Bang—!
A dull thud suddenly rang out from the edge of the Forest of Death.
Shisui, who had sprinted all the way here, finally could not hold on any longer. He plunged face-first to the ground, feeling waves of burning pain surge from his chest.
This was a symptom of having pushed his heart and lungs too far.
If he kept going, this body might even suffer sudden cardiac death.
But Shisui knew he could not stop now.
Whether it was Uchiha Shingen's casual "Wish me luck" when he lured Sasori away, or Kakashi's self-deceiving "Just think of it as me being an idiot"—
Both weighed more heavily than his own life.
"Pant... pant... pant..."
Shisui struggled to his feet, only to collapse headfirst several times from exhaustion.
"Useless!"
"Shisui, you're so useless!"
Bang—!
Shisui fell once more, then quickly struggled back up. Staggering forward, he headed toward the patrol Jonin.
As his vision blurred—
A man with a small braid at the back of his head and a short beard on his chin appeared before Shisui. It was Nara Shikaku, now a Konoha Jonin.
Nara Shikaku was also one of the examiners for this Chunin Ninja Exams.
He had never expected to see Shisui here. Reaching out to support him, he frowned and asked:
"You're Shisui from the Uchiha clan? How did you get hurt this badly? Shouldn't you be inside the Chunin Ninja Exams venue...?"
"Listen to me!"
Shisui shook his groggy head. Forcing himself to cling to his last shred of will, he relayed everything that had happened in the Forest of Death to Nara Shikaku in the clearest words he could manage:
"Our team was attacked. The one who attacked us was Sasori of the Red Sands from Sunagakure."
"He is suspected of having turned the