Red Riot - Chapter 36 - Advancing rounds (Patreon)

Matsu Uzumaki:- person of high interest to other Shinobi Villages. Recently promoted Jonin. Medical/Taijutsu/Ninjutsu/Sensory speciality (Not that other villages know about two of these!) MC of the story!

Gengetsu Hozuki:- The second Mizukage and trickster Lord of Kirigakure. Master of Illusions and torment 

Himeko - Kaguya clanswoman with her Kekkei Genkai, a Genin and renowned violence enthusiast.

Sharkbait - real name Kenta Nogawa, a Genin that trained with Matsu, skilled combatant, expert bait for sharks.

Sayuki:- Second in command of the Civilian Nin when Matsu isn’t around. Takes it seriously. A touch annoyed that she just lost to Minato Namikaze. 

Idate Hozuki - student of Matsu. Hozuki clansman. Genin. 

Kuroiwa Karatachi - student of Matsu. Karatachi clanswoman. Genin. Capitalist!

Midori Terumi - student of Matsu. Terumi clanswoman. Genin. Straightforward thinking lass with good intentions for most people!

Han:- orphan student of Matsu that is raised by his uncle. Civilian-born shinobi. Genin

Padme Dendenrashi:- Priestess who has a fetish for violence, specifically watching others fight. Her daddy’s rich, sadly and indulges her whims/budget. Was present for Matsu’s fight against Shibito

Ameyuri Ringo (the eighteenth) - the current wielder of the Kiba Blades. Short and aggressive! Family has a tradition of females retaining the same name to further their standing. Jonin of Kirigakure. Family has a certain naming tradition.  

Koremei Tendo - the current wielder of Shibuki. Weapons mistress with a grounding in many styles. Preferred fighting style, Kenjutsu, Shurikenjutsu, and Taijutsu. She's a unit! Big girl! Almost died due to standard Kiri betrayal. Rolled a Nat 20 with her surviving throw, one could say, as Matsu witnessed the act. 

Minato Namikaze:- Genin of Konoha, applicant at the Hot Springs Chunin Exams.

Tama Uchiha:- Genin hopeful facing Han in the round of sixty-four, meaning they have to face three other genin… just used the Shadow clone jutsu to even the odds… this will have repercussions. 

Mina Uchiha - Genin hopeful that has a secret second job. 

_________________

Don’t look in their eyes. Don’t look in their eyes! 

The mantra ran through Han’s mind as multiple Tama Uchiha appeared. 

His sensei’s information on the Uchiha had stated in exacting detail how bad of an idea that was. He had to conclude that such might also be an issue for the clones, as each of their eyes glowed a haunting red that almost goaded him into one little look. 

Han didn’t give in to temptation, however. 

Midori, and Kuroiwa had come up with some novel methods to train him not to look at certain objects. To use only his peripheral vision, or mirrors or track their shadows.

Idate had said something about staring at their breasts which led to the girls beating him up and then Kuroiwa charged him for healing him. Heh, good times. 

Tama Uchiha had gotten a head start with the clone jutsu, but Han hadn’t been idle, hand in his back pouch, he drew out a series of explosive tags which he hurled onto the ground both activated and explosions sent debris and dust flying. 

Just to make sure of it Han flicked two senbon at his allies only to curse when both of them shrieked at the sudden sting. 

“Genjutsu you idiots! I told you! Don’t look them in the eyes!” he growled. Urgh, he couldn’t believe he’d had to grovel to get these people to help him out. 

Han swallowed his irritation. No, it didn’t matter. Pride was useless to him on the battlefield, nothing more than a weakness to be exploited. 

The Uchiha clan took pride in their eyes, therefore, he needed to work against that.

With line of sight broken, Han moved, shifting and causing echoes around the room while sending out illusionary clones to, if not trick his foe, then at least delay him. 

A moment’s delay was worth much in a fight.

The plan, such as it was, required him and his allies to be constantly in motion and attempting to snipe Tama from different positions. 

All of them had training to fight in low-to-no visibility situations. 

A shadow emerged in front of Han, and he grimaced as he was confronted with either a clone or the original. 

“You don’t honestly thin—” Han went on the attack as Tama monologued at him.

Han’s hand slipped into the pouch, out of sight but still possible for Tama to account for.

What Tama couldn’t account for however was what would be pulled out. Han went on the attack, closing the distance with his opponent and twisting so that he brought a powerful swing into his strike. 

With a kunai in hand, he swept forward only to smirk as the Uchiha attempted to block with a kunai of his own. The hand sickle he’d stored in his pouch and covered in an illusion swung past the kunai and skewered the other Genin.

Tama gaped. “You—” he puffed into chakra smoke, and Han moved, knowing that the noise would give him away. 

Another puff sounded out in the dust. Heh! That was two puffs! Meaning that both of the clones had been taken out. It seems his allies might have been worth begging for help from, after all!

Han was about to begin a new jutsu only for a powerful wind to sweep through the field and blow all the dust away.

The wind was so mighty Han found himself starting to be pushed back. 

A moment later, the wind grew stronger rather than fading away. 

It grew so strong that Han was almost lifted from the ground. 

Han threw down to the ground, digging in with his chakra to cling on.

He turned his head and spotted one of his allies hurling something into the sky, but the action cost him, as a moment later, he was thrown backwards.

Han gritted his teeth as he looked up only to find Tama waving a large war fan with a smug grin on his face. 

Fuck! Rich clan pricks and their fancy weapons!

He was starting to feel a strain build in his coils as the Uchiha drew back for another sweep of his war fan only for something to flash out of the sky. It slammed into Tama, ending the wind as Tama staggered. 

Han gaped in shock, but didn’t allow himself the luxury of pausing and evaluating what was going on. Instead, he acted, lunging forward. His mind swirled. What was that? 

A glint of metal embedded in Tama’s fan reveaeld a weapon.

A Fuma shuriken? 

Who… ah, the other genin he’d allied with. He’d thrown that in a bid to damage the war fan. He must have been hoping for a faster result though as both of Han’s allies were embedded in the back wall.

Damn, all those chakra control exercises sure proved their worth.

He couldn’t see if either were moving but he didn’t pause to check instead he threw himself into a shunshin to close with his foe. 

He didn’t stop to think, thinking would slow him down, he needed his opponent on the back foot and reacting, not acting. 

He exited the shunshin with a sweeping kick, coming in low instead of standing still. 

Tama leapt up to avoid the attack, spinning to position himself to counter attack. A series of punches lashed out that Han weathered only to stomp his foot to propel himself into the air.

His foe had no leverage and therefore lacked power in his blows. 

Han grinned as he slammed a shoulder right into his opponent’s throat. The surge of vindication quickly turned to annoyance as they puffed away a moment later as Han attempted to grapple with them. 

