第38章 一个人的比赛

The discharge procedures were handled quickly.

Takuma signed the final form, returned the pen to the nurse, and looked up just as the ward door was pushed open.

The Third Hokage stood in the doorway.

The old man wore his formal Hokage robes, his conical hat sat perfectly straight, and he held a pipe in his hand.

Two Anbu followed behind him.

"You look spirited." The Third Hokage looked him up and down. "It seems you have recovered better than expected."

"Thanks to you." Takuma bowed slightly.

The Third Hokage waved his hand and sat down on the chair beside the hospital bed.

"When you were unconscious, the erosion from the curse mark was severe.

The Medical Corps once believed you might be completely consumed.

Orochimaru's curse mark is no ordinary thing. Over the years, those who have been branded with this mark and survived can be counted on one's fingers."

He paused, spinning the pipe half a turn between his fingertips.

"Mitarashi Anko is one of them. She is a student of Orochimaru and the first survivor of the curse mark. It took her over a decade to learn how to coexist with it. You, however, only took three days."

The Third Hokage's gaze fell on the bite mark on the back of Takuma's neck.

"Your Senju bloodline and that special recovery ability played a key role in resisting the curse mark."

Takuma remained silent for a moment.

Being personally scrutinized by the Hokage regarding one's bloodline was no small matter for any ninja.

"How does Anko-senpai suppress the curse mark?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Willpower." The Third Hokage answered briefly. "Anko relies on pure willpower, while you rely on the gifts of your bloodline. Neither path is superior to the other, but yours may be more dangerous; because it comes so easily, it is easy to let one's guard down."

He stood up and took a document from his sleeve, placing it on the bedside table.

Takuma picked up the document and opened it.

In the recommender column, the name of Aoba Yamashiro was already signed.

There was one more signature.

Hatake Kakashi.

Takuma was stunned.

He and Kakashi had almost no interaction.

The only few times they had met were once in the hallway of the Hokage Office, and once seeing him from afar reading Icha Icha Paradise in a tree. Why would that white-haired Jonin who spent his days with trashy novels recommend him?

"Kakashi brought it up himself." The Third Hokage's tone carried a hint of amusement. "He said, 'I just want to see how far that Senju kid can go.' Those were his exact words."

Takuma closed the document and took a deep breath.

"The Chunin Exam preliminaries will be held in three days." The Third Hokage walked toward the ward door, paused as he passed, and said without looking back, "Your opponents are all elites who survived the Forest of Death. No one who can stand on that arena is weak."

"Get stronger as soon as possible."

The door closed. The sound of footsteps in the hallway gradually faded away.

Takuma sat by the hospital bed, clutching the recommendation document.

The Third Hokage had come to the ward in person to notify him. The weight of this ticket was far heavier than he had anticipated.

He tucked the document into his ninja tool pouch, picked up the backpack from the nightstand, and walked out of the ward.

Takuma arrived at the training ground; he needed to confirm one thing: exactly how much his body had recovered.

During the Chunin Exams, most examinees were doing their final sprint training, but it was still early; the sun had just tilted west, right in the gap between lunch and the afternoon break.

He threw his backpack next to a wooden post at the edge of the field, loosened his shoulders, and began to warm up.

He went through his basic Taijutsu routines from start to finish.

His body felt light.

Every movement carried a sense of fluidity he had never experienced before.

Chakra surged through his meridians like a widened riverbed, its flow and speed far exceeding what they had been.

After warming up, he tried a Water Wave.

He formed the hand seals, condensed water-style Chakra in his throat, and spat out a column of water.

The water column struck a target ten meters away, and the wooden target split with a crack.

Takuma looked at the fissure and blinked.

His previous Water Wave was lucky to even dampen a target; now, it actually had lethal force.

He tried an Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall again.

He slammed his hands onto the ground, injecting earth-style Chakra into the earth. A two-meter-high wall of earth rose up, its surface smooth and solid, its thickness at least thirty percent greater than before.

His Chakra reserves had doubled, and the effect was immediate.

Takuma took off the sunglasses hanging from his collar and put them on.

Through the lenses of the Neo sunglasses, the air was filled with a pale blue Chakra halo.

Faint traces of residual Chakra were visible inside the earth wall.

On the wooden posts in the distant training ground, weak Chakra residues remained from the ninjas who had practiced there earlier.

He turned his head toward Konoha Village.

The entire village was shrouded in a pale blue Chakra network. Those were the traces of the sensory barrier, covering the entire sky like a giant spider web.

Wearing these glasses, the flow of Chakra became completely visible.

Combined with the five-meter warning range of his Spider-Sense, his combat perception was now at least on par with a Chunin.

Just as he was about to continue testing, a rush of footsteps came from the entrance of the training ground.

"Kid from the bookstore!!!"

