CH_117

Kirigakure—controlled by Black Zetsu and Obito…

White Zetsu, with its endless reach and relentless vigilance, could be watching your back at any moment without you even knowing.

The thought alone sent chills down his spine.

『Would life be easier if I were a villain instead…』

『Wait—why not find that future "famous" villain to team up with?』

Tōji thought of Mizuki. Mizuki probably wouldn't mind playing along with his little act…

But that would mean leaving a weakness in Mizuki's hands!

Every lie takes countless more lies to cover up…

So leaving a hold over yourself with a schemer?

That would probably just end up getting you killed anyway…

Mizuki was the type who'd later target the Scroll of Seals and plan to defect to Orochimaru…

As for Seishimon—forget it. He wasn't close to Tōji, and was most likely a successor of the Will of Fire.

Wherever Tōji went to clear his mind, his thoughts kept circling back to how to escape what seemed like a certain-death mission.

…

The next morning, close to eight o'clock…

"Hey, Kotetsu—did you hear? Tōji was trying to brew poison yesterday and ended up poisoning himself…" Izumo whispered to Kotetsu.

"What?!" Natchi, though over two meters away, reacted faster than Kotetsu.

"I overheard it this morning." Izumo stopped trying to be secretive. "Haven't you noticed Tōji hasn't shown up yet?"

"This…" Natchi was worried about Tōji, staring fixedly at the entrance of the Colosseum.

Kotetsu and Izumo exchanged a glance and shrugged.

They were friendly enough with Tōji to chat, but not close enough to be seriously concerned.

Neru furrowed her brow slightly, lost in thought.

"Ahem, ahem, ahem!" Shinku suddenly appeared via Body Flicker. "Kazamatsuri Tōji will be absent today. He poisoned himself while attempting to create a new concoction. He received treatment at the hospital last night and needs rest today—he's not fit to fight."

The examinees began murmuring among themselves…

"Seems like it's going smoothly…" In a corner of the stands, a figure dressed in a particularly concealing outfit—sunglasses and a mask—muttered to himself while watching the scene below.

That was, of course, Tōji.

Poisoning himself… it wasn't ideal, especially since it scared his parents half to death—but it was a last resort. In every other way, it had worked out exactly as he'd planned!

Early that morning, after showing his parents he was actually fine, they stopped insisting on staying home to watch over him and went to the arena instead—saying they'd go watch the other contestants "for Tōji."

And then Tōji had slipped in too.

Though the poison had looked frightening, it wasn't lethal—it was mostly a paralytic with excellent effect, but its duration was short.

After just a few hours in the hospital, Tōji had asked to go home to recover.

But by making a scene, he'd bought himself an excuse to skip the rest of the exam.

"If I can't even become a chūnin, Kenji won't send me to my death, right? Hmph~" Tōji chuckled, pleased with his scheme.

Now, the Kenji Squad situation was: one member leaving to join the hospital, one still just a genin unfit for high-risk missions, and only Natchi left in a normal state…

『Maybe Kenji won't have to go on that suicide mission either. Let some other squad take that nightmare!』 Tōji was in a great mood.

Meanwhile, in the center of the arena…

"I challenge Itoi Neru!" Seishimon announced, facing Neru.

"Very well, then—" Yūhi Shinku turned toward the Hokage's viewing stand and announced loudly, "First match—Seishimon versus Itoi Neru!"

With that, Shinku said to the other examinees, "The rest of you, wait in the waiting room. The two contestants, please prepare!"

The thirteen examinees filed back to the waiting room.

Tōji murmured quietly, "He thinks that just because he uses a blade, he can counter her hair secret technique?"