Replacement Jutsu! His mind raced to pick up where there had been big enough debris to pull off such a jutsu.

Han swivelled around to the only spot he knew off and sure enough there was Tama smirking as he flipped through handseals.

Han snarled. He’d lost the initiative! He needed to close the distance! 

He kicked the slab of rock Tama had used and took off at an angle, hurling kunai only for Tama to sway around them and finish his handseals. 

“Great Fireball Jutsu!” he announced as he inhaled. On the exhale, a huge wave of fire roared towards Han, and for a moment, all he could do was gape. 

This was another Genin?

He growled and flexed his chakra. He had one shot at the back up he’d set up… he needed to time this just right… 

His skin prickled as the fire closed around him and the nobles in the railings above gasped in shock. 

Han flexed his chakra and then vanished in a replacement, using Tama’s own slab of rock to hurl himself to safety. 

Had had made sure to knock it closer to Tama and now he was within striking distance. 

Han leapt, a roar escaping him as chakra surged through his hands into a tiny ball. 

Tama sneered as a small whirring sound filled the air. “Pathetic!” he snarled, puffing up to unleash another fireball jutsu.

Han lunged, leading with his best hope, a small spinning ball of chakra. 

Tama exhaled, and Han pushed through the wave of fire, feeling the heat licking at his fingers even as he powered through it. 

Han slammed his tiny Rasengan right into the Uchiha’s stupid face, sending him flying.

Han collapsed to the ground, head slamming down a moment later as tears streaked down his face. “Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!” he roared as he clutched at his burnt hand. 

He staggered to his feet and glared towards his foe only to blink when he spotted the slight distortion in the Uchiha’s chin.

Had he broken it? Heh, he wasn’t going to be so pretty now!

Han glanced around slowly.

 No one else was moving. He cycled his chakra, only to grimace when he felt the rawness of the chakra nodes in his arm. 

Fuck! That hurt almost as bad as the burn.

Han kept moving, kept sweeping the area around himself, looking for the next fight. Had both of his one-time allies been knocked out?

They had…

Han jolted and swept his gaze as a sound like thunder rolled over him. Lightning jutsu?!

It took him a moment to blink and turn his gaze upwards, where nobles were applauding… for him. 

He clutched at his arm and blinked dumbly at them. 

What? 

“—is the victor!” announced a voice. Han looked around, expecting to see Tama back on his feet only to find that the Proctor in charge of this exam was indicating him. 

Han blinked, took in what was being said, and then he decided it was time for a tactical nap. 

It wasn’t that he fainted from the pain; it was merely a tactical nap.

Strong hands caught him before he hit the ground, and he smiled up at Matsu as he was lowered down. 

“Excellent work, Han. You did better than you realise.”  A green glow appeared, and Han relaxed as the pain vanished. 

Yeah tactical nap sounded good… Han thought. 

_________________

I blinked at my student as snores started to escape his lips. It had only been a few moments since I’d started healing him! 

This kid…

He really didn’t understand how much he lucked out in this fight and won through. I glanced over to where the kids from Steam and Beast were being checked over by their own sensei. 

They were fine, and when they looked in my direction, I offered a thankful bow in Han’s place. 

If it hadn’t been for that Beast genin using a rather neat trick where he tossed a storage scroll that unleashed a fuma shuriken, Han would have been pushed back with the others from the Uchiha’s War Fan-assisted Great Breakthrough. 

Heh, from this fight alone I now had three new jutsu.

The Great Breakthrough, the Great Fireball jutsu, and finally, the Shadow clone jutsu. 

I, too had much to be thankful for. I gave each of the genin and their sensei long looks, committing their features to my memory. If the chance arose, I’d have to do something nice for them. Like spare them, or pull them out of a torture chamber.

I lifted Han as the announcer signalled us to withdraw our genin, already moving on to announce the next match. 

I moved towards the kiri section, where other genin who had either already passed or were still to fight waited. 

There were now only seven, down from twenty. I offered Padme Dendenrashi a small bow of apology. I’d ditched her pretty quickly, but glancing up revealed that she was currently being accosted by one of the people running the gambling rings. 

It looked like they were trying to weasel their way out of paying, probably claiming technicalities or some such. Huh, seems it was her turn to learn all about the price of success.

Padme was drawing herself up, looking less than pleased only for the argument to die the moment two of the seven swordsmen made themselves known at her shoulders. 

Huh, that was interesting. Two swordsmen guarding her? There had to be a story there; I’d have to follow up with her about it.

I gave Han a quick workover. The burns on his hand healed in seconds as I poured chakra into them to reduce the risk of infections. Thanks to my efforts, he could walk off that part of his healing and be in fighting trim tomorrow.

“Sensei you’re kind of freaking people out with how you’re smiling while inspecting Han’s arm.” Midori offered.

I readjusted my face. I must still have been happy about the Shadow Clone jutsu acquisition. “I’m merely pleased with what he achieved.”

“He got stupid lucky,” Idate pointed out.

I nodded. “Yes, but he was also able to take advantage of his luck. That’s significant.”

Idate tilted his head, parsing that while flicking his eyes over his teammate. “He uhmmm, gonna be able to keep fighting?” 

I hummed and inspected his chakra nodes before looking around. “He should be able to fight tomorrow. The nodes are merely swollen.”

“Tomorrow?” Midori asked as others around us also perked up. “Why are they waiting for tomorrow?”

“Nobles,” I replied cryptically. 

Han, who’d chosen that moment to blink awake stared. “What about em?”

Midori’s lips pursed, and she sighed. “The Village of Steam wants to draw as much out of them as possible. They’re hoping to get more from them with expenditures and gambling.”

I grunted as I flexed my chakra through a particularly misaligned chakra pathway in Han’s arm. 

“Fuck me sideways!” he shouted as he shot upright. 

Idate smirked. “You passed out, by the way, like a wimp.”

“Nah, that was a tactical nap,” Han replied quickly, earning a snort from Midori. 

I hummed, used to their back and forth. It became like background noise as I continued to map out Han’s chakra pathways. “You’ve made a right mess of them,” I stated. “Should be able to fix you up later so you can fight tomorrow. No more Rasengan training, though.” 

“You forced it, didn’t you? That was the biggest Rasengan I’ve seen of you,” I asked redundantly. 

Han hissed out an affirmative, and I hummed. It was a good thing that I’d spent time cleaning out his coils if his earlier use in the battle had been his limit. 

It had been the size of a tennis ball in my past life—significant enough to push the flames away from him, but still rather small. Then again, he was only young; he had time to make it something far more.

I shouldn’t compare him to myself. I won a fairly decent prize from the genetic lottery after all.

The last match ended, and I clapped him on the shoulder. “Excellent work,” I stated, then I gazed around at the other Genin who had made it through the first round. 

