Chapter 25

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"I'll stop already, okay?!"

Fujiwara Tetsuya felt the pressure from that flash of crimson looming over him, making him sweat bullets. He let out a couple of awkward chuckles and immediately put some distance between himself and Uchiha Mikoto.

His chakra was almost gone!

If Mikoto wanted to teach him a lesson right now, she could easily do it.

"Thanks, really, thank you three for saving us," came a voice at just the right moment.

Uzumaki Heiji and Uzumaki Namihana walked over, their faces filled with quiet apology. They'd seen the whole fight unfold—and how dangerous it had been didn't need to be said out loud.

"No need to thank us! We couldn't just ignore it after seeing what was happening."

Tetsuya relaxed a bit when he saw Mikoto glance away, and he quickly sidled up to Heiji.

"Tetsuya! If you don't mind, I'll just call you that."

"Here's the scroll I mentioned earlier. Take it."

Tetsuya's easygoing demeanor had clearly won over Heiji and Namihana. The tone between them became more familiar, friendly even.

Tetsuya hesitated for a second before reaching out to take the scroll from Heiji's hand. The difficulty of finding that scroll had been no joke! And besides, if the scroll stayed with Heiji and Namihana any longer, it'd only bring them more trouble.

"Heiji!"

"What's your plan now?"

"The Mist Village's shinobi came after you. I doubt it's just for the scroll. I don't think Hozuki Shin and his team are going to let you off that easily."

Even after all this time, the thought of Hozuki's squad still made Tetsuya shiver. Thankfully, the trio hadn't fully developed their bloodline limits, so their strength was limited. Otherwise...

Well, who knew if they'd even be alive now.

"The rule of the second exam is that all three members of a team have to reach the endpoint together to pass."

"But it's just Namihana and me now. Continuing the Chunin Exam is impossible."

"So, I'm planning to withdraw. We'll try again next time."

"Withdraw?"

"Yeah, it's a bit of a shame, but it's the best option right now."

Tetsuya nodded as he looked at Heiji, who was clearly exhausted.

"After that fight, this place isn't safe anymore."

"So, Heiji, I guess this is where we part ways. Until next time."

With a final farewell to Heiji and Namihana, Tetsuya and his team didn't waste any time. They headed off into the forest, disappearing into the distance.

Thanks to the scroll Heiji had handed over, they didn't need to worry about finding another. Their next move was to find a hidden spot and recover their chakra as soon as possible. Tomorrow, they'd sprint to the finish.

At the far end of Training Field 37, a ten-meter-tall building had appeared at some point. Around it, a large number of Leaf Village Anbu and Chunin were stationed, continuously reporting everything happening in the training ground directly to Orochimaru.

"Heh heh... The Mist Village really went all out this time, huh?" Orochimaru mused, his eyes narrowing in amusement.

"But more than the Kaguya clan or the Yuki clan, I'm starting to find that brat Fujiwara Tetsuya even more interesting."

"Chidori. Not bad. For someone his age to develop an A-rank jutsu… he's got talent, that's for sure."

Hearing the report from the Chunin below, Orochimaru's pupils contracted slightly as he recalled Tetsuya's battle with Mikoto. His long tongue flicked across his lips absentmindedly.

"Go and inform the Third Hokage about this."

"And send a team to escort the Uzumaki clan members safely out of the training grounds."

"Understood!"

Meanwhile, Tetsuya, who was still sleeping soundly in a cave, had no idea that Orochimaru had already informed Sarutobi Hiruzen about his development of Chidori.

The second night passed far more peacefully than the first.

After a night of rest, Tetsuya's chakra had recovered significantly, and his complexion looked much better too.

"Tetsuya! Let's move!"

"It's time to head for the finish line."

A few moments later, three shadows darted swiftly through the forest.

On their way to the finish line, Tetsuya and his team ran into Hozuki and another Mist Village squad again. But with several other teams lurking around, waiting to pick off the survivors, both sides kept their distance and moved away without engaging.

Tetsuya, Mikoto, and Muto Aburame took out a small team that was foolish enough to challenge them, and they finally reached the finish line by late afternoon.

Quite a few teams had already made it there ahead of them.

"Tetsuya!"

Scanning the crowd, Tetsuya and his team walked toward the sound of their names, heading for the group of Leaf Genin gathered nearby.

"Tetsuya! Didn't expect to see you guys make it here so soon!"

"How'd the journey go? No major problems, right?"

The one with his arm slung around Tetsuya's neck was an older Senju clansman named Senju Seito. He was loud, carefree, and a bit of a blockhead. But his mastery of Water Release was impressive, showing glimpses of the Second Hokage's brilliance. Even Tetsuya had to show him respect.

"Seito! If you guys made it here, then of course we could make it too. No big deal!"

Boasting? That was Tetsuya's specialty.

Tetsuya shrugged off Seito's arm, leaning back beside Mikoto, exuding a sense of casual confidence. With Mikoto's recent upgrade to the double tomoe Sharingan, their team's strength had jumped to another level. Senju? Hyuga? The Ino-Shika-Cho combo?

They might just be able to take them all down in one go!

"Hahaha! I can't! I can't take it anymore!"

"Tetsuya! You're just too adorable!"

"Seito! If you touch my hair again, I swear we're dueling!"

After catching the strange looks from the nearby teams, Tetsuya realized what was going on.

He suddenly felt uncomfortable all over.

These idiots! They were really treating him like a kid!

"Tetsuya! Calm down!"

"Seito didn't mean any harm! Right, Seito?"

At that crucial moment, Yorui stepped in, holding back the snarling Tetsuya with both hands, looking thoroughly exasperated.

Who knew why, but height and age were absolute sore spots for Tetsuya. No one could bring them up without setting him off.

———

"Okay, okay! Tetsuya, I'm sorry!"

"I shouldn't have laughed… haha… Sorry, I really couldn't help it!"

Seeing Seito's completely clueless expression, Yorui silently lowered his head in defeat. Even Seito's teammates took a few steps back, distancing themselves from him.

This blockhead! When was he ever going to stop causing trouble?

"Seito! You idiot! I'm going to kill you!"

"Come on! Let's settle this with a real man's duel!"

When Tetsuya caught sight of the smirk tugging at Mikoto's lips, the fire in his heart burned even hotter.

He was a man! How could he lose face in front of a girl?

"All right, all right, Tetsuya. Calm down! To make it up to you, I'm willing to share some info as compensation. That good enough?"

After a few seconds, Seito seemed to have laughed enough and finally patted his chest in mock seriousness, bringing his head closer.

"Tetsuya! See those Genin from the Hidden Cloud village over there?"

Seito's voice successfully shifted Tetsuya's focus.

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