Naruto: Tales of Ashihara
Kakumei – Arc 3: Naruto Next Generation
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Chapter 77 – To the last step
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A few days after the end of the second part of the International Chunin Selection Exam, the 7th Hokage is sitting in his office, attending a remote Shinobi Union meeting. The five Kage are discussing the outcome of the survival exercise and related problems.
"The Daimyo's really mad about the state his monument was left in, you know?" tells Kurotsuchi, embarrassed. "I really didn't expect genin and chunin level ninjas to make such a mess."
"Some of them must be Jonin level already, judging by the damage done." Gaara says.
"No. More than that. Not even any ninja of our highest elites could have done this." says Chojuro. "Those unbreakable walls were punched through like paperboard…"
"Excessive Damage!" a deep man's voice is heard yelling from the Tsuchikage's input.
Akatsuchi steps in behind her, with an upset look on his face.
"And your son is responsible for this, Hokage!" he complains. "My precious mountain bison still hasn't been found and won't appear when I try to summon it. I don't intend to let this squad get away with this."
"Calm down, Akatsuchi." says Naruto, ready to defend his students. "The proctor reported that my kids didn't encounter the summoned beast and just stole the scroll from another team."
"I'd personally trust the lead proctor's word." says Darui. "If I'm correct, she's the Ninja arts specialist to whom I gifted part of the Rikudo's treasures."
"Yes, Tenten. That's her." says Naruto. "She gave an update on the research going on in the maze this morning and nothing new was found. They just have an evaluation of the overall degradation."
"How did it disappear?" Akatsuchi asks, worried for his animal friend. "And if not the team with the golden scroll, who did this?"
"Something uncontrolled must have happened inside." Darui adds, not answering the question. "A young girl from Kumo did not exit in time and still wasn't found, whereas her teammates both presented their results as soon as the timer ran out."
"This sounds serious. So there's a missing creature and participant?" Gaara says. "Do you think hostile doings took place? If so, it could be considered on behalf of the assailant's village."
"I hope not, but it's very likely." the Raikage answers. "I don't suspect the ninjas from Konoha of anything. And I assume nobody here would be crazy enough to wish for another war."
"It can't be from one of our villages…" says Chojuro. "Then maybe from the two guest nations."
"I have to defend Ame here." Naruto exclaims. "I am the one who invited them, and I've worked with the current leader. He has to be trustworthy."
"And I invited Hikari. I'd like to trust them." Gaara completes.
"You mean you'd like to trust the Tomoe clan?" interrupts Kurotsuchi. "They were in charge when you had them as allies. But the new order in place surely is suspicious."
"The Hokage and I sent messengers there." The Kazekage defends. "They couldn't meet the leader, but the representatives they found were cooperative. Sure, one of them may have had ties with the Daitengu, but this was 5 years ago, when the country likely had no other choice but to comply with the higher powers who took control."
"… Still pretty suspicious to me, not gonna lie." the Tsuchikage replies, doubtfully.
"Let's make ourselves a reason." Chojuro decides to end this discussion. "Even if this nation is ruled by subjects of the Daitengu or Momoshiki Otsutsuki, they certainly know that their former leader was defeated by the Hokage. No one aware of such a thing would involve himself in a conflict with us. Not with Naruto still by our side."
None of the Kage adds anything now. They think of Chojuro's words and quietly make their opinions. Naruto, to not leave it all too optimistic or pessimistic, states the facts.
"The leader will have to present himself to us during the final tournament anyway." he says. "We'll inevitably find out what his positions are at that time."
"About that tournament…" says Shikamaru behind Naruto. "I'd like to clarify some points."
"We're listening." says Gaara, on behalf of the council.
"Thank you. First, the leaders won't have to assist the entirety of the first round fights." he begins. "With 32 remaining participants, we thought it might be better for the 16 first matches to have a restrained access. So for each battle, only the candidates' sensei and Kage are expected to attend. The other Kage, participants, as well as teammates and families of the fighters are also allowed to be present, but not mandatorily."
"So Buto Isshin' presence as head of Ame will be requested only for his genin's matches?" Naruto explains aloud to his own self. "And so, we'll meet the sovereign of the lands of Heart only when one of his 3 candidates gets to fight…"
"Have the match-ups been set up yet?" asks Kurotsuchi.
