CH_98

"Izumo—do you know that guy? The one carrying the oversized shuriken." Tōji whispered to Izumo.

"That weapon's called a fūma shuriken—though calling it an oversized shuriken isn't wrong either… but didn't you pay attention in class back at the Academy? Where'd you come up with that term?" Izumo teased him first.

"I know the guy you're asking about—his name's Mizuki. He hangs out with Iruka sometimes—they seem to be pretty good friends. That's all I know. Why—is there something special about him?" Izumo answered, then turned the question back on Tōji.

"Think about it—two members of a three-man squad both voluntarily withdrew from the third exam. Wouldn't you find that suspicious? At least it's not strange that I'm curious, right?" Tōji said in the quietest voice he could, so Mizuki wouldn't overhear—they were only about ten meters apart.

"Mizuki's teammates aren't that strong. Don't let the fact that they passed this round fool you—they probably relied on wits." Izumo seemed to know quite a bit, watching the two as they walked away.

"How so?" Kotetsu had overheard and joined the whispered conversation.

"That glasses guy with the character for 'effort' on the back of his shirt—that's Hayase. He got held back a year from the class above us and graduated with us. He's a total bookworm. Great at theory and academics, but his combat skills are really lacking." Izumo was clearly a bit of a gossip—he even knew the details on minor characters.

"The other one's called Ōgata. He's a bit stronger than Hayase, but he's also one of those scholarly types. If Hayase hadn't been held back a year, Ōgata would've been the best academic in our graduating class." Izumo introduced the other withdrawer.

"I heard that Mizuki's previous teammates all died in the war or on other missions, so he used Iruka's connections to pick two genin from our class to team up with for the exam." Izumo's voice got even more secretive at this point. "Looks like those two bookworms were just there to fill out the team."

"So that's how it is…" Tōji finally understood.

He didn't remember anyone named Ōgata.

But that glasses guy with the "effort" character on his back—Hayase—Tōji felt like he'd seen him somewhere before.

『Whatever—that's none of my business… Still, I need to be wary of Mizuki. The original story made it clear that he's the type who actively harms others.』

"Alright—quiet down!" Shinku had let the examinees whisper among themselves for a while, and now that no one else was withdrawing from the third exam, he continued.

"To be blunt—since the war just ended, the village is in urgent need of talent, which is why we're rushing to hold the third exam in just three days."

"The spectators will mainly be Konoha shinobi and civilians. Of course, the Hokage will also be in attendance. You should all give it your best!"

"Also—here's some good news! As long as your performance is recognized by the Hokage, regardless of whether you win or lose in the third exam, you may still be promoted to chūnin."

"The third exam will begin at eight in the morning, three days from now, at the Colosseum. The format will be similar to previous years—one-on-one matches. However, killing is strictly prohibited this time!"

"The bracket…" Shinku pointed toward the entrance. "…is posted by the door. Go take a look yourselves! Dismissed!"

Tōji looked toward the door—two proctors had just finished posting a large bracket. The ink on it was still wet.

"Let's go check it out!" Natchi, seeing the other examinees heading over, pulled Tōji along.