Kurenai Yuhi withdrew her hand as she spoke, no longer touching Takasaki's skin.
Her palm trembled ever so slightly.
Kurenai hadn't wanted to hold Takasaki's hand, but the cheat sheet he'd used was written on his palm.
If she didn't touch his hand, she couldn't secretly control her chakra and use Water Release to erase the writing on his palm.
In truth, genjutsu was her greatest strength. Her other ninjutsu were weak, and she was ineffective with them in real combat. Even she hadn't expected that, as a teacher, she would use her weakest Water Release to help her student destroy evidence of cheating.
She also never expected that the first boy she'd ever held hands with would be one of her students.
And not just any student, but the bottom-ranked student in her class.
The sensation had made her heart skip a beat, but she'd managed to hide it so skillfully that her students hadn't noticed.
"Takasaki, I'm sorry." Sakura Haruno pressed her lips together.
Takasaki gave a slight nod without responding or even glancing at Sakura Haruno. He felt guilty, after all.
"The exam will continue. I'll reiterate the exam rules..." Kurenai Yuhi turned and walked toward the lectern.
Sakura Haruno lowered her head and worked on the questions.
Takasaki wanted to do the same, but he didn't know how to answer them.
All he wanted was to cheat.
But Teacher Kurenai Yuhi had just destroyed his cheat sheet as evidence.
Naruto, on the other hand, was still frantically cheating with his head down.
Suddenly, Naruto felt someone staring straight down at him.
The pen in his hand froze. He instinctively covered his palm, which was covered in cheat notes. His throat bobbed a few times before he nervously looked up.
Sure enough, it was Teacher Kurenai Yuhi.
Kurenai Yuhi's voice turned sharp. "Naruto, what are you doing?"
Teacher Kurenai Yuhi walked over to Naruto's desk.
She'd been willing to help Takasaki destroy the evidence of his cheating because she hoped he would write about it in his diary and earn her a reward.
She had no such hopes for Naruto.
That was why she spoke to him in a more businesslike tone. She also made sure not to touch him, clasping her hands behind her back as she said sternly, "Open your right hand."
Naruto's heart was pounding.
Had she caught him cheating too?
I'm done for!
That was his instinctive thought.
But Naruto still had a little hope.
Takasaki had been caught the same way just now, but when he opened his hand, there was nothing on it.
Would the same thing happen to him?
Clinging to that sliver of hope, Naruto steeled himself and opened his hand.
The densely packed cheat notes were there for all to see, right in front of Kurenai Yuhi—and Naruto himself.
"Naruto, you really were cheating!"
Kurenai Yuhi's voice turned icy. "According to the exam rules, cheating on the final means your exam score is void. You won't be allowed to take the ninjutsu test in ten days, either. Get ready to repeat the year."
As panic set in, Naruto stared wide-eyed at the cheat notes that hadn't vanished from his palm.
Why was his situation different from Takasaki's?
They'd both been caught cheating by the proctor, so why had Takasaki cleared himself of suspicion while Naruto hadn't?
What had gone wrong?
The students in the class watched the scene and finally understood.
So Takasaki wasn't the one cheating. It was Naruto?
Of everyone, Sakura Haruno reacted the most strongly. "Naruto, so you were the one cheating!"
Some girls never thought they could be at fault. If something went wrong, it had to be someone else's problem.
But Sakura Haruno had just falsely accused Takasaki of cheating, and there was no way to shift the blame. She'd been forced to apologize.
Now she saw Naruto get caught cheating, and it was as if she'd found an outlet for her anger.
She shot to her feet and pointed at Naruto. "Teacher Kurenai Yuhi! I was mistaken before. I actually saw Naruto cheating."
"Sakura..." Naruto stared blankly at Sakura Haruno.
He'd been caught cheating, and he accepted the punishment.
He didn't blame his classmates for looking down on him.
But Sakura was the girl he liked, the girl he'd always tried so hard to please. Why was she treating him like this too?
A sudden wave of sadness washed over Naruto.
Would Sakura Haruno care about Naruto's feelings?
Only a simp cared about a goddess's feelings. Why would a goddess care about a simp's?
Sakura Haruno continued, "Teacher Kurenai Yuhi, Naruto's always been at the bottom of the class. He couldn't even have copied the cheat notes himself. I suspect someone helped him cheat. Just compare the handwriting, and you'll know who it was."
Compare the handwriting?
That wouldn't do!
Naruto had been prepared to accept that he'd been caught cheating and would have to repeat the year. But when he heard Sakura Haruno ask Teacher Kurenai Yuhi to compare the handwriting on his cheat notes, his heart began to race.
Takasaki had written his cheat notes for him!
A comparison would expose him for sure!
He'd promised Takasaki before the exam that he wouldn't sell him out.
Sakura Haruno could see how panicked Naruto was.
She didn't care about Naruto's feelings. She was targeting Takasaki.
She'd seen Ino write cheat notes on Takasaki's hand with her own eyes.
She'd also seen Takasaki write cheat notes on Naruto's hand with her own eyes.
She still couldn't figure out why Takasaki's cheat notes had vanished into thin air, but it didn't matter. Naruto's were still there. A handwriting comparison would definitely expose Takasaki.
Takasaki would surely write about this in his diary.
Why do I feel like Sakura Haruno is targeting me? Takasaki wondered.
If Asuma were the one comparing the handwriting, Takasaki would have thought he was done for.
But the teacher making the comparison was Kurenai Yuhi, who'd just helped him.
He wasn't too worried.
He had a feeling Teacher Kurenai Yuhi had some reason for not exposing him. Otherwise, she wouldn't have needed to help erase the evidence of his cheating.
Sure enough.
Kurenai Yuhi glanced at the writing on Naruto's palm, then shook her head. "Naruto, instead of spending time writing cheat notes on your hand, you should put that effort into studying."
What?
Naruto looked up at Kurenai Yuhi in confusion. "Teacher, what do you mean?"
Kurenai Yuhi actually wanted to handle things by the book and take both Naruto, who'd cheated, and the student who'd written his cheat notes to the Academic Affairs Office.
The problem was that she could tell the handwriting on the cheat notes was Takasaki's!
If she handled things by the book, Takasaki would hold it against her.
In his first diary entry, Takasaki had praised her legs, earning her a reward that increased her chakra by 10%.
She'd already figured out some of the diary's rules.
If the diary could give her rewards, it could probably punish her, too.
If Takasaki wrote something negative about her in his next entry, would she be punished?
Kurenai Yuhi didn't dare risk it.
She said coldly, "You wrote all those cheat notes yourself. Don't think I can't tell. Are you trying to get your classmates in trouble too?"
Naruto wrote them himself?
Sakura Haruno was stunned.
That couldn't be right!
She'd clearly seen Takasaki write the cheat notes on Naruto's palm.
Surely Teacher Kurenai Yuhi could recognize Takasaki's handwriting. That meant the writing on Naruto's palm really was Naruto's own.
But that made no sense!
Sakura Haruno almost wondered if she'd been caught in a genjutsu earlier.
Her first attempt to report Takasaki for cheating had failed, and now her second attempt to drag him into trouble through Naruto's cheating had failed too!
She was furious. She dropped heavily into her seat and clicked her ballpoint pen over and over, her thoughts in turmoil.
From Sakura Haruno's furious state, Takasaki could tell she was almost certainly targeting him.
He sat back at his desk at ease, twirling his pen. He looked up at Kurenai Yuhi, then glanced at Sakura Haruno, and suddenly found it rather amusing.
"Fight me? Even the proctor's inexplicably on my side. How can you fight me?"
Before you continue