"They are being decided as we speak and will be revealed later this week." Shikamaru answers.
"16 fights, huh?" says Darui. "Judging by the number of participants who got eliminated already, I assume winning a battle in this first round will be enough to be promoted."
"The evaluation and promotion of a candidate is up to his village only." Shikamaru answers. "The other Kage don't have a word on this. Only rule is that a genin needs to at least have participated in all 3 parts of the exam to pass."
"And so these battles will take place in a month only?" asks Chojuro.
"Yes. We give the participants the time to prepare their strategies, knowing their opponents." Gaara explains. "And of course, they also get a well deserved rest in the process."
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As the Kazekage just said, the remaining candidates of this exam have been on a rest for the last few days, waiting to prepare and train for the matches that they'll learn about soon. A few more days later, when those who were harmed during this second part all have recovered, the medical team of the exam gets a rest too, as well as the head organizers.
About the rescue and security teams, as the searches don't seem to come to an end, the ninjas of Iwa among them have to stay and continue working while everyone else also gets a small vacation break, free from any ninja obligation.
Tenten, who was head proctor of the survival part, and Sakura, who's in charge of the direction of the medical staff, decided to treat themselves with a stay on the sunny side of the land of Fire. So they went to the beaches of Ryuka. Since Saori Minamoto, who gave birth to Konohamaru's daughter a few months ago, used to be the leader of this village, she decided to join the two elite kunoichi on their rest.
Tokiwa Minamoto, feeling lonely at home with her son out on missions and her husband on duty in Kiri, decided to visit at the same time and get to meet the baby girl. Sakura also brought her daughter Sarada with her to Ryuka. Izuna, who ended up alone at home, decided to go with them and, in an act of solidarity, was followed by his teammates Boruto and Inoue. Rebekka Tabiki also came, purely out of boredom. After all, they are also on a rest as passing candidates.
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Right now, Sakura, Tenten and Tokiwa are sunbathing on the beach with the new leader of the village, Natsuri Yokawa, the hotel's owner who had to assume this responsibility when Saori left. As they calmly enjoy their rest, lying on towels left on the sand ground, all wearing a bikini that they took out for the occasion, they are joined by Saori who brings her baby girl, hidden in a baby sized sun cloak.
The former Minamoto princess comes to sit next to them, who all enthusiastically raise up to see the little child.
"Ladies, I present to you, Satomi Sarutobi." she happily says.
"Aww, she's cute!" says Tokiwa. "She really looks like you!"
"I guess this is a compliment." Saori answers before quietly laughing.
"So she takes the father's last name, huh?" comments Natsuri. "She's not another Minamoto princess then."
"I leave the family's honors to my brother." answers Konohamaru's wife, while confidently gazing at Tokiwa.
"How are you gonna do with her and your work as designer?" Sakura asks, out of curiosity.
"Don't worry about this. A child isn't as time consuming as I expected actually." she says. "Especially with a man like mine around."
"That, I couldn't tell you." Sakura says, discreetly referring to her having had to raise her kids alone while working, which was made possible only thanks to Shizune and Tsunade's help.
"Designer? You're a fashion designer?" Tenten asks about Saori, actually meeting most of these women for the first time. "Is this bikini you're wearing one of your works?"
"Yes it is!" proudly says Saori who lies her baby on her lap for her friends to better see what she wears on top.
Saori shows off her bikini top framed with a black and blue chessboard pattern that perfectly contrasts with her light skin. Her bottom piece is covered with the same pattern, and both are held around her body with white colored straps.
"This one isn't available for sale yet." she explains. "It probably won't be in the most valuable collections. For instance, what Tokiwa wears is from my most prized set. It's way fancier. One of my best underwear types works."
The ladies all turn their heads to look at Tokiwa who gently strikes a pose to properly display her quite fashionable wear. On top, an all black beach bra with elaborated patterns, attached with a silver metal piece between her breasts and soft elastic bands strapped around her back and shoulders. Bottom is also black and patterned, with a see-through dark filter scarf attached to it, laying down against her butt and thighs. Sakura, Tenten and Natsuri stare impressed at this eye catcher that manages to grab the attention of all the passengers and vacationers.
"Well, now that it's been mentioned I can say. This… is a masterpiece!" exclaims Tenten. "It caught my attention as soon as I saw you, Lady Minamoto."
