Kunai at My Throat-How Could I Still Lose?

"Today was the first time I'd ever met him."

Kanami looked utterly confused.

Not only had the guard force not punished him, they had not even asked his name before leaving.

No, they could not exactly be called leaving. That had looked more like running away...

Fūka wore a complicated expression.

No matter what, he had ultimately helped them.

"Are we still going for ramen...?"

"Yes."

Since everything was fine, they naturally proceeded according to plan.

Before long, Kanami and the other two arrived at Ichiraku Ramen.

The moment Uncle Ichiraku saw Kanami, his face split into a broad grin.

Other than Naruto, Kanami was his second biggest customer. When Kanami had first crossed over, he had been curious about what Ichiraku Ramen tasted like.

So, at the age of three, just after learning to walk, while other children were still drinking milk, he had run over to eat ramen.

Ever since then, he had frequented Ichiraku Ramen just like Naruto did.

"Kanami, it's been a while. Have you been busy lately?"

"Yeah, I've been busy with ninja-related matters lately."

Kanami then held up three fingers.

"Uncle, three bowls of ramen, all with extra eggs."

"Haha, got it," Uncle Ichiraku said with a hearty laugh.

Before long, steaming bowls of ramen were brought before them by Uncle Ichiraku's daughter, Ayame.

As the three ate, they got to know one another.

Yuzuki asked, "Kanami, who exactly are you?"

"Uh, I'm the kind of student at the Ninja Academy who ranks at the bottom. Don't ask me. Tell me about yourselves instead?"

The captain of the guard force did not even dare touch him. She did not believe he had no background.

She simply assumed he did not want to tell her.

Kanami asked, "Yuzuki, what type of ninjutsu are you good at?"

Yuzuki said somewhat awkwardly.

"I'm not particularly good at anything..."

Kanami nodded at that.

The two of them were merely ordinary Genin, just as he had expected.

The weaker they were, the more dependent they would become on him. That would make it easy to pass the first written test.

Once they passed the written test, they would trust him even more. Then, during the remaining team battles, he would not need to worry about being stabbed in the back.

To him, this Chunin Exam was like an open-book test. As long as his teammates trusted him, that was enough.

"Hey! Why aren't you asking me?"

Fūka glared angrily from the side.

She had waited so long for Kanami to ask about her, intending to reveal her abilities and scare him to death, but he had actually ignored her.

Kanami glanced at her and continued eating his ramen.

Fūka flew into a rage, feeling as though he had insulted her.

This is infuriating!

She suddenly picked up her bowl and downed the ramen and broth in one gulp, then stood up furiously.

"I challenge you to a duel!"

Yuzuki hurriedly grabbed her younger sister.

"Sorry, Kanami. I told you before, she—"

Yuzuki pointed at her own head, hinting at how Fūka had hit her head when she was little.

Kanami calmly finished the ramen broth, then smiled.

"Sure."

He was very curious. After displaying strength far beyond Tai Yong's, how did she still dare challenge him to a duel?

Did she have some special ability?

Upon hearing this, Yuzuki hurriedly tried to play mediator.

She tried to persuade Fūka while also trying to persuade Kanami.

But she could not persuade either of them.

Afraid that Kanami would suddenly attack, Fūka hurriedly said to him.

"Don't make a move yet. Let's change to a place with no one around and duel there."

So mysterious? A deserted place?

"I'm warning you, don't get any weird ideas! Otherwise, I'll make you regret it!"

I wasn't thinking anything weird. You're the one with weird ideas, aren't you?

Kanami was speechless.

He followed Fūka and Yuzuki as they gradually headed farther and farther away from people, eventually arriving by a small stream.

There was not a soul around. The trees were lush and dense, making the area very secluded, and more than half the sunlight was blocked out.

Without showing it, Kanami disrupted the flow of chakra within his body in advance.

Even if he were ambushed now, it would be difficult for them to take him down. But he had to guard against genjutsu. Sometimes, danger came in an instant.

One should never let down one's guard, especially when he had only known them for half a day.

"Fine, here will do."

Fūka looked around and stopped.

She then assumed a ninja's combat stance.

"Hmph, be careful. I'm afraid I might hurt you."

Kanami narrowed his eyes upon hearing that.

Was she warning him? Did she really only want a duel? Had he overthought it?

He gave a slight shake of his head and stopped dwelling on it.

Once she made her move, he would naturally find out what she intended.

Whoosh!

Three or four shuriken flew toward Kanami.

He hurriedly dodged.

Only when the shuriken struck the trees and shattered did he realize that they seemed to be made of ice crystals.

Before he could think further, Fūka darted through the forest, throwing Ice Shuriken at him from every direction.

Even with such a dense barrage, Kanami could easily evade them.

The only thing he found somewhat troublesome was the environment.

In such surroundings, he had to deal with the shuriken while tracking Fūka's movements.

She was not particularly fast, but she made full use of the terrain.

"Interesting."

Kanami had not expected her to have some skill.

He immediately used the Shadow Clone Technique.

Two Kanamis instantly appeared in front of him.

As Ice Shuriken flew over from the distance, the three Kanamis charged together toward the incoming shuriken.

Bang! Bang! As two clones were pierced and turned into smoke.

The Kanami at the back twisted his body aside, dodging the shuriken while using the Body Flicker Technique.

His speed surged in an instant. While the thrown Ice Shuriken were still in flight, he appeared where they had been thrown from.

At a glance, he spotted Fūka hiding behind a tree, with her feet sticking out.

Kanami walked over and said:

"You lost."

But as he approached, he realized that figure was a Clone Technique.

How could that be?

Kanami's pupils contracted as he stared intently at Fūka's dispersing clone.

Then, a voice came from above him.

"You're the one who lost."

In an instant, Fūka dropped from the tree, clutching a kunai as she charged at Kanami.

As she leaped down, she even pushed off a branch for extra momentum.

Fūka wrapped her arms around him from behind and pressed the kunai against his throat.

"Hmph, I won."

Kanami paused for a moment, then chuckled. "Yes, you won."

Fūka's delicate brows furrowed, and she looked somewhat angry.

"What's so funny?"

At that moment, Yuzuki, who had been watching from the side for a long time, said, "Fūka, you lost."

"My kunai is at his throat right now, and you're still taking his side and saying I lost?"

There was a trace of a sob in Fūka's voice.

Her sister speaking up for an outsider made her feel as though she had been stabbed in the back.

Hearing Fūka's tone, Yuzuki looked pained.

"Kanami, stop teasing her."

Kanami, whose throat was held at knifepoint by Fūka, gave her a mischievous grin.

With a bang, he turned into a cloud of smoke.

A Shadow Clone?!

Fūka's reddened eyes widened involuntarily.

Then she saw Kanami emerge from behind the tree he had been standing near earlier.

Fūka rubbed her reddened eyes and asked with pursed lips, "Weren't all your Shadow Clone Techniques shattered by my shuriken?"

Kanami looked at Fūka with a smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Did I ever say I could only make two clones?"

Fūka froze when she heard that.

He had used an information gap against her. When fighting Tai Yong, he had only created two clones, so she had subconsciously assumed that two was his limit.

Fūka helplessly lowered her shoulders. "I lost."

Kanami walked up to Fūka and asked, "There's something I want to ask you."

"Hmm?" Fūka raised her eyes and looked at Kanami.

"What is your chakra nature?"