Sharkbait and Himeko Kaguya had won through, which meant that five of the seven that had made it through to the second round of the tournament stage were Genin who had trained under me. 

“We’ll discuss things more when we get back to our accommodation,” I announced, earning a nod from everyone as I cast my gaze towards who else was left in the sixteen places.

There was another Uchiha, an Aburame, and Minato, which made three from Konoha.

There were another two from Kumo and Iwa, and then a single representative both from Suna and Rain.

No Steam, Key, or Beast shinobi were left. I glanced towards the Rain shinobi. They were an outlier among outliers.

I knew for a fact that Rain had been targeted heavily, perhaps even more so than Kiri had been to make sure Hanzo the Salamander had no grounds to come. 

Thankfully, despite the Rain Genin winning, his Village leader had elected not to attend.

Something everyone was thankful for. Tensions were already high enough.

When we returned to our accommodation, a kunoichi approached me. “Lord Gengetsu wishes to speak with you and your students,” she declared. 

I turned, gesturing for my students to follow, doubly ensuring Kuroiwa knew that included her. 

She shook her head. 

I pointed at her, then pointed at her position in our team to follow.

She pouted and stomped along with us, only to fall silent once we got close. 

“Lord Gengetsu, they’re here,” mentioned the kunoichi as she opened the door. 

We stepped through and fell into a kneeling position to show our obedience to the Mizukage. The kunoichi guiding us shut the door, and the walls pulsed once as the privacy feature was activated.

Gengetsu sat on the lounge with a satisfied air about him. The only way he could be more smug was if he was swirling some amber liquid while petting Mu’s skull or something like that. 

“Seven Kiri Genin through to the round of sixteen,” he announced happily. “You have done Kiri proud with three of those being students directly taught by you.” 

“You have continued to impress Matsu,” he stated firmly. 

“Thank you, Lord Gengetsu. My students have been very receptive to my teachings and have grown well,” I replied. I could practically feel all of them puff up a little at that. 

Gengetsu smirked, “Indeed.” He tilted his head, and his smirk turned playful which was another warning sign. “And who would you say is your favourite?” he asked, like he wasn’t deliberately stirring trouble with his question. 

Everyone knew what he was doing, but there was still the risk of it causing later drama.

“Idate has a solid core of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu that makes him an impressive shinobi in a combat situation. Midori has an excellent head for extrapolating situations and seeing further than most. She is also a solid combatant and skilled as a leader. Kuroiwa has taken on a difficult task by learning medical ninjutsu, which will make her a boon for any team she is placed on going forward and a benefit to Kirigakure as a whole.”

Then I inclined my head towards Han. “But I would have to say that right now, Han is my favourite for overcoming an Uchiha in the last round, along with allowing me to witness several jutsu,” I chuckled as the happy feeling slipped out again.

“Witness several jutsu? Why would…” Gengetsu stilled. “Yes, I noticed that you were rather exuberant when…” 

His eyes narrowed. “Matsu… you had been noted as a chakra sensor. Are you telling me that you picked up those jutsu that were used today?”

I blinked. 

Had that not been reported during the Academy? 

I knew we’d had several ANBU trainees watching us… Had they overlooked what I was doing? I suppose in the Academy people’s handseal speed was much slower but still… I’d demonstrated I could do it, and after that it all just became about speed and ability. 

So in a way, it was a skill issue. 

“Yes…” I offered up, feeling like it was a bad idea, but at the same time knowing I couldn’t exactly back down from what had been said. 

Gengetsu stared at me. 

My own students stared at me like they’d never seen me before. 

Had I never mentioned it to them? 

My classmates knew I did it, I handed them scrolls full of various jutsu after all. My students had seen me hand over scrolls to Sayuki in the past. 

Midori was gaping at me. 

Was it not obvious what was going on?

I felt like I was missing something. 

Gengetsu threw his head back and roared with laughter, “Wahahahahaha!”

He glanced at me. “You mean to tell me, you stole a jutsu from an Uchiha?” he wheezed. 

I coughed. “I stole three actually.” 

Gengetsu howled with delight. “That has got to be the funniest thing I have heard in years! Oh! More’s the pity I can’t tell anyone about it!” 

Gengetsu wiped at his eyes and directed an imperious finger at us. “This is now considered an A rank secret of Kirigakure, you are to tell no one under pain of demotion, torture and more,” he declared. 

“Matsu, if you have the ability to steal jutsu like that, then the entire dynamic of these exams will have to change. Better yet, you will be attending future Chunin exams.”

He gestured at my students. “You three… No, hold there a moment.” He snapped his fingers, and I felt a ripple of chakra shoot into the walls. “Fasha! Fetch the other chunin candidates that are still in the running!” he commanded, and I heard a woman’s footsteps as she hurried to obey. 

Gengetsu turned his attention back on me, and the walls shifted again as he activated the privacy features. “Can you sense Genjutsu?” 

I made a so-so gesture. “It is tougher as many of the effects can be only perceived by the person they are affecting. Genjutsu is also… more subtle I find than Ninjutsu.”

“Hmmm, indeed it does take more skill,” he stated. 

I held back from rolling my eyes at how he was shamelessly big-noting himself.

“Well, not to worry,” he said with a wave as the kunoichi returned with the other chunin hopefuls. 

When the other four Genin were kneeling with us, along with the one other sensei who was supporting a Hozuki and a Yuki, Gengetsu spoke up, “Well done,” he declared, lavishing them with praise before waving a hand. “I have decided I would like there to be a certain… level of drama added to the Chunin exams. If you can, I desire more passion. Wow the audience with your prowess and see if you can goad your opponents into their own displays of ninjutsu. If they have nothing fancy, finish them, remember to keep things controlled as there are Uchiha in attendance.” 

“Sir!” we all barked together, like a pack of trained dogs. 

Gengetsu smiled happily and waved a hand to dismiss everyone, only to hold out a hand to stop me. 

No one else reacted to the gesture, letting me know he’d hidden it behind an illusion. I grimaced, annoyed that I hadn’t felt anything change with them or his chakra this time around. 

“Matsu, I want you to list the jutsu you steal going forward. I shall add them to Kirigakure’s records. You shall be compensated for each jutsu you steal depending on the strength and utility of it.” He observed me. “The Shadow Clone jutsu… you copied it didn’t you?” 

He smirked. “I noticed your reaction; you smiled. And not that smile you use when you’re controlling yourself, but a true uninhibited smile full of delight.” 

Gengetsu smirked. “I saw more than one woman swooning,” he teased. “I should offer another training session for you… but with Mu in the Village, we both need to be at our best going forward.” With that done, he waved at me only for me to hold my place. 

He raised an eyebrow in question, and I coughed.

