"No hurry."
"Hey, Daigan, didn't you promise Captain Otokaze you wouldn't cause any more trouble during the exam? Don't do anything rash!" Chi said nervously, terrified he was about to stir up another mess. "We signed a waiver for this survival test. One wrong move could get us killed. You might not be scared, but Yome and I can't handle any more of this."
"Relax. I would never put my dear teammates in danger." Daigan kicked the swordsman, who was playing dead, then planted his foot on the face of the groaning team leader. "I have no idea how scum like you passed the first test. But unfortunately for you, you ran into me. Your luck ends here. Your Chunin Exam should be over, but..."
Daigan picked up the black-framed glasses from the ground, wiped the dust from the lenses, and slowly approached the trembling Karin. He squatted down and carefully placed the glasses back on her face.
"Little girl, seeing as you have some backbone, I'll give you a chance."
How Daigan had detected any backbone in a girl too terrified to speak was anyone's guess, but he delivered the lie with a straight face.
"Hey, Daigan, what are you—"
He waved a hand, silencing Chi and Yome. He then produced a "Scroll of Heaven" and offered it to the stunned Karin. "We took your Scroll of Earth, and we're not giving it back. But we have an extra 'Scroll of Heaven' that's useless to us. You can have it."
Seeing that the dumbfounded Karin wasn't moving, Daigan placed the scroll on the ground in front of her.
"I'm leaving it here. Whether you take it is up to you. With your level of strength, staying in the Forest of Death could be a very good or a very bad thing. Who knows? Maybe my moment of compassion will end up getting you killed. Haha..."
With a hollow laugh, Daigan stood. "Yome, Chi, let's go."
The two girls, their minds heavy with worry, glanced at the helpless Karin, then at the "Scroll of Heaven" on the ground. After a moment's hesitation, they followed Daigan.
A few moments later, once they were sure Team Otokaze was gone, the swordsman who had been playing dead struggled to his feet. He staggered over to Karin, picked up the "Scroll of Heaven," then grabbed her arm and bit down hard.
"This is all your fault, you useless waste of space! If it weren't for you, we would have escaped!"
The other ninja scrambled up and bit down on Karin's other arm. Pain ripped a scream from her throat, but her two battered teammates, now being rapidly healed by her unique constitution, showed no mercy as they berated the helpless girl.
***
Further away, as Team Otokaze rested and ate, a bewildered Chi finally asked, "Daigan, when did we get an extra Scroll of Heaven?"
Yome added, her voice tinged with disapproval, "What extra scroll? Daigan, I know you're the leader, but could you at least consider our feelings? Why did you give our Scroll of Heaven to those Grass Ninja?"
"Don't be silly, you two." Daigan gave them a mysterious smile and produced a matching pair of scrolls, one of Heaven and one of Earth. "See? They're perfectly fine. Don't worry, I'm not an idiot."
***
Yome and Chi stared in shock at the scrolls in Daigan's hands.
"They don't look like fakes. Where did you get the Scroll of Heaven you gave to those Grass Ninja?"
"I made it myself. Pretty realistic, huh? And it's not just the 'Scroll of Heaven.' I've got plenty of the 'Scroll of Earth,' too." As he spoke, Daigan pulled a pile of scrolls from his gear pouch. Some were convincing replicas, while others were clearly half-finished fakes, lacking detail.
"Come on, don't just stand there. Help me make a few more."
"This... Daigan!" Chi looked at the scrolls with a complicated expression. "Can't we just pass the exam peacefully?"
"Didn't the proctor, Mitarashi Anko, say so herself?" Daigan replied nonchalantly. "As long as you follow the rules, even killing is fair game. What's the big deal if I make a few fake scrolls?"
Yome uneasily picked up one of the fakes. The material felt slightly rougher than the real thing, and the ink was still wet in places. "But what's the point? A fake is still a fake. We can't use it to pass, can we?"
"We've already collected a genuine set. As for the other teams, I couldn't care less if they live or die."
"But they'll know it's a fake as soon as they open it... wait, no they won't!" Yome's eyes widened in sudden realization. "No candidate has ever seen what's inside a real scroll."
"Exactly. You're finally using your head, Yome." Daigan's goal was much bigger than just spreading a few fakes. "The candidates can't tell the difference between a real scroll and a fake one just by looking. They'll only know for sure after they open it and hand it to a proctor, but... hehe..." A sinister laugh escaped his lips.
Chi's face paled. "If they accidentally open a real scroll, their whole team is disqualified. No one would dare take that risk."
And so, even if a team was holding a scroll they strongly suspected was a fake, they wouldn't dare open it to check. What if it was real? A scroll that looked suspicious might just be a genuine one that got dirty during a fight or was accidentally splashed with water.
"Are you trying to turn the second exam into a bloodbath?"
If other teams realized that fake scrolls were in circulation, they would no longer be able to tell if they had met the requirements to pass. If they reached the central tower only to find out their scroll was a fake, it would be too late. A scroll that couldn't be proven false had to be treated as real.
To avoid being duped, stronger teams would be forced to defeat as many opponents as possible, hoarding scrolls to increase their odds of getting a genuine pair.
"A bloodbath is an exaggeration. The strongest teams will gather their real scrolls long before the fakes start circulating. They won't be affected at all. As for the slightly weaker, slightly slower ones..." Daigan just smiled, leaving the rest unsaid.
Chi idly opened an unsealed scroll. It wasn't blank inside; it was just stuffed with scrap paper to give it some form. "When did you start preparing all these?"
"Last night. I just made the prototypes. After I saw what the real scrolls looked like today, I rushed to make two convincing copies. I haven't gotten to the rest yet."
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