"It's been taken care of—a toad," Hanekawa said as he reappeared in front of Rin Nohara and Kurenai Yuhi.
"As expected of you!" Rin said in amazent as she put away her kunai.
"With Hanekawa around, we don't even need to lift a finger to take first place," Kurenai said with a smile.
"The third round is a one-on-one battle. I won't be able to help you there," Hanekawa replied, lightly tapping Kurenai's forehead.
"Let's go. Don't waste ti."
With that, he leaped forward, taking the lead once again. Rin and Kurenai quickly followed.
The three of them ford a line as they ran through the Forest of Death.
---
An hour later, Rin landed on the ground, ready to leap again, when the earth suddenly shook violently. The ground cracked open, revealing a massive mouth that lunged at her.
Caught off guard, Rin lost her balance and fell, panic written all over her face.
"Rin!" Kurenai sped up, but it was too late.
Just then, a flash of lightning streaked through the air. Hanekawa appeared, catching Rin mid-fall and rushing away from danger.
Hanekawa hadn't expected this toad to turn into a stealthy ambusher, attacking from underground.
His sensory skills, while decent, mainly focused on detecting surface movents, which made him overlook the toad.
---
Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!
Kurenai reacted quickly. She stopped, forming hand signs, and unleashed a stream of water that coalesced into a dragon, crashing down on the massive toad.
Sensing danger, the toad leaped into the air, dodging the water dragon.
It retaliated by spitting a giant water ball at Kurenai.
Body Flicker Technique!
Kurenai imdiately retreated, avoiding the attack.
She then countered with Water Style: Water Gunshot! Tiny, bullet-like streams of water shot toward the toad.
Despite its efforts to dodge, its large size made it an easy target. The toad croaked in distress as it was hit.
Hanekawa glanced at the scene and quickly judged that the toad wasn't a match for Kurenai.
He looked down at Rin, who was still in his arms. Her eyes were shut tightly, her legs clad in dark red over-the-knee socks drawn close together, resting in the crook of his arm. Her hands instinctively clung to his waist.
"It's okay now, Rin," Hanekawa said.
Hearing his familiar voice, Rin gradually cald down. She moved her hands, realizing she was clutching his clothes.
"T-thank you..." she stamred, quickly letting go and stepping out of his arms.
Avoiding his gaze, Rin lowered her head, her face tinged with red as she fidgeted with her pink skirt. It was her first ti being so close to a boy her age, even if it was in an ergency.
Hanekawa nodded slightly and used Body Flicker to reach Kurenai.
"I surrender!" the large toad said decisively when it saw him. "You can go."
It knew it had struggled enough against Kurenai. Adding Hanekawa into the mix ant certain defeat.
"Not so fast!" Kurenai huffed. "You almost ate Rin just now."
"I don't eat humans! I was only trying to scare her," the toad protested. "I'm a toad from Mount Myoboku—I only eat insect cuisine!"
"Forget it. Let's move on," Hanekawa said, grabbing Kurenai's wrist and shaking his head.
Hearing this, the toad wasted no ti fleeing.
"Rin, are you hurt?" Kurenai asked, turning to Rin with concern.
"I'm fine," Rin replied, glancing at Hanekawa gratefully. "Thanks to Hanekawa."
"That's good," Kurenai said. "Alright, let's go! We're definitely taking first place this ti!"
The three of them resud their run.
---
Two hours later, they finally spotted Jiraiya.
"There's the finish line!" Kurenai said, her spirits lifting.
"Looks like we're first," Hanekawa remarked, glancing around and seeing no other teams.
"Great!" Rin said, her face lighting up with a smile.
"Congratulations," Jiraiya said, clapping his hands. "You handled both toad attacks perfectly. Very impressive."
"Thank you, Uncle Jiraiya," Hanekawa replied with a smile.
"I'll announce the rules for the third round once the other six teams arrive," Jiraiya said with a nod.
Just as Hanekawa was about to respond, the sound of frantic footsteps reached their ears.
"Youthful Charge!" Might Guy roared, bursting through the forest like a green whirlwind.
Kakashi followed behind him, his face emotionless.
"First place is ours for sure!" Obito shouted excitedly. He finally felt he had surpassed Hanekawa.
But as the forest opened up and he saw Jiraiya, his excitent quickly faded. He also saw Hanekawa, Rin, and Kurenai.
Obito's face froze.
No! How could this happen?
"Too bad," Kakashi said, shaking his head. He wasn't too upset, as losing to Hanekawa had beco routine for him.
As for Might Guy, he seed as spirited as ever, his energy only growing after each defeat.
"Damn it!"
The sound of rushing wind announced the arrival of another team.
Asuma appeared, followed by Shisui and Shizune.
