And then there was also...
"Final match: Furina versus Kabuto Yakushi. Both sides, please enter the arena quickly."
"I never expected to face you, Senior Kabuto. Please go easy on me."
Furina's surprise wasn't just lip service. She had thought the other would choose to forfeit. She didn't expect him to decide to continue, and moreover, to be matched against her.
"Haha, those words should really come from me. Please go easy on me, Furina-san."
Through Kabuto's glasses, Furina couldn't detect the slightest abnormality. Sincere, enthusiastic. If she didn't know he was Orochimaru's spy, she would have truly been fooled. It had to be said: a spy who had been traveling through various countries since childhood really wasn't just talk.
"All right, you two, stop being so polite here. Hurry up and start already. Once you're done fighting, I can finally get off work."
"Then let's begin."
Hearing this, Kabuto nodded toward Genma Shiranui, then looked back at Furina. This time, his matchup against Furina was naturally no coincidence.
After his conversation with Orochimaru, during which he discovered that Orochimaru seemed quite interested in Furina, Kabuto couldn't help feeling a bit curious himself.
Unlike Naruto and Sasuke, who had special identities, Furina was just an ordinary person, the same as him. So why would someone like that catch Orochimaru's attention?
And he himself had always craved being noticed and acknowledged by others. This also sparked his desire to investigate, and he quickly put it into action. Through a little maneuvering, Furina successfully ended up facing him in the final match.
"Then let me see. I hope you won't disappoint me."
After sidestepping the thrown shuriken, Kabuto, kunai in hand, had already rushed right up to Furina. It seemed he was preparing for close-quarters combat. But far from panicking, Furina's eyes actually flashed with a trace of amusement.
This guy Kabuto must think she's better at ninjutsu, so he chose to go straight into taijutsu against her? Not a bad idea. It's just a pity that before the match even started, she had already added points to her strength as well. Taijutsu would not be her weakness.
[Strength: Special Jōnin (1594/20000) → Special Jōnin (20000/20000)]
[Strength: Jōnin (0/50000)]
[Affection Value: 40921]
"Hm?"
Kabuto naturally noticed Furina's performance as well. At first he didn't pay it much mind, simply assuming she was underestimating him and not taking him seriously. Even if it came to taijutsu, it wouldn't matter.
But as their kunai clashed again and again, Kabuto grew more and more astonished. Whether from the beginning when he was still holding back a lot, or now when he was using seven or eight tenths of his power, the Furina opposite him handled everything with ease, as if nothing was happening at all. That was truly terrifying.
"Earlier, Lord Orochimaru said her ninjutsu was outstanding. Now it seems her taijutsu is no less impressive."
From Furina's performance, Kabuto knew that even if he went all out with taijutsu alone, it would be very hard to defeat her. Moreover, as a spy, he couldn't possibly reveal his full strength here. What he was showing now was already his limit.
"Looks like this is as far as it goes." During a brief gap in their exchange, Kabuto could already hear people exclaiming in surprise at how intense the clash between the two was.
He had always maintained the image of a nobody in Konoha. If this continued, it might cause problems.
"Thud."
"Furina-san really is amazing. I thought that after so many years of hard training, I would be ready for chūnin level. But now it seems I'm still not enough."
"Pretending. You really can pretend."
Looking at Kabuto, who had been kicked flying by her and was now sitting on the ground gasping for breath with an appearance of having no strength left to fight, Furina's face couldn't help twitching. "Chūnin" and "not enough"? Saying those words doesn't embarrass you at all?
"How could that be? I only won by luck. If Senior Kabuto had held on just a little longer, the one who couldn't hold out would probably have been me. I'm almost exhausted now too."
Seemingly to add credibility, after saying this Furina also began panting, looking as though she had no energy left to continue fighting.
"You're too modest." Looking at the panting Furina opposite him, Kabuto shook his head. Then he struggled to his feet and turned to leave the arena. He knew the other was definitely faking this appearance, and he had probably been seen through as well.
Although he didn't know why Furina hadn't called him out, to be safe, it was better not to linger here any longer.
"Winner: Furina. The elimination tournament is over. All advancing examinees, please remain here for now. The Hokage has something more to say."
With Genma Shiranui's announcement, Kabuto's figure slowly melted into the darkness of the contestant passage. After walking some distance, a figure with arms crossed leaning against the wall appeared in his line of sight.
"Lord Orochimaru, I'm sorry. Continuing to participate in the exam this time was impulsive on my part."
Upon seeing that figure, Kabuto quickly jogged over to his side. With his apology, the other's identity naturally became obvious.
"There's nothing to apologize for, Kabuto. Participating in the exam as an examinee is perfectly normal. On the contrary, if you had forfeited outright, that would have been more suspicious.
All right, you know I don't like this kind of politeness. Since you've made this choice, just tell me your opinion of her."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
...
"For fairness, the third stage of the exam will officially begin one month from now. During this period, you may use any means to improve yourselves and prepare for the upcoming test."
After listening to the Third Hokage ramble on for another long while, it finally came to an end. Looking at the gradually darkening sky, Furina couldn't help sighing that the other really could talk.
In terms of speech alone, the title of strongest Hokage was well deserved.
"Yay! All three of us advanced! We have to go out and celebrate properly now!"
After reuniting with Sasuke and Kakashi, who had gone to seal the curse mark earlier, the joy on Naruto's face was practically overflowing. Advancing together with his teammates what could be better than that?
"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei, I feel like we should celebrate too."
"Ahem." After meeting Furina's gaze, which was full of amusement, Kakashi instantly understood what she was thinking. Although treating his students to a meal wasn't a big deal, as their teacher, how could he let them manipulate him so easily?
"You all know about Sasuke's curse mark. Right now is the time he needs rest and recovery. Celebration can wait for later."
"No need, Kakashi. After you sealed the curse mark for me, I feel like there's no major issue anymore. Celebrating is completely fine."
As he spoke, the corners of Sasuke's mouth curved up slightly. Trying to use him as an excuse to get out of it? Dream on.