"It looks perfect! But it certainly wouldn't be that glorious if it was my size." Sakura complains.
"Sure… You add a lot to its value, Tokiwa." Natsuri comments with a flirting smile. "I can't tell if what grabs my attention is the top of the line piece of cloth or just you being burning hot!"
"Ha! Yeah I get told that often indeed!" Tokiwa proudly says, now resting from her pose.
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In the distance, further on the beach, Izuna Uchiha is fully dressed and standing next to his little sister who's playing in the sand. The little girl is dressed up for the beach, but doesn't want to go in the water. Inoue, also in regular clothes, is knees bent next to Sarada, happily looking at what she does with the sand and making sure she doesn't hurt herself. Behind them, Rebekka is laying on the ground, wearing nothing but a one piece bikini and her favorite long jean jacket.
Boruto, standing next to Izuna, quietly stares at Rebekka's body lying on the ground. His gaze lost in the view leaves him daydreams. The 17 year old girl looks aside and makes eye contact with the Hokage's son who trembles and hurries to look away. Instead, he watches the people on the beach come and go, and focuses on the adult ladies sitting in a round and chatting about their clothes.
Next to him, he notices Izuna mistrustful looking at all the people who pass next to his mother and her friends to take a peak at them. Boruto, guessing what seems to upset his friend, takes a better look at Sakura. He notices her visible abs and muscles.
"Seems like your mom has the look to fit her strength, Izuna." he says to tease him. "Never noticed before, but she's actually a real hottie!"
"Shut up! Shut the hell up!" Izuna embarrassingly yells as he grabs Boruto by the collar of his jacket. "One more word and you'll get something hotter right in your dumb face!"
"Calm down, man!" Boruto says to ease the game. "It was a compliment, wasn't it?"
"Not if you say it like that." Inoue replies, kind of upset about Boruto's comment. "This sounds rude."
"Phrase it differently." Rebekka suggests. "Like, listen: I guess this is where Izuna got his cute little innocent face from."
Inoue blows from her nose and gently smiles, before looking at Izuna to see his reaction. The Uchiha just makes a awkward face, too insecure to acknowledge his own qualities. Before she can comment about this, Sarada speaks.
"Boruto doesn't look happy that you called my brother cute." she says, which triggers Boruto.
"Really? What up, Bro?" Rebekka says, with a teasing voice.
"What? Nothing, Sis! Nothing at all!" he yells. "I don't care about being cute! I don't care about looks. What matters to me is what's inside."
"The Soul? The heart?" Inoue suggests, trying to guess what kind of romantic view Boruto is trying to express.
"The chakra!" he promptly corrects her, with a willful and determined look on his face.
Inoue, vexed by this answer, rolls her eyes and looks back at whatever Sarada is doing with the sand. Rebekka rises from the ground and sits down laughing at Boruto's words.
"Boruto's a fightsexual apparently." she jokes. "How can you be so focused on action but not even remember who you stole the golden scroll from?"
"I'll tell you a secret, Sis." Boruto starts to say, which surprises Izuna. "I know very well who I had to steal this from. Problem is, if I talk about him, he may be disqualified for what he did, and I won't be able to fight him again in the tournament."
"For real?" asks Rebekka, confused by this answer, and flattered that Boruto trusts her enough to say this. "Wow… You really are a fightsexual!"
"You can't understand. This guy made me feel the thrill of the fight like no one ever did before." he explains, getting chills just by telling it. "Takeshi also has power like that, but it's not the same. Against Takeshi, the goal is to win. I won't be satisfied unless I get him back to the ground. But this guy, just sparing hits and feeling the risk of… I don't know, dying maybe… it's different."
Izuna and Rebekka both just look confusingly at the yellow haired ninja, unable to comprehend these feelings. Inoue, who's used to her teammate's odd attraction to bloody battles, just stays focused on the little girl playing in the sand.
"Why don't you go to play in the water now, Sarada?" she asks with a gentle voice.
"I hate the sea." the Uchiha girl answers, simply and rapidly, with a serious voice, while keeping her hands moving in the sand.
"You like the beach but not the sea? That's odd, little girl!" mocks Rebekka.
Sarada looks up to Rebekka with a dark look in her eyes and stays quiet for a moment, just meanly staring at her, before answering.
"I never said I liked the beach." she answers with the same serious voice.
