CH_84

Tōji dragged Natchi over to the edge of the Academy playground to wait for Neru.

Natchi, however, had gone full chatterbox mode, going on and on about the commotion Tōji's clone had caused when it showed up in his exam room, plus the other examinees' "performances"…

Tōji wasn't all that interested in discussing any of it, just nodding along with a string of "mm-hmm~" to brush him off.

"Yo—Tōji and Natchi." Hibachi walked over. "Didn't expect the quiet Natchi to turn into such a chatterbox."

"Haha—it's Hibachi!" Natchi, riding high from the exam, didn't mind the harmless jab. Besides, it was true.

"The exam went well?" Natchi had long forgotten those earlier years when Hibachi and his crew had "forcibly befriended" him at the Academy. Maybe in another couple of years, he'd even look back on those little memories with fondness.

And Natchi deliberately didn't mention the names of Kōji, Daichi, or the others. Most who'd made it back from the war wouldn't bring up those who hadn't, unless necessary.

"I couldn't answer a single question! Guess I'm just not good enough yet. I heard this exam was about twenty percent easier than previous years… I'll probably take another year or two to prepare before trying again." Hibachi didn't seem discouraged at all—he spoke about it as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

Even Hibachi—who used to be the most immature of them all—has grown up a little. If he hadn't been sent to the battlefield as an early graduate, he'd probably still be getting into daily fistfights with classmates. War really is a fast-track to maturity." Tōji thought these things to himself but didn't bother engaging Hibachi in conversation.

Classmates could all call out Tōji's name when they saw him, but no one ever thought of him otherwise. No one really knew how to start a conversation with him—they had too little in common.

Hibachi just said hi and left, since he clearly didn't need to wait for the written exam results.

Neru found Tōji and the others just in time to see Hibachi walk away. "Didn't expect Hibachi of all people to mellow out."

"Yeah." Tōji's reply carried a hint of reflection.

"Thanks, by the way—that clone technique of yours is something else." The first half of Neru's sentence sounded genuine, but the second half felt a little less sincere.

Tōji didn't mind, nor did he respond.

An era where just two C-rank jutsu were enough to show off… The only reason was that Asuma's batch had all become chūnin two or three years ago, and the next "golden generation" was still far off.

If Tōji had been born two or three years earlier, he'd be just as "ordinary."

He wasn't really anything special now, either—in the eyes of the big shots, knowing two C-rank jutsu was perfectly normal. It's just that those genin who couldn't even use a single C-rank jutsu weren't even worth a second glance.

When the cat's away, the mice will play—that was exactly the situation.

But Tōji's deeds clearly weren't enough to spark discussion among the other genin…

Tōji certainly hoped to stay under the radar—that way, he wouldn't become a target for anyone later on.

Neru and Tōji fell silent, but Natchi still had the urge to chat… he kept going on and on, only to be met with two people barely humoring him. It wasn't really worth it. Better to just wait for the written exam results quietly.