Guy-sensei's voice carried an explosive sense of passion, and he charged into the training ground like a green cannonball.

"Guy-sensei." Takuma took off his sunglasses, hung them back on his collar, and bowed slightly.

"I heard you were discharged! And that you're entering the preliminaries as an individual!! This is youth!!!"

Takuma's mouth twitched.

"Guy-sensei, could you please keep it down..."

"Youth does not allow for whispering!" Guy gave a thumbs up, his teeth shining bright enough to be used as a mirror. "I was seriously injured once too! I was beaten half to death by enemies! But I didn't fall! And you didn't fall either! You are the proof of youth!"

Takuma looked at Lee, asking with his eyes: Is your teacher like this every day?

Lee returned a look that said, "Yes, every day," his eyes carrying the weariness of someone who had been through it all.

Guy didn't notice their silent exchange at all and pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, unfolding it.

It was a training schedule. Five hundred laps of handstand running, one thousand kicks to the wooden post, three hundred climbs up the rock wall...

"Guy-sensei." Takuma raised his hand to interrupt him, his expression incredibly sincere. "I don't intend to practice the Eight Inner Gates."

Guy froze: "Why?! The Eight Inner Gates is the pinnacle of Taijutsu!"

"Because I've seen your training with my own eyes," Takuma said, enunciating every word.

The training ground was quiet for two seconds.

Then Guy shouted excitedly: "Don't you think this is the passion of youth!!"

Takuma was speechless.

Lee spoke up from the side: "Takuma-kun, even if you don't practice the Eight Inner Gates, you still need to build your Taijutsu foundation. Can we reduce the volume of Guy-sensei's training plan—perhaps starting with three hundred laps of handstand running?"

"Lee." Takuma patted his shoulder, speaking earnestly. "You're a great guy, but your understanding of the word 'reduce' is a bit different from a normal person's."

Guy's expression returned to seriousness: "What are your plans for the future? Your opponents in the preliminaries are not weak."

"First, I'll adjust my physical state to its peak," Takuma said. "The curse mark is suppressed for now, but I can't be careless. I need to fully master my current Chakra levels and physical strength within three days to avoid losing control during the match."

"Then let Lee train with you!!"

Lee's eyes lit up: "Please teach me! Takuma-kun!"

Takuma looked at Lee's high-spirited appearance and sighed.

"Fine. But let's be clear—we only practice basic Taijutsu, no handstand laps."

"One hundred laps?"

"Not even one."

Takuma and Lee finished their afternoon sparring, both of them collapsing beside the wooden posts, drenched in sweat.

Lee's Taijutsu, speed, and strength were far beyond his peers.

Takuma only managed to keep up with his rhythm by relying on his self-healing ability and doubled Chakra reserves.

"Takuma-kun, your Taijutsu has improved a lot compared to before," Lee said sincerely. "Especially your ability to take a hit."

"That's because I got beaten enough in the Forest of Death." Takuma leaned against the wooden post, looking at the sunset in the sky. "When people get beaten enough, they either die or get stronger. I was just lucky enough not to die."

He remembered the hand Orochimaru had clamped around his throat in the Forest of Death, the sight of Yakumo and Tetsu falling, and the tone of the Third Hokage when he said, "Get stronger as soon as possible."

Lee smiled, his bandaged hand forming a fist and extending toward him.

Takuma also extended his fist and bumped it against his.

At the entrance of the training ground, a figure leaned against the doorframe, holding two rice balls.

Tenten watched the two of them bumping fists in the sunset, the corners of her mouth curving up, not making a sound to disturb them.

She placed the rice balls on the stone pedestal at the entrance and turned to leave quietly.

On the stone pedestal was a bundle of brand-new kunai, held down by a note.

The note read: "Good luck in the preliminaries. --Tenten Ninja Tool Shop, credit available. Interest rate: 0.05% daily."

When Takuma saw this note later, he nearly choked on his rice ball.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

On the day of the Chunin Exam preliminaries, Takuma stood at the entrance of the preliminary arena attached to the Konoha Arena, watching the various ninjas entering one after another.

Gaara of the Sand walked past him expressionlessly, the giant gourd on his back exuding an ominous aura.

Dosu of the Sound wrapped his face in bandages, revealing only a pair of cold, sinister eyes.

Konoha ninjas gathered in twos and threes, discussing tactics in low voices.

The fluorescent lights were blinding, and an examiner was already announcing the rules on the arena.

The electronic screen began to scroll, the names and avatars of all the examinees switching rapidly.

The spectator stands were packed with people.

The electronic screen stopped.

Takuma's avatar and another name were listed side-by-side in the center of the screen.

Opponent: Tsurugi Misumi -- Sound Ninja.

Takuma pushed up the Neo sunglasses on the bridge of his nose and walked toward the arena.