Rebekka, Inoue and Boruto all widely open their eyes and make awkward faces, kind of unsettled by the little girl's serious tone. Izuna isn't surprised. He knows this is just his sister's usual behavior. While their chatting stopped, Mirai Sarutobi, who accompanied her cousin's wife to this village, comes to the group running with a scroll in her hand.
"Guys! Girls!" she shouts as she gets closer, waving her hand around while holding the scroll. "The match-ups are there!"
Rebekka leaps off the ground and suddenly stands next to Boruto who gets startled by the news. Inoue calmly stands up and goes to stand next to Izuna. Behind her, Sarada also stands up, cleans herself from the sand, and stands by her brother's side, while holding on his sleeve.
Mirai reaches them and shakes the scroll around, as if to tell the answer to their questions is written inside. Izuna follows the sealed paper with his eyes and tries to tell if it's authentic.
"Where did you get this?" he asks, suspicious of a bad joke. "How would you have gotten this but not us?"
"Lord 7th just gave it to me." Mirai innocently answers. "I randomly found him running through the streets minutes ago and he handed this over to me."
"Izuna, Mirai isn't the kind of person to do bad jokes, don't worry." Inoue tells Izuna. "Sensei probably sent a clone running here to give it to us, but since he ran into Mirai first, he left it to her."
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Rebekka exclaims. "What are you gonna do? Eat it?… Open it!"
Mirai puts her second hand on the scroll and holds it down for everyone to look down on it. She unrolls the note and shows its content to everybody. As expected, the 16 match-ups in chronological order are written, with the names and pictures of all fighters.
Day 1: Izuna Uchiha vs Shakiro Araya – Yukai vs Metal Lee – Iwabe Yogu vs Narui – Boruto Hyuga vs Mikitaka
Day 2: Inoue Yamanaka vs Mariona Shirogane – Aoki Yotsuki vs Jinbei – Shinki vs Mariko Uchiha – Chinoka Zuka vs Kawaki
Day 3: Teru Uchiha vs Yome Horikawa – Kaori vs Namonaki – Yukiko vs Hibitsuna Katagiri – Mira Fuhatsu vs Tarui
Day 4: Yurui vs Abachi Shintaro – Kaza Kamizuru vs Ru – Genki Shintaro vs Haruna Wazuka – Rebekka Tabiki vs Toroi
Under this list are details about who is authorized to attend a fight, the rules, and how the winners will go on. The winners of two consecutive fights will necessarily be matched up against each other.
Inoue quietly stares at the scroll, trying to figure out if she already met her opponent. This woman, Mariona Shirogane, looks older than the other participants. She must be at the very least Rebekka's age. Noticing her last name, she thinks that it may be a clan, which could give her clues about her fighting style. Rebekka has a far less discreet reaction.
"AAAH I'll have to wait until the very last fight?" she complains. "Bori~ing… I've never even seen that fat kid in my life!" she adds, commenting on her opponent. "What about you guys? Izuna you're lucky you're the very first."
"… Shakiro Araya… He is on the same squad as the Kazekage's son." the Uchiha remarks, thinking of what he told Misora, Megane and Shiba, about beating Shinki.
Inoue looks at him, still unhappy about such a focus on adversity. Standing between Boruto focused on Kawaki and Izuna on Shinki, she feels kind of out of place, but is glad that no one could get her so obsessed with action.
"My opponent is from Suna too." she says to Izuna who now looks at the picture of Mariona.
Boruto doesn't pay attention to his opponent, who's one of Kawaki's teammates. He just examines the paper and tries to find how long he'll have to wait before getting what he wants.
"This Mikitaka… Then whoever wins between Iwabe and Narui… Then you, Izuna… and finally!" he says.
"So you assume Izuna will obviously make it to the third round?" Mirai asks. "Confidence between teammates. That's great!"
"Izuna, after I beat you, I'll get to fight this Kawaki in the 4th round!" Boruto exclaims while pointing his finger at the name of the one he wants to fight.
"Shut up with that guy already!" Izuna says, annoyed by Boruto's obsession, but also his overconfident behavior.
"Who's he?" Mirai asks.
"He's the boy that Boruto is in love with." simply answers Sarada.
"What? No!" Boruto yells. "Izuna tell your sister to shut up!"
"Do it yourself, idiot." Izuna answers. "But if you do, I'll beat your ass."
