III

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Arc III Chapter 13

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“Are you an idiot, or what?“ Katsusane exploded. He didn’t approve of her actions.

“Was this necessary? We know each other hardly an hour, and you already try your best to get us killed!”

“What do you mean, Katsusane?” Asami tilted her head and radiated blissful ignorance. Her finger touched her chin.

Katsuane clenched his fists. Asami played with him, and he accepted her challenge, a stupid decision. Things couldn’t get worse, but he was sadly mistaken.

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” Katsusane grew furious.

“Please, Katsusane, tell me. I want to know.” Asami squealed.

Katsusane gritted his teeth. Her arrogance made him speechless.

The other genin merely observed. They didn't intervene as the scene was beyond absurd.

What the fuck was going on? They had no idea.

Katsusane admonished Asami. He was angry, and rightfully so. “You, genius, pissed off the entire room! Are you trying to kill us, or what?”Asami dug them an early grave.

“Oh, that.” Asami faked realisation, unperturbed by the stares directed at her. “Don't worry, it's a special ability of mine.”

“But you are right, my little speech was ... unnecessary.” Asami didn't feel guilty.

“Why the fuck did you piss them off then?” Katsusane fumed. Her uncaring attitude and her massive ego put their very lives at risk.

He and Hisaaki were by no means the weakest shinobi, but they weren't prepared to fight an entire room because Asami couldn’t keep her damn mouth shut.

They received numerous hostile glares. Katsusane enjoyed some slight mischief, but this disaster exceeded his worst expectations.

Asami spun around. Her kimono followed her bewitching movements. “Why? The reason is simple, Katsusane, I don’t care.“

“Deep down in my tender heart, I am a playful little girl. I adore the superfluous, the irrational, the heroic, the tragic.”

”These chunin exams are my playground, my stage, my venue. Before my power, your skill is insignificant, your techniques irrelevant, your past inconsequential. Nobody in this room can defeat me.”

Her words echoed through the room and Katsusane approached a nervous breakdown. Asami had done it. They were dead.

A sea of murderous glares met Asami, but she remained unfazed. Her chakra detected a familiar presence at the front of the classroom, a group of concealed onlookers.

Asami grinned. She recognised his signature from her ANBU times.

Asami turned to her teammates. Their faces had paled considerably. Blank fear gripped them.

“Rest assured, I will bring you through the exams. After all, you have the elite of the elite of the elite on your side.”

Hisaaki and Katsusane exchanged worried looks. They didn't feel reassured at all, quite the contrary.

Hisaaki took her words with a pinch of salt. “According to my knowledge, you haven’t even completed a single mission in your life, besides being inactive for a year.”

“Yeeessssss, that's indeed true, I have never completed a mission, but ...“ Asami answered with an uneasy laugh.

She forgot, the two know nothing. Hisaaki and Katsusane had good reasons to doubt her as they didn’t know about her ANBU past. She screwed up, didn't she?

“But what?“ Katsusane narrowed his eyes. He didn't hide his anger.

Asami cursed her stupidity and facepalmed. “Look, Katsusane, Hisaaki, our situation might look grim …”

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“Don’t even think about it. If you three pull off anything funny in front of me, you will regret it. You will meet the cold steel of a kunai.” Asami narrowed her eyes at the three Oto-nin. They caught her attention. Anger boiling in their eyes as their hands itched for a fight.

“So you can not only bark, but also bite.” A Oto-nin taunted her, a boring boy without remarkable features.

Asami chuckled, amused. ”Isn't that a bit rich coming from a nobody like you? You can’t even scratch me in a million years.“

“So bring it on if you can. I am waiting for you.”

The Oto-nin grabbed a kunai, but Asami predicted his move and decided to end this senseless quarrel.

“Unfortunately, we need to postpone our match. We don't want things to get messy. We should first put an end to these bothersome exams, shouldn't we, Ibiki?” Asami gambled, but luck was on her side.

A smoke cloud revealed a group of grey-coated ninja. The examiners had arrived, among them Ibiki.

Ibiki wore his typical grin and applauded. “Impressive, truly impressive, not only did you spot me, but you also know my name. How so?”

Ibiki set his eyes on Asami from across the room. The girl identified him.

Asami answered with a saccharine smile. ”How? That's my secret. A good kunoichi never gives away her best tricks.”

Ibiki narrowed his eyes, but his stare didn't impress her in the slightest. Asami didn't flinch.

Ibiki flashed a satisfied grin. The girl was good, annoyingly good. What was her name again? Asami ... Asami ... Asami ...

He remembered the name. She was the girl the Hokage had recommended.

”Won’t you tell me?”

Asami crossed her arms. She didn’t budge an inch.

Ibiki offered a friendly smile. ”Please.”

Asami sighed and surrendered. “I had a little squabble before with your fake guards on the second floor. I noticed they wore grey uniforms. Only one branch wears grey uniforms, the Intelligence Division.”

“From there on, it was just a matter of simple deduction. I guessed right, you, Morino Ibiki, head of Konoha's interrogation unit, are responsible for this portion of the exams.”

Ibiki laughed. His scarred face mustered a grin. "Smart girl, I am tempted to let you pass the first test. You have proven your worth, but rules are rules."

“Everybody, take your seats! We have already wasted enough time as things stand. The chunin exams are about to begin.”

Asami listened and strode forwards. Hisaaki and Katsusane followed their little princess and hid behind her figure.

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