"You mean, Obito choked on candy and got knocked out by Guy-sensei's kick, and then you got so angry that you punched Guy-sensei away?" Ishikawa's mouth twitched slightly as he listened to Nohara Rin excitedly recount the whole process.
Wasn't this the famous scene between Obito and Guy during the Chunin Exams? If so, that means only Kakashi will advance in the Chunin Exams, while Obito and Rin failed the test.
The Chunin Exams are usually held twice a year—once in the middle of the year and once at the end.
Looks like he remembered it wrong! Rin won't be promoted this time, but will advance alongside Obito next time.
However, with how fierce Rin is acting now, she might even shake up the plot and get promoted early. Hmm... looks like I'll need to be more careful with spoilers from now on—wouldn't want to cause unnecessary trouble!
"Guy-sensei?" Nohara Rin blinked her large eyes suspiciously at Ishikawa's thoughtful expression, clearly curious.
Isn't Ishikawa Kakashi's disciple? Why is he calling Might Guy "sensei"?
"Well, Guy-sensei and Kakashi-sensei are close friends who trust each other, so their squads often train together and push each other forward. After all, Guy-sensei is also a very powerful Taijutsu Jonin—his strength is no less than Kakashi-sensei's. He's known as the proud Blue Beast of Konoha."
"Might Guy? Jonin? The proud Blue Beast of Konoha??" Rin's adorable little face froze, her expression pure disbelief.
Might Guy could rival the genius Kakashi? It wasn't that she was looking down on her former classmate, who always ranked at the bottom—but it was shocking to hear that the class's biggest idiot had caught up to its most powerful genius!
"That's the situation. Anyway, let's not get sidetracked—I have a few questions about the Mystical Palm Technique I need to ask you, Ms Rin..." Ishikawa waved his hand to bring the conversation back. Time was short—he couldn't afford to waste it on idle chatter.
"No problem. The final individual competition starts in three days, so I have time to help you train right now."
"Three days later?" Ishikawa nodded calmly, quietly debating whether to possess an animal and watch the match.
Given how much chakra he could refine now, he should be able to last three to five hours—so long as he keeps power consumption minimal.
'No, it's too risky!' After a moment of consideration, Ishikawa crushed his desire to witness the match firsthand and chose survival. If something went wrong, he wouldn't even have time to regret it...
"Bang, bang, bang!" Just as Ishikawa resolved to stick with caution, a crisp knock rang out at the door.
In an instant, both Ishikawa and Rin's expressions changed dramatically!!
"What should we do? Should we open the door?" Nohara Rin asked, panicked yet curious, nervous about this sudden intrusion.
There was worry about exposing the secret of the time-space room—but also curiosity about meeting someone from another era.
"What's meant to happen will happen. Go hide in the bathroom for now—I'll check it out." Taking a deep breath, Ishikawa gave Rin a glance and moved toward the door.
He'd anticipated this possibility long ago. After all, ninjas are called on missions or by comrades at any hour—time doesn't matter to them. He just didn't expect it to happen so soon!
So rather than delay another day, better to face it now.
"The door's unlocked. Come in!" he called out after confirming Rin had hidden herself in the bathroom.
As he spoke, Ishikawa stared intently through the door crack, heart racing. The moment the other person stepped in, he planned to push them out and slam the door shut!
One second… two seconds… three seconds.
As sweat rolled down Ishikawa's forehead and each moment stretched like an eternity, no sound came from outside—not even the creak of the door opening…
"Did you fall asleep? Makes sense. After all that action today, even I'm at my limit, let alone others." Just as Ishikawa was about to speak again, a low sigh came from outside the door.
'That voice… Hyuga Neji? Why is he here?!' Ishikawa's pupils shrank sharply. He hadn't expected Neji to be the one outside. He thought it would be either Taro or Jiro.
Neji had mentioned wanting to see him, but Ishikawa didn't think he'd show up this very night! Looks like Neji was still fixated on the intel about the Raikage of Kumogakure.
But—if Ishikawa could hear Neji whispering clearly, why hadn't Neji heard him shouting just now? Could it be…?
"Creak." Hearing soft footsteps approach, Ishikawa immediately opened the door.
"Neji, why are you looking for me this late instead of resting?" Ishikawa called out, stepping out and shutting the door behind him quickly, as Neji turned toward him.
While speaking, Ishikawa faked a yawn, looking worn out and groggy.
"I… I really wanted to… I really…" Neji, relieved to see Ishikawa, visibly relaxed. But before he could finish, the exhaustion overpowering his body finally surged. His vision blacked out, and he collapsed unconscious.
"Is this guy serious?" Ishikawa muttered, speechless at the sight of Neji passing out like a rag doll. Sure, the Raikage info was important—but this was a bit much.
Glancing at the night sky, Ishikawa sighed, then gently propped Neji up against the door. He figured he'd drag him inside and let him crash on the floor once the dimensional connection ended.
"Wait a sec…" Just as Ishikawa reached for the door, something clicked in his mind—and he froze.
He'd been wondering whether anyone else could open the door from the outside. And now, here was Neji, unconscious—a perfect test subject dropped into his lap.
Under normal circumstances, Ishikawa's Spiritual Transformation Technique wouldn't work on Neji. But if the target was asleep and completely unresisting…
"Spiritual Transformation Technique…" As soon as he formed the hand seals, Ishikawa's spirit emerged, glowing faintly and rising to knee height before rushing into Neji's body like a phantom.
The next second, Neji's eyes flew open—bright and gleaming with unnatural clarity!
"As expected. If the target offers no resistance, I can still take control." Inside Neji's body, Ishikawa forced himself to his feet and staggered toward the door handle.
But the control window was brief—no more than ten seconds. He had to act fast.
"Click… click…" The lock turned, but the door handle didn't budge—as if jammed or broken from the inside.
"Perfect! That settles it. Even if there's still uncertainty, the time-space room won't be exposed." Relieved, Ishikawa felt the last of his chakra and immediately used it.
"Byakugan—activate!"