CH_96

Tōji and his squad made their way to the central tower, and the entire process—including handing over the scroll to Yūhi Shinku—went smoothly.

After confirming the scroll's authenticity, Shinku nodded to a proctor beside him. That proctor wrote Tōji and his teammates' names in the second column.

Tōji also noticed that they weren't the first to arrive—it was Kotetsu and Izumo's squad who'd made it fastest!

And their teammate turned out to be Tatami Iwashi—freshly graduated!

Iwashi was a year younger than Tōji. Because of the Fourth Hokage's ascension, his class—which was originally scheduled to graduate in about half a month—had been pushed forward by over ten days.

Tōji hadn't expected him to team up with the "Gatekeeper Duo" for the Chūnin Exams!

『Isn't that directly competing with me for that "elite bodyguard" spot?!』

Tōji felt the pressure.

『Is everything just destined?』

As Tōji's mind raced with thoughts, Kotetsu and his squad walked toward them…

"You guys were fast too, Tōji. Who are these two?" Kotetsu asked.

"You guys were even faster!" Natchi responded first.

"This is Izuno Natchi, and this is Itoi Neru." After introducing his own teammates, Tōji introduced the three from the other squad to them. "This is Kamizuki Izumo from the neighboring class, Gan Kotetsu, and this is the freshly graduated Tatami Iwashi."

"Nice to meet you all!" Neru greeted them promptly after Tōji's introduction. After all, these were the ones who'd finished even faster than their squad—she had to be on her best behavior.

"Nice to meet you!" ×N

After the greetings, Natchi said with some exaggeration, "I didn't expect someone to take the Chūnin Exams right after graduation—have you done enough missions?"

"The two seniors teamed up with me, and we finished quickly." Iwashi, who'd just started growing a bit of stubble on his chin, came across as an introvert both in tone and expression.

…

The two squads chatted casually, but Tōji had drifted into his own zone—

No wonder Tatami Iwashi caught Minato's attention—there was a story behind it. He'd stepped out of the Academy less than a week ago and was already taking the Chūnin Exams. He'd likely get promoted smoothly afterward as well.

Though that couldn't compare to a true genius, for this batch, it was already a special case.

Iruka Umino—the future Academy teacher who'd be like a brother, father, mentor, and friend to the savior—was in the same graduating class as Iwashi. At this point, who knew where Iruka was playing in the mud!

No comparison, no harm—Iruka had entered the Academy in the same year as Kotetsu, Izumo, and Tōji… yet Iwashi, who'd enrolled a year later, graduated at the same time and was about to become a chūnin.

"Kazamatsuri Tōji!" As Tōji stood spacing out among the group, a voice full of fire cut through the chatter…

"You set me up!" It was Mitarashi Anko!

She'd ditched her two no-name teammates on Shinku's side and come straight for Tōji.

"I always knew you were no good back at the Academy—and I was right!" Anko marched toward Tōji under everyone's astonished gaze… and Tōji shrank back.

『This lunatic…』 Back at the Academy, she'd been that big-sister type, leading her "Girl Justice Squad" to beat up certain boys.

"What's up, Anko-senpai… I didn't do anything, did I!" Tōji was genuinely scared of her. Anko's skills were on par with those proctors.

"You told that guy—what's his name—the one carrying that fake scroll you made! I barely beat him, and it turned out to be a fake!" Anko had already grabbed Tōji by the collar!

"Anko-senpai, it's a misunderstanding!" Tōji scrambled to explain. "My fake scroll said to turn it in at the Hokage Rock, not here! Did you get it wrong?"

"I refined it a little…"