A New Level of Shamelessness

Takizawa Dan looked at Noji Daishi as he stepped forward, and couldn't help sneering inwardly.

He knew Noji Daishi. The man was one of Konoha's jonin, and his strength was about average—stronger than Miki Ichiro, who had been at the bottom of the pack.

But the man's character was truly awful. He liked to cut corners at work, and often bullied civilians in his spare time. He was just good at hiding it, leaving those civilians with no way to file a complaint.

Then again, what kind of decent person could raise a spoiled brat like Nochi Yoshino?

The situation was obvious. Since Takizawa Dan had beaten his son, Noji Daishi had come charging out to defend him!

"Noji Daishi! Takizawa Dan did nothing wrong. This was a normal match, plain and simple. If you have a problem, you can bring it up afterward. Now please leave the floor immediately!"

A member of the Konoha High Command stepped forward and rebuked Noji Daishi.

He was a relatively upright man and had heard about Noji Daishi's many misdeeds, but had never found any evidence. Without it, there was no way to deal with him.

Though he was scolding Noji Daishi, he knew the man was fiercely protective of his own. He might let other things slide, but when it came to his son, he would turn against anyone without a second thought.

He was hoping Noji Daishi would lose his temper and attack Takizawa Dan. Then the man would have finally shown his true colors, giving him a chance to remove Noji Daishi from the ranks.

"That's right, Noji Daishi! What exactly are you trying to do? This is the Chunin Ninja Exams. Unless we're under attack, you have no right to interfere with the proceedings! Are you trying to show contempt for the exams?!"

Another member of the Konoha High Command stood up and shouted.

Unlike the first, he had no elaborate motive. He simply couldn't stand Noji Daishi's behavior.

Lord Hokage was personally overseeing the exam, and Lady Tsunade hadn't said a word. Who did a mere jonin think he was, barging in and picking a fight?

Faced with the two officials' rebukes, Noji Daishi came to his senses a little.

Only then did he realize he was at the Chunin Ninja Exams, not somewhere he could throw his weight around.

When he saw that even Lady Tsunade was looking at him with displeasure, Noji Daishi finally panicked. He hurriedly dropped to one knee and addressed the officials in the stands.

"I'm terribly sorry, my lords! I was desperate to save my son. When I saw him beaten like that by that good-for—by Takizawa Dan, I couldn't contain my anger. Please don't hold it against me..."

Tsunade glared at him, then said sternly, "Noji Daishi, your son was defeated in front of everyone here. We all saw it. Takizawa Dan didn't use any underhanded tricks, and he waited until your son was fully prepared before making his move.

"There's nothing to debate about the outcome. If anyone is to blame, it's your son for being weaker! You should send him home to train properly and teach him to put aside his pride. You failed to teach your son, and now you're blaming Takizawa Dan for winning a fair match? What kind of logic is that?!"

Her words immediately won the crowd's approval.

It was true that the match had ended rather abruptly. Most of them hadn't even seen what happened before it was over.

But Takizawa Dan had clearly beaten Nochi Yoshino head-on with his own strength. That was an undeniable fact.

It only went to show that Takizawa Dan had changed. He was no longer the useless boy everyone could push around!

Besides, the Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade, had personally given her verdict. How could the result possibly be wrong?

For a moment, everyone looked at Takizawa Dan differently, with even a hint of respect.

"But... but..."

Noji Daishi was so flustered that sweat beaded on his forehead. He desperately tried to come up with a defense.

Of course he understood that he had no case. The only one to blame was his own good-for-nothing son!

But he was a father. He had watched his son get beaten unconscious, with no idea whether he was alive or dead. How could he just swallow his anger?

How could he accept that?!

"Mr. Noji, why don't you tell me what you want me to do?"

Takizawa Dan's clear voice rang out from the center of the arena.

Noji Daishi froze. He hadn't expected Takizawa Dan to address him directly in a situation like this!

Was the boy truly a fool, or was he that confident?

"Takizawa Dan, you don't need to concern yourself with him. You won the match! I and the other officials are here to back you up. You have nothing to fear!"

Seeing this, Tsunade thought Takizawa Dan was acting on youthful bravado and hurried to speak up.

