IV

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Arc IV Chapter 11

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Hisaaki was stroking his chin, thinking. “What happened? Honestly, not that much. Most matches were fun to watch, but still ... Some of them lacked quality. Some of them, however, were quite one sided.”

 

“I see ...” Asami commented, hardly surprised.

 

Hisaaki continued, listing some of the more memorable matches, “The insect boy was pretty good, though. He wiped the floor with the Oto genin. The catfight between the pinkie and blonde girl gets for sure the prize for the lamest match of the tournament. The match turned into a fist fight before they knocked each other out.

 

The Nara boy, meanwhile, won thanks to a wall. The boy named Naruto only won because of him farting at the right moment. The Hyuga boy bullied his little cousin ...”

 

“I get it, Hisaaki, I get it”, Asami interrupted him. As much as she appreciated his efforts to keep her informed and as much as she liked gossiping, enough was enough. Her dark soul didn't care about the Hyuga and their little family issues. She didn't care about Shino and his insects. She didn't care about Shikamaru and his miraculous strategies. And she certainly didn't care about the weakest jinchuuriki the village has ever seen ...

 

“Wait a moment, what did you say, Hisaaki?” Asami's train of thought came to a sudden halt. Her eyes blinked, full of apparent disbelief.

 

Hisaaki looked dumbfounded. “Eh?”

 

“...” Asami shook her head. She had probably misheard, hadn't she? “Can you please repeat the last thing you said.”

 

“Little cousin?” Hisaaki reacted confused.

 

“No, the thing before.”

 

“Hyuga successfully mobbing?”

 

“No, a little bit further back.”

 

“Hard concrete wall?”

 

Asami sighed. “No, no, the thing afterwards.”

 

This time, Hisaaki hit the target. “Ah, yes, the Naruto boy. Yeah, I thought he was about to lose, but then he farted ...” He stopped after noticing her less than enthusiastic stare.

 

“...” Asami massaged her temples to fight her headache. Naruto ... Naruto ... He was such a terrible allocation of resources, resources that could be utilised better. He might be the son of the fourth Hokage and his high quality Uzumaki genetics might help him, but the boy was utterly incompetent. He couldn't be relied on. He couldn't be trusted with the Nine Tails.

 

 The Nine Tails was one of the mightiest tools at Konoha’s disposal, and it was wasted on Naruto with almost criminal negligence. He was supposed to be the jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails, a living weapon of immense power that served the village, but he wasn't even properly trained. The village neglected his education and training for years, with disastrous consequences. Naruto was nothing but an utter fool. He was such a disappointment.

 

“...” Asami shook her head. “And what about you, Hisaaki, Katsusane? Didn't you have any match? Did you both win, or what? Neither of you shows sign of battle or fatigue.”

 

Hisaaki scratched his head: “Well, you see, we were matched us against each other.”

 

“I understand ...” Yet, Asami raised an eyebrow. Matching team mates against each other ... What a curious move from the tournament organisers ... It was unusual. “So what happened? Who won? I am curious.”

 

Hisaaki offered a weak laugh, clearly troubled. “You see, that's a complicated affair ...”  

 

“You didn’t. You chickened out, didn't you?” Asami scrutinised them. She caught them in red handed. 

 

“Yes and no”, Hisaaki evaded. “We decided to execute a tactical retreat, as you would say. We both forfeited instead of fighting each other.”

 

Asami smiled.“a tactical retreat? Is that what you call cowardice before the enemy these days? But joking aside, don’t you think that was a bit of an anticlimactic end for your chunin exams?”

 

“Perhaps, but we preserved something much more important.” Hisaaki threw his arm around Katsusane.

 

“And that would be?” Asami knew the answer. Please not, please not, please not ...

 

Hisaaki raised his index finger in a sage manner. “Friendship. True comrades never fight! Every true Konoha ninja knows that!”

 

“...” Asami merely pinched the bridge of her nose. Friendship ... What an exasperating word ... “Tell me, can you buy anything with your precious friendship?”

 

Hisaaki returned a vigorous smile. “Not as far as I know, but you shouldn’t underestimate the value of friendship in hard times like these!”

 

“...” Asami fell silent. Konoha ninja ... They were all so incorrigible ...

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