A Draw

"Suiguang! You can do it!"

When Kakashi and Liumu saw Suiguang keeping her mind clear in such a way, they immediately shouted from the sidelines.

But Suiguang's face was deathly pale, and cold sweat poured off her. Hearing Liumu and Kakashi encouraging her, she gave them a chilling, ghastly smile.

Her left arm was ruined, but her mind had finally found a measure of relief. Resolutely wiping the cold sweat from her forehead, Suiguang took out another shuriken with an explosive tag attached and threw it toward Guang.

At the same time, before the tag could explode, Suiguang charged after it.

"What is she trying to do?!"

Kakashi cried out when he saw what Suiguang was doing.

She had already lost most of her fighting strength. Besides, even a single explosive tag was not something her hardened skin could withstand head-on.

As a member of Root, Guang had long since witnessed the brutality of the battlefield. Seeing Suiguang stake everything on this move, Guang immediately released another swarm of kikaichū at her.

But...

"What?!"

Not only did the kikaichū surrounding Suiguang fail to stop her, but she also threw her arms around Guang with a roar, her face contorted.

"Now... you won't be getting away, will you?"

Boom!

"Suiguang!"

The explosive tag detonated, engulfing both of them along with all of Guang's flying insects.

Dust and smoke billowed everywhere, preventing anyone from seeing what was happening inside.

Just then, however, Guang's voice suddenly came from the smoke.

"Suiguang, you've grown up, but..."

A surge of flying insects scattered the smoke. Guang stood alone, looking down at Suiguang lying at her feet with a gentle smile.

Guang's skin cracked apart, and everyone saw that beneath her skin, too, was a mass of black insects.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

In agony, Suiguang suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, then struggled to raise her head and said haltingly to Guang, "Sister Guang, watch out!"

Guang: ???

Boom!

Another explosion erupted against Guang's back. It turned out that the instant Suiguang had embraced her, she had stuck another explosive tag to her back.

The kikaichū beneath Guang's skin were a unique ability of hers. She used their bodies to provide herself with a hard, invisible shield.

As Guang's little fangirl, how could Suiguang not have known about this? The explosive tag on the shuriken had only been meant to destroy Guang's insects. The one on her back was the true key to deciding the outcome.

"I declare this match a draw!"

On the platform, the Kumogakure jonin saw that both contestants had lost consciousness and immediately ruled the match a draw.

What did a draw mean?

It did not mean that both would advance. On the contrary, a draw meant that Suiguang and Guang had both lost.

After the match ended, several Konoha jonin flashed onto the platform and carried Suiguang and Guang straight off it, leaving Kumogakure's medical ninja to provide emergency treatment.

"You Konoha ninja are pretty ruthless with your own people. Two explosive tags in a row. If that went wrong..."

Lantu of Iwagakure had only just been freed from being frozen when he caught sight of the tragic scene on the platform.

Looking at the unconscious Suiguang beside him, Liumu whipped his head around. Lantu abruptly fell silent and slunk back to his seat.

Suiguang's determination to win was far stronger than she had shown.

Even so, judging by the explosions just now, the explosive tag attached to Guang's back had clearly produced a smaller blast than a normal one.

Presumably, whether because Guang was her friend, her idol, or even simply a fellow member of Konoha, Suiguang had not wanted to endanger her opponent's life for the sake of her own victory.

"This won't do. Both of them are seriously injured, and this girl named Suiguang still has kikaichū inside her, eating away at her chakra. I'm afraid we'll have to take them to the medical room for treatment."

Guang's kikaichū were still inside Suiguang, which would worsen her injuries.

But Guang, like Suiguang, was unconscious, and no one knew when she would wake up.

After examining their injuries, Kumogakure's medical ninja immediately addressed the Konoha group beside them.

"I'll take them."

Yuhi Shinku spoke up, intending to accompany the medical ninja.

"I'll go too!" Seeing Yuhi Shinku's questioning look, Liumu said calmly, "I might have a way to remove the kikaichū inside Suiguang."

Yuhi Shinku hesitated. After all, Liumu had won his first match. There was no telling how long he would be gone if he left now. If he was delayed...

"Stop hesitating. If you keep thinking about it, Suiguang won't make it."

Chakra was the foundation of a ninja's life. What was more, Guang's kikaichū did not merely consume chakra; they also carried a deadly poison.

"All right!" Yuhi Shinku agreed, then told the Konoha jonin behind him, "Go speak to the referee. If possible, have Liumu's next match scheduled last."

The growth of kikaichū depended on their host's chakra. Liumu knew this well, but he also knew that if Suiguang's chakra ran out, she would be dead for good.

In Kumogakure's treatment room, the medical ninja tried countless methods to kill the kikaichū inside Suiguang. Unfortunately, Guang's kikaichū were not only immune to poison, but even lightning release chakra failed to faze them.

"How is Guang?"

Yuhi Shinku asked Liumu.

"The Kumogakure medical ninja just said Guang's condition is relatively good. She only has a large burn on her back. Once she's been rehydrated promptly, she should recover with proper rest and care."

The two looked through the glass at Suiguang, who was surrounded by medical ninja inside, their expressions grave.

"Didn't you say you had a way to deal with the kikaichū inside that girl?"

Yuhi Shinku turned to Liumu and asked.

"I do, but..." Liumu looked at him as he spoke. "My method is rather unusual, so I'd like to treat her alone."

As the jonin leading Konoha's team on this trip, Yuhi Shinku knew that Liumu was Jiraiya's student.

Had Liumu said this merely as a six-year-old child, Yuhi Shinku might have needed to give it serious thought. But Lord Jiraiya's name could make him believe without question.

"Are you certain you can cure her?" Yuhi Shinku stared straight into Liumu's eyes. Before Liumu could answer, he continued, "I want a result with no chance of failure."

"We might as well try a last resort." Looking at Suiguang on the hospital bed, Liumu gave a cold laugh. Then he turned back to Yuhi Shinku, his expression abruptly becoming serious. "But she's my teammate. Even if that's only true for these Chunin Exams, I wouldn't joke around with her life."

In Yuhi Shinku's eyes, nothing about Liumu's demeanor at that moment resembled what a six-year-old child should have displayed.

On the contrary, his tone, his gaze, and even the way he joked left Yuhi Shinku feeling momentarily disoriented.