Chapter 90: The First Night
On the first night of the final
trial, somewhere in the Forest of Death.
"Stop and take a break,"
Kiba said, jumping off a tall branch.
Hirohiko and Yukina landed beside
him.
They found a small open space
surrounded by five trees, with very small gaps. For Kiba, it was suitable as a
temporary resting place.
"Should we rest now? I don't
feel too exhausted. Should we continue for a while longer? If they catch up and
we need to fight, it shouldn't affect us," Yukina said, looking at Kiba as
she collected dead branches and leaves.
Hirohiko glanced at Yukina, then
nodded, "I think so too."
"Rest when it's time to rest.
There's no need to skip rest to save a little time. Hirohiko and I used shadow
clones, consuming a lot of chakra. We need to rest for the next action,"
Kiba said, piling up the dead branches and leaves.
Yukina and Hirohiko frowned
slightly but didn't object. They trusted Kiba had his reasons.
"Hirohiko, light a
fire," Kiba instructed.
Hirohiko frowned.
Light a fire? Won't that leave a trace? And possibly
expose our position?
He was puzzled. They didn't feel
cold, and the forest's humidity wasn't heavy. They could rest on the spot
without a fire. The place was hidden by giant trees; there was no need for a
fire.
However, trusting Kiba, he didn't
question further. He used a seal to ignite the dead branches.
As the flames rose, a wisp of
smoke slowly evaporated. Surrounded by ancient trees, there was no wind to
disperse the smoke.
Yukina took out some dry food from
her pack. The three sat around the fire, eating the dry food with clear water.
"Our route is corrected, and
the information from the 4-point map sent back by my shadow clone is estimated.
In half a day, we'll reach the Tower of Death," Kiba said.
"So, if we travel overnight,
will we arrive early in the morning?" Yukina asked, her face flushed with
the firelight.
"Yeah," Kiba nodded.
"Traveling overnight?"
Hirohiko asked.
"Of course," Kiba
smiled. "We're about to set off later. I told you to rest now because
we'll rush to the Tower of Death non-stop in the middle of the night. If
Hirohiko's and my shadow clones last longer, we gain more rest time now."
So, letting our shadow clones hold Hyuga Yutaka and
the others instead of following Kanno's team is to gain rest time now? Hirohiko and Yukina exchanged glances,
thinking the same.
"Rest for five minutes now.
Then we rush non-stop," Kiba said.
The two nodded. The firelight
reflected their faces—two expressionless, one thoughtful. Silence followed.
Meanwhile, on the best route's
middle point.
"Taketo, Yutaka, let's take a
break. We're almost there. We'll reach the Tower of Death by morning,"
Shiga Taketake called, stopping Kiuchi Taketo and Hyuga Yutaka.
Kiuchi Taketo and Hyuga Yutaka
stopped, their faces somber.
Shiga Taketake sighed. These two
were still angry, wanting to rush and find Taki Kiba, to beat him.
However, now wasn't the time for
impulsiveness. Shiga Taketake saw this as the critical moment of the Chunin
Exam, where they were at an advantage—a dangerous situation.
With the advantage and at a
critical moment, it's easy to make judgment errors or rush forward, making
irreparable mistakes.
At this time, it was crucial to
remain steady and calm.
"Hmph! Shiga, can you handle
this? This route is nothing. Why rest? Let's rush to the Tower of Death in one
go! Let those conceited geniuses regret their turtle speed!" Kiuchi Taketo
snorted, dissatisfied with Shiga Taketake's suggestion.
Hyuga Yutaka didn't speak, but his
eyes conveyed agreement—hurry to the Tower of Death and seize the confidential
documents.
However, Kiuchi Taketo's aim was
to see Kiba make a fool of himself, laugh at him, and relieve his anger. Hyuga
Yutaka, unwilling to lose to Kiba, had admitted in disguise he wasn't as good
as Kiba, which was hard to accept.
Despite their previous
misunderstanding and no longer being life-and-death enemies, losing to Kiba and
admitting inferiority? For him, absolutely impossible.
This dealt a blow to Hyuga
Yutaka's self-esteem.
He now wanted to prove he was
stronger than Kiba, not the kid who just graduated from ninja school.
This was Hyuga Yutaka's attitude
toward Kiba after setting aside hatred.
So, is it competition? Hyuga Yutaka didn't think so.
He truly disliked Kiba! Owing him
a favor was worse! Admitting inferiority made him angrier!
That's why he had to defeat Kiba
in the Chunin Exam. The perfect victory would be capturing the secret scroll
before Kiba reached the Tower of Death.
Shiga Taketake glanced at them,
sighed, and said, "I'm the team captain. This is a captain's order!"
Taki
Kiba will disrupt your rhythm. I know you don't care, but rest isn't just about
recovering—it's about calming down. You're too anxious and impatient right now.
Something will go wrong!
Shiga Taketake felt helpless.
Kiuchi Taketo and Hyuga Yutaka
frowned, dissatisfied with Shiga's order.
But Shiga Taketake used
"captain's order" to overwhelm them. They couldn't go too far. Ninjas
often acted in small teams, and obeying the squad leader's orders was crucial.
From childhood, they were taught
this.
Even if Hyuga Yutaka was stronger
than Shiga Taketake, hearing "captain's order" made him reconsider
going his own way.
"Rest here, and start again
in two hours," Shiga Taketake ordered, not bothering to explain.
"Hmph!" Seeing Shiga
already sitting and eating dry food, Hyuga Yutaka snorted coldly but didn't
disobey. He sat on a branch. The ancient trees were strong enough to support
him.
Seeing Hyuga Yutaka and Shiga
resting, Kiuchi Taketo frowned, snorted angrily, stomped, and unwillingly sat
after leaving a shallow footprint on the branch.
"Shiga, if we don't reach the
Tower of Death first because of this rest, I won't spare you!" Kiuchi
Taketo said, biting into his ration.
But Shiga Taketake didn't respond,
eating dry food, brows tightly knit.
Can they calm down for two hours... Ah, a headache!
Whether Taki Kiba did this intentionally or not,
these two are angry and losing their minds.
As he pondered, a wisp of smoke
floated up, far from them but closer to the Tower of Death.