27 Ch 26 : Before the exam

The following day after Sakura met Gaara and the others, Sanada brought Sakura and the other member of team 6 to the training ground.

Sanada had told them priorly that they would have no mission today and only called them because he had an important announcement.

" Good morning, guys!" Said Sanada with a cheerful look on his face.

But on the contrary, the face of the team 6 members looked pretty sullen.

" You are late again, sensei..." Said Hibachi.

" Haha, let's not worry about that. Let's just say that I'm helping some old grannies back to their home..." Sanada laughed awkwardly, but there was indeed some truth in his words.

Last night, after Hibachi and Ami returned back home, the Jonin instructor came at him and asked him for a drink, saying that they should celebrate the first time their student entered the Chunin exam.

Kurenai got pretty wasted last night, and Sanada had no other choice but to deliver her home, and that's the reason why he closed the restaurant late and became overslept for the next day.

" Ahem!" Sanada coughed to alleviate the embarrassing atmosphere a bit.

" This is sudden, but I recommended you guys for the Chunix exam! So..." Sanada took out three pieces of paper from his pocket.

" Here, take this!" Said Sanada as he handed the paper among the three.

Sanada was waiting for the shocked face of the trio, but contrary to his expectation, the trio didn't seem to be surprised at all.

" Hmmm? Why don't I feel any enthusiasm from you guys? It's Chunin exam, you know?"

" This.. sensei..." Sakura hesitated a bit but eventually told the whole story to Sanada.

She told Sanada about her meeting with the sand trio yesterday and how she had discussed with Hibachi and Ami about the chance of today's announcement would be about the Chunin exam.

Sanada felt a bit speechless when he heard the whole story. Sometimes having a student who is too smart is a hassle by itself.

*Sigh* So is this how Asuma felt?

Nonetheless, Sakura had spoiled everything, and it also made it way easier for him as he didn't need to explain anything to his three disciples.

" So, how about it? Are you guys interested in this?" Said Sanada as he shifted his gaze to the three disciples.

The three disciples looked at each other.

Among them, it was pretty obvious that Sakura was interested in this. She had been training so hard, and the Chunin Exam would be a good occasion to check her growth.

On the other hand, Hibachi and Ami looked a bit hesitant. They didn't want to be a burden to Sakura. But in the end, when they saw the glimmer in Sakura's eyes, they gulped their Saliva and nodded.

If they were to refuse now, Sakura might not say it directly, but she would be pretty disappointed inside.

Seeing the three disciples agree, a smile appeared on Sanada's face.

For Sakura, the Chunin Exam would be the perfect time to flap her wing and metamorphose, while for Hibachi and Ami, this Chunin exam would be their last test. Whether to stay as a ninja or they want to pursue a normal life, all of it would be in their hand.

Now that the trio has agreed to enter the Chunin Exams, all Sanada could do was train them, so at least the trio would read the third stage without any problem.

In fact, the reason that Sanada told them right now, and not just a day prior like Kakashi, was to prepare the trio.

" Now then, since the three of you have agreed. We will enter the special training camp mode. And first, Hibachi and Ami, I need the two of you to come with me!"

. . . . . .

- One Week Later -

Sakura, Ami, and Hibachi turned up at the venue of the Chunin Exam.

And as for Sanada, he directly left to another room where the other Jonin instructors were waiting.

He had explained everything to Sakura and the others, and now all he could do was to trust them.

After a few minutes of walking, Sanada arrived at his destination. He opened the room and saw Kurenai and Asuma were already waiting inside.

The two were alone in the room, but strangely the two didn't seem to talk at all, and the atmosphere was pretty awkward.

Kurenai saw Sanada was coming, and her eyes immediately glimmered.

" Sanada, here!" Said Kurenai as she pointed to the empty seat next to her, much to Asuma's displeasure.

Nonetheless, Sanada was not here to suck dick, and even though he didn't like problems, it didn't mean that he should always care about what the others thought.

He sat next to Kurenai, and the two began to chat.

" So, how is it? Are you confident about your three disciples?" Kurenai started the topic.

She was a regular at Sanada's restaurant, and the two had been pretty close since then. Therefore, she wasn't shy at all to start a conversation with Sanada.

" Pretty good! I have given them some special training, and I hope there will be nothing bad happening to them during the exam!" Sanada replied with a smile. " How about you? last time you ask me for some advice regarding your disciple, right?"

For almost half an hour, Sanada continuously chatted with Kurenai and made Asuma feel like he was third-wheeling.

Even though mostly the topic of the chats was just about their disciple and there was no indication that the two would be lovers, Asuma had almost unable to hold back himself anymore and was about to intrude in their conversation.

But then, the door opened, and a familiar figure revealed himself.

" Yo, am I late here?"

Kakashi Hatake finally arrived at the room.

He glanced around for a while only to notice that Sanada was chatting with Kurenai happily and secretly gave a thumbs up to Sanada.

" *Cough* What are you doing Kakashi-senpai? Quick come here!" Sanada tried to alleviate the awkwardness in the atmosphere.

" No thanks! I'm good here, you two could continue your chat!" Kakashi said indifferently before opening the icha-icha paradise on his hand.