CH_78

Tōji had no idea whether his empty words had any effect on Neru.

But at least he'd gotten rid of that troublesome girl.

"Can't believe someone like Captain Rawari didn't live long either." Tōji finally let out a sigh.

Then he thought of that man with the steel plate on his back—Kokubō Kenji. A jōnin who happened to excel in both Water Release and Earth Release, with solid taijutsu to boot. He was basically a magnified version of everything Tōji currently had.

And he also came from a no-name minor clan…

Come to think of it, Kenji had so many similarities to him. No wonder that money-grubber always made Tōji feel a little closer to him than others.

Hopefully, Kenji would make it back alive. Kirigakure hadn't reached its most terrifying stage yet—with some caution, things should be manageable.

Since Tōji wanted to save his energy for the Chūnin Exams the next day, he had no plans. With nothing else to do, he picked up the 【One-Thread Lamp Formation】 scroll.

Even without formally studying it, it was a decent way to pass the time…

The night before the Chūnin Exams passed quietly.

The next day, before eight. Tōji was used to waking up early—today was no different, and he was up before six, meditating and training his spiritual energy.

"Beep beep, beep beep, beep beep…" The alarm finally rang at eight o'clock.

Tōji reached over and turned it off. 『Alright—time to see what an exam in the ninja world looks like.』

After washing up and enduring his parents' nagging over breakfast, Tōji hurried out the door.

It was still early, but if he stayed any longer, he'd have to listen to more of their lectures—he couldn't take it.

With his completed Chūnin Exam registration form in hand, Tōji arrived at the Academy gate to wait for Natchi and Neru.

He noticed that Mitarashi Anko was there too…

Even though Orochimaru was already under investigation, Anko didn't seem to be receiving any special treatment from the village.

Standing under the big tree in front of the Academy, Tōji scanned the crowd—Gan Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo had also arrived.

But Ibiki wasn't there. 『From what I remember, Anko got promoted to chūnin around the same time as Ibiki. So she's basically just here to make up the numbers, isn't she…』

The leader of the "Righteous Five" from the Academy—Hibachi—was still alive, and he was here too.

…But the others weren't. Probably long gone?

Tōji had never bothered to keep track of his classmates, so he wasn't sure.

Among those already waiting, there weren't many Tōji could name off the top of his head. He was already from the newest batch of genin—anyone older than him, he didn't know at all. After all, the well-known ones like Asuma had already become chūnin long ago.

"Looks like no one I need to watch out for." Tōji muttered to himself.

"Mumbling to yourself again?" Natchi's voice always arrived before he did. "Morning, Tōji."

"Morning, Natchi. You're looking energetic." Tōji himself wasn't the sunny type, but he liked being around people who were.

Especially someone like Natchi—who had no presence in the original story, wasn't even mentioned, and generally followed Tōji's lead without dragging him into "Will of Fire" suicide missions.

In every way, he fit Tōji's criteria for a friend.

"Morning—you two are early too." Neru showed up with a faint smile on her face. It was rare—she didn't seem like the type who smiled.

"You look much better when you smile." Tōji spoke the truth.

"Yeah, yeah—you really look nice like that." Natchi agreed wholeheartedly.

"Don't I normally smile?" Neru asked, knowing the answer.

"You normally—" Natchi was about to say something honest, but Tōji patted him on the back. "Ah—you're fine the way you are. Anyway… we're all here. Let's go submit our forms."

Good thing Natchi didn't blurt out anything stupid.