Chapter 24 Part 2
"Ohoooo! So many people crammed in here!" Naruko breathed out in amazement, surveying the dense crowd filling the Academy corridor.
"And they all came to take the exam?.." Sakurai muttered, nervous, estimating the crowd's size. If there were this many just here, it was terrifying to imagine the competition during the test itself.
"There must be many strong opponents here!" Sasuko thought with eager trepidation, also surveying the throng. Yes, this was exactly what she'd wanted: to test herself against truly strong enemies!
But something strange was going on with this crowd. Why wasn't it moving? The mass of people swayed and buzzed, but hardly advanced forward. It was unusual, but very soon, Sasuko learned the answer to that question:
"Ghya!"
"Weaklings!" a haughty voice boomed from somewhere up ahead.
"Why you bast—gahkh!!"
"Khe! Brats like you should sit at home sucking mommy's tit, not meddle in the business of adult shinobi!"
Pushing forward toward the source of the noise, the team of genin finally spilled out into the front rows of the unfolding drama. Several shinobi with Leaf protectors lay scattered across the floor, nursing their bruises, while before the door marked 301 stood two tall women, blocking the way into the room.
"What kind of eyes are those?!" one of them asked, chin raised, looking down on the defeated genin. "You ought to be thanking us!"
"This exam isn't child's play!" the second woman, her face wrapped in layers of bandages, picked up. "Plenty of those who tried to pass it broke down and quit the shinobi trade! And some flat-out died trying! A chunin is a squad leader. It's responsibility: you screw up, and your comrades die!"
"So you kids better turn right back and not even think about the exam! We're just weeding out the weak, that's all!"
"Hey... isn't that... Eyebrows-chan?!" Naruko was surprised, recognizing Rock Lee among the beaten shinobi. "How dare those old hags?!.."
"Pff... How absurd!" Sasuko threw out, derisive, loud enough for everyone present to hear. For the briefest instant, the girl's black eyes turned red, and then her lips stretched into a smirk of superiority. "Weaklings have no place here, true. But neither do clowns. Especially ones with such tasteless genjutsu!"
"Genjutsu?.. Stop, hold on a second!.." Sakurai whispered, lips alone. Then his gaze darted around the corridor. After that, his eyes found the window, and something suddenly clicked in the young man's head. "Kami, it's so simple. This is the second floor!!!"
His last words were loud enough to draw attention. The crowd stirred and rumbled, discussing the sudden revelation. And indeed, in the Academy, room numbering went by the hundred per floor.
"Noticed it, did you? Well, you've got some skill!" The woman snorted, narrowing one eye. "But even so!.."
Not finishing, the woman attacked! Sneering, Sasuko lunged forward, intending to take down her opponent with a single blow.
Smack!!!
And, suddenly, both attacks were blocked. Some girl in green had stopped them.
"Who?.." Sasuko was surprised. To block her attack so simply... This "green one" was no ordinary opponent.
"Fast little thing," the disguised examiner mentally noted with approval. "And a firm grip. Ah, definitely gonna have a bruise on my leg!"
"Unbelievable... I didn't even notice her! Could she really be as fast as Akashi-sensei?" Sakurai was stunned by the "beaten" girl's speed.
"Eh? EH?! Oh! Eyebrows-chan is fast! So cool!" Realizing her friend was fine, Naruko broke into a wide grin.
"Hey, Lee," the girl in green was called, displeased. Another girl, with the white eyes of the Hyuga clan, was frowning in annoyance. "We agreed to keep quiet."
"Ah... well..." Lee mumbled, flustered, stepping back. Dropping her gaze, she stole a furtive glance somewhere to the side and... blushed!
"Kami... she's at it again?" The young man in the "Chinese" changshan dress whispered, weary.
"UmmmmMm!!!!" Clenching a fist before her, the bushy-browed girl assumed an expression of utter determination. Straightening sharply, making her prominent chest bounce springily, Lee marched almost in lockstep toward two members of Team Seven. "Hi, Naruko-chan!"
"Hey, Eyebrows-chan!" the blonde exclaimed, delighted.
"Um... H-hello. You're... what's your n-name?.." Rock spoke, flustered. "I'm Lee! Rock Lee!"
"Ah, right. I'm Haruno Sakurai. Pleased to meet you?" Sakurai mumbled, sensing something strange in the new girl's behavior.