Despite their best efforts, they were a step too late, missing out on both first and second place.
"It's still Hanekawa-senpai after all," Uchiha Shisui said with a smile.
"Hmph!" Sarutobi Asuma muttered begrudgingly. "We were this close."
"Close still ans you lost," Kurenai Yuhi teased with a grin.
"..."
Asuma trembled with frustration.
Six years—he hadn't won even once! Worse yet, he couldn't even win in team battles, so personal battles were out of the question.
---
"Rin?" Uchiha Obito called her na twice, but Rin Nohara didn't respond.
He waved his hand in front of her face.
"Huh? What is it, Obito?" Rin snapped out of her daze, looking a little embarrassed.
She was still shaken by the earlier attack, her mind replaying the mont when Hanekawa saved her.
"Nothing," Obito said with a smile.
"Congratulations on taking first place!"
"It wasn't because of ," Rin shook her head. "It was all thanks to Kurenai and Hanekawa."
"..."
Obito's face stiffened.
Hanekawa, again?
---
As the group chatted, ti passed. Two hours later, all seven teams had arrived—21 participants in total.
Aside from Hanekawa's team, everyone else had varying degrees of injuries. The toads from Mount Myoboku weren't weak opponents, and Jiraiya had carefully selected ones that would provide a challenge for their abilities.
Hanekawa, Rin, and Kurenai's team, however, was the exception. Jiraiya could have chosen a toad on their level, but that would've been too extre—using a Jōnin-level toad in the Chūnin Exams would have been overkill. Tsunade would've undoubtedly been furious if she found out.
---
"Congratulations!" Jiraiya announced loudly.
"You seven teams have advanced to the third round—a series of individual battles. The only rule: keep winning!"
"When does it start?" Might Guy asked eagerly.
"In three days, at the Konoha Village arena," Jiraiya replied with a wave of his hand. "The second round is officially over. Dismissed!"
"Yes, sir!" the participants answered in unison.
With a puff of smoke, Jiraiya and the toads vanished, and the teams began to disperse.
---
"Hanekawa, thank you for earlier," Rin said, walking up to him.
"You've already thanked . No need to say it again," Hanekawa replied, looking into her brown eyes.
Rin flinched as though electrified and quickly avoided his gaze.
"Hanekawa, should we head ho, or go see Tsunade-sensei?" Kurenai asked, tugging at Hanekawa's sleeve.
"Let's stop by and inform Sensei first," Hanekawa said after a brief pause.
"Alright." Kurenai glanced at Rin before continuing forward.
---
It wasn't long before they arrived at Tsunade's house.
"We're back, Sensei," Hanekawa announced as he entered the living room.
"How did you do?" Tsunade asked, lounging on the sofa and idly watching TV.
"First place, of course!" Kurenai said with a bright smile.
"Not bad," Tsunade replied, unsurprised.
"When does the third round start?"
"In three days," Hanekawa replied, sitting across from her. "Do you have any plans for us until then?"
"Nope," Tsunade said, shaking her head.
"There's no point in last-minute training. Just rest and recharge."
"True," Hanekawa said, turning to Rin and Kurenai. "Let's head back."
"They can go. You stay," Tsunade suddenly said.
"Yes, Sensei," Rin and Kurenai exchanged a glance, said nothing more, and left.
"Heading to the casino again?" Hanekawa raised an eyebrow at Tsunade.
"..."
Tsunade hesitated, feeling a little awkward at being so easily read.
"Can't I?" she asked, crossing her legs on the sofa and glaring at him.
Hanekawa chuckled. "I didn't say you couldn't."
Tsunade imdiately jumped off the sofa, grabbed his hand, and started pulling him toward the door.
"Wait," Hanekawa said, stopping her. "It's snowing outside. Let grab a thick coat for you."
Tsunade paused, watching as he went into her room. For a mont, she felt a pang of emotion.
He's grown up, hasn't he?
---
anwhile, in the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a long sigh as he held a manga volu of Redo of Healer.
"It's been ages since Thunder Fire Sword released anything new..."
"Old man!"
A figure leaped in through the window, startling Sarutobi, who hastily hid the manga.
"What were you reading? Spying with your crystal ball again?" Jiraiya asked enviously.
"When are you going to hand that ball over to ?"
"When you beco Hokage," Sarutobi replied with a pause. "And I wasn't spying—I was inspecting Konoha!"
"No thanks!" Jiraiya replied without hesitation. "Being Hokage is too much trouble. Ask Tsunade or Orochimaru instead."
"..." Sarutobi shot him a glare. "How did the Chūnin Exams go?"
"Here, see for yourself," Jiraiya said, tossing him a scroll.
"As expected, Hanekawa took first place," Sarutobi said, nodding in satisfaction as he read the scroll.
__
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