Chapter 26 Part 1
"Well, this sucks," Naruko complained, weary, as she fastidiously ran her hands over the dead man's clothes. As vile as it felt, it was a necessity. They needed to find a scroll.
Killing was routine for shinobi. Kill or be killed, the choice that was an integral part of their existence. But that didn't mean anything like it had to be pleasant!
Naruko wasn't a naive girl. Or rather... she was, but only in certain areas of life. And battle was definitely not one of those areas. The girl knew firmly: if an enemy attacks, you fight with full seriousness and all your strength. They'd been taught this. The enemy won't spare you, won't hold back, won't give quarter. Living surrounded by alienation and hostility, Naruko had easily accepted the harshness of a shinobi's life. After all, she'd essentially already known from the start what "real life" was like, when there was no chance to hide from problems behind a father's broad back or receive comfort from a loving mother. So even if she didn't like killing, she was resolute in her intention to fight. She wanted to live. And so, her opponent was killed without hesitation or extraneous doubt. It had been surprisingly easy: her enemy had turned out to be a "genin" in the most literal sense of the word. This Grass shinobi was simply too weak. Noticeably weaker than Naruko herself, and utterly incomparable to a monster like Zabuza. Indeed, everything was learned by comparison.
Uchiha Sasuko was reflecting on much the same. The last heiress of the Uchiha felt disappointment. She'd thought there would be many strong opponents at this exam! Yet so far, they'd only encountered two groups, both of them weaklings. There was no challenge to her talents in that. Moreover, it had also been fruitless in a practical sense. Their first enemy had held a "Heaven" scroll, same as theirs. That battle had yielded no benefit at all. Though those "Stone-masons" had made them nervous for a bit: as it turned out, they'd stumbled into an ambush while planning to set up their own. The Stone shinobi had simply arrived at the convenient spot first. But they hadn't been capable of more. Apparently due to lack of time, the trap had been unfinished, and they'd revealed themselves too early.
Team Seven's first battle had been tense, but they'd won in the end. Quickly recovering from the surprise of the attack, Sasuko had fully exploited the advantage of her heritage, confusing the enemy and impaling him with a precise thrust to the heart. Back then, she'd felt that this was it! The perfect time to test her talents. But in the end, now she was disappointed. Deciding to relocate, the team had finally set an ambush and encircled the Grass genin. But those had turned out to be completely unhinged: having lost one of their comrades, they'd resolved to drag Team Seven down with them, launching a desperate assault. They'd had to stain their weapons with blood once again.
"Ah, damn!!" And, it seemed, chance had once again laughed at the genin. In irritation, Sakurai hurled the "Heaven" scroll to the ground with force.
"Arrr, again?!" Naruko protested, her voice full of sincere offense.
"A second enemy, and the same result again." Sasuko suppressed the strong urge to give the Grass shinobi's corpse a good kick.
"Well, it's my turn now, right?" The blonde mumbled, picking up the paper scroll from the ground. The last time, the genin had decided they should keep the scroll, even if it was useless for the mission. From a practical and strategic standpoint, these actions were more than justified: now each of them held their own scroll as a backup option. If someone got robbed, they'd still have the needed scroll on hand. It would also allow them to deceive an enemy by sacrificing or buying them off with their "only" scroll if the foe proved too strong.
But even so, they still needed an "Earth" scroll. And time was running shorter: the sun had already begun rolling toward sunset, piercing through the dense crowns with orange rays. They needed to set up camp and prepare for possible attacks, and the time for that was dwindling.
"Getting dark," Sakurai exhaled dully, lifting his face toward the leaf-hidden sky.
"Nonsense!" Sasuko shook her head. "Before sunset, there's still..."
Guuuu... guuuu...
"Oh, what the hell?!" Naruko complained, indignant, recognizing in the distant rumble the seeds of future trouble. "You think Koru-chan packed us umbrellas?"
"Night's already close. Another two or three hours and it'll be pitch dark... Considering the thickening clouds..." The mind of the team's sole young man darted frantically through ephemeral corners, trying to forecast the nearest events.
"We've got a little under an hour to find shelter," Sakurai finally concluded. "When the rain hits, visibility's going to drop hard."
"Hm... That's already dangerous," Sasuko muttered quietly. Indeed, not only would darkness fall soon, but rain on top of it... Depending on its strength, it could either just cause some minor inconvenience, or seriously complicate the group's life. And judging by the approaching rumble, banking on the first option was out of the question. Rains in Konoha were always heavy. Under the current circumstances, that meant not only a sharp drop in visibility, but also significant muffling of sound. Beneath the ceaseless drumming of droplets, missing an ambush would be easy, and reaction speed would drop considerably. And all this with the genin already physically and psychologically exhausted from two battles and the exam's first stage. "We need to find a place to hide, urgently. Naruko! Find us shelter!"