"Sakurai-kun, right?! You figured out that trick so coolly! You're super-smart, right?!"
"Well, I supp—"
"Marry me!!!" the girl exclaimed, gathering every ounce of her courage into a fist.
"Eh?" Sakurai fell into a stupor, doubting his own hearing.
"Eh??" Naruko's eyes flew wide with surprise.
"Pf-khh?!" Sasuko nearly choked on her own snort.
"EeeeeeeEEeEEeh?" The motley crowd of shinobi gasped, thunderstruck.
"Marry me!!" Lee repeated, cutting down at the root any hope people had of a hearing problem. She had truly said exactly what she'd said.
"Marry me! Marry me! Me... Me..." The girl's ringing voice echoed like a bell inside the young man's head. Haruno's eyes glazed over.
"What idiocy..." Sasuko muttered quietly, clapping the frozen young man on the shoulder. "Stop spacing out already. Let's go."
"..." Without a word, Haruno moved after the Uchiha, swaying as he walked, like a zombie.
"It was awesome to see you, Eyebrows-chan!" Naruko chirped, giving her strange friend a brief hug. "But we gotta go! See you at the exam!!"
"So noisy... she's on a team with the Uchiha?" the white-eyed Hyuga asked, half-stating.
"You just can't help your nonsense, can you, Lee..." The young man in the qipao lamented, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Hey, Lee, are you listening?"
"Nezha, Tento, go on ahead," Lee answered in a serious voice, watching the departed team. "I need to do something."
"You... Ah, whatever, do what you want," Tento waved a hand. "Just try not to get kicked out of the exam before it even starts."
Dashing down the corridor, Lee quickly caught up to the genin team:
"Hey! Hey, black-eyes!"
"What now?" Sasuko turned toward her, irritated.
"Let's fight! Here and now!" Lee got straight to the point, without preamble.
"Fight? Here and now?" The Uchiha repeated, with a hint of curiosity in her voice.
"Exactly!"
"Hey, Eyebrows-chan, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?!" Naruko fumed.
"Sorry, Naruko-chan, but right now I want to fight her!" Lee insisted, firm. "And besides... um... kya..."
Blushing and flustered, the "green girl" dropped her gaze and gave a coquettish wink at Zombie-Sakurai.
"..." Zombie-Sakurai was still not with them.
"And if I win, Sakurai-kun will be mine!!!" Lee exclaimed, inspired, literally ablaze with emotion.
"Um... This is getting so weird," Naruko muttered, sitting down on the floor. "Eyebrows fell in love with Sakurai, and that's why she wants to fight Hedgehog?.. Hey, but we can't! The exam's in twenty minutes!"
"Mfh... Suit yourself," Sasuko suddenly decided, lunging forward abruptly. "I'll finish this in five!"
"She managed to stop my attack. Which means she's not a total weakling. Interesting!" The Uchiha thought, thrilled.
"You're serious! That's good!! Here I come!" Lee cried, and threw herself forward.
They clashed!
"Missed?!" Sasuko's eyes widened when, instead of her opponent's face, her fist met only empty air. "She's fast!!!"
"Ghh?!"
"Oi, Hedgehog?!" Naruko started when the Uchiha suddenly cried out and stumbled.
"What the?!.. I didn't manage to block her attack!" Sasuko's pupil shrank to a point from tension in an instant. She probed her aching cheekbone, unwilling to believe it. "She looks ridiculous, but she's... Strong!!"
Seeing that her opponent wasn't attacking, Sasuko straightened and took a combat stance. The girl's eyes reddened, gleaming with black tomoe.
"So these are the legendary Sharingan?" Lee thought, analytical, frozen in readiness. Though you couldn't tell by looking at her, in battle she could analyze a situation well. Right now, the girl's soul was gripped by sacred awe: she was fighting a member of the legendary clan! A bearer of the most powerful eyes, second only to the mystical Rinnegan. If she could defeat these eyes... she'd be one step closer to defeating her ultimate rival, Nezha.
"I'm coming!" Lee cried, launching into attack.
This time, the clash was different. Her opponent seemed to see the future, knowing Lee's attacks before she'd even executed them. Except... it barely changed anything. Even knowing all her attacks, Sasuko still couldn't adequately and timely respond to them.
"W... wow..." Naruko whispered, rapt, watching the fight. "I've never seen... Hedgehog get her ass kicked so hard. Eyebrows... is strong!"
