Zou Hyuga was excited. He desperately wanted to tell Oto Uchiha at the top of his lungs.
They had to fail this assessment, not win. They could not even show too many flashes of brilliance.
As long as they successfully became Genin, it would be a victory in the long run!
Fortunately, Oto Uchiha understood what he meant. She truly deserved to be the woman standing behind him.
Soon, the two walked up to Kakashi and took out the weapons they had prepared, including chili powder, Explosive Tags, and the like.
Once they formed the Seal of Confrontation, the battle could begin.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, the Third spotted the Kunai with Explosive Tags tied to them in Zou Hyuga's and Oto Uchiha's hands.
It was perfectly normal for Ninja to use Kunai fitted with Explosive Tags.
But they were in the center of the village, not far from the Hokage Building. The explosions might well reach his office.
"You two," the Third called out to Zou and Oto, "put those Explosive Tags down! You can't use outside aids like those in this assessment."
Explosive Tags counted as outside aids now?
Zou Hyuga and Oto froze, then looked at the Third and followed his gaze toward the nearby buildings.
They understood. If they could not use them, so be it. They would save a considerable sum, too.
Their ultimate goal was to lose and return to the ranks of Genin, after all, not pass the assessment.
Walking to the edge of the training ground, Zou Hyuga pulled roughly twenty Explosive Tags from inside his clothes and set them on the ground.
Asuma's eyelid twitched slightly. Twenty Explosive Tags were enough to wage a small-scale war.
And he carried them around with him. Was this really an ordinary Chunin?
But before Asuma could ponder it any further...
Oto Uchiha pulled nearly a hundred Explosive Tags from her pack. Her Kunai were covered in Explosive Tags as well.
This time, even the Third was visibly moved, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
He began to question how much Konoha's Chunin earned. Explosive Tags cost money. He had never been this wealthy back when he was a Special Jōnin.
It seemed Asuma's claims might not be entirely unfounded. It was time to investigate the gift-taking at the Ninja Academy.
How could Ninja Academy teachers earn more than the Hokage?
Zou Hyuga pulled his collar tighter, surprised that he felt a chill despite it being summer.
Glancing back, he finally noticed Asuma and the Third staring at the pile of Explosive Tags and found it baffling.
He and Oto were Konoha Ninja, carrying fewer than a hundred Explosive Tags apiece.
Wasn't that perfectly normal? What was so strange about it?
After all that fuss, Zou Hyuga and Oto stood before the ANBU operative Kakashi once more.
Kakashi rubbed his forehead. A strange feeling arose within him; something about these two Chunin seemed very wrong.
"Begin!"
At the Third's command, Zou Hyuga assumed the opening stance of the Gentle Fist, while Oto Uchiha drew her poisoned Short Sword.
They stepped forward, surrounding the ANBU operative Kakashi from the front and rear.
These two won't be easy to handle.
Kakashi watched them warily, forming Hand Seals with both hands and instantly creating two Shadow Clones.
He knew Shadow Clones could not hide from the Byakugan, but they could effectively ease his current disadvantage.
The Shadow Clones charged at the two opponents separately. Kakashi continued forming Hand Seals, then slapped one hand against the ground.
In an instant, an earthen wall rose from the level ground. Using the advantage of his Sharingan, he clearly tracked Zou Hyuga and Oto as they moved in to attack at close range.
A shrill birdsong slowly rose from his left palm.
Behind the wall, Zou Hyuga rejoiced. He had been wondering how to lose gracefully, but now Kakashi had used Chidori.
It was perfectly reasonable for a Chunin like him to lose to the A-rank ninjutsu Chidori.
Pretending not to hear Chidori's piercing cry, Zou Hyuga punched through the earthen wall with his palm and appeared in front of Kakashi.
Then he put on an expression of utter surprise as he stared at the lightning in Kakashi's hand.
"What kind of ninjutsu is that?"
Kakashi did not answer. With a solemn expression, he charged at Zou Hyuga. His orders were to conduct the assessment at full effort, using strength at the upper limit of a Chunin's abilities.
Under the rules of the Chunin Ninja Exams, he could use that level of force to knock someone unconscious outright.
Bang!
Zou Hyuga and Kakashi brushed past each other. Once they had traded positions, the former crashed heavily to the ground.
Just a moment earlier, Zou Hyuga had struck Kakashi's chakra point, while Chidori had grazed Zou Hyuga's waist.
Amid a burst of lightning, Zou Hyuga went along with the momentum and fell to the ground, pretending he could no longer move.
Looking at Zou Hyuga lying motionless on the ground, Kakashi glanced at his own left hand.
He had used less than half his usual chakra for that Chidori, and he had not even struck a vital spot. How had his opponent gone down so easily?
I hadn't even put my strength into it, and you went down already?
It looked as though he had defeated a Chunin in a single blow!
Although he certainly could defeat a Chunin that easily, this was a little too strange.
Had his strength improved recently, making Chidori sharper?
Putting the matter aside, Kakashi turned toward Oto Uchiha ahead of him and raised his Short Sword, though he did not know why she had not joined the attack earlier.
But all he needed to do was carry out the Third's orders. No matter what enemy he faced, he would never let his guard down.
Oto Uchiha was staring at Zou Hyuga on the ground. Zou's acting was utterly seamless, perfectly conveying a Chunin's helplessness before a Jonin.
He could laugh and chat in the face of Explosive Tags, yet he had fallen to ninjutsu.
How was she supposed to face Kakashi, Konoha's genius Jonin, all alone now...?
Wait...! Oto Uchiha suddenly remembered. They were supposed to lose on purpose, weren't they?
Clang!
Clang, clang, clang!
After a flurry of flashing blades, Oto Uchiha pretended to run out of stamina, exposed an obvious opening, and finally lost to Kakashi's swordsmanship.
Although Kakashi did not specialize in swordsmanship, his Taijutsu was far from weak, thanks to the White Fang's blood running through his veins.
Having defeated Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha in succession, Kakashi walked over to the Third and stood behind him.
Looking exhausted, Oto Uchiha walked over to Zou Hyuga and reached out to help him up.
"Nice acting. Does Lightning Release give you some special boost?"
"Yours wasn't bad either, but not even activating your Sharingan was going too far."
As he was helped up, Zou Hyuga opened his eyes with difficulty and spoke in a low voice.
Oto Uchiha glanced at Zou Hyuga and said, "You know I have Three Tomoe. I can't expose that. But Kakashi really is impressive. I doubt I could beat him even if I went all out!"
"So you knew he was Kakashi, too." Zou Hyuga let go of Oto's hand, putting on a weak expression.
"You told me. Konoha's two white-haired guys: Jiraiya's the older one, and Kakashi's the younger one..."
"I never thought you'd remember every offhand thing I said." Zou Hyuga looked helpless, then happened to notice the only Kunai left at Oto's waist.
It was the gift he had given her earlier, a specially made hollow Kunai. There did not seem to be an Explosive Tag tied to it.
"I remember all of it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have survived all those C-Rank Missions."
Still supporting Zou Hyuga, Oto Uchiha continued, "Let's think about our happy lives as Genin from now on instead."
Zou Hyuga nodded and looked toward the Third and Asuma.
If they could successfully return to the rank of Genin, that would certainly be a good thing.
Before you continue