“I’d like to suggest that all my students be considered for Chunin. Han, Midori, and Idate are all through to the round of sixteen but Kuroiwa did well despite her main specialisation making combat more difficult for her currently.”

“You’d advocate for the Karatachi girl as well? Interesting.” Gengetsu laced his fingers together. “You hold medical skills quite highly, don’t you Matsu?”

“They allow us to retain many of our best while opening up many chances, both for the theft of specific Kekkei Genkai along with more civilian-aligned missions. I feel that the Village should have a hospital along with a dedicated division of Combat Medics.”

“Combat Medics?” 

“Medics that can be in the thick of a fight, either putting people back into it straight away, or on the front lines fighting themselves.” I offered a shrug. “The best example to date I can think of is one of the Sannin, Tsunade Senju, she is reported as a medic that I believe was critical to allowing both of her teammates to survive against Hanzo the Salamander.” 

Gengetsu snorted. “Yes, I’m sure you were able to draw hearsay and suppositions of the fight but the truth is that Konoha marched into the Land of Rain with nigh on five hundred shinobi and only twenty-one walked out. Only three of those survivors ever faced Hanzo, so for all that Tsunade is wonderful for her teammates, she wasn’t that effective,” Gengetsu said dismissively. 

I wet my lips and decided to push my objective. “That actually only proves her worth more. If there had been more like her, then there might have been more survivors.” 

Gengetsu tilted his head. “Hmmm I will have to consider it, but nothing will be possible until after you return to Kiri,” he said giving another wave of his hand as he turned and looked back out onto the street.

Once again, I lingered rather than leaving. “Why are you talking as if you won’t be there? You were only just recently talking about being able to add more jutsu to Kirigakure. And yet now… I hadn’t considered you as being so defeatist.” 

Gengetsu frowned. “You’re being rather cavalier tonight, Jonin Matsu, has the victories your students earned emboldened you that much?” 

“I am merely pointing out an observation,” I stated. “You sound like you’re giving up before the fight has even started.” 

Gengetsu shook his head. “When you are ready to fight the battles that a Kage is needed to be able to fight, there is an understanding that at our level, death will be a constant companion. Mu is no slouch, otherwise, I would have ended his life many, many years ago.”

He considered me. “What do you know of him?”

“What’s listed in his Bingo book page. Invisibility, Chakra sensor with no peer, and he is able to utilise the Dust release.”

Gengetsu huffed. “And I suppose you think you know what that means, hmmm? No, the truth is that the Dust release is a more versatile skill than most understand. It is in fact a Kekkei Tota, an advanced Kekkei Genkai. Mu can utilise three elements at the same time with fire, earth, and wind chakra natures. This allows him to fire wide area attacks or beams that disintegrate his opponents.” 

Gengetsu cupped his hands so a diamond shape was in the centre. “A gesture like this is all he needs to activate his jutsu and he can lay waste to most battlefields. What also hasn’t been listed is that Mu is capable of flight. I’m not sure how he does this but it is an annoying ability.” 

I nodded and considered my next words only for Gengetsu to tilt his head. “Are you getting worried about me Matsu? I’m touched, I hadn’t thought you would care for me after our first meeting,” he said lazily. 

I blinked. Ah, right, he had asked me to kill one of my fellow graduates from the Academy, hadn’t he? 

“Merely looking to ascertain I’ve backed the right person,” I replied stiffly. 

Gengetsu smiled, and this time, when he waved me away, I departed. 

When the door slid shut behind me, I didn’t look back despite wanting to. Gengetsu… I was starting to get comfortable around him.

That seemed like a dangerous lapse.

I pushed that thought to the side and considered what I was going to do next. 

There was a real desire to sneak away from the village. 

Get away into the wilderness and just go crazy with the shadow clone jutsu, cut loose, see how many I could create. What the memory transfer was like. How much would I be able to accelerate my training by?

But sadly, I had to be responsible. So I marched towards my students. 

They were all very upbeat. 

Han was so happy that he was holding back tears. “You really think I did that well sensei?” he gushed.

I patted him on the shoulder, “You work hard, and it has produced results. Lift your head,” I said firmly. “Make sure to keep lo—” I started to give him a warning about not taking his recent success for granted, only for him to lunge at me. 

I replaced myself with Idate who was looking far too smug. 

“Wha?” he squawked as he suddenly found himself being hugged by a snot-nosed teary-eyed Han.

Both boys stared at each other. Then they recoiled from each other as I made my retreat. Midori and Kuroiwa both giggled as the boys started to blame each other. 

“Oi, you!” growled an all too familiar voice. 

“Himeko,” I greeted the fierce girl with a nod. “You’re doing well. People are saying that you are the best Kaguya of your generation now. A standout of the Kiri wave.” What I was telling her wasn’t even a lie; nobles were noticing her. 

“Tch! Like I give a damn! They set me up to fight a Hyuga, a Kumo grunt and one of the other Kiri minnows like that was going to slow me down!” Himeko stormed up to me and stopped short of grabbing me, but I could see her seriously thinking about it.

“Still, you've done extremely well no? Lord Gengetsu even praised you,” I stated.

Himeko shifted, not quite squirming but it was close. “Like I care about his opinion,” she muttered. Her gaze stayed fixed with mine, a silent challenge I was more than used to facing when interacting with her. “Do you think I can win it?”

“Yes,” I replied. “You have a serious shot at it. Play things smart and you’ll be the winner but remember that this exam is not ju—” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Make sure you watch me tomorrow!” she growled as she marched back to her room.

I hummed, watching her go. “I’ll cheer for you,” I offered to her retreating back.

When she paused for a moment, I caught the way a blush ran up her neck before she continued to stomp away. Ah, damn, she was still too easy to fluster.

I made my way to the last ‘student’. 

I made sure my feet clicked on the floors as I approached his room, letting him know someone was coming in. When I entered, I found him sitting with a few of the other civilian genin that I had trained with. 

Sayuki had a stack of notes set up on the wall and was tapping at them. “—and if you draw Minato you need to put the pressure on him! Don’t let his stupid pretty boy face advance any further!”

I snorted. “Wow, way to let him live rent-free in your head.” 

Sayuki whirled around on me with a wild look as she growled. “You don’t understand! After I was healed up I approached the others in my grouping and they gave me the most bullshit excuses for why they refused to fight Minato despite the advantages to it! What they did made no tactical sense!” 

“So what happened?” Sharkbait asked. 

“The first was looking for a rare flower just outside the walls for his girlfriend and Minato happened to encounter him, leading him to a fucking field of the damn things! Even gave him a pep talk that saw the kid confess and get accepted! The other needed help with a job and lo and behold Minato was fucking right there at the perfect moment!” 