"You've already realized, haven't you?.." Lee addressed her opponent, feeling her victory almost physically. Her opponent couldn't answer adequately and was already unsteady on her feet. "Yes, that's right. Everything I use is taijutsu! They say the Sharingan can see through illusions and instantly decipher an enemy's techniques. That may be true, but taijutsu is the exception! Even if you can comprehend it, your body still can't keep up with your eyes! Which means... your dojutsu is powerless against me! But you're still quite strong! So... I won't hold back anymore!"
Lee shook her arms, loosening the bandages at her wrists. She intended to finish this match with a single technique.
"..damn!... damn it!!!" Tensing up, Sasuko braced for the next clash. She felt humiliated. Some half-crazed girl had just used her as a training post! And the worst part was that Sasuko herself had only managed to graze her opponent a couple of times. The girl's gaze darkened, excluding everything around her and leaving only Lee. "She's attacking! I have to dodge! I have to!.."
"Is she?! I-is Hedgehog really g-gonna lose?!" Naruko whispered, spellbound and unwilling to believe.
"I!!! AM!!! COMINNNNNG!!!" Lee shouted, launching into a powerful lunge forward.
"STOP, LEE!!!" a sudden shout rang out.
Sh-Shoooosh!
Something shot swiftly over Naruko's head... and slammed into Lee mid-lunge!
The sound of a terrible impact against the wall rang through the space, accompanied by a small cloud of dust. When the cloud settled, Naruko's eyes beheld... something. Something big, angular... and shelled? And from beneath That Something protruded Lee's leg, twitching convulsively.
"Eeehm? What's that?.." Naruko fell into a stupor.
"Is that... a turtle?!" Sasuko simply couldn't believe her own Sharingan. A moment ago, she'd been preparing to fend off a difficult opponent, and now that opponent lay buried under a huge turtle, which was helplessly paddling its short legs, unable to flip over. And, judging by the amphibian's concussed face, it was far from thrilled about playing the role of a thrown projectile.
"LEE! My foolish student!!!" a ringing, almost childish voice boomed, and in the next instant, a small girl appeared atop the turtle. The Uchiha once again doubted her own eyes, for the girl looked practically like an exact copy of Rock: the same haircut, the same outfit... and even the same eyebrows!
"Chibi-Eyebrows!!!" Naruko exclaimed, inspired, recognizing her strange friend's strange mentor.
"Umm... Ga-Gaya-sensei?.." Lee's flustered (!!) voice emerged from under the turtle. "So you... ehm... were here? Yeah?"
"LEE! I am displeased with you!!!" The little girl shouted loudly, bouncing on her living pedestal. A strangled squeak came from beneath said "pedestal." "That is a forbidden technique!"
"But... but I wasn't going to take it all the way!" The "green girl" justified herself, somehow poking her head out from under the living press. "Uyyyyy!!!..."
"No objections!!!" Gaya yelled, starting to jump furiously on the turtle.
"What the... what does any of this even mean?" Sasuko muttered, confused. "Hey, Naruko, do you know... them?"
"Eh? Yeah! That's Eyebrows-chan and her sensei, Chibi-Eyebrows-sensei!" The blonde answered simply. "I met 'em while I was training! They're a little weird, but friendly!"
"Friendly, you say?" The Uchiha doubted.
"What is wrong with them? Acting like idiots! How?! How could I lose to some crazy fools?!" Indignation seared Sasuko's soul with shame and disbelief. Such thoughts simply wouldn't fit in her head.
"Hey, hi, Naruko-chan! Long time no see, right?!" Gaya smiled dazzlingly at the two girls, having finally jumped off the long-suffering turtle. Lee had conveniently passed out during the "educational discussion," peacefully drooling in unconsciousness.
"OI, Chibi-Eyebrows-sensei!!" Naruko answered a smile with a smile.
"Ha-ha! I see you're still blazing with Youth! It's so wonderful!!!" The "little girl" burst out laughing. "And you... Uchiha Sasuko, right? Aka-chan's told me about you, too. And there... Sakurai-kun, right? Ha-ha, how youthful you all are! And where's Kaoru-kun? I don't seem to see him here?!"
"Who the hell even are you?!" Sasuko snarled, irritated. This clown show had driven her to the limit.
