At the sound of a sudden flurry of movement, the battle in the forest finally came to an end.
The six Kirigakure shinobi were all tied to a tree, looking utterly dejected as they waited for an examiner from the Uchiha Clan to come and disqualify them.
"We've dealt with Kirigakure... Things should be a lot easier from here on, right?"
"Yeah... Looking at the list of contestants from the major villages, Kirigakure was definitely the toughest. It should be much easier now."
Kakashi and Shika chatted as if no one else were around. The Kirigakure shinobi, lined up and tied to the trees, could only stare at them in speechless dismay. They were the ones who had been too weak, so they had little room to complain. They could only turn their heads away and pretend they hadn't heard.
"Next, we head for the Tower and keep them all from getting inside."
"Yeah... Is it really okay to talk about this right in front of them? Won't that give away our plans?"
Shika pursed her lips and grinned.
"It's fine. They're already dead. Dead people can't talk."
The Kirigakure shinobi: "..."
That sounded incredibly irritating, but they couldn't find a single thing to say in response.
If they were on a battlefield, they really would be dead.
But... being told that to their faces still felt awful!
"All right, I can sense the examiners' chakra. We should get going."
As he spoke, Kakashi casually glanced back—and found himself meeting Mei Terumi's alluring gaze.
Noticing Kakashi looking, Mei Terumi stuck out her red tongue and licked the corner of her mouth.
"What is the meaning of this, Konoha?"
Ōnoki slammed his hand on the table and glared indignantly at Tsunade.
"Hokage, I think you owe us a proper