Chapter 128: Whoever Wants That Terrible Cafeteria Food Can Have It
Haruko and his two companions crouched on a treetop, with the Central Tower not far ahead.
However— "Sniff, sniff, sniff... There are at least three teams," Inuzuka Hana said, twitching her nose. "They're scattered in the woods around the tower. They must be planning to wait for us to come to them."
Haruko frowned upon hearing this.
It had been less than four hours since the exam started. According to Haruko's estimates, few teams should have the strength to cross the Forest of Death and reach the Central Tower in such a short time.
"Still, we wasted too much time... There are quite a few capable people in this exam."
Haruko looked up at the sky; the sun was already setting, and it would be dark in another two hours.
"How about we wait until dark to enter?" Izumi suggested. "We have an advantage in night battles..."
"Wait until dark?" Just thinking about staying in this primeval jungle-like environment for another few hours, pitting his wits against those poisonous mosquitoes, gave him goosebumps.
"Wait my ass!" Haruko jumped straight down from the tree and walked swaggeringly toward the main entrance of the Central Tower.
"Hey! Are you crazy!" "Come back, you'll be surrounded!" Hana and Izumi whispered in alarm, but they noticed the guy hadn't even faltered in his stride. They had no choice but to follow closely behind.
...
It wasn't just the two girls; the several teams hiding in the shadows were also stunned.
Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses, crouching in the shadow of the treetop, watching the white-haired youth, his mouth twitching. He had seen arrogant people before, but never anyone who treated the Forest of Death like a stroll in their own backyard.
"Someone's coming. Should we attack?" "Don't move!" Yakushi Kabuto immediately stopped his companion. "That's Haruko. According to the intelligence I've gathered, that guy might have combat strength close to a Jonin. Have you forgotten about what happened during the first round?"
On the other side, Maki from Hidden Sand Village also held back her eager companion.
"Take a good look at their condition." Maki pointed at the trio. "Those two girls are relatively clean. Although Haruko's clothes have large bloodstains, they aren't torn, which clearly indicates a one-sided battle. It's even possible that Haruko took on all three by himself. It's better not to provoke such a ruthless person."
Of course, there were also less intelligent teams. A team of clueless Hidden Grass Village Ninja, perhaps driven mad by hunger, sprang from the bushes and blocked Haruko's path.
"Stop! Hand over your scrolls..." "Wait, it's that white-haired guy from Konoha!" "Holy crap! Sorry to bother you..."
The three weren't entirely stupid; they retreated back into the bushes at an almost comical speed.
"Could they have been scared by Haruko?" "What a terrifying deterrent..." "Hey, don't make me sound like some kind of monster..."
Haruko retorted absent-mindedly, recalling the white-haired Hidden Grass Village "youth" among the three he had just seen. "I feel like they look familiar..."
The pupils in those eyes showed concentric circles, a bit like the Rinnegan. "...Whatever, I can't remember. Anyway, they didn't seem that strong."
...
"Congratulations... Huh? So fast?!" As Haruko opened the Heaven and Earth scrolls, Anko appeared from the smoke, clearly stunned when she saw the three of them.
"The exam only started three and a half hours ago! How did you manage that?!" "Just lucky~" Haruko said dismissively.
"Lucky my foot!" Anko looked the three up and down. "With your condition... don't tell me you did it all by yourself again?"
"What are you saying? Hana's scouting was a huge contribution, and Izumi even took out an opponent herself."
Anko took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "Fine, you passed anyway." She pulled out her notebook. "Congratulations, Konoha Team 7, you have passed the second exam. Time taken: three hours and forty-eight minutes."
"Sigh, still too slow..." Haruko muttered, "Too bad we wasted too much time on the way and couldn't break the record."
"How much faster do you want to be?!" Anko rolled her eyes. "The previous record was four hours and twelve minutes; you've already broken it!"
"Oh." Haruko's reaction was so indifferent that Anko was left speechless.
"Forget it, forget it. Go get some rest first." She pointed inside the tower. "There are dormitories and a cafeteria there. You'll stay here for the next four days while waiting for the others to pass."
"Four days?" Haruko frowned. "What, think it's too long?" "A little."
Anko couldn't be bothered to argue with him and turned to leave. After walking a few steps, she stopped and looked back at Haruko: "By the way..."
"They got beaten up. But I performed basic treatment on them, so they won't die." Haruko knew what she wanted to ask. "But I can't do anything about what happens later."
"That's good. I owe you one, Haruko." Anko breathed a sigh of relief and left for real this time.
...
"Uh... you're feeding us this stuff?" Looking at the "set meal" in the cafeteria, Haruko had absolutely no appetite.
"This is the very center of the Forest of Death; what were you expecting to eat?" The man serving the food had a "take it or leave it" attitude, causing Haruko to grab Hana and Izumi and turn around to leave.
"Summoning Technique." Poof— The white smoke dissipated, and Wukong appeared carrying a large parcel. "Boss, I've brought the things you asked for."
"What is this..." Hana leaned over curiously. Haruko opened the parcel, which actually contained a brand-new copper hot pot base, sliced fresh beef and lamb, washed mushrooms and vegetables, and even two bottles of chilled orange juice.
"Good thing I was prepared." Izumi and Hana looked at each other. This guy... he really was treating this place like a vacation.
Half an hour later. In the rest area inside the tower, Haruko set up a small pot, using Fire Release to control the heat, and the soup base in the pot was bubbling and steaming.
"Come, come, let's cook the meat." Haruko picked up some meat and put it into the pot. "You guy..." Izumi said, laughing helplessly. "Are you really treating this like a picnic?"
"Otherwise? Since we have the conditions, why not eat something good?" Haruko retorted. "Anyway, whoever wants that terrible cafeteria food can have it."
"That's true..." Hana didn't stand on ceremony either, picking up a piece of meat and putting it into the pot. The three of them just started eating hot pot in the Central Tower.
"By the way." Izumi suddenly remembered something. "What did you mean when you said earlier that you couldn't break the record?"
"Hmm?" Haruko was stunned for a moment. "Oh, I meant the real record, ninety-seven minutes." "Huh?" "...Never mind, pretend I didn't say anything."
Haruko realized that the record Gaara left was something that would happen four years later, so he quickly changed the subject: "Come, come, eat your vegetables, eat."
The two girls looked at each other, seeing confusion in each other's eyes. But they didn't ask further—there were too many secrets about Haruko, and one more didn't matter.
"Hey, brat!" Anko, having come out of the cafeteria, followed the smell and found them, knocking on Haruko's head unhappily: "Next time, save a pair of chopsticks and a bowl for me too!"
Haruko rolled his eyes: "Please wipe your drool first."
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