Chapter 29 Part 1
What can I say? It was rather exhausting. But who could have known the Celestial Chancellery's rates were so high? That bureaucrat squeezed me dry! And a kami, at that... tch.
Well, be that as it may, the vile filth has been successfully sealed by the efforts of one clever and handsome, but very humble monk! I did, admittedly, feel guilty about the pain caused to Sasuko during the sealing ritual, but there truly was nothing to be done about it: deep intervention into the structure of her body was required. When she passed out, I had to dress her and carry her back to the room in my arms. Heh—probably a good thing she was unconscious: otherwise, she'd never have allowed me to carry her "bridal" style. And doubly good that Sakurai and Naruko were already asleep at that moment—there would've been such a racket!... And Haruno would probably have tried to smother me in my sleep with a pillow for such "closeness" with Sasuko. And that's without him even knowing that I've seen her without clothes at least twice. And even—oh gods!!!—touched her (for medical treatment)! Universal hatred would have been guaranteed!
Haaah... These hormonal teenagers and their love dramas!.. Though, I'm only a couple of years older myself. Only legally and physically, but still.
Meanwhile, while our black-eyed heiress was sleeping it off, the others pounced on me with questions about her condition. I managed to convince them that the danger had passed and dispel their worry. The guys were very glad everything had turned out alright.
There wasn't much to do, so we simply... lazed about.
Sasuko slept around ten hours and woke closer to noon. She felt quite well—no complaints of pain when using chakra, though there was some stiffness in controlling it.
"A matter of habit, I think," I summarized, withdrawing my fingers from the seal. "A foreign structure in your chakra system will cause discomfort until you grow accustomed to it. Only practice and time will help you here."
"Understood—good." The girl nodded, hiding the seal beneath the high collar of her vest.
"And don't forget my words, Sasuko-chan: even though the seal is neutralized, it's still present on your body. Listen to yourself, and if—"
"If I sense outside influence—tell you about it! You're saying this for the fourth time already." She waved me off with a displeased look. Well... maybe I really am overdoing it a little. "When I know what to expect—this thing won't be able to do anything to me! Enough worrying over trifles already."
"Hah—as you say, as you say." I nod obediently, smirking inwardly. I wonder—is this proud self-confidence Sasuko's personal trait, or is it inherent to all Uchiha?..
"Stay quiet about it," she suddenly said.
"Mm?"
"About yesterday—stay quiet!" Sasuko demanded, peremptory, throwing glances toward the door of our improvised "medbay."
"Ah, you mean abou—" I think I'm guessing, but a prickly glare from reddened eyes sharply cuts me off.
"One more word—and you're dead!" The girl scowled. Hm—and against her pale skin, even such tiny traces of blush are very noticeable! Well, yes—well, yes: despite everything, Sasuko-chan is still a girl. One shouldn't lose sight of that, even if the girl herself stubbornly demonstrates her disinterest in "foolishness."
"Hai-hai." I nod with a smile. Sasuko has a very cute side—it's just that she won't willingly show it to anyone. Quirky, but cute.
My fingers run through her prickly black hair—
"Hey!" Frozen for the first instant, Sasuko batted my hand away and even stepped back. "Don't do that anymore!"
"Oh—sorry—just a habit, I suppose." I apologize. I really did it involuntarily. "I think I've gotten used to doing it with Naruko, so..."
"Then do it with that Idiot!" The girl grumbled, angry, crossing her arms over her chest in a proud pose. Ha... Say what you will—there's far more in common between these two than either of them admits. No wonder my reflex kicked in! They're both endearing in their stubbornness.
"Hai-hai..." I reached out my hand, but immediately pulled it back under Sasuko's strict gaze. Ha... Yes—I need to be more careful and keep myself in check, heh.
Ah, Sasuko is so prickly! In every sense. Surely, the upbringing of a Great Clan's heiress played its role here too?.. Hm—speaking of which. Returning to the touched-upon topic—Naruko is also an heiress, isn't she?! Hm... Thinking about it... If memory serves, Kushina was either a member of her clan's ruling family in Uzu, or had some blood-relative connection. I doubt her male analogue in this world differs much in that respect. Considering that most Uzumaki were slaughtered and only a small portion scattered across the world—doesn't that make Naruko the closest blood relative to the now-deceased clan heads? Which, consequently, makes her a princess? Hmm... speculation, of course—but all other things being equal, with every right to exist. If that's true... Heh! Sasuko and Naruko truly do have much in common! Far more than it might seem: their personalities, their "legal" standing in society, their similar fates... They're like reflections of each other—"opposite reflections": one blonde, the other—brunette; one open, the other—restrained... Different, yet the same. And that's not even considering that, per canon, they are the incarnations of Asura and Indra—the Sage's sons.
How whimsical fate is. Amusing. For even gods—mighty beings—are subject to this force... and only fragile humans have the audacity to resist it.
But these are merely the extended musings of one humble monk-reincarnator. No need to dwell on them.
At last—the time came. The final team reached the tower, and the participants were immediately informed of a general assembly. Though it hadn't been announced yet, I knew the true reason for the gathering: the semi-final battles were about to begin immediately. Oh—this was deeply unfair toward the newly arrived; it was a kind of penalty for their slowness. Somehow, it had naturally come about that those who finished the test in the front ranks got some time to rest as a sort of bonus—a reward. If a team was slow, unlucky, or incompetent—that was entirely their own fault, and incompetence in the shinobi world is punished—most often, by death. At an enemy's hands, or through one's own stupidity.