“Who gets that lucky?” she howled as she stabbed a senbon into a drawing of Minato.

The rest of us shared a worried look. “Him apparently. Nothing can be done about it now though. Give Sharkbait the intel and move on,” I said to the normally much more professional Sayuki. 

“We’ll note it down as a series of very interesting coincidences for now, even post some passive watchers around in the neutral areas for any other interactions he might have. If any other situations happen to work out for him, we’ll chalk it up as enemy action.” 

Sayuki narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. “That… might make a bit more sense than Minato being just that lucky.” I nodded and directed the conversation in a more productive direction. 

The others were more than happy to get assigned a ‘mission’ that would keep them busy, and I pointed out several occurrences I’d observed in my own recon.

Having a team set up for it would only make things better.

With that done, I was about to head out and linger where Kiko might find me only to be intercepted by Padme at the front door. 

“Going out Matsu?” she asked. 

I held back a slight sigh, knowing what she wanted. Well, I suppose I could humour her, if for no other reason than to learn how she had gotten two of the seven swordsmen to guard her. 

Even if I had her tagging along, there was no reason I couldn’t do some more intel gathering, I’d just have a slight handicap.

I decided to chalk it up as a different form of training while lamenting the fact that once more, I wasn’t going to get a chance to play with the Shadow Clone Jutsu. 

_________________

The fights continued the next day, with eight head-to-head matches planned. Sadly, the matches were kept hidden until the day, and the draw was not revealed until all the important guests were in attendance.

Not even Kiri, Kumo or Konoha’s pressure on the Leader of Steam could get him to spill. The man played his hand well and stayed close with the Daimyo apparently, and we couldn’t bully the man too mopenly in those situations.  

I watched as Sharkbait drew Himeko, Idate drew the last Uchiha, Han drew the shinobi from Rain, and Midori drew one of the Kumo nin. 

The fights were more intense than yesterday with the people fighting not having to hold back as much lest they be taken by surprise. Each fight was head on with fists, jutsu and tactics being deployed wonderfully. 

Sharkbait met Himeko head on which I thought was a bit boneheaded of him—heh— only to reveal that he’d been practising simple illusion techniques that made it hard for Himeko to predict where he was. Each swing of her fists or stab with her bones had what must have seemed like a fifty percent chance of striking true. 

Watching with my eyes didn’t reveal the trick, but with my chakra senses honed on the fighting, it became apparent that he was actually shifting around and blocking her with shortened sticks instead of taking the hits. 

He would then counter-attack and land blows, over and over again. 

Sadly for Sharkbait, he couldn’t get close enough to attempt another Rasengan against Himeko. She knew it was too much of a threat, so she stayed at a medium range, forcing him to weather blows when he tried to push forward and punishing him when he tried to retreat. 

Even when he pulled off replacements or launched explosive tags, Himeko was able to counter, launching waves of bone senbons and even a few boomerangs. 

Or were they Bonerangs? 

I had to admit they were quite effective with how they arced through the air. 

Eventually Himeko wore Sharkbait down enough to land a finishing strike that saw him collapse. 

I clapped along with the others, impressed with both. Sharkbait had a good method for tripping Himeko up, but he should have gone for a big hit with the Rasengan straight away instead of making sure of himself.

By the time he was certain his trick would work, Himeko had identified the threat, prepared herself, and stayed nimble.

She hadn’t faltered or been rattled by being tripped up; she’d held her nerve and fought on despite the risk. 

When she glanced up at me, I made sure to give her a firm nod while clapping along to the other nobles that had started to follow me around. 

Padme, having joined the group late had to work to stay at my side as various nobles or their servants always wanted to get my take on a certain match up. I must have been making them a lot of money with my insight into the matches.

I’d also seen some of the bookkeepers starting to send their own informants around to get intel on who I was suggesting would win. If I had more time, I would have absolutely set up a system of feeding solid information only to rig the system. 

It wouldn’t even be that hard. 

However, it wasn’t worth spending any serious time on, as I needed to keep my attention fixed on Mu and Gengetsu when I wasn’t observing the various matches playing out. 

Idate proved to have understood the briefing he’d been given perfectly when his time to step up came. 

He obscured himself first to deny the Mina Uchiha any chance of copying his jutsu only to then begin unleashing jutsu after justu at where his foe stood. 

Mina, firm in her superiority, countered with jutsu of her own. 

Water bullets met earth walls. A water dragon that punched through the wall was countered by Mina diving under the ground with Hiding like a Mole. 

She then went for the Head Hunter Jutsu, dragging Idate into the ground only for his reactions to be up to the task, replacing quickly enough to escape.

He staggered a few steps and growled when he landed however, revealing that Mina had sunk her nails into him when she grabbed him. 

She emerged from the ground and flicked her hands through some handseals before swiping her hand through the air causing the mist that had obscured Idate to vanish. 

Hmmm interesting. Gale Palm Jutsu? I thought as I noted it down. 

“You’re not going to win,” she sneered, eyes swirling as she glared at Idate.

Idate kept his gaze fixed on her chest with a smirk. “Heh! Flat!” he replied. 

Everyone who heard the comment blinked and Mina stiffened like he’d just slapped her lightly. 

Then she clenched her fists. “That does it… you will burn!” she roared as she raced through a series of handseals only to pause. “No, you’re baiting me…” she said as she scrutinised Idate.

Both Idate and I clicked our tongues in annoyance. 

Damn! 

She’d been so close to using another jutsu. The girl drew out two tanto and grinned. “See if you recognise this puddlebrain!” she grinned as she raced through handseals. 

Surprisingly, Ameyuri Ringo stiffened and stepped forward. “That, how could… Oh that bitch!” she growled.

On the field below, Mina charged in, her two blades sparking and flashing, twisting so that the lightning swept around her. 

Idate set his feet and cupped his hands, a now familiar swirling shrill sound filled the arena as a rasengan formed in his hands. He snarled and charged. 

Mina, recognising the threat twisted mid air and slammed her blade into the ground to stop her momentum only for Idate to leap, arm extended into a lunge as he closed on her.

Then her eyes flashed and Idate froze. 

The Rasengan hung a bare few centimetres from the girl’s chest. 

“Argh… that’s poor timing. He stopped looking at her chest and looked at her eyes right before he struck,” I said, hanging my head, faking my sadness. 

Five jutsu, he’d just gotten her to use five jutsu! He’d lost the battle but had gained much. 

I observed Idate’s charka system, tracking the way it moved with the barest trace of Mina’s chakra within it now.

Mina took a shuddering breath, her eyes shifting down as she realised how close she came to being blown away. 

Then the Rasengan winked out, and she fell onto her backside, squeaking in surprise. A moment later, she straightened up. She drew out a tanto and laid it against Idate’s throat.