"I'd like to see you try." The Hokage's son answers, bringing his face closer to Izuna and provocatively looking at him.
Inoue, who's just in between the two boys, sighs. She looks at Boruto's smile and Izuna's poker face, and then looks down to Sarada to find a bit of comfort in this situation. Mirai, not much understanding Boruto's lust for combat, looks at Rebekka, the only girl her age. The purple haired young woman winks at Mirai and raises her leg. She lays her foot on Boruto's back and pushes him forward, to make him hit Inoue and then Izuna.
Boruto unexpectedly falls forward, but Izuna, quick to react, hurries to avoid the collision Rebekka wanted. He grabs Inoue's shoulder and pushes her to fall backwards. It's now his head that collides with Boruto's. The yellow haired boy's nose crashes and is squashed against the Uchiha's forehead. He jumps backwards, holding his face in pain.
"I guess I was in the Byakugan's blind spot." Rebekka comments.
"What the hell, dude?" Boruto blames Izuna rather than her. "You sure got your mom's forehead."
Sarada, who's standing under Inoue, as ready to catch her despite having already been caught by Izuna in his other arm, frowns and looks at Boruto.
"Stop talking about my mom!" she says with a serious voice.
"Stop saying I love a man." he promptly answers.
"Bro, you're arguing with a 6 year old." Rebekka says, to bring Boruto's ego down to earth.
He embarrassingly smiles and gets at ease. Sarada, however, keeps frowning at him. Meanwhile, Inoue, lying in Izuna's arm after he caught her in the middle of her fall, blushes all red, embarrassed but aroused by this position. Izuna, hearing her quiet whimpers, looks down at her and sees her red and troubled face. He notices the way he's holding her, and makes eye contact with her again.
Starting to blush too, he tries to hurry and hide away. He first lets his hands go off her, but quickly catches her again when he realizes that she'll just fall to the ground. After a few seconds, Inoue looks away and hurries to get back on her legs. She steps away and hides her face under her hair. Izuna makes a confused, discomforted face. He feels like her reaction means that he embarrassed her.
Letting his mind bring him to think that all chances he had of ever asking her out were just crushed, he notices his little sister looking at him. She just holds a single eyebrow raised on her bored face. She figured out what just happened between Inoue and him, and makes sure to show that she finds it ridiculous.
Izuna scratches the back of his head and lays his other hand on Sarada's shoulder, now acting as if nothing happened.
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In the land of Heart, in the village of Hikari, the secret leader, Oshio Uchiha, is sitting on his throne in front of a mature, proud standing woman in samurai armor. She doesn't bow. She stays straight and still, waiting to hear the request of the sovereign, already decided to refuse.
"Lady Toshima. Head of the Tomoe clan." the Rinnegan wielder declares. "Heiress and daughter of the great Gozen Tomoe…"
"I am way past being called the daughter of my mother, young sovereign." the woman interrupts him.
Oshio stops for a moment, waiting for this hostile feeling to pass. He quietly stares at her with respect. Toshima Tomoe, the daughter of the late Gozen Tomoe, took on the role of head of her clan nearly 6 years ago. Like her mother, she is a tall pale brown-eyed woman wearing a dark red long sleeved ninja robe and a white samurai armor with golden strings sewing the plates together.
Unlike Gozen, Toshima has purple hair, and a thinner looking face. Her combat robe has a large v-collar going down to her cleavage. Around her neck, she wears the headband of her village with the symbol of her village engraved. She doesn't wear anything on her head. She has her long hair drawn back on top of her head and going down her back to below her knees.
Behind her, her two oldest daughters, wearing thinner, less elaborated versions of their mother's armor. The elder one, looking as serious and implacable as her mother, has browner skin and shorter pinkish hair. She is called Kiseru, and is already in her 20's. The younger one, seeming more innocent and sympathetic, shares more similarities with her grandmother, with lighter colored hair and light green eyes. This one, named Anastasia, is only 2 years older than Oshio.
All the daughters of Toshima Tomoe, 12 in number to this date, are all born from different fathers who were all travelers that stayed in the land or village only for at most a month, except for Anastasia the second eldest who's dad has a complicated background with Ketsugakure. Still, she didn't get to know him in person, just like all her sisters.
