The cursed seal on his neck burned hotter, like it was answering his silent wish.
But Shiki just bent down and carefully picked up the broken blade, sliding it into the sheath.
The other half of the shattered sword followed. Standing straight again, his voice stayed calm and flat.
"Don't bother trying anymore. After all, you can't hurt everyone's feelings."
Sasuke didn't fully understand what Shiki meant, but right after, a pair of arms suddenly wrapped tightly around him.
"Please, Sasuke... I'm begging you, stop fighting," came the tearful plea.
Only then did he realize—he had focused completely on Shiki, completely ignoring Sakura who had already been standing right beside him.
He hadn't gone completely cold-hearted yet. Combined with the exhaustion spreading through his body, the black markings quickly faded away, and he collapsed into Sakura's arms.
Looking at the tears streaming down Sakura's face and the unconscious Sasuke now resting in her arms, Shiki could only shake his head.
He turned around, lips barely moving.
Everyone assumed he was about to say something meaningful—some final word to wrap up the battle.
Instead, scratching his head—now burnt and messy—he sighed.
"Forget about whether any girl has hugged me, even Choji didn't bring the potato chips he promised earlier. What a total failure my life is."
"I knew he'd say something like that," Tenten muttered, covering her forehead in frustration.
Chapter 135 – Central Tower
After parting ways with Team 7, everyone went their separate paths.
At the end of the day, this was still an exam. For these proud rookie ninja, none wanted to pass by relying on someone else's help.
Compared to others, Team 9 had it far too easy—they got both Heaven and Earth Scrolls without much effort.
Actually, they even had an extra Heaven Scroll now.
So for the rest of the trip, Team 9 moved more like tourists than competitors.
They also had no rush to get to the tower before anyone else. Shiki already knew Gaara had probably arrived long ago.
Since they were taking things lightly, the three moved relatively slowly. If not for the fact that Shiki had temporarily run out of Seiquan and lacked a spare sword, he might've insisted on sparring against Seiji Ito again.
Other ninja tried to steal their scrolls, but honestly, Team 9 had already been doing everyone a favor just by not stealing from others themselves.
Anyone dumb enough to try stealing from them? Ha.
Inside the Forest of Death, there were only three names on Shiki's mind: Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi, and Gaara.
Orochimaru himself didn't seem too interested in him—nowhere near as much as he was obsessed with Sasuke.
As for Kabuto, they'd met before. At least for now, he was still widely respected by everyone as "Kabuto Senpai."
Even Shiki sometimes got caught up in the illusion—if Kabuto Yakushi ever stopped being a spy, with his abilities and the trust people placed in him, he might very well become Hokage someday.
It's a pity that after the death of Nonou Yakushi, Kabuto's feelings toward Konoha turned into nothing but hatred.
As for Gaara, he must have already arrived at the Central Tower, so there was no need to worry about him.
As for the remaining participants, Shiki jokingly referred to them as "experience hogs."
One must admit that being a ninja involves more than just strong combat awareness; one must also be seasoned and versatile. Otherwise, it's easy to fall victim to shinobi using specific tactical techniques.
Take Lee, for instance—he originally possessed enough strength to instantly defeat Dosu. But since he didn't immediately use his Kinjutsu, he gradually ended up at a disadvantage against Dosu.
Throughout their journey, Team 9 steadily gained more combat experience by facing various types of shinobi.
When they finally reached the Central Tower, it was already the third day. Though the exam hadn't officially ended yet, nearly everyone who could pass had already gathered here.
Still, things felt pretty quiet right now, with only a few people training in the central training ground of the tower.
Most others were probably staying inside their own rooms without going out.
"Hey, Shiki!"
A familiar voice called out enthusiastically.
"Iruka-sensei, why does it feel like I always run into you wherever I go?" At first surprised, Shiki then complained.
Indeed, Iruka Umino seemed to show up everywhere. His presence could be seen at the Mission Hall,
at the Ninja Academy,
and now even in the middle of the dangerous Forest of Death during the Chunin Exams—they still managed to run into him.
"Don't tell me seeing your lovable and respected teacher doesn't bring a smile to your face?" Iruka had originally raised his hand to wave, but now instead pointed straight at Shiki's nose, shouting, "I knew it—there's no point trying to greet a rebellious student like you normally!"
"Calm down, calm down. Seriously, Iruka-sensei, you still haven't changed your habit of always acting goofy," Shiki said while shaking his head, appearing helpless.
Iruka was momentarily speechless. Shiki never showed the usual reverence students held for their instructor. Instead, he behaved more like a close friend who would crack limitless jokes at his expense.
This left Iruka—the respected teacher—in a really awkward spot.
Still, he glanced at Shiki and couldn't help but form a small smile on his face.
"Hey, looks like the guy who disrespects his teacher is having a rough time himself this time. And don't even get me started on that ridiculous new hairstyle."
Actually, after his fight with Sasuke, Tenten had carefully patched up the wounds on Shiki's head—using kunai, of course.
Given how bad the burns already were, the end result looked pretty messy—though maybe intentionally so. Then again, it might've just been Tenten's prankster side showing off again, deliberately messing it up on purpose.
But at this moment, it gave Iruka the perfect opportunity to mock Shiki.
But faced with this, Shiki simply chose to play it off with his usual thick skin.
"Never thought your sensei's eyesight was so sharp. This is the newest scorched style — check out this wild pattern. Doesn't it look rebellious? Exactly, that's the effect we were going for — like it'd been scorched by [Fire Release]. Only then can it truly highlight the charisma of Man."
Iruka let out a helpless sigh and muttered after a long pause, "Didn't yours actually get burned by [Fire Release]?"
"To be precise, there was also Tenten's artistic touch using kunai," Yuuma added beside Shiki.
"See what happens when you ignore the sensei?" So saying, Iruka walked up to Shiki, slightly bent down, pinched his thumb and index finger together, then gave Shiki's forehead a hard flick.
Well, considering he was in a twelve-year-old body, Shiki *was* way shorter than Iruka.
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