I was more than ready to intercept her if she did more, but she showed restraint, merely holding her blade there. “I win,” she announced, turning her gaze to the proctor who nodded and called the match.

I offered polite applause as Idate was roused from the illusion. He twitched and glanced around only to slump when he realised what had happened. He bowed towards Gengetsu, only to glance at me and offer a half hearted smile. 

I made a show of raising my hands to indicate I wasn’t worried by his loss. I offered him a wink as he stepped to the side as the next match was announced. 

As he passed Midori in the waiting area he offered her a nod.

Heh, a Hozuki showing respect to a Terumi, will wonders never cease. 

Midori glanced up at me.

I smiled, appearing like I wasn’t all that bothered by how things had played out. I offered a casual shrug. Hopefully that would help keep the pressure off somewhat.

As the next match was hyped up I offered my insights t othe various nobles noting down that it was Minato once more fighting. 

As others bustled off to place their bets while the bookkeepers tried to adjust their odds before the bets could come into play I spared a glance towards Ameyuri. “Something the matter?” I asked. “You look like you’re trying to glare a hole through that Uchiha girl’s head.” 

Ameyuri clenched her fists. “That jutsu is a training jutsu that I developed to get used to wielding the Kiba blades… For that girl to have witnessed it… I only recall using it once during the war, and for that girl to know it meant she survived… She was part of a group that took out my master.”

“Ah,” I replied. “Is she a target of your… grudge?”

“No… she retreated, but apparently not as far as I thought if she witnessed me using that jutsu. Must have stayed close enough to copy it. I never got to see the face of the man who killed my master…” Ameyuri began peering around at the various Konoha shinobi only to pause on a tall, thin man. 

“Hmmm, it seems fortune favours me. Coming to these exams was the right call.”

“I suppose so,” I replied mildly, observing the man. He didn’t look like much. Just another Konoha Jonin. He pointedly wasn’t hiding his face.

Which most likely meant that he was ANBU… and so was the girl. Was she a hidden shark?

“Hmmm well that’s interesting to know,” I said as I adjusted variables in my mind. I’d certainly be reporting that little detail later on. I doubted it would do anything, but it would be good to know that anyone facing that kunoichi would be facing a hardened veteran who might just be sandbagging. 

The jury was still out on whether she was legitimately angered by Idate calling her flat-chested. 

Idate had a very punchable face and a knack for saying things that annoyed others… She was also quite flat, so it was possible it was a touchy topic. 

Padme coughed, and shifted a little closer so she could lean into my personal space. “What makes you say that the blond boy will win the next match?” she asked. 

I glanced at Minato before looking away. The match was him against some Suna genin. I mentally offered the suna nin my condolences seconds before Minato baited him in only to perform a series of blows that dismantled the genin. 

A few seconds later it was revealed that the suna Genin was in fact a puppet. 

I chuckled as nobles around the room squawked in surprise sa the curtain that had been meticulously painted to match the back wall for colour and shade dropped to reveal the Suna Genin. 

It was a neat trick, but I wasn’t buying for a second that Minato had fallen for it. 

He, like the Uchiha genin was sandbagging. 

Then again, it was pretty easy to spot, considering that I had foreknowledge on him.

A kid destined to become Hokage wasn’t going to fall for that trick, although I thought it was quite amusing to see such a basic technique used. In another setting it might have even been effective. 

To my disappointment, Minato hadn’t use anything beyond the basics to win. For a moment, I was sad, thinking I hadn’t gotten anything from him, only to blink… oh wait, that wasn’t true, was it? I hummed as I reviewed the jutsu he had used.

When it was Midori’s turn to fight, she and the Kumo nin went hard at each other, both hurling jutsu after jutsu in a fantastic display of ninjutsu and power that had the nobles gaping in awe. 

I watched on with a smirk.

If Idate had completed the new mission briefing to the letter, then Midori was just as up to the task. 

Lightning Sparks Jutsu she absorbed with Gravel Spray Jutsu. She then performed Hiding in the Mist only to close the range and trip him up, forcing him into taijutsu.  

Within a few exchanges it was clear she was the better taijutsu fighter.

Despite having the advantage there, she backed off and started sending Wind Slash after Wind Slash at the Kumo nin. This forced him into using fire jutsu, revealing he had a few of those as well. 

Midori had to throw herself out of the way and replace herself to escape a volley of Phoenix Sage Fire, which unleashed a fireball that revealed itself to be many fireballs made into one only with varying trajectories and speeds. 

By the end of that the Kumo nin was blowing hard and staggering. 

Ah, he was almost out of chakra. 

Midori saw this and switched tactics, going for the kill straight away with a kunai looped with wire. She flicked it at him only to replace herself to the side and flick another wired kunai. 

Within seconds, the boy found himself encased in wires and tied up with Midori standing over him with a kunai to his throat. 

Ameyuri whistled as the match was called. “Damn Matsu, your brats have some serious stamina. They’re throwing around jutsu like they're nothing.” 

I inclined my head. “They’re very skilled and have taken to my teachings well,” I replied, knowing that the cleansing technique I used on them also gave them a leg up on their opponents. 

When Han strode out, I gave him a thumbs-up and prepared for another string of jutsu to be fed to me. I was interested in what I could get from the Rain shinobi, but he blurred right into Han’s face and exploded in purple gas. 

Han stumbled out of the gas cloud, caught by surprise. He shunshined away but landed awkwardly, stumbling only to land on his hand where he knelt, adopting a more stable position. 

I grimaced. Stability was good all but shinobi fought with speed. He needed to get moving.  

Instead of moving, Han sneezed. 

He shook his head only to sneeze again.

He quickly drew out a balm that he wiped across his nose and lips which seemed to help a little but his eyes were already turning red. 

“Damn, they got him,” I said realising this was going to be one of the only matches of the round I hadn’t predicted correctly. It seemed Mina Uchiha wasn’t the only person sandbagging. 

The Rain shinobi marched out of the cloud of poison and observed Han. “The poison… it is taking effect no? You will be seeing double. Your motor functions are impaired. Surrender, and I shall provide you the antidote.”

Han bared his teeth and tried to rise only to falter. He glanced up at me, and I made a sign to stay down. This wasn’t going to be his day. Sadly, poisons were still one field I didn’t have much knowledge of. 

After all, poisoners were a rather secretive bunch. You either got picked as an apprentice or' self-studied’, relying on luck to carry you forward. 

It bears mentioning that typically, on average, five kids die every year in the academy from self-studying poisons. 

For that reason, none of the civilian kids I’d taken into my group had been interested in it. 

That needed to change, and quickly.

Han signalled his forfeiture and the Rain nin chuckled, pocketing the antidote causing a stir as he sauntered away. 

