"The exam is over."
Yamato removed the blindfold so he could see the student who had failed. He was surprised, not because of who had failed, but because of how strange the situation was. For a moment, he remembered that day when Kakashi had said something that changed his life forever.
'So he saved her…'
A sigh escaped Yamato's mouth. He couldn't understand why Toru had sacrificed himself for Ino.
When he heard Toru's introduction, Yamato had been able to understand something about him. Toru was empty; without a reason to live, without a reason to die. A child whose purpose had yet to be defined.
'Maybe this is what Kakashi was trying to tell me yesterday…'
Yamato closed his eyes for a moment and tried to think about what he had to do. Quickly, Kakashi's advice came to mind, so, putting a smile on his face, he said:
"Each of you brought your lunch, right?"
Everyone looked at Yamato, including Hinata, who had already arrived at the place by then. She looked at Toru sadly, and he returned his usual emotionless gaze.
—Minutes Later—
Everyone had returned to the place where the exam had begun. Ino and Hinata looked at Yamato, who joined his hands, causing three wooden pillars to grow from the ground.
'I can't look at his face,' Ino thought.
Toru only stared at the ground while his hair covered part of his face.
'Why? I don't understand. If I had been the one to fail, it would've been better for him, right?'
Ino clenched her fists. She felt humiliated. After all, Toru had saved her. She had always thought Toru was a weird, quiet kid with no friends, someone who didn't care about anyone but himself.
'I really don't understand.'
She bit her lip out of frustration. When Yamato appeared in front of her, all she could do was cry, but Toru… He had made a brilliant move to escape Yamato's grasp. When she saw him move with such agility, Ino thought that all her years of effort had been for nothing.
'I can't stand this.'
Ino's gaze darkened as she continued biting her lip and clenching her fists tightly.
"Toru, can you come here for a moment?" Yamato said, pulling Ino out of her thoughts.
In response to Yamato's call, Toru obeyed without saying a word.
"Put your back against the trunk."
Taking a few steps, Toru placed his back against the wooden pillar. The instant he touched it, multiple branches emerged and trapped him. Despite being deprived of his freedom, Toru remained as silent as he had been when he arrived.
"What is Yamato-sensei doing?" Hinata asked.
With a faint smile on his face, Yamato looked at his students.
"Nothing important. Now, how about you start eating your lunches?"
Yamato's sudden words left Hinata confused. If they were going to eat their lunches, Toru wouldn't be able to because he was tied to the pillar.
The same thing happened with Ino. She stared at Yamato in confusion.
"That's right, I almost forgot. You'll have to stay here for a few minutes because I have to report the student who failed the exam."
Yamato's gaze had become as cold as ice.
"But sensei," Hinata said, but Yamato interrupted her.
"And one more thing. You will not give Toru anything to eat. I don't care if he's starving, crying, or begging. If, for any reason, you give him anything, even a single grain of rice, if you disobey my orders, you will all fail."
Ino and Hinata's eyes widened as they struggled to understand what they had just heard. Although they tried to ask Yamato questions, he had already disappeared without giving them a chance to speak.
'Toru-kun…'
Hinata looked at Toru, still thinking about how she hadn't been able to do anything to save him from failing.
Meanwhile, Toru continued staring at the ground. His eyes and facial expression were hidden beneath his bangs.
'Is he... sad because he failed?'
For a moment, Ino felt guilty, but that guilt disappeared when she remembered the attitude Toru had shown toward her on the day they were chosen to be on the same team.
'I guess he deserved it. After all, he's the most useless one…'
Ino's eyes widened as she remembered Toru's physical abilities. And speaking of physical ability, Toru was the best on the team, while Ino only relied on her family's Kekkei Genkai.
'What should I do?'
Ino's gaze turned toward the ground. Even though Toru had saved her, she refused to do anything about it.
"Toru-kun... you can have some of my lunch."
Ino stared at Hinata, who was extending her hand to give Toru some rice.
"What are you doing?! Do you want to fail too?!"
Ino quickly stepped forward and stopped Hinata's hands. She looked at the Byakugan girl with annoyance; however, Hinata only gave her a confused look.
"I just... wanted to help Toru-kun a little."
"Are you crazy? If you do that, we'll fail the exam. Just let him starve."
Hinata looked down while holding the chopsticks in her hands. For a moment, she felt that she should help Toru, even if it meant failing the exam herself, but after Ino stopped her, she realized what she was doing.
Even so, the courage to properly respond appeared within her, making Hinata look Ino in the eyes.
"I... want to help Toru-kun. Thanks to him, you and I passed the exam. He should at least receive something in return. He sacrificed himself... for you. If Toru-kun hadn't intervened, you would've been the one to fail."
She had been brave enough to respond, but soon felt embarrassment wash over her. She looked down as if trying to escape Ino's gaze.
Ino, however, clenched her fists tightly. What the Byakugan girl had said was true. She couldn't deny it; Toru had saved her.
'Why is everyone taking that weird kid's side? He just wanted to look cool in front of a cute girl like me. That's the only explanation for what he did.'
Ino looked at Toru for a moment. Despite having heard the conversation between the two girls, he remained silent.
"I've had enough of this!"
Ino approached Toru and grabbed him by the hair, forcing him to look at her, but the Asahi boy's bangs still covered the expression on his face.
"Let me go," Toru whispered.
"You... Do you think you look cool acting like this?! Are you an idiot?! Are you trying to imitate Sasuke or something?! Let me tell you, you look pathetic."
Although Ino's words were harsh, Toru remained expressionless beneath his bangs.
"Let me go," he repeated.
Ino became even angrier than she already was.
"You're a damn idiot. You hide your true abilities, you try to act like a loner to look cool, don't you? You saved me because you're in love with me, didn't you?"
A smile formed on Ino's lips as she yelled at Toru, but even so, the gray-eyed boy's ability to remain calm was astonishing.
"Why aren't you answering? Are you scared?"
Hinata had watched the situation for far too long. She wanted to stop Ino, and that's exactly what she did. She stepped between them, causing Ino to release Toru's hair.
"Calm down, Ino. We have to get along because—"
"Because we're a team? Is that what you were going to say? Well, too bad. He's not part of any team anymore," Ino said.
This made Hinata feel guilty about everything. She wasn't supposed to feed Toru, but she wanted to. She wanted to help him because Toru had ruined his own chance to become a true ninja.
"Why are you being so cruel?" Hinata asked.
Looking at the ground with a sad expression on her face, she couldn't understand why Ino was being so cruel to Toru. He had never done anything to make her angry. He had only saved her from failing the exam.
Ino knew that better than anyone, but she was still frustrated. She didn't want to admit that she was a little grateful to Toru.
'I... can't accept it. I shouldn't even be grateful to that guy.'