"Now what?" Hanabi asked.
She was glad that Sora seemed to be fine.
"Well, it's less likely to happen, but we'll have to be careful," Kurenai said, frowning.
It would be hard for her to escape alone if she faced an S-rank, let alone with kids.
Her last encounter with S-ranks... wasn't an honourable memory.
It was very embarrassing, to say the least.
It might have been preposterous for her to fight Itachi *fucking* Uchiha with genjutsu, but well, it was kind of a reverse tactic.
Nobody would expect to use genjutsu against a genjutsu dōjutsu user, and she wasn't aware of Tsukuyomi, so she tried to catch him off guard.
But, we all know how that went.
"Let's first talk with the other Jōnins and see what they have to say." Asuma used a seal, given to every jōnin for communication in emergencies.
Asuma and Kurenai went to the gathered jōnins and told them about the situation.
The Hokage had mentioned that the Kazekage would meet them near the border in the Land of Wind, where the other two S-ranks were spotted.
They began discussing the pros and cons of going directly or asking for reinforcements in the form of elite jōnins.
"Damn, Sora is already dealing with S-ranks at his age," Kiba remarked.
The annoying red prankster, who wasn't even a ninja a year ago, is now dealing with S-ranks. He's at least an elite jōnin.
"Yeah, I'm also surprised," Ino commented.
She had a front-row seat during the battles Sora took part in during his first mission.
She was amazed at his progress.
This was the difference between geniuses and normal people.
Okay, calling Sora just a genius would be an understatement.
He was an abnormality.
"We've decided to proceed until we meet the Kazekage," Asuma informed them.
They started moving quickly, eager to meet the Kazekage.
"Who's the new Kazekage?" Kiba asked aloud.
"It's Gaara," Ino replied.
She, too, was surprised when Shikamaru mentioned it recently.
"Wh—what?" Kiba stuttered.
Akamaru barked in confusion.
Even if that guy was a genin and had some... questionable jutsus and traits, Kiba didn't think he was Kazekage material.
Does that mean in his Chūnin exams, a freaking Kage was taking part?
Will other future Kages be sent to other villages' Chūnin exams to do similar things?
To reduce future competition or something?
Others were also surprised.
Some shivered, recalling the guy with the gourd.
"Still, it's nice that he won't participate in the Chūnin exams anymore, so that's good," Hanabi briefly mentioned.
She remembered the conga manoeuvre they did to confuse Gaara, and it actually worked.
Others tried to imagine the Kazekage taking part in their Chūnin exams.
Yeah, no thanks.
"Still, isn't he too young to be Kazekage?" Hinata asked.
"In the shinobi world, age is just a number," Asuma replied to her.
"Uhh," Kurenai didn't know what to say. That statement was right, but it felt so wrong due to the phrasing.
"Anyway, I meant to say that if you have the capabilities, age doesn't matter," Asuma quickly followed up, hoping to avoid being misunderstood.
He didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.
They reached the meetup point and met Gaara.
The other genin didn't say anything, as he was technically the initiator of the invasion.
Some of their family members and teammates had died.
Still, they couldn't do anything but shut up and avoid his gaze if they valued their lives.
The dead were already dead, so they'd try to keep the living the same way.
Well, they were free to head toward death on their own time, but not with too many Konoha jōnins, as they didn't want to cause an international incident.
Secondly, they didn't want to be left alone if Gaara decided to leave, leading to them possibly facing S-rank rogues.
That was a big no.
So, the genin had to behave themselves.
The journey to the Sand was silent.
To everyone's relief, they soon reached the Sand without any incidents.
The other ninjas present welcomed them, as Gaara wasn't in the mood to entertain anyone.
The Konoha ninjas were informed that the exams would start the day after tomorrow.
They were escorted to the accommodations reserved for them.
"Sensei, is Sora still in the Sand?" Hanabi asked Asuma.
She wasn't sure how to address him, so she just went with "sensei."
She was curious if Sora was still in the Sand or not, as she didn't know what his mission was.
"I'm not sure," Asuma shrugged.
He was in the same boat as her.
Before Hanabi could say anything, "Please don't use Byakugan to find him. It would be rude to the Sand ninjas, as it's kind of an invasion of privacy."
Hanabi felt embarrassed because she wasn't going to ask him that.
"I wasn't going to do that," she mumbled and headed to her room.
She couldn't let her embarrassment show in public.
She was the main branch Hyūga and the daughter of the current clan head.
She had an image to uphold.
Ino and Chōji went to meet Shikamaru along with Asuma.
"Yo," Shikamaru was near the hotel, as he was technically a negotiator for both villages.
It was a dangerous task, but one where he could laze around and do his thing.
So, after a three-month break, he was assigned this task.
Dealing with some old men was hard, but not too hard, as he just had to shake his head when they demanded something outrageous and nod when it seemed fine.
Yup, he was too lazy to speak and could guess where a conversation was going by studying the person if he had enough data.
A truly scary man, especially when information was power, as these elders were retired jōnins with decades of experience in misleading people.
"It's been so long since we saw you, and all we get is a 'yo'?" Ino reprimanded him while hugging him with Chōji.
"I'm sorry, let me go, I can't breathe," Shikamaru protested.
"You guys have really grown this past year," Asuma said, having witnessed their growth.
Especially Shikamaru's. He used to have a decent competition with Shikamaru when he first took them as genin.
But as the weeks went on, it became too difficult for him to win, until it was impossible.
Shikamaru's ability to judge a person's character and intentions had skyrocketed, reaching realms only experienced Naras could, despite his age.
"But sensei, you haven't. You haven't even asked Kurenai to marry you yet," Ino teased him.
"Th-that's not true! I'm not getting married this early!" Asuma lost his cool for a second but quickly recollected himself as an experienced jōnin.
Why were all his friends telling him to propose to her?
Even Kakashi, before leaving, said he'd be disappointed if Asuma hadn't proposed by then.
Asuma wasn't sure if it was the right time to move on to the next phase of his life.
Just living with Kurenai was fine for now.
She would have hinted or straightforwardly told him if she wanted to get married.
So, Asuma didn't have a reason to marry.
He liked the status quo.
"Anyway, I've scouted a good barbecue place. I'll lead you guys," Shikamaru motioned for them to follow him.
They soon arrived at a luxurious place.
"I'm not paying this time," Asuma quickly said.
He couldn't afford to let Chōji eat at an expensive barbecue place.
Chōji and "expensive" in the same sentence was terrifying.
"Jeez, such a cheapskate. I'll pay, then," Shikamaru had gotten rich after delving into fūinjutsu.
He had recently become a seal master, and now money was just a means to an end for him.
Well, it always had been, even though the Nara clan wasn't that rich. He was still a clan heir.
As were all four people present at the table.
"Sensei really is shameless, letting his poor student pay for the meal," Ino shook her head.
"I'm not falling for that. I'd rather be a cheapskate than pay for this meal," Asuma had already decided to sacrifice his reputation.
Anyone with half a brain could guess why by connecting the dots about Chōji being on his team.
If not, their opinion didn't matter anyway.
"I just had dinner with Sora yesterday. His appetite could rival yours, Chōji. Maybe you two should have a food-eating contest or something," Shikamaru suggested.
Chōji immediately straightened, exuding *seriousness.*
"Bring it on! Our battle will be legendary," Chōji said, clenching his fist.
***
A/n of writing- I really have the urge to write a Black Clover fanfic.
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