“Ah, Rain nin,” I said, projecting my voice as I appeared next to Han. I’d like you to follow through on your bargain,” I stated calmly. 

Was my appearing here giving away that I couldn’t yet treat poisons? Yes. Did I care? 

No. It was a chink in my armour, but one I was now going to seal shut. It would even be justified to other Kiri nin. 

The Rain nin chuckled. “Hahaha, you can’t touch me here Kiri nin. Don’t try and act tough just watch your student die.” 

I narrowed my eyes and allowed my chakra to surge. “Rain nin, leave the antidote. I can get my student healed, but if you prolong his suffering, then all I can ask of you is to wash your neck.” 

The rain nin stiffened and despite the mask over their mouth I enjoyed watching their eyes widen in shock as I projected my intent straight at him. 

The antidote was tossed to me and I administered it and confirmed it to be correct via the diagnosis jutsu. I dropped the pressure on the genin and offered a polite nod. 

“Pleasure doing business,” I stated before carrying Han up to the observation deck.

“Sorry sensei,” Han mumbled. 

“No. You did wonderful. Take this as a lesson, nothing more,” I replied as I squeezed his shoulder. “Grow from it.” 

He nodded, a fire blazing in his eyes as his motivation ignited. I turned and watched the exam proctor declare that tomorrow’s round of eight matches would be held at set times with the semifinals and finals occuring on the next day.

Beside me, Padme stiffened. “I spoke with my father and he agreed with your words Matsu… a few other of our allies have also been informed.”

I offered a firm nod, glad that an innocent wouldn’t get caught up in whatever was to come in two days. 

The proctor then surprised me by revealing the full bracket to everyone. 

Nobles all over began to lean in as the chance to gamble more called. More than a few coughed politely. “You did quite well Matsu, almost perfect in fact, could ah, I ask for your thoughts?” asked a Noble from the Land of Water.

I smiled and gave the brackets a brief glance like I hadn’t already memorised it.

Minato against the Rain Nin.

Himeko against the Mina Uchiha.

The Aburame versus the final Iwa shinobi.

And finally, Midori against the last Kumo nin. 

A loud booming laugh drew people’s attention to where Jiraiya was. “Ha! You see that? Three Konoha nin in the top eight! And by this time tomorrow, there will be three of the top four mark my words!” 

This drew a round of polite murmurs, and I hummed. 

A few of the nobles prompted me for my take on things but I waved off, evading their less-than-subtle demands for me to provide insight. 

I tapped Han and had him follow me as I walked past a group of Bookkeepers. “Dumpling resturant half an hour,” I whispered as I passed them.

They stiffened, and Han shot me a confused look. 

Idate, Midori, and Kuroiwa joined me, and I led them to the Dumpling Restaurant.

Time I showed them how to make the most of any situation. 

A few of the bookkeepers slipped into the restaurant and crowded our table causing my students to bristle at the men’s arrogance. 

I raised a hand, forestalling any unkind words. “Lesson time students,” I announced, causing them to fall quiet and watch as I went to work. 

The central bookie narrowed his eyes. “Jonin Uzumaki. Good to finally talk with you. You’re losing us money. You have good insights and the nobles are making bank off following your tips. How much to stay quiet?”

I smiled. “Five hundred thousand,” I replied.

The man scoffed and shook his head. “I ain’t—”

“Seven hundred thousand,” I said over the top. “Be smart, take my second offer. You know you’re losing more from all the nobles and I can expand my pool of betters if you don’t.”

We locked eyes for a moment, only for him to stiffly nod a moment later. “Very well," he snapped his fingers and a stack of cash was deposited in front of me. “We thank you for your silence,” he said.

“Now you can pay me for my take on the coming matches,” I said causing the group of bookies to stiffen. I tapped the stack of bills and the man grumbled but snapped his fingers again.

Kuoriwa turned and stared at me like I’d just turned water into gold.

“Minato is going to beat the Rain nin. His sensei is Jiraiya of the Sannin. He’s absolutely going to know how to handle poison attacks. Minato is in fact one of the Genin I tip to make it to the finals.” 

That had everyone perking up in surprise. 

Idate opened his mouth, but I spoke over him.

“Himeko will drag the match out against Mina Uchiha but she’ll eventually falter. The Uchiha has more tricks up her sleeve than she lets on which Himeko is going to force her to use. It will appear close.” 

“The Aburame of Konoha versus the Kamizuru of Iwa match is going to be a death match with the Aburame emerging the victor. A clansman of his died to his foe, and he’s going to be out for blood. It is not going to be pretty.” 

That, if anything, only made the Bookkeepers lick their lips in anticipation. 

“Which leave Midori and her fight against Kumo nin,” I said putting my hand on her shoulder.

One of the bookkeeper’s opened their mouths. “Their name is Kazum—” I cut across him. 

“I don’t care. I’ve reviewed their fights and performances. I’ve gathered intel on them. They are well known to me.” Mostly from the network of Genin hopefuls I had feeding me information. 

Kazuma was lucky to have made it this far and had gotten lucky in the round of sixty-four with everyone gangpiling what had turned out to be Tsume Inuzuka. 

Apparently going into combat with a ninken in those situations made everyone assess you as a greater threat. 

“They’re nothing special. Midori will triumph against the final Kumo nin handily. I fully expect her to be the other finalist.”

Midori’s eyes bulged at this prediction.

The Bookkeeper who had paid me gave me a long look. “And the eventual winner?” 

I smiled. “I will be doing everything in my power to make sure it is my student,” I declared firmly.

Sorry, not sorry Minato, I thought. I knew I was going to have to pull something off though. Minato had too much backing for me not to knock out some of his supports.

The bookkeeper smirked and offered a nod before departing.  

Midori gaped at me, but it was Kuroiwa who spoke. “That was amazing sensei. You just made so much money.” 

“Thank you I do try,” I replied. “So? My shout?” I offered to my students which drew a laugh and a cheer from the boys. I gave Kuroiwa a pointed look and she nodded minutely, understanding the additional lesson I’d just demonstrated.  

For the rest of day I worked with Midori, going through various scenarios with her only to depart fo the markets where I would wander around somewhat aimlessly. 

_________________

The fights proceeded much as I expected the next day. 

Minato stayed at range to the Rain shinobi only to summon a toad that was more than happy to leap into the poison cloud and fight Minato’s battle for him. 

Thanks to Minato I now theoretically had an option of reverse summoning myself to an animal summons realm. 

It was up in the air as to what I would get. Some instinct told me it would be a bad idea until I was stronger. 

I observed the fight, knowing that Midori or indeed anyone would have a tough time of it if Minato was allowed to get off a summon. 

It was actually rather interesting watching Minato win via summons. 

