"Great! Kano-chan, you're alive!"
"Kano, I'm so glad you're okay."
Naruto's eyes brimmed with tears, and Sasuke finally relaxed. If anything had happened to Kano, his bond with Naruto might never have been the same.
"Enough already—both of you, lie down! Why did you assume I was dead? If you two idiots survived, how could I kick the bucket?"
She pushed the pair flat and recounted everything that had happened while they'd slept for a day and a night. When she reached the fight against Orochimaru, Naruto's eyes literally sparkled.
A knock sounded at the lounge door; it was Iruka-sensei.
"Naruto, Sasuke—so you're awake?"
Iruka had volunteered to escort Team Naruto. When he'd been summoned he'd been stunned it was over so soon, ready to praise them.
But when he arrived only Kano was on her feet; Naruto and Sasuke lay unconscious, clearly battered.
He forgot the speech, hurried them to the lounge, and got them into bed.
"Oh! Iruka-sensei, long time no see! Did we pass?"
"Hardly'smooth.' You scared me half to death. Still, you look lively enough. I brought food—eat first. Kano, can you tell me what happened?"
"Sure—this and that, so-and-so."
Kano told the whole story again.
"You mean a super-strong Ninja attacked, downed Naruto and Sasuke in a few moves, fought you three hundred exchanges to a draw, and then, while carrying two unconscious teammates, you collected scrolls and trekked here, one hand holding Naruto and Sasuke, the other fending off examinees, remaining unbeaten across the testing ground?"
"Exactly."
It sounded like bragging, yet she really had gathered scrolls alone and carried both boys to the central tower.
She'd even bagged one Heaven scroll and four Earth scrolls—an absurd haul.
Iruka pictured her slipping through the night with Naruto and Sasuke on her back, ambushing rivals by day. Abandoning comrades never crossed her mind; she'd gone that far to save them.
Yet she never mentioned the ordeal. Had she truly carved a bloody path through the exam single-handedly?
"Kano, outstanding work. When the exam ends, dinner's on me—pick wherever you like."
"Ichiraku ramen it is!"
Ramen was cheap enough not to dent Iruka's wallet, and Naruto loved it.
"All right! Ichiraku ramen!"
"Naruto, stop hopping—we're not eating now. Without Kano, any other teammate would've let your squad be wiped out. Thank her properly.
Besides, a third exam may be coming. Know your limits; don't force it."
Naruto fell silent, then pushed up his forehead protector, resolve reignited.
"I won't quit! I know I'm far behind, but even if I fail, I'll keep going—I'll stay with her!"
To Iruka, the boy still childish yet firmly committed had already grown up.
"Kano, one question: facing that dead end, why did you choose to protect them and press on?"
By then the danger was long gone. Iruka's imagination had run wild; she'd basically auto-battled her way through, even giving Shikamaru's squad a free ride.
She itched to tell the truth, but Iruka would never buy it, so she improvised.
"Trust your comrades—save your comrades."
"I see. Rest up; when the exam ends we head to the next venue."
Iruka left. Only the trio and a cosplaying Shadow Ninja—Karin—remained. After a while Kano had Karin release the transformation and explained her presence.
The four settled in to rest.
With the mission complete, new quests refreshed each morning. Now that the exam was over, Kano had time to tackle system tasks.
This time she told the system to skip the weird rewards and first grind some easy clan quests. Clan rewards were mostly useless, but the missions were simple.
["As an Idol, a lovely voice isn't enough; nimble dance steps can also awaken people's yearning for beauty. ੭ ᐕ ੭*⁾⁾ Dance! Show your graceful curves, convey a complete love with your body. Reward: Soft-Bone Pill x1"]
The next morning a new quest appeared—no singing this time, just dancing?
Dancing in front of others—how mortifying!
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