"Heh, piece of cake!" The girl snorted, boastful, forming a technique seal. An instant, and a dozen and a half Naruko clones burst from a puff of smoke, scattering in all directions immediately. The training at Waterfall had given Naruko a great deal, and she was now capable of choosing between the quantity and quality of her clones. The fewer clones she used, the more of their transmitted information she could consciously perceive. Where before she could only tell that something had destroyed her clone, now she could perceive visual images, though they still weren't especially sharp. The Shadow Clone's potential was incredible, and Naruko was still learning to properly use her one and only "trump card" technique. "Uff!!.."
Naruko shuddered with revulsion. One of her doubles had just stumbled into a nest of some kind of giant insects. The image of those vile, slimy mandibles right in front of "her" face was utterly disgusting.
"I am definitely NOT going there!!!" The girl thought, categorical, driving away the last image of the perished clone from her mind's eye with all her might. "Eww! Disgusting, so disgusting!"
Some time later, an irritated Naruko had to create yet another batch of clones. And then another. The Forest of Death didn't bear its unofficial name for nothing. Insects, beasts, poisonous plants... carnivorous plants... What didn't live in this place.
Meanwhile, the genin continued their slow advance, remaining at full readiness. And the weather was already beginning to turn... An unpleasant drizzle filled the air with moisture and was quite irritating; the clouds grew denser and denser, concealing the already meager rays of the setting sun.
"Found it! I found it!!!!" Naruko exclaimed in a happy whisper, literally bouncing with joy. "Hurry, come on! Follow me!"
It had truly not been easy, finding something safe inside a place called the "Forest of Death." Especially when the situation literally forced you to stick your head into every hole and burrow in search of a sheltered little spot. But, it seemed, they'd gotten lucky: among the host of giant trees, there was one that contained a hollow of decent proportions. Naruko's clone had stayed there for five whole minutes, and during that time, nothing had tried to eat it, attack it, poison it... or all of the above. Although, Naruko didn't really want to dwell on what might have hollowed out such a big hole in a tree. The joy was that this "tree-burrow" had turned out to be abandoned.
"Kami... could it be, dryness?!" Sakurai groaned in disbelief when they reached the shelter. The young man's complaint wasn't unfounded: in the last ten minutes, the rain had intensified considerably, and the genin had reached their goal soaked to the bone.
"Mmouuu!.. I'm completely drenched!" Naruko complained, wringing out her pigtails. "Ugh, this sucks!"
"Pff." Sasuko snorted derisively, though she fully agreed with the blonde. The girl's black hair hung in untidy icicles, sticking to her face and irritating her considerably. "YIIk!"
A particularly large and cold droplet slid down the girl's hair and fell under her collar, making her cry out in a thoroughly girlish fashion. Straightening sharply, Sasuko fixed suspicious stares on her comrades, but they were occupied with themselves and had thus safely missed her moment of "weakness." Catching her breath and soothing her pride, the girl surveyed the group's shelter more carefully. It must be said, the hollow was proportionate to the tree's dimensions: about three meters deep and four wide, with an "entrance" roughly a meter in diameter. Looking at the broad furrows on one wall, Sasuko mentally compared them to her own palm, after which the girl suddenly lost all desire to contemplate the previous owner of this "living space." In all other respects, their temporary refuge was almost ideal. They only needed to shove the dry branches outside and cover the entrance somehow, to protect themselves from the elements and from detection.
No sooner said than done. All the debris was hastily pushed outside, after which the genin set about arranging their apparent campsite for the night. Sakurai unsealed his "blue" scroll, from which, to the group's great pleasure, several lengths of thick fabric were recovered. Driving a few kunai around the edges of the hollow, the genin quickly curtained off the entrance, shielding themselves from wind and water spray. A small lantern was suspended from the ceiling, not bright enough to be noticeable from afar, but providing more or less satisfactory lighting in this cramped space.
"Now we can rest. But before that..." The brunette decided, observing Uzumaki, who was barely restraining herself from sneezing.
"PCHHIIIii!!" The attempt failed.
"Sakurai, watch outside," Sasuko commanded, peremptory, roughly shoving the young man toward the hollow's exit.
"What?.. Sasuko-chan??"
"Watch out there," the Uchiha threw out, retreating deeper into the shelter. "And don't turn around."
"Wait, Sasu—" The bewildered young man tried to say something, but the girl's black eyes, catching the gleam of distant lightning, looked extremely threatening.
"Do. Not. Turn. Around. Here." Sasuko enunciated, menacing. "Watch. Out. There. Got it?!"
"Y-Yes!" The young man swallowed nervously, turning his face away so sharply his neck cracked.