When I read the manga I’d thought Jiraiya was an idiot to teach Naruto how to summon toads for his chunin exams while everyone else got cool jutsu, but the summoning jutsu just so happened to be what Naruto needed when he faced Gaara. 

But there was also the fact that if Naruto had advanced further, he would have had more options than anyone else with a changeable repertoire of toads available to him. 

The more I thought about it, the more I realised that having a summon in a situation like this… was actually very overpowered. 

The thought continued to tick over in my mind as the Himeko engaged Mina.

She did so wearing a full body bone plate armour which hid her eyes and actually made it look like her eyes were much higher up her head than they actually were. 

It was a very clever adjustment which made it hard for the Uchiha to lock eyes with Himeko as the other girl was constantly looking in the wrong spot 

The other thing that surprised me, was that between each armour plate Himeko had threads of chakra threads which allowed her to empower herself with a pseudo-exoskeleton.

It seemed she’d been paying some attention to some of the tricks I pulled off.

Her application was quite inspired and I had to hand it to her as she threw herself around the field, ignoring wind slashes and water bullets to pursue her foe. 

She grew two claws out of the back of her wrist that she used to stab and slash when she was in close and when she wasn’t in range to do that she fired them like a wrist crossbow. 

In effect, she was able to apply huge amounts of pressure to Mina Uchiha. 

To such an extent that Mina had to work just to stay alive. 

She started taking slashes and tears and for a few seconds I started to believe I’d made the wrong call.

Then something shifted, and it was like night and day as suddenly nothing seemed to hit no matter how Himeko fought.

I sighed as I realised what it was. 

Padme shifted. “What’s happening? Your comrade seemed to have her on the backfoot and now?” Padme gestured at the fight that now had the Uchiha kunoichi weaving around Himeko’s strikes. 

“Another Tomoe must have formed in her eyes,” I muttered.

Koremei nodded. “Hmmmm, yeah that’s not good, thankfully the next stage up is supposed to be much harder to get.” 

I nodded. The intel we’d had on the Uchiha was that she’d had two tomoe in each eye. 

It seemed that Himeko’s pressure had backfired with an orbital evolution occurring. “Damn overpowered blood line limits,” I muttered to myself a Himeko tried to adjust, blowing off a segment of her armour in Mina’s face only for it to be ducked and Himeko’s arm to be slashed so badly it fell limp. 

Padme frowned. “What about it makes it so bad to fight against?” 

“The sharingan can see chakra, improve visual clarity, and copy jutsu,” I explained, not caring if I was sharing some secrets the Uchiha clan might want kept under wraps. 

Ameyuri grunted from where she was leaning on the railing. “It’s why we typically limit what sort of jutsu we teach Genin. If they attend chunin exams with tons of jutsu it is highly likely they will be stolen by Uchiha.” 

She sniffed. “It’s said that when the Fire Daimyo attended the first chunin exam he asked for a Jonin exam to see stronger warriors fighting for his entertainment. He was promptly laughed at by the other Kage with many of them mocking the then Hokage for such a blatant attempt at jutsu theft.” 

Koremei blinked. “I never heard of that.”

“It’s just a dumb rumour that persists. It is in line with what nobles think though. They look at the chunin exams and then wonder why the Villages don’t do the same for Jonin,” Ameyuri said with disgusted shake of her head. 

Padme very pointedly kept her mouth shut.  

The second match, was close, but not as close as I thought it would be with the Uchiha winning out after casting Himeko into a powerful genjutsu from the feel of it only to win by forfeiture on Himeko’s behalf. 

When the third match was called I turned to Padme and smiled winningly at her. “Want to get lunch?”

Padme blinked. “Shouldn’t we wait until the intermission between matches?” 

I sighed. “I don’t think you’ll be in any state to eat if you watch this next match,” I announced. 

That got Ameyuri to perk up while Koremei hummed and gave the two combatants thoughtful looks. 

I waved a hand. “I’ll look after your charge if you ladies want to watch and point out the good stuff for my students.” My students shared looks with each other as though wondering if they might not prefer to follow me and Padme. 

Ameyuri grinned as she wrapped an arm around the boys and Kuroiwa stayed out of solidarity.

I offered Padme my arm, knowing that in one sense I was encouraging her behaviour. 

Perhaps it was due to her arriving when I’d learned how to use the Shadow Clone jutsu but I was in too good a mood to feel annoyed with her these days. That, and it seemed like most of her bad habits were curbed since our last mission. 

When we returned from lunch, my students all looked a little green while Ameyuri had a huge grin. 

“That was fucking sick!” she announced. “Bug fight wars only it ended with these sick ass beetles being revealed that ate the Iwa asshole’s eyeballs out before eating his brain!” 

Han shuddered. “I’ll never be able to look at beetles the same way.” 

Idate nodded while Kuroiwa had a distant look in her eyes, like she was dissociating from what she’d just witnessed.

Padme twitched and shot me a thankful look for sparing her from watching the last match. I noted that there were a lot of sick-looking nobles and Jiraiya pointedly wasn’t proclaiming how amazing Konoha was. 

When it was Midori’s turn to step out she offer her opponent a huge smile. “Hey can I pay you four hundred thousand ryo to forfeit?” she asked.

Her opponent blinked. “Girl are you out of your min—”

Midori accelerated into a shunshin and kicked them in the face, ending the match in record time.

Everyone blinked. No one had thought she’d be that brave.

I threw my head back and laughed, knowing that she knew that sometimes it was best to dare to win.

With that abrupt end the next matches were announced for tomorrow. 

Minato versus Mina Uchiha and the Aburame against Midori.

Then there would be a small break and the final match would take place.

As we were walking back to our area I considered the way things were going to play out if left to run their course. 

I approached Koremei and she raised an eyebrow at me. I flicked my eyes to Midori. “Who do we have that can mix a poison, preferably something slow acting that messes up chakra control?”

It was as I’d told the bookkeepers. 

I was going to give my student every chance of winning. 

_________________

 A.N. Urgh! Tournament arcs are such slogs to write. Hope as readers you’re enjoying what I’m putting together. 

I honestly forgot to mention it the first time but with two uses of it it stuck out to me. Matsu would be very interested in the summoning jutsu due to knowing how Jiraiya got his summons. 

Thanks go to my patreons for your continued support! 

I feel like I should list out all the jutsu Matsu just learned here but… there’s quite a few of them now… without combing through the notes I have on this chapter and Matsu's file I have written up the following jump out at me.
- Shadow Clone Jutsu, Hiding like a Mole, Head Hunter Jutsu, Summoning Jutsu, Fang's Rush, Great Breakthrough, Lightning Sparks Jutsu, Lightning Fist Jutsu, Great Fireball Jutsu, Phoenix Sage Fire, and the Earth Wall Jutsu off the top of my head.

Got any comments? Post away!