Chapter 37
A week passed as Ren walked into the academy again. This time, he was here for the written exam of the Chunin Exams. He noticed two guards blocking the path of many ninjas, stopping them from entering the exam hall.
Ren ignored them and walked straight to the real exam hall, taking his seat without hesitation.
Soon, many participants arrived. Ren glanced to his side, where Temari was sitting. "Yo, we meet again. Quite the fate," he said casually.
"Well, it really is quite a coincidence," Temari replied, slightly caught off guard. "Best of luck for the exams."
Ren grinned. "The exam has already begun. The first stage was the genjutsu at the entrance."
"Now, the second stage will most likely be related to mind games or something similar," he added.
Temari looked at him in surprise. "You're just telling me that?"
Ren shrugged. "We aren't enemies. And you're a beautiful girl, so sharing this much isn't a big deal."
Temari raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Are you flirting with the Kazekage's daughter? Aren't you afraid of what might happen to you?"
Ren smirked. "What can he do? It's his fault for having such a beautiful daughter."
The two continued chatting as more people filled the room.
A few rows away, Hinata and Ino sat in their seats, glaring at Ren and Temari talking and laughing. Their eyes narrowed dangerously.
Shikamaru, sitting nearby, shuddered as the floor beneath Ino cracked slightly from her chakra. He quietly got up and moved away. 'Yeah, staying away from blondes is the best way to live a long life,' he thought.
Ino and Hinata shared a look. Ino formed a single hand seal, and her voice echoed in Hinata's mind.
{Who is that blonde?}
Hinata replied calmly, {The princess of Suna, I think.}
Ino blinked, surprised. {Wait, that's the Kazekage's daughter? Damn, this guy really has some taste.}
Hinata's voice turned irritated. {Can you stop focusing on that? Why is Ren talking to her like that?}
{Wow, you can get jealous?} Ino teased.
{Stop acting like you aren't!} Hinata snapped. {First the Uzumaki mother and daughter, now the Suna princess… what's next? An S-rank missing-nin or an angel?}
{Angels don't exist, Hina-chan,} Ino replied. {And stop raising red flags.}
While the two communicated through telepathy, Temari also glanced in their direction with a narrowed gaze. 'Two more I can't properly sense… Konoha really is a nest of geniuses… no, monsters,' she thought.
Just then, Ibiki appeared and began the exam. After the mind game and Naruto's speech, more ninjas passed than expected.
Ren walked out, stretching.
"Well, you were right. It was a mind game," Temari said, clearly impressed.
Ren nodded. "See you in the second exam."
After that, they parted ways.
Ino and Hinata approached Ren, both smiling dangerously. "You seemed to have a lot of fun talking to the Suna princess," Ino said.
Hinata added softly, "You were laughing a lot. You must have enjoyed talking to such a beautiful blonde princess."
Shikamaru and the others had already wisely walked away.
Ren remained unfazed. "Well yeah, she was easy and fun to talk to."
A vein popped on both Ino and Hinata's foreheads.
Ren quickly coughed. "Ahem… how about I treat you to ramen? Or BBQ?"
Still pouting, Hinata and Ino followed him to a BBQ restaurant. Ren paid the bill and also ordered takeaway for Karin and Akari.
Seeing that they were still upset, Ren sighed and grabbed both of them before teleporting away. He left behind three shadow clones, two of which transformed into Ino and Hinata.
Ren, Hinata, and Ino appeared in a secluded alley. "Where are we?" Ino asked.
Ren grinned. "We're near the Fire Capital's market streets. You two can buy whatever you want. I'll pay. Take it as a reward for training so hard."
Ino and Hinata exchanged a look before their moods immediately improved.
Soon, the three moved from shop to shop. Ren sighed in relief that he had created a wrist storage seal, or he would have been buried under everything they bought.
After the shopping trip, both girls looked happy and satisfied. Ren's mouth twitched as he realized they had spent nearly one million ryo in a single trip.
If not for Gato's "donation," Ren would have had to sell his restaurants in Konoha just to pay the bill.
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