"..." For a while, the young Uchiha drilled the young man's back with her stare, then withdrew a little deeper into the hollow. Driving in another couple of kunai on opposite sides, she threw a short "Help" at the blonde, after which the girls, four hands working quickly, organized a small secluded corner for themselves.
With some hesitation, Sasuko pulled off her shirt, exposing skin wet with water. Sticking a kunai into the wall, she hung the wrung-out garment on it, then reached for the next item of her wardrobe. Naruko performed exactly the same actions: the orange jacket was tossed onto the improvised hanger, followed by the orange pants. Further still, and soon both girls were completely bare.
Listening to the strange rustling behind his back, Sakurai had wanted to turn around, but then a revelation struck him, after which the young man suddenly felt very uncomfortable. On one hand: right there, behind him, two girls were undressing, and all his instincts literally demanded he try to steal a peek, at least with the corner of his eye. On the other hand, Haruno felt that the moment he even attempted it, it would all end very badly. After all, even Naruko, as carefree as she was, would never permit anyone to spy on her. And as for Sasuko... Sakurai swallowed. Most likely, his body would simply never be found.
Sakurai held firm, expelling the superfluous thoughts from his head with all his might, but no one was going to help him find peace of mind.
Toweling herself off with a small cloth, Naruko cast appraising glances at her eternal rival. The blue-eyed gaze swept meticulously over every curve of Sasuko's body, assessing and comparing. And such behavior could hardly go unnoticed.
"What is it, Naruko?" The Uchiha asked with feigned indifference, feeling uncomfortable herself.
"Hih..." Naruko snorted merrily, grinning. After which, she finally delivered her summary. "Under the clothes, they look bigger."
"What?!" Sasuko flared up, indignant. The blonde's pointing stare required no additional commentary. Making a sharp half-turn, the brunette covered her elegant breasts with her hands. "Don't stare, damn you!"
"Heh-heh! I win, mine are bigger!" Naruko declared proudly. Planting her hands on her hips, she thrust out her chest, demonstrative.
"Idiot, is this really what you're doing?!" Sasuko nearly screamed with irritation. But her eyes kept, no-no, slipping below the blonde's face, and so the girl was literally forced to assess her rival's "assets."
"Bigger than mine?!!! How?!... But... Ah, damn!! WHAT AM I EVEN THINKING?!" Sasuko blushed furiously, from anger and embarrassment at her own thoughts.
"Heh-heh! Say what you want, this is my victory!" Naruko continued to have fun, bouncing playfully in place. "Hurray! Hurray!"
"Grh! Quit shaking your!!... In front of me!" Sasuko raged, but quickly swallowed her words. Something quietly clicked in the girl's head, and the wounded Sasuko did what she normally never would have. But she was tired, drained by long tension and the cold rain. Her habitual self-control had evaporated, and so she began to act on impulse.
Springing toward the boasting blonde, Sasuko abruptly shot her hand forward.
"Puyah?!" Naruko cried out as the brunette's sharp fingers squeezed her side.
"Pheh." The girl smirked, derisive, having felt the blonde's body by touch. The eyes of the Uchiha heiress narrowed in a caustic look. "Chu-bby."
"WHAT?!" Naruko fumed. "NO!"
"My fingers say otherwise." Sasuko's smirk grew even wider. "Looks like soon your butt's gonna be so fat you won't even be able to climb a tree."
"Nothing of the sort!!!" Uzumaki bristled. After which, unable to think of anything else, she herself grabbed Sasuko with her fingers. A very tender part of Sasuko.
"Hyah?!" The brunette jumped back.
"Oh, sorry, was that your butt? Sorry-sorry, it's just so indistinguishable from your back, I missed!"
"Naruko! You—!" Sasuko growled, furious, torn between shame and rage. "Stupid idiot!"
"Skinny Stupid Hedgehog! Take this!!!"
"Yyaay!! Why you, bitch!.."
"KYAH!!!"
"La-la-la... I'm not listening! I'm not listening! I won't turn around! I'm not gonna turn around there! La-la-laaaaaa!" Sakurai chanted under his breath. The young man pressed his hands to his ears so as not to hear the outrage unfolding behind the curtain, his face completely red from the sounds reaching him.
The rain was gathering strength...
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Thanks for reading the chapter!
I started a new translation and I would be very happy if you decided to check out my new translation for a rather rare fandom. It's a crossover based on Mondaiji (Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren't They?)
This story has a somewhat similar style to my other translation for this fandom (same author, after all), but it's completely different from any other fanfic I've come across for this fandom! It's set thousands of years before the original novel/anime, and the MC literally plays a part in shaping the backstory of this world. I really enjoyed it—hope you will too!
Mondaiji: I Really Didn't Want to Become God https://www.webnovel.com/book/36945944200410205