*Author Note*
more fanart by hikari_izuki: https://cos4reviewpic-1253177085.picca.myqcloud.com/43888211627748468upload_1627748452931.jpg
My Pat-reons can now read three chapters ahead: https://www.pat-reon.com/Maerry (remove the “-“)
*End of Author Note*
After another 10 minutes of waiting, the first part of the first exam was over. Although Yuna couldn’t be certain, she was pretty sure that most people decided to follow Neji’s solution.
While everyone was happy that they were done, a smirk appeared on Shikamaru’s face, and he was just about to activate the microphone again before he stopped and glanced at Yuna.
Yuna chuckled a little and answered his unasked question.
“I swear I won’t do it again.”
Although Shikamaru still had some doubts about that, he decided to trust Yuna for now and activated the microphone.
“Second part of the first exam. A single question. Your team is on a mission, and the enemy spots you. In order to shake them off, you need to leave one of your teammates behind as a decoy. Who will you choose despite knowing that they will face certain death? Write your answer on the back of your sheet. To pass, all three of you need to have the same answer. The teammate you choose will be eliminated from the exam. You have three minutes.”
The moment Shikamaru turned off the microphone, Yuna couldn’t help but whistle in surprise.
“That’s quite devious, Shikamaru. I could never come up with something like that.”
Hearing Yuna’s words, Shikamaru only scoffed in disdain. He was pretty sure that if Yuna were to design one of the tests, it would end with at least half the people having a breakdown and crying.
“Well, assuming we three were in a team, what would you write down, Yuna?”
“Oh? Are you testing me? Do you want the correct answer, no one, or do you want me to say what I would actually do in that situation?”
“Why not humor me with what you would do?”
A wide smile appeared on Yuna’s face as her battle intent started oozing out.
“I will stay back and slaughter everyone who dares to approach me until no one is left. Certain death? Hehe, I have faced worse odd and still survived.”
Shikamaru and Temari couldn’t help but shiver a little when Yuna’s battle intent washed over them, while her slightly insane smile wasn’t helping either.
‘*Urgh* I shouldn’t have asked. I wonder when she faced such a dangerous situation, though? As far as I know, no villages were wiped out, and neither were any Kage assassinated for a while now. Well, the previous Kazekage was killed, but that was Orochimaru and not Yuna. Now that I think about it, the previous Mizukage was killed as well, and this time it actually was Yuna. Aren’t Kage getting killed off a little too frequently? … Oh well, it’s too troublesome to give that any more thought. Besides, who knows what kind of outragous missions Yuna has been taking.’
The three minutes passed, and the first test was finally over. Everyone gathered outside the building, while Shikamaru and Temari were waiting on a small stage for everyone to gather. Temari could feel that a few people were looking at her weirdly, but she ignored all of that while cursing Yuna in her mind.
After everyone was here, Shikamaru explained that the next test could only be taken as a team of three, so everyone who decided to sacrifice a teammate in the first test was automatically disqualified. Although this caused another uproar, Shikamaru couldn’t care less.
After Shikamaru was done with his explanation, Temari started explaining the next part of the exam. Since there were too many people left, an additional test will take place. A race to the second exam site. Only the first ten teams to arrive will be allowed to continue the exams.
After she finished describing the next test, she simply stopped talking. Most people were confused by that, but after a short time, Neji’s eye widened before he quickly dragged his team away. Simultaneously, Karin’s eyes shone in understanding as well as she started pulling Hisoka and Sai away.
Slowly but surely, everyone realized that the next part of the exam had already started. About a minute later, the field in front of Shikamaru and Temari became devoid of people.
Yuna appeared next to the duo, causing Temari to flinch, while Shikamaru didn’t show any reaction.
“Well, what do you plan to do now, Yuna?”
Yuna chuckled and pulled out one of her snowflake-like kunai.
“Well, I can get there anytime, so I guess I will relax for two days and then teleport over.”
Shikamaru scowled in annoyance before nodding his head in understanding, while Temari wasn’t happy either.
“I need to be there as well. Can you take me with you?”
Hearing Temari’s words, Yuna chuckled a little before nodding her head.
“Sure, but I want something in return.”
“What do you want?”
“Hehe, I have heard that Suna doesn’t want Konoha’s shinobi to proctor the second part of the exams. Despite that, I want to be one of the proctors.”
Temari frowned when she heard Yuna’s words. What Yuna just said was supposed to be a secret, so she had no idea how Yuna got that information. Despite that, she shook her head in denial.
“Sorry, but that is impossible. The second test will take place in the Desert of Death. That place can even get dangerous for our own shinobi, so we can’t have non-participants, that don’t know the terrain, entering.”
“Hehe, yes, I heard about that excuse. Unfortunately, I know the real reason why you want to keep Konoha’s shinobi out of this event.”
Although Temari didn’t show anything on her face, she couldn’t help but get nervous when Yuna mentioned the real reason why Suna didn’t want to involve any of Konoha’s shinobi. Although officially, this time’s chunin exams were supposed to be a bait to lure the members of Akatsuki out, the real purpose was actually to bait out the people that want to rebel against Gaara.
Yuna leaned forward a little so she could whisper into Temari’s ear without Shikamaru listening in.
“I wonder what would happen to your little plan of baiting the rebels if I were to expose it beforehand?”
Temari instantly took a step back and looked at Yuna in surprise.
“H-How in the world do you know about that?!”
‘Because the privacy seals you bought from us are spying on you.’
“I didn’t know about it, but your reaction confirmed my guess.”
Temari’s mouth gaped open while looking at Yuna in disbelief. Shikamaru, who was standing next to her, couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw Temari’s facial expression.
“Hehe, you walked straight into that.”
Temari closed her mouth and glared at Shikamaru, who only shrugged his shoulders in indifference.
“No need to glare at me; Yuna is the one who tricked you, not me.”
After hearing his words, Temari changed the target of her glare from Shikamaru to Yuna, who was currently giving her a smug smile.
After glaring a bit longer, Temari sighed in resignation while raising her hands in defeat.
“Fine, I will see what I can do. Since you know about it already, I don’t think Gaara will mind involving you further.”
“Haha, very good. That should be fun.”
Although another groan escaped Temari when she heard Yuna’s words, she didn’t comment on it further. She still had to send a message about the appearance of a Jinchuuriki. Additionally, for her mental stability, she would rather not mingle too much with Yuna.