"Lady Tsunade, thank you for standing up for me. But since Mr. Noji is unhappy with me, I want to ask him what he thinks should be done."

Takizawa Dan shook his head, then smiled at Tsunade in the stands.

"I've always preferred to speak plainly and settle things with reason. If Mr. Noji can give me an argument that convinces me, then I'll forfeit today's match. My strength can't be measured by a single exam, let alone defined for the rest of my life!

"I'm giving Mr. Noji this chance so he can't accuse me later of using my position to bully him or of winning unfairly!"

Takizawa Dan spoke with conviction, his strong voice carrying through the arena.

Ever since he had defeated Miki Ichiro, he had known that he could hold his own even against a real jonin!

And if things went well and luck was on his side, he could even kill one!

So Takizawa Dan wasn't afraid of Noji Daishi in the slightest.

They could always fight. It was anyone's guess who would come out on top!

"Takizawa Dan, you..."

Tsunade started to say something, but when she saw the calm in his eyes, she stopped.

She suddenly felt that Takizawa Dan was a completely different person from the insecure, fragile boy he had once been.

For a moment, even Tsunade, one of the Sannin who had witnessed countless farewells and deaths, found herself deeply curious about Takizawa Dan.

She decided to keep quiet for now and see how he would handle the situation.

Noji Daishi was also completely stunned by Takizawa Dan's actions.

But then the corners of his mouth lifted, and a trace of disdain crept into his eyes.

Just as expected of a hot-blooded, impetuous boy!

The Hokage and the other officials had already thrown their weight behind Takizawa Dan. If he'd just gone along with it, he could have taken the easy way out and let the matter end peacefully.

But instead, he wasn't satisfied with that. He wanted to confront Noji Daishi directly?

Not only had he put himself back in a difficult position, but he had also slighted the Hokage and the other officials!

Tsunade's expression was calm, and there was even a note of approval in her eyes. But quite a few of the other officials were already looking at Takizawa Dan with displeasure!

The Hokage had given him a way out, and he couldn't even appreciate it. He really didn't know what was good for him!

In Noji Daishi's eyes, Takizawa Dan's behavior was utterly stupid.

But if Takizawa Dan hadn't been so stupid, Noji Daishi wouldn't have had a chance today.

"Since you're willing to give me this chance, Takizawa, I'll speak frankly." Noji Daishi took a deep breath. "My son Yoshino was clearly no longer able to fight, yet you still threw him aside, leaving him seriously injured and unconscious! Your complete disregard for the bond between comrades was utterly cruel. At the very least, you should have held back when fighting a comrade!"

Noji Daishi spoke like a scolding elder, his words full of blame.

"You say I don't care about the bond between comrades?" Takizawa Dan laughed when he heard that. "Then let me ask you this, Mr. Noji: when your son attacked me, did he care about that bond? He said over and over that he was going to kill me! Everyone here heard him! Are you going to deny it?"

"This..."

At those words, Mr. Noji's face turned ugly.

The arena was spacious, and its enclosed design meant that anything said inside carried like it was being broadcast. Everyone in the stands could hear it clearly!

When Nochi Yoshino had cursed Takizawa Dan in a fit of anger, every person there had seen and heard it. They remembered it, too.

Under the strange looks from the crowd, Noji Daishi stammered for a long while before finally snapping, "Yoshino is still a child. He doesn't know any better. But you're old enough to know better! He just said it in the heat of the moment. Why did you take him seriously?!"

"Besides, how was that cursing you? He was just trying to mess with your head and gain an advantage in the fight! But you deliberately tried to kill my son!"

The arena fell silent. Everyone stared at Noji Daishi with wide eyes, unable to believe what they'd just heard.

Takizawa Dan was stunned, too. After a long moment, he raised a thumbs-up toward Noji Daishi from across the arena.

What a talent!

He had never heard of anyone being so shameless as to turn black into white!

Even Tsunade and the rest of the Konoha High Command covered their faces.

How had Konoha produced a man like this? It was so embarrassing.

At least they hadn't invited people from other countries today. Otherwise, they would have disgraced themselves in front of the entire Shinobi World!