"That's probably because your social skills are lacking."
"Maybe," Kankuro said noncommittally. "By the way, is Chi okay? She looked pretty bad..."
If even Yamanaka Ino, who was caught in the periphery, had such a strong reaction, Chi, who had taken the full brunt of it, couldn't possibly be fine. Fortunately, it was her own genjutsu, so she was more familiar with it and could dispel it easily.
"Konoha's medical-nin already checked her out. It's nothing serious. She'll be fine after a night's rest."
"That's good. Since there are no issues, what are you working on now?"
"Nothing major. Just being prepared."
"Seems a bit suspicious." Kankuro scanned the messy paper scraps, ink stains, half-used sandpaper, and wood shavings scattered around the desk. "It doesn't look like you're making a puppet. You're not planning to cause another scene in tomorrow's exam, are you?"
"Stop guessing. I'm not an idiot. How could I dare cause any more trouble?"
After the written test, Otokaze had given Daigan another earful. He could have passed easily, but he had to meddle, nearly getting Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari's team eliminated. If he hadn't thought on his feet at the last second to buy some time and avert disaster, Otokaze would have been tempted to kill him.
Of course, neither Otokaze nor Baki questioned Daigan's motives for helping Kankuro. They didn't think he knew how important it was for Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari to participate in this joint exam. They just assumed he was taking a risk to curry favor with Temari.
"Anyway, thanks for this afternoon. I would have been in deep trouble otherwise."
"Don't worry about it. I didn't do it for you. If Temari had been eliminated, she wouldn't have gotten to see me show off my awesome power in the rest of the Chunin Exam."
***
Daigan had, admittedly, overestimated his own influence. Compared to the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan and the prodigious children of the Fourth Kazekage, other Genin candidates struggled to make a name for themselves. Even the widely acknowledged genius Hyuga Neji drew little attention, being from a branch family. As for Hyuga Hinata, though the eldest daughter of the main family, she was not favored by the clan head and possessed limited talent, so she hardly made a ripple.
The commotion Daigan had caused during the first stage of the Chunin Exam was all but forgotten by the next morning.
The young Sand Ninja, who had risen early for a walk, watched as the eliminated Sand Genin began their journey back to the village. Dejected and lost in their own thoughts, they were, in a way, fortunate to be leaving the hornet's nest of Konoha before the Konoha Crush plan unfolded.
Daigan felt a pang of guilt for Saya, Sana, Shira, Yome, and Chi—all of whom he had tricked into coming here, into a mess they should never have been a part of. It would be for the best if only the unavoidable trio of Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari, along with Daigan himself who had invited himself along, made it to the third stage. The others were better off going home early.
The assembly time for the second stage of the exam was in the afternoon; they just had to be at Training Ground 44 by two o'clock. There was still plenty of time. Daigan, already prepared, wandered the streets, bought a large stock of high-calorie food, and then returned calmly to the inn.
After patiently waiting out the quiet morning, he gathered Yome and Chi for lunch, and then Team Otokaze slowly made their way to Training Ground 44. They weren't the last to arrive, but they were only a few minutes early. It wasn't until the final group—a team of Grass Ninja who arrived late, trailing a faint scent of blood and a hidden killing intent—that all seventy-five candidates were finally present.
*Orochimaru. No doubt about it.*
Daigan glanced over for a fraction of a second before quickly turning away, not daring to look again. The disguise of the Face-Erasing Jutsu was not something an ordinary person could see through. Even Mitarashi Anko, who had been Orochimaru's student for years, didn't recognize him. If the patrolling proctors hadn't discovered the bodies of the Grass Ninja, no one might have realized that Konoha's S-rank rogue ninja had snuck back into the village.
The Forest of Death was the hunting ground Orochimaru had chosen, and Uchiha Sasuke was his prey.
But...
*Orochimaru killed those Grass Ninja candidates, so why didn't he dispose of the bodies? Destroying the evidence would have been a better way to cover his tracks. He could have just summoned a giant snake to swallow them whole. Come to think of it, when he ambushes and kills the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, he doesn't take the body either, just leaves it behind.*
Perhaps once he successfully placed the Cursed Seal of Heaven on Sasuke, exposure no longer mattered. Konoha would inevitably realize he was back. As for Rasa, concealment was even more pointless. Orochimaru, disguised as the Kazekage to assassinate the Third Hokage, would be the prime suspect regardless.
*Orochimaru is so powerful now that he doesn't need to care what Konoha thinks. I can't get close to him, and I absolutely cannot draw his attention.*
This put a clamp on anything Daigan might have wanted to do in the Forest of Death.
At two o'clock sharp, Mitarashi Anko began to gather the candidates to explain the rules of the second exam. Her eyes fell on Daigan, who was standing in a corner, quietly observing the towering trees.
*So this is the Daigan that Ibiki warned me might cause trouble? He just looks like a clueless oaf.*
Compared to the Sand Ninja, teasing the disobedient blond kid seemed like much more fun.
"Once you've made up your minds, sign the consent forms and get your scrolls."
An assisting proctor pulled back a cloth curtain.
"A Scroll of Heaven and a Scroll of Earth. So this is about turning the experience of the first test into actual combat? How direct," commented Chi, her spirits restored. She eyed the competitors, each of whom looked formidable, and felt a flicker of doubt. Treating the scrolls as intelligence, each team would have to defeat an enemy to obtain what they needed to pass.
"A team of three must remain intact. You pass by reaching the central tower with both types of scrolls. You cannot look inside the scrolls midway. The rules are simple," Yome noted, scanning the area. The people Daigan had told her to watch were mostly here. "The simpler the rules, the fewer loopholes there are to exploit."
With time running out, Daigan began to give his final instructions. "Yome, can you see through the curtain to tell which kind of scroll a team is getting and who's holding it?"
"I'll try." Standing in Daigan's shadow, Yome focused chakra into her eyes, her pupils dilating. "I can just barely make out the type of scroll, but I can't see who's holding it."
"That's enough." As long as they took down all three members of a rival team, it didn't matter who was carrying the scroll.
Not far away, Uzumaki Naruto, who had scraped through the written test by a hair, seemed to have gained some baffling new confidence. While other teams were cautiously trying to avoid drawing the attention of the stronger participants, he was completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere.
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