This great family is what owes Toshima a way more motherly reputation than Gozen had. Neither she or any of her daughters can hope to rival the power of Gozen Tomoe, but her strong spirit and will makes up for it. She knows how powerful the young sovereign, worshiped as a messiah by his people, is compared to her, but she keeps a high head. Oshio respects this, and plays along. He now goes on with his question.
"Leader of Ketsugakure, the village hidden in Blood…" he continues. "I request that you present yourself as the leader of these lands to the land of Fire."
"And I refuse." promptly answers Toshima. "Pardon me, young man, but taking part in this ninja trial was your decision. I, just like my mother before, wish to stay away from the lands of the great continent. I will not break this oath to help you, especially not without knowing what relation you plan to have with the Shinobi Union."
Oshio stays silent for a moment, unlike Fuyuko standing next to him, who audibly grumbles. Anastasia, the youngest of the daughters, makes a sorry face, not all agreeing with her mother's way of solitude. Oshio respects this answer, but tries to insist.
"To let the strongest rule, and eliminate the honors of the so-called sovereign blood lines." he says. "Isn't it what Lady Tomoe vowed to fight for before founding these lands as they are today?"
"From now on, you will refer to ME as Lady Tomoe, not my ancestor." Toshima answers. "This is indeed the vow Gozen Tomoe bequeathed to this village, Hikari, but not to mine. My vow is only to stay away from conflicts, and from the men who nurture them. I will not change my answer. I am sorry, but we will not have this kind of alliance."
"I understand." he says. "I will solicit your advice or help later again, but will make sure to respect this oath."
Toshima nods in respect and turns around to leave, followed by her two daughters. Oshio sits deep in his seat, under Fuyuko's perplexed eyes. He checks on the progress of Akiko and Meinu with their respective missions, using his Rinnegan's special ability that he sealed in their tattoos. Fuyuko stays silent and thinks of his ruler's intentions. He knows that this request to Lady Toshima was just an attempt to delay his reveal to the Shinobi Union.
Meeting the Kage council means meeting the Hokage, and there won't be any way to hide Oshio's similarities with his father from him. Until now, Sasuke kept their meeting secret for reasons that he can understand. Oshio would certainly like to keep it secret as well. Once this is revealed, it'll involve people who won't leave him a rest until everything is done. While Fuyuko and Oshio are silently on aligned trains of thought, Kawaki walks in with a mean look and wakes them up.
"You made me take an innocent life in your name." the second of Kakumei says. "I hope you're sure of your path, because I have to be now."
"Don't worry about this, Kawaki." he says. "Actually, I just had an idea. There is no point in killing a king if a new one will be chosen right away among his descendants or, sometimes, people."
"What do you mean?" asks Kawaki.
"You're saying…" Fuyuko says, slowly starting to smile as he understands the idea.
"Our vow shouldn't be to destroy the kings. But his seat." Oshio explains as he leans back on his. "As the seat is only metaphorical, what we aim to eliminate is the legacy as well. This way, then killing the man, the king, equates to killing the role."
Kawaki squints his eyes, not sure to understand, but knowing that this observation must come from how the current missions of Killin' Kiss and Akiko are going. Fuyuko, next to him, acknowledges the reason why he must be here.
"So there's only 1 of our squads left in this exam…" the Yamanaka says to Kawaki. "You're probably not gonna train, but you should probably go check on the younger ninjas of the village.… Also, 2 of those brats from your personal squad spoke with the messengers of Konoha and Suna. Care to interrogate them about this?"
"I know. It was Minako and Imi. I'll speak with them." Kawaki says, before turning around.
"And in case you care, your opponent in the next step is a ninja from Ame called Chinoka Zuka." Fuyuko adds.
Kawaki suddenly stops for a moment, thinking of the name he just heard. "Zuka?… Sounds stupid." he tells himself before going on to leave for the lower level of this castle where the young recruits of the village are learning ninja arts.
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All around the 5 great nations and the 2 guests, the 32 last candidates to this Chunin Selection Exam prepare, all in their own way, for their coming matches. Most of them, including Naruto and Omoi's students, train assiduously by taking into account what they know of their opponent. Others, like Minaa's team or Narui, take it less seriously or are busy with other things. Finally, a few of them, including Shinki and Kawaki, simply consider that they are far over ready for this challenge.
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End of Chapter 77 – Next Chapter: The boy with the brown scarf