Chapter Thirty-Five: Soaking in the Hot Springs

Asuma hadn't reacted at first. It was only after Kurenai's well-intentioned reminder that he realized these weren't refugees at all, but participants in the exam!

It was just that their appearances were truly disheveled, making them look like refugees forced to flee their villages due to war.

This left Asuma confused. Shikamaru had told him that this exam only tested physical strength and endurance, so why did these participants look like they had just survived a war?

Could it be that they ran into a war zone while running? That shouldn't be the case. What kind of sane person would push themselves to such a state in a marathon? He couldn't understand.

But understanding or not, the proctoring duty still had to be completed. After their strict judgment, the bottom hundred participants would be eliminated.

"Aaaahhh! I made it!" A spirited young girl's voice rang out from the group of successful participants. Kaede was holding two male ninjas by their collars, their faces blackened and their hair blown into an explosion-like state.

Returning to find her teammates had indeed taken some time, but fortunately, her speed was sufficient. No one would set traps in the sky, and she passed the exam without incident.

"Hi hi! Moriyue! We're over here! How about that? Didn't I tell you I could pass this exam!" As soon as Kaede passed, she brought her teammates over to Moriyue. She definitely had to introduce her new friends to her teammates.

"You're kidding, Kaede actually made friends? Can anyone really tolerate her overly enthusiastic personality..."

"I don't know. The village chief just told us to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't cause trouble. Right now, I just want to go teach that guy who first thought of setting traps a lesson. That was so low! What kind of bad influence is this!"

The two disheveled teammates were clearly distracted. Whether they passed the exam wasn't important; as long as Kaede could spread the word about Hidden Waterfall Village's strength, that was enough. They were mostly watching Kaede, ensuring she didn't do anything too outrageous.

Ando heard Kaede's teammates' words from afar. He pulled Moriyue, looking a bit flustered.

"Um, Captain, wouldn't it be a bit awkward to meet up with the other participants?"

Moriyue shook his head. He patted his chest righteously, his tone full of pride.

"What's awkward about it? We didn't break any rules, did we? Their injuries aren't necessarily caused by us. It was fair competition, what's there to be afraid of?"

Kazeki also seized the opportunity to add a jab from behind Ando:

"Are you scared? You were laughing so happily earlier, what's wrong? Scared?"

Hearing Kazeki's slightly condescending tone, Ando knew full well that she was using provocation to egg him on, but he still coughed lightly.

"Wh-what's there to be scared of? Let's go."

The group moved towards where Kaede's voice had come from. Pushing through the crowd, they finally found Kaede amidst a pile of explosion-haired individuals.

Before Kaede and Moriyue could greet each other, her two companions quickly pulled her back. Their eyes were filled with undisguised vigilance and wariness. Although they hadn't seen clearly at first, this grinning fellow was clearly the one who had rushed out first!

This scoundrel who thought of planting traps on the road was the one who came up with the idea first. How did their Seven-Tails Jinchuriki get mixed up with this guy?

You were supposed to showcase Hidden Waterfall Village's strength, not get involved with someone like this!

"Looks like we're disliked," Moriyue said, unconcerned. Kazeki, however, couldn't stand by.

"Those guys... they're from Hidden Waterfall Village, aren't they? Captain, you should be careful of them. Their village has a very famous rogue ninja, and they've researched quite a few Forbidden Jutsus. Those people are all very strange..."

"Kakuzu, right? I know... Hmm? You said their village also researches Forbidden Jutsus?"

Moriyue didn't find anything wrong with that at first. Hidden Waterfall Village's most famous figure was the rogue ninja Kakuzu. He once threw a kunai at the First Hokage from eight hundred meters away. This feat was always mentioned by Kakuzu when he fought others, though he never detailed it. In essence, he claimed to have fought the strongest ninja in the shinobi world, Hashirama Senju, for three hundred rounds, ultimately losing due to chakra exhaustion.

No one knew what the truth was. After all, the First Hokage had been dead for many years, and they couldn't dig up his grave to ask if it was true or not.

"Hidden Waterfall Village, I only know about Earth Grudge Fear, which is a rather sanity-eroding jutsu. Perhaps we should go take a look." Moriyue thought that if he could save Kaede from Kakuzu and Hidan, Hidden Waterfall Village would have to show some 'gratitude,' wouldn't they?

"All examinees, you must be tired after your arduous journey. Konoha has prepared hot spring services for you. Please proceed to the bathhouse, all successful participants..." After confirming the number of participants who passed, staff responsible for receiving the examinees came to arrange their next steps.

It had to be said that compared to the Hidden Sand Village, Konoha truly lived up to its status as the head of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Their treatment of the participants was a testament to their wealth and resources.

Since the baths were separated by gender, Kazeki had to part ways with Moriyue and the others. Kaede, however, was completely unfazed. Like a man, she slung an arm around Kazeki's shoulder, and the two casually followed the main group towards the women's bath area.

Moriyue's side was also lively. Well, rather than lively, it was more like tense. His earlier actions of planting landmines had caused trouble for the other participants. Burly participants surrounded Moriyue. While they weren't as robust as the Cloud Ninjas, they made up for it in numbers.

Kazeki's group was a gathering of beauties, with female ninjas from various villages all coming together in a wave of laughter. Ajisai had somehow ended up with Tenten, and the two left, chatting and laughing.

Rock Lee and Neji, on the other hand, were gathered around Moriyue. Although they were somewhat displeased with Moriyue's actions, this was Konoha, after all, and as Konoha ninjas, they had an obligation to maintain order.

"Everyone, please refrain from fighting in the streets. You've all been running for a long time and are tired. Let's head to the hot spring village quickly. We can discuss any issues later."

Rock Lee stepped forward to mediate. The other ninjas found his words reasonable. Having run for three days and three nights, all while being wary of potential traps, they were now physically and mentally exhausted and had no energy left for fighting.

"Hmph, lucky for this kid. Damn it, that scoundrel makes me angry just looking at him."

"Don't worry, the first two rounds were just warm-ups. The third round will be actual combat. Don't let me run into this kid then..."

"Let's go, let's go! Let's take a bath first. I always heard about the Hidden Cloud Village ganging up on others, but this is the first time I've seen a bunch of people surrounding a Cloud Ninja. We're all men, and no one has any special preferences. Let's hurry and take a bath."

"I object! How do you know we don't have special preferences... Ouch! Stop hitting me! I take it back, alright..."