Finally, the last day arrived; the second exam was over and the third was about to begin.
Karin had been sent home by Kano using Shadow Zabuza, along with a note for her mother explaining the situation and asking her to look after Karin until she returned.
Now only their squad was heading to take part in the third exam.
Sasuke deliberately stood a little farther from Kano and Naruto, lest Kano suddenly go crazy and break into an awkward dance again.
Naruto, however, had noticed something and couldn't help asking Kano about it.
'Kano-chan, why aren't you riding the Shadow Deer today? I haven't seen you walk this much in ages.'
'Saving Chakra for the exam!'
The mention of it stung Kano; the reason was as follows.
Out of boredom she had checked her shadow count. Apart from Shadow Haku, Shadow Zabuza, and the Shadow Water-Pipe Man, the rest were too weak—even her mount, the Shadow Deer.
So she decided to feed those trash shadows as material to something better. She didn't dare touch Haku and Zabuza for fear of tainting them, so everything went into strengthening the Shadow Water-Pipe Man.
Thanks to dumping a large number of Ninja as fodder, the Shadow Water-Pipe Man could now use basic Ninjutsu of many attributes, but its Taijutsu was probably its strongest point.
Muscle bulk is far more obvious than Chakra bulk.
Next she used two deer as material to upgrade another deer.
The result, however, was mediocre—hardly any change, still prone to sudden death.
Kano's eyes rolled; a wild idea struck her. What if she used a human-shaped shadow to strengthen the Shadow Deer?
Curiosity piqued, she decided to try it right away.
Unfortunately, all the spare material had already gone into the Shadow Water-Pipe Man; she couldn't just go outside and kill a few people on the spot.
So, simply and brutally, she used the water-pipe man itself as material—after all, it had been cobbled together from worthless fish, and such trash could be had in unlimited supply later.
Thus the most eye-bleaching creature was born.
A muscle-bound man with a deer's head, clutching an enormous thick water pipe. On its forehead was a shadow forehead protector, the emblem on it a round clock-face.
Anyone who saw that clock felt the inexplicable urge to say, 'Oh, that reminds me…'
Kano was too embarrassed to bring the thing out—first, it might scare people; second, it was just too much.
She gave it a fitting name: Shadow Deer Tube.
After assembly came the usual boring speeches, while Kano plotted how to complete her system task.
'An Idol resorting to violence is unacceptable. (｡･ˇ_ˇ･｡:) An Idol is light, is love, is everything people yearn for. (ʃƪ ˘ ³˘) Next, prove with action that you can redeem your opponent without force. (⊃.˙ω˙.)⊃━♡°.*˙. Reward: Virtual Idol costume.'
Kano rather admired that the clan system could issue a genuinely hard quest, but was this costume really so precious? Konoha Village didn't even have internet yet; wasn't the reward a bit early?
The task was to redeem her opponent. Recalling that in the original story Sakura's opponent had been Ino, Kano felt it was no big deal—one act of cuteness and Ino would fold.
After all, Kano seemed to have taken Sakura's script, and she noticed Sakura was nowhere to be seen; apparently she hadn't passed the second exam.
Well, the quest already had a solution, so there was no need to fret.
Next came the scene she had loved most in her past life: Rock Lee vs. Gaara—a fight she had rewatched countless times!
Watching it live was pure bliss.
'Naruto, let me tell you something awesome. In a bit there'll be an incredible fight—Rock Lee versus Gaara. It's gonna be fire! But Sasuke won't see it, heh, only the two of us will.'
'Really?'
Although he didn't know why Kano said Sasuke wouldn't see it, watching the match with Kano-chan felt almost like a date.
Soon the referee, the kidney-deficient Gekkō Hayate, announced the start of the exam and that match-ups would be randomly assigned.
'First match: Nara Kano vs. Gaara!'
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