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“Nawaki, are you really planning to stay single forever?” Shin felt it was necessary to counsel Nawaki.
“Yeah. At least for now, I have no plans to find a partner. Being alone is quite nice. Besides, women are just a burden.” Nawaki waved his hand dismissively, looking completely beyond saving.
“Nawaki, what did you just say? ‘Women are just a burden’? Did you really just say that?” Kushina stood up, her face grim, questioning Nawaki.
Nawaki’s heart skipped a beat. He had forgotten about Kushina. And she was not someone to be trifled with
Sweat poured down Nawaki’s forehead as an unprecedented sense of crisis washed over him. Hizashi Hyūga, Shikaku Nara, and the others quickly distanced themselves from Nawaki, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.
“Kushina-neechan, beat him up!” Hanabi cheered, waving her little fist in support of Kushina. She also disapproved of Nawaki’s statement. Though still a little girl, she would grow up to be a woman.
The precocious Hanabi was quite indignant about Nawaki’s words. Besides, if women were a burden—little girls must be an even bigger burden in Nawaki’s eyes.
“I gotta go!” Nawaki immediately used the Body Flicker Technique and fled.
“Forget it, Kushina. Don’t chase him. Nawaki’s just an idiot who doesn’t know how to talk to women,” Shin stopped Kushina, who was about to pursue Nawaki, preventing him from being beaten into a pulp.
“Hmph! Someone like him absolutely deserves to be single forever. And he deserves it!” Kushina huffed angrily.
“The key is, he seems happy about it,” Shin said with a slight smile, trying to placate the fuming Kushina.
———
With Nawaki gone, the drinking continued. By midday, Shin and the others finally dispersed.
Besides Shin and Kushina, everyone else had passed out, including Hanabi. Hanabi had sneakily taken a sip while Shin wasn’t looking and instantly became a little drunk kitten.
“Let’s go.”
Shin carried the little drunk Hanabi on his back and took Kushina’s hand—leaving the intoxicated Hizashi and the others sleeping there. Shin wasn’t going to bother with them.
“Karin and Hinata’s first exam should be over by now. We should pay attention to the second exam.”
The Chūnin Exams consisted of three stages.
The first stage eliminated most participants. The second stage, the scroll scramble in the Forest of Death, was even more brutal, weeding out the weaklings. Even those who obtained scrolls had to pass a preliminary round before the third stage, which involved one-on-one combat, eliminating the weaker contestants.
The third stage, the final tournament, was a true clash of the strong, offering greater entertainment value.
During this stage, Konoha would invite the Land of Fire Daimyo and Kage from other nations to observe. It was a time for nations to showcase their strength. These Genin represented the future of their respective villages.
“If Hinata finds out Hanabi got drunk, will she be angry with you?” Kushina asked Shin.
“Do you think Hinata would get angry with me?” Shin countered with a smile.
“No,” Kushina said, slightly disappointed. Honestly, she wanted to see Hinata get angry at Shin, just for the drama.
“Shin~ hic~ nii-chan… W-when I grow up, how about I marry you?” Hanabi mumbled drunkenly, stirring restlessly on Shin’s back.
“Wow, Shin. Not even sparing a little girl.” Kushina looked at Shin with the expression one reserved for scum.
Shin felt wronged. He shot a glare at Hanabi, who was already asleep on his back.
“Let’s go. To the Forest of Death.”
Shin took Kushina, still carrying Hanabi, to the Forest of Death. The participants hadn’t entered yet.
The proctor for the second exam was Anko Mitarashi, a rather eccentric individual, similar in personality to Naruto, and also Orochimaru’s student.
Anko Mitarashi gave a dramatic speech, then distributed the scrolls.
There were twenty-six teams participating in the second round, with thirteen Heaven Scrolls and thirteen Earth Scrolls.
Only teams possessing both a Heaven and an Earth scroll could pass the second exam.
This meant at least half the teams would be eliminated. However, if some engaged in malicious competition, the elimination rate could be even higher.
Shin believed everyone would try their best to obtain scrolls and eliminate rivals in this round.
Shin’s gaze fixed on one person—a woman wearing the forehead protector of a minor village.
“Hey, Since when did your taste get so bad?”
Kushina noticed Shin staring at the woman and immediately felt annoyed, swatting his arm forcefully. Kushina thought the woman Shin was staring at looked somewhat perverse.
“That’s Orochimaru. Or rather, Orochi-hime,” Shin said, his expression peculiar.
Though he knew Orochimaru used reincarnation to possess female bodies, seeing it in person still felt strange, even a bit disgusting.
“Orochimaru?”
“Orochimaru developed a forbidden jutsu called Living Corpse Reincarnation. It allows him to transfer his soul into another person’s body, achieving a form of immortality. The person he’s currently possessing is a woman.” Shin explained to Kushina.
“Orochimaru is that perverted?” Kushina’s face showed undisguised contempt.
Transferring himself into a woman’s body? The thought of a man’s soul in a woman’s body made Kushina feel nauseous.
“Actually, Orochimaru developing this forbidden jutsu truly makes him a genius. He’s just a bit—perverted. Doesn’t discriminate between genders.” Shin honestly didn’t know why Orochimaru chose a female vessel.
Did he want to experience being a woman? Well, who knew what Orochimaru was thinking? His tastes were certainly too extreme for most people.
“What is Orochimaru doing here?” Kushina asked Shin curiously.
“His goal, naturally, is to observe a new vessel. And also, to send the Third Hokage off to enjoy the Pure Land.”
“Enjoy the Pure Land?” Kushina looked at Shin, speechless. So he means kill the Third Hokage.
“Yes. These days, filial students like Orochimaru are rare.” Shin said with mock emotion, clearly teasing.
“If there were more like him, probably no one in the world would want to be a teacher anymore,” Kushina retorted.
Indeed. If there were more “filial” students like Orochimaru, who would dare teach? And if there were more “filial sons” like Itachi Uchiha, perhaps some people would be too afraid to even have children.
Orochimaru, disguised, frowned slightly. He sensed someone watching him.
He scanned the area but found no one. Had he been discovered?
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