"You're looking at me with your own eyes this time, it seems."
Shisui said just as I sat down beside him. I gave him an embarrassed smile and replied,
"Sorry for that. I was just testing something new at that time."
"No worries; you were really good, though."
"Thanks."
Sayuri and Daigo sat just behind us while Umbra sat in front of me. He too seemed really excited to see the matches.
Just as they all sat down, Sayuri leaned forward towards Itachi.
"And who's this little boy? Why do I feel like he would look the cutest with a cat ear?"
I answered before Itachi had to. Sayrui wasn't the best person to bring along when you wanted to meet other people.
"He's Itachi Uchiha. We were in the same class in the academy and graduated together too."
"Wow! So, he must be pretty impressive!" Sayuri commented.
"You don't even know the half of it," Daigo added through a mouthful of snacks. "I heard he handles all his team's missions 'solo. He might even be able to hold off for some time against Rei."
That drew attention. Even Umbra stilled. Itachi turned to me. His eyes—still as ever—carried a faint glimmer of curiosity. Not anger. Not pride. Just... a thought.
I shrugged off the compliment and smiled. "Don't flatter me so much, Daigo. I may have been the top scorer in the academy, but Itachi is far better than me in an actual battle."
The moment was cut short by a light cough from the podium.
"Honoured guests. Today, we witness the finals of the Chunin Exams—our first joint event since the war. Let these young shinobi, our future leaders, be honoured by your cheers."
Just as soon as Hiruzen finished his speech, a Leaf shinobi came to the centre of the arena. I did not recognise him, not that I could hope to. There were hundreds of Jonin in Konoha, and it was quite impossible to know all of them.
He started calling the names of the participants as the matches started. There were only twelve participants left, and the match-ups were announced beforehand.
Kaho was supposed to fight with a kunoichi from Kirigakure, and I expected her to win. If she doesn't become a chunin this time, she'll need to sit in the exam with me.
That would be so embarrassing for her. The thought alone made me smile.
Kaho's team was the only one that passed the second stage from Konoha. One team from Kirigakure and two teams from Kumogakure. It seems that the Hidden Cloud was as strong as ever.
Kaho's two teammates lost pretty easily against their respective opponents. They weren't that strong at all, and I bet Sayuri herself can most probably win against them. And that meant that Kaho had literally carried her team through the Forest of Death.
Her match was the second to last on the list, and by the time the match came around, it was becoming pretty clear that Kumogakure was going to be victorious in this tournament.
Her opponent was a kunoichi named Akira Misushi.
Kaho and her ninken Kuroha entered the arena while grinning like she always did. Just as the match started, Akira first dropped a vial of pink potion while hiding her hand from Kaho. And just after that she performed the necessary hand signs for her jutsu, and the arena was filled with mist.
Hiding in the Mist Technique.
One of the most common ninjutsu used by the Kirigakure shinobis. Her proficiency was certainly really good with this jutsu, as her mist was even starting to rise to the audience level. I was sure that vision was totally impaired inside it. The vial she dropped at the very beginning was also starting to take its effect, as my own enhanced smell told me that the potion inside the vial had some sort of chemical that can hamper someone's smell.
But that wouldn't matter with Kaho. Akina was certainly a strong kunoichi for her age, but her matchup was really bad. If you want to beat Kaho, you really need to be stronger than her. There were no other way atound it.
Akina hid in the mist and cast genjutsu to create fake sound to confuse Kaho. And then she threw shuriken and kunai at her while keeping a safe distance.
The fake sound along with the mist made it seem like Kaho was getting attacked from every direction. In response, Kaho and Kuroha split up and ran in different directions.
Kaho wasn't exactly the best at identifying the chakra signatures of others like I am. She mostly relied on her nose for most of her jobs, and when her nose was practically useless, what would she do? She did the only thing she was good at. She turned off her brain and trusted her instincts. And her instinct had a frighteningly accurate track record.
Her nature was more bestial than any Inuzuka I had seen before, and that is exactly why she was strong. When a beast hunts for its prey, just impairing a few of their senses was not enough. The prey can hide and try to outsmart the beast, but at the end of the day, the beast will find its prey. No matter what.
And that's exactly what Kaho did. It took her a minute to find out where Akina was. And when she found her, she did not even call Kuroha towards her for backup.
She just straight up rushed towards Akina headfirst. Akina tried blocking with her kunai. But being the taijutsu specialist that Kaho is, she easily countered her defence. Kaho shifted her arm and grabbed Anika's wrist with her bare hand. They grabbed Akina so tightly that Akina could not even try to back away. No matter how she tried.
And then Kaho punched her in the face. More accurately, right on the nose.
The sheer strength and momentum of her punch recoiled Akina's head backward. She tried to use her other hand to try and attack. But Kaho, being the brute she is, punched her again on her nose even before she could attempt it.
And again, and again and again.
Blood splattered through the fading mist. Akira's body slumped, but Kaho didn't stop until a jōnin physically stepped in.
Kaho's right hand was painted with Akina's blood, and her face also had a beautiful design with blood spatter. Kuroha was already at Kaho's spot, and I could practically hear her scolding Kaho for taking things too far.
She was much more sensible than Kaho.
As Akina was taken back with a stretcher and some of the audience cheered, I looked towards my elder sister and found her looking back at me.
A shiver went up my spine as I saw her feral grinning face and her slitted eyes looking right at me. Memories came back from when I trained with her during the war, and I was further reminded why I always tried not to mess with her too much.
Kaho was usually a cheerful person who joked around all the time. But when she wants to, she can be one of the most ruthless beasts on the face of the earth.