Thus, looking at the battered team from Sand, I could say with one hundred percent certainty—they wouldn't advance further. All three young men looked exhausted and showed every sign of chakra depletion, so fighting would have been sheer idiocy for them.
"HEEEY!!!" A shout came from the hall. Naruko had spotted me—up on the dais beside the Kage—and immediately decided to draw my attention. Hah—as impulsive as ever: the surrounding candidates now glared at her with irritation, and her teammates hid their faces in their palms—but the blonde simply couldn't care less.
"Kami, Naruko! We only parted three minutes ago!" I lamented the hyperactive orange girl, yet nonetheless answered her with a smile and a wave. Ah—and there we go: Sasuko said something to her and gave her a smack on the back of the head. Bad move: Naruko grew indignant, and now the two of them are standing there, foreheads nearly touching. And Haruno, from the look of it, is torn between two desires: to calm them down, and to try burrowing into the concrete floor with a drill—to get as far away from here as possible.
"Ah—they're... energetic, aren't they, Hokage-sama?" Ignoring the situation, I say, nodding amiably in passing to the two ANBU from the guard detail. The fellows were familiar to me, as I was to them, so my person raised no questions. The examiners and jonin-mentors, however, watched my person with surprise. Not all, though: the green loli... hm... Might Gaya greeted me with a broad smile and spirited hand-waves; Mistress Ikki crooked a smirk with the left half of her face (icy goosebumps ran down my spine!); the m-version of Anko (I assume?) squinted mockingly; and Hatake merely flicked her gaze aside for half a second, expressing nothing. Ah—and there was also a fellow with a Sound protector, and his curious stare I didn't like at all: for a brief instant, it seemed I was already being carved up on a vivisector's table. Brrrrrrr!
"That's one way of putting it, ho-ho..." The old woman laughed, kind. "Glad to see you, Kaoru-kun. Is all well?"
"Ah—bruises and shallow wounds—no problems at all!" I say, somewhat indistinctly, being absorbed in the small war below. Those two troublemakers had kicked up a fair ruckus down there, somehow dragging the surrounding shinobi into the scuffle. Heh... "Nothing I couldn't handle."
About the seal—I, naturally, decided to keep silent. Even if I trust Sarutobi—this conversation isn't for many ears.
"Is that so? Well—good. Hmmh..." The Hokage nodded, satisfied. "Ah—the children have finally settled down."
And indeed—through the efforts of m-Anko and several organizers, order had been restored among the genin, and they'd been lined back up into formation.
"Good. Well—first, I congratulate all of you on passing the Second Stage!" The Hokage announced, taking a step forward. "I imagine you'd like to proceed straight to the Third Stage—but before that... allow me to explain a few things."
With these words, the Hokage began her speech. She explained to the genin the true reasons for holding the exam—that it served as a substitute for war between the Villages. The exam was a kind of military parade and demonstration of each Village's strength. The political benefits, the exam's consequences, and its significance—all of this was laid out before the young crop of shinobi, largely stunning or even shocking them. Though some simply didn't care about causes or consequences. Like Gaara, for example.
"Hm... she looks decent," I noted, observing the crimson-haired girl. Yes—she clearly didn't seem as tormented as before. Feeling my gaze, the young jinchuriki bored into me with her turquoise eyes. Mhm... it was a fixed and deeply uncomfortable stare. Not knowing what to do, I simply smiled amiably and gave her a slight nod. Hm... and now her brother and sister are staring strangely in my direction. I've definitely done something wrong, haven't I?
Meanwhile, the Hokage finished hammering at the young shinobi's worldviews, and one of the examiners stepped forward. Um—is she REALLY alright?.. No, I vaguely recall something like this, but the look of a freshly-risen zombie and the regular coughing—that's definitely not normal!
Taking the speaker's position, Gekko Hayako stunned the assembly with yet another piece of news: there turned out to be rather too many examinees, so it was decided to hold a "semi-final" preliminary round to cut the number in half.
Aha—as expected, those Sand shinobi I'd noticed decided to withdraw. The entire time, they'd been glancing nervously toward Gaara and were clearly happy to be as far from her as possible.
Next to leave the ranks was my "sempai." Kabuki had the pitiful look of a beaten dog—but I knew firmly she was merely pretending, and skillfully so. I imagine, for an iryo-nin of her rank, it's easy to make a few wounds appear more severe than they truly are.
Expected. A spy has no reason whatsoever to fight.
There were several more who surrendered—mostly heavily injured team members—but since the battles would be individual, teams were no longer needed.
"Mmm... kh-kh!.. Anyone else?" Gekko asked, scanning the genin ranks. Concentrated silence in reply. "M—good... kh-khhh!.. So... Hm—more than twenty people? Looks like someone's going to be lucky enough to advance without a fight." The candidates answered this statement with a disorderly murmur of indignation. "What's the matter? Luck is also part of a shinobi's life—so don't... khhhhhhHHHHhhhh!.. don't complain. Battles will begin immediately, as soon as the display shows two randomly selected names." Gekko pointed a finger at the screen hanging from the ceiling. "The last participant left without a fight will be considered automatically advanced. Begin!"
At Gekko's command, the electronic scoreboard lit up, and the names of the first pair of combatants appeared upon it. Hm—I don't know either of them. And the names... Kami—who names their children like that?! Fine—I'll call them Stone-chan and Grass-san.
The Hokage and the other observers ascended to their reserved box; likewise, the remaining shinobi quickly scattered to the upper platforms, leaving the combatants on the arena floor.
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