"Let me handle it!"
Looking at the familiar doll before him, Kiba Inuzuka still felt a little apprehensive.
However, for the sake of his goal, he took a deep breath and shoved Hinata aside.
His pale face flushed crimson. With an unstoppable determination, he reached for the doll again!
" Aaaaaaaaaah!!!"
The same agonized scream rang out again. Although Kazeka promptly brought Kiba back to his senses once more, the suffering he showed was no less intense than during the first genjutsu.
Yet perhaps encouraged by the conviction in his heart, he got back to his feet a little sooner this time.
After steadying his breathing, he headed toward the third doll, trembling but utterly without hesitation!
"Kiba... Kiba's going to be okay, right?"
Watching Kiba tremble all over, Hinata couldn't help turning to Kazeka with concern:
"He's already in such bad shape. Won't it be dangerous if he keeps going? If he can't do it, let me take his place!"
"Hinata, you need to believe in Kiba, and acknowledge his determination..."
Kazeka shook his head:
"Although it's cruel, making proper use of sacrifice is also a way for ninjas to fight!
"And haven't you noticed? Kiba's resilience is far greater than you could ever imagine!"
As they spoke, Kiba had already reached out and touched the third doll.
It was the lower half of a rabbit. Though it was a different body part, the illusion inflicted the same pain.
Kazeka helped Kiba recover once more, then took the three parts of the doll from his hands.
Just as Kazeka had expected, the doll contained only a genjutsu trap.
After piecing it together, Kazeka set the doll on the grass in front of the three of them.
Amid a cloud of smoke, Kurenai Yuhi appeared before them once more!
"I never expected that a test meant for the whole team to contribute together and earn a passing grade would be carried out like this..."
"Teacher Kurenai..."
Kurenai's face showed nothing but rueful reflection. Seeing this, Hinata couldn't help asking anxiously:
"Does this mean we passed? Will we get another chance to take the test?"
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. You passed..."
Kurenai rested her chin on her hand:
"Although the way you responded was beyond my expectations, I saw how you acted throughout the test..."
Kurenai paused, then continued:
"You had the right idea from the start. This genjutsu test was meant to assess your willingness to make sacrifices for others.
"There's no need to say much about Kiba. Whether it was stepping forward first and volunteering to make the sacrifice, or continuing to endure the pain afterward, he demonstrated self-sacrifice completely.
"And Hinata, you offered several times during the test to take Kiba's place and endure the pain.
"As for Kazeka, he seems like the kind of person who would never put himself or his team in danger.
"Even if he did wind up in a crisis, he'd probably be the most cold-blooded one there. He wouldn't let his feelings get in the way of carrying out a mission.
"He'd be willing to sacrifice anyone. If necessary, he wouldn't even hesitate to sacrifice himself!"
Although the test hadn't gone according to plan, it had still let Kurenai observe Kazeka and the others' personalities, just as she'd hoped.
Years of navigating treachery and bloodshed, along with her keen feminine intuition, had honed Kurenai's merciless gaze into one that could see right through people!
"But there is one thing I'm really curious about..."
Kurenai gave Kazeka a curious look:
"I didn't see you use any ninjutsu on Kiba during the test.
"So what exactly did you do to give him so much courage?"
"It's simple..."
Kazeka looked at Akamaru, the Ninja Dog lying on the ground by Kiba's head:
"I told him that if he completed the mission by himself, I could turn Akamaru into an adorable, pure-hearted dog-girl loli!"
"Huh?"
Even Kurenai, who had maintained her mature, composed demeanor all this time, could barely keep it together.
She stared at Kiba in astonishment:
"Kiba, you... Have I really become so out of touch with what young people are into?
"How can you, as a person, do something like this... Human and beast... Good heavens!
"What on earth are they teaching you at the Ninja Academy these days?"
"Woof, woof, woof?"
Kurenai wasn't the only one who found it unbelievable. Akamaru, a Ninja Dog himself, stared at Kiba in total confusion.
He jumped down from Kiba's head and began backing away step by step, prompting Kiba to chase after him in another bout of chaos!
"Besides..."
Kurenai hadn't finished speaking, and her brows furrowed deeply:
"Kiba, unless I'm mistaken, that red dog of yours is male!"
"Oh, as for whether it's male or female, that's not a problem..."
Kazeka spoke indifferently from the side:
"Since I collected Naruto's records for Sexy Jutsu, I've become quite skilled at changing a person's sex with Transformation Jutsu..."
"Kazeka, how could you expose that!"
Kiba's face was red. He'd been so shocked when Kazeka first blurted it out that he'd forgotten to stop him in time.
Now, there was no way to cover it up. All he could do was try to move on as quickly as possible:
"Couldn't you at least have kept that a secret for me?"
"It's just a little hobby. Look at you, getting so embarrassed..."
Kazeka shot Kiba a dissatisfied glance:
"And I was even thinking of discussing the finer details of a loli dog-girl's body with you. If you're not interested, then forget it..."
"I am interested, but..."
Kiba blushed as he spoke:
"Just not here..."
"Honestly, there isn't a single decent man!"
Perhaps the dog-girl topic had been too explosive. Hinata, who'd been shy up until now, suddenly turned vicious.
She looked at Kiba with utter disdain:
"Anyone whose mind is full of perverted dog-girl fantasies is such a loser!
"A loli dog-girl? Kiba, your taste really is demented!
"Do you hide under your blankets at home and lick posters of loli dog-eared girls every day?
"Do you have dog-girl body pillows at home, too?
"A guy like you should be thrown in with a pack of horny male dogs, so the whole village can come watch you make a fool of yourself!
"You're a disgrace to the Inuzuka Clan!"
"Please... Please stop..."
Sure enough, in the face of public humiliation, even the bravest deeds became insignificant.
Kiba was now curled up beneath a large tree.
He hugged his knees, trembling uncontrollably. The light in his eyes gradually faded!
Before you continue