"Eh? Me?! Well, ha-ha-ha!!" Laughing, the girl suddenly draped herself over the two girls' backs, making them stagger with surprise. "Might Gaya! Twe... thirteen years old!! Jonin! The Great and True Rival of Hatake Akashi! The Eternally Youthful Maiden of Konoha!!!!"
"What... what the?!" Sasuko was in shock. Just now, this... little girl had been standing over ten meters away, and now she was shamelessly hanging around her and Naruko's necks! Sasuko hadn't even had time to blink! "What kind of monster is she?"
"Oh, OI! Chibi-Eyebrows-sensei, that was sudden!" the blonde complained.
"Oopsie, sorry, Naruko-chan, but I simply can't contain my Youthful energy!!!" Gaya chirped merrily, though she promptly vanished from the girls' backs just as abruptly as she'd appeared. "Much as I'd love to chat with you longer, the exam's about to start any minute. So, you should hurry if you want to make it in time."
With those words, Gaya "dug" the unconscious Lee out from under the turtle and, simply grabbing her by the leg, dragged her toward the exit.
"Guh..."
"Hey, you okay?" Naruko worried, steadying the swaying Sasuko.
"Get off," the girl snapped, trying to shake off the blonde.
"Hey!!! Don't be so stuck-up just 'cause you got your bony butt kicked, Hedgehog!!" Uzumaki instantly fired up.
"Shut. Your mouth. You!.." Sasuko felt a surge of fury, but it somehow suddenly faded when she failed to spot the usual moronic look on Uzumaki's face.
"But it's the truth," Naruko said, unusually serious and quiet. "You just never saw her before, so you don't know: Eyebrows-chan trains herself stupid every single day. Way more than you... or me. That's all."
"Gh!..." Sasuko clenched her teeth in helpless anger, but very quickly calmed down. Unpleasant as it was, Naruko was right. The Uchiha understood it herself: Lee was far too well-trained, which was why, even having read her movements with the Sharingan, she couldn't defend effectively due to the sheer difference in physical stats. Bushy-Brows was too fast, too strong. "How... interesting..."
But wasn't this exactly what Sasuko had wanted? She herself had wished to face strong opponents! Would she back down after suffering a defeat?! No. Definitely not!
"Heh... Right?!" Naruko smiled. "There's still tons of awesome guys ahead, just waiting for me to kick their butts!"
"Dream on... idiot," Sasuko snorted, derisive. "We need to hurry if we don't want to be late for the exam. Come on."
"Yeah, yeah... Getting all bossy now..." Uzumaki grumbled, displeased. "Hey, Sakurai-kun! Come on! Hurry up!"
"...ummuu..." Zombie-Sakurai mumbled something, obediently following the team. Several times he'd come back to himself, but due to the sheer absurdity of what was happening, he kept getting tossed back into mindless "zombie-mode." Fate was definitely being cruel to him today.
"Hey, there you are!" Akashi waved a friendly hand at the genin. The silver-haired jonin was waiting for her team, leaning against the wall in front of room 301. "Why do you all look so shell-shocked?"
"Never mind," Sasuko instantly muttered, cold.
"That... that was... a little.. strange?" Sakurai mumbled, lost, just beginning to recover from the shock.
"Ha-ha! Hey, hey, Akashi-sensei! We just ran into Chibi-Eyebrows-sensei and—"
"Mm... I don't want to know about it!" Hatake cut the blonde off sharply, instantly guessing who was being discussed. "Anyway, you're all here, so you can be admitted to the exam. Good luck."
"Eh? Eh?.. We could've been not admitted?!" Naruko wondered, genuinely. Sasuko only frowned silently, directing a demanding look at her mentor.
"Mmaa... Just go! The exam's about to start, and after it begins, no one else gets let in." Akashi waved them off, hiding her face behind her book. Walking completely without looking, she easily rounded the genin and vanished around the nearest corner.
"Sensei..." Sakurai followed her with a glum gaze.
"Akashi-Bakashi... Same as always," Uzumaki grumbled, annoyed.
"Useless..." Sasuko agreed.
Standing still for a moment, the genin exchanged glances. Then, nodding to one another, they stepped forward, resolute.
At long last, their Chunin Exam had begun!
------------------------
Thanks for reading the chapter!
I started a new translation and I would be very happy if you decided to check out my new translation for a rather rare fandom. It's a fic based on Honkai: Star Rail.
Honkai Star Rail: Herta's Assistant Wants to Blow Up Nous
https://www.webnovel.com/book/36823191000494605