah… See you at the central tower."
Though reluctant, Sakura nodded with a smile.
With that, Ryūsei and Hinata waved goodbye to Sakura before vanishing in a shunshin alongside Shino.
From start to finish, Sakura never thanked Ryūsei. Between the four of them, such formalities were unnecessary.
---
Team 8 raced through the treetops, leaping from branch to branch.
Shino glanced at Ryūsei and asked, "Did you find Team 10?"
"Yeah. They didn't need help—they already had both scrolls."
Ryūsei grinned. "Let's just head straight to the central tower."
"Agreed."
Picking up speed, Team 8 reached the towering structure at the heart of the Forest of Death in just over ten minutes.
They had completed the second exam in less than twenty-four hours.
Since there were still over a hundred hours left before the exam officially ended, Team 8 was assigned to a dormitory inside the central tower to wait.
They could rest, and the village even provided food.
If the third exam were to start immediately after the second, those who arrived early would have a massive advantage.
And so, four days passed.
During this time, Ryūsei ran into Gaara several times in the cafeteria. Each time, the red-haired boy glared at him with undisguised killing intent.
Beneath that sand armor, Gaara's expression was surely twisted with excitement.
Ryūsei, however, simply smiled in response.
But his calm demeanor—and the fact that he showed no fear toward Gaara—made Temari and Kankuro wary.
After the first exam, they had done some research on Ryūsei, curious about how he had managed to calm Gaara down.
Upon learning that he was the top graduate of his year—and had spent years in the same class as the last Uchiha and heirs of major clans—they realized this so-called "civilian genius" was far more dangerous than he appeared.
Once their plan began, this boy could very well become one of their greatest obstacles.
---
July 7, 60th Year of Konoha. 2:30 PM.
Team 8 received word that the second exam was about to conclude.
When they arrived at the central tower's main hall, it was already packed with examinees.
Unlike the pristine Team 8 and Gaara's siblings, these candidates were a ragged bunch—some wrapped in bandages, others in tattered clothes, all covered in dust and grime.
Clearly, they hadn't had an easy five days.
The moment Team 8 entered, dozens of eyes locked onto them.
Every gaze was filled with wariness.
But when some noticed Hinata's Byakugan, they nodded in understanding.
With her long-range vision and X-ray sight, it made sense that her team had reached the tower faster than the rest.
"Ryūsei! Hinata! Over here!" Ino's voice rang out.
Ryūsei spotted her in the crowd—now sporting golden twin-tails—waving enthusiastically. Beside her stood Sakura, equally disheveled and exhausted.
Ryūsei walked over with a smile.
The moment he got close, Ino pouted and complained, "Ryūsei, you went to help Sakura but not me?"
"Who says I didn't?"
Ryūsei adjusted one of her pigtails, chuckling. "I checked on both of you. I just had to step in when Sakura was in danger. Once I saw you guys had your scrolls, I left."
"Hehe… I was actually looking for you too! I ran into Team 7 the other day and heard about Sakura's close call."
"Sakura was amazing, though. The way she glared at that Sound ninja was so cool! Too bad I didn't get a picture."
"Ugh, stop! It's so embarrassing!"
"Ryūsei, where do you even hide that camera of yours? Do you have any developed photos? Let me see!"
"Guess!"
"..."
As the four chatted, the clock struck 3:00 PM.
A group of figures appeared on the second-floor balcony—the second exam's proctors, supervising jōnin, team instructors, and unfamiliar high-ranking shinobi.
At the forefront stood the Third Hokage, one of the Five Kage.
The instructors didn't come down to chat with their students. Instead, they stood on the observation decks, giving thumbs-ups or nods of approval.
Kurenai was among those who gave a thumbs-up.
Seeing Ryūsei's team spotless and unharmed—a stark contrast to the other exhausted examinees—she knew they must have been the first to complete the exam.
Among the instructors, only Kakashi flashed down to check on Sasuke's cursed seal. He tried to take Sasuke away to seal it, but the Uchiha refused.
He didn't know if there would be another test, and he wasn't about to risk disqualification by leaving.
Kakashi didn't push it. He returned to the balcony as everyone turned their attention to Hiruzen.
The Hokage began his speech, explaining the significance of the Chunin Exams and the third test.
In times of peace, the Chunin Exams were a crucial way for villages to display their strength—and the third exam was where that mattered most.
Held in Konoha's largest arena, the final stage would draw massive crowds, including wealthy nobles and merchants.
Strong villages and shinobi would earn their favor, potentially securing future missions and contracts.
But only the elite of the elite could participate.
Since too many had passed the second exam—and it had been a team-based test—a one-on-one elimination round would now be held to cut the numbers in half.
Standing at the back of the group, Ryūsei counted the remaining examinees.
Including himself, there were… 24.