The next match was between Sasuke vs. Gaara. The canon match which Sukuna was familiar with. Shame that it would never come to pass since he wasn't there; he had taken a very unconscious Kiyomi to the hospital ward.
Not that he was missing out on much, because just like in the anime, here too Sasuke was late, just like the Jonin who was teaching him.
It was right to say that Kakashi's tardiness was contagious.
"Sasuke Uchiha vs. Gaara of the Sand." Genma called out once again, but there was no response.
Gaara was present, but he didn't bother even moving since he couldn't even see his opponent in the candidate area.
"Where is he?" Sakura almost screamed, feeling like peeling off her pink hair in anxiousness, seeing no sign of Sasuke and their lazy sensei.
Naruto was no different in this regard. From panicking to shouting, he had tried everything just in case Sasuke was already here but wasn't showing himself, maybe he was napping or something.
Though that sounded more like Shikamaru to him than Sasuke.
'Maybe he's too busy brooding?' He pondered.
And his team wasn't the only one looking for Uchiha Sasuke. Everyone was. The audience was getting restless while some even started to become noisy.
The seasoned shinobi, from Genin to Jonin, gave off disappointed expressions seeing the absence of Kakashi and his Genin. It was clear to them whose fault it was. Like teacher, like student after all.
Up in the Kage's area, the Hokage was sighing while mentally taking note to give Kakashi a piece of his mind for this.
'Perhaps I have been too lenient with him.' He sighed once again.
Rasa and Terumi Mei on the side were half disappointed and half amused seeing how undisciplined Konoha's shinobi were.
On the ground, Genma was now stuck. What was he supposed to do now?
Unsure, he turned to the Hokage, who too pondered over the decision.
"Due to being late, Sasuke Uchiha has been disqualified." After some time, he finally gave up and announced.
"My, my… Hokage-dono. Are you certain? Just because the boy is a little late, we don't have to disqualify him." Terumi Mei said in her usual sultry tone.
Rasa mostly stayed quiet. He didn't care about some Uchiha boy.
"That may be so. However, to not respect time as a shinobi is deadly. If the boy can't even show up on time for his own Chunin Promotion Exam, then he certainly doesn't deserve to be a Chunin just yet." Hiruzen gave a small tuck to his Hokage hat and replied.
Terumi didn't reply, just shrugged and let the matter go because, just like Rasa, even she didn't care.
Unlike in the anime, where there was Orochimaru to make certain Sasuke's match happened and the entire hype around Sasuke being the last of the Uchiha. This time Sasuke wasn't that lucky.
And thus he was disqualified, and no one spoke on his behalf.
Genma nodded to the Hokage and announced the decision just as the Hokage had said.
"WHAT… NO WAY, YOU CAN'T DO THAT." Naruto shouted immediately.
Sakura felt like crying out too, but she was a bit more reasonable than Naruto. Though she felt like murdering their sensei just about now.
"No… Sasuke-kun." Ino sounded like someone had burned one of her relatives alive.
"Troublesome." This was Shikamaru, if anyone hadn't figured it out already.
Kurenai and Asuma, standing on the Jonin stand, looked like they had eaten something sour. If anything, they were a little smug seeing Kakashi's lazy habit finally come back to bite him in the ass. However, there was a certain youthful 'GUY' beside them who was shouting and crying, something about youth and whatnot.
If Sukuna were here, he surely would have said, "Serves those two right."
It's irritating when someone gets special treatment as long as that someone is not you, right!
"Next Match... Sakura Haruno vs. Tenten." Genma announced.
Actually, it was Sukuna's fight next, but he had to postpone that one until Sukuna came back.
"Chaa... finally my turn." Sakura lightly slapped both of her cheeks to wake herself up and be in complete focus.
"Go get her, Sakura-chan." Naruto cheered.
"Gosh... go for it, Tenten," Lee shouted.
"Thanks, Lee." Tenten beamed and entered the ring without delay.
Both Sakura and Tenten stood face to face, ready to throw down as soon as the proctor gave his signal. Sakura was kind of bummed. Mainly because neither Sasuke nor Sukuna was there to watch the match.
"BEGIN"
-x-
By the time Sukuna reached Konoha Hospital, which was almost instant with his Flying Thunder God, he had already poured a considerable amount of Reverse Cursed Technique into her body during the journey.
The countless shallow wounds covering her skin had closed one after another, the blood staining her clothes being the only proof they had ever existed. The internal damage inflicted during the fight had also mostly disappeared, leaving behind little more than exhaustion.
Even so, Kiyomi stubbornly refused to wake up, her breathing remaining steady but unnaturally deep as though her mind had locked itself away somewhere beyond his reach.
"What the hell is wrong with her now?" He grumbled to himself. If it was just normal shock and unconsciousness, then there was nothing to worry about. However, there was no way to tell.
He couldn't even linger around to find out; his match would be coming soon.
Sigh.
Laying her carefully onto one of the examination beds inside a private treatment room, Sukuna activated his Sharingan once more, the crimson tomoe slowly spinning as he examined every inch of her body.
Chakra pathways... normal. Organs... healthy. Bones... intact. Even the lingering effects of the domain had disappeared under the constant restoration of Reverse Cursed Technique.
He frowned.
There was nothing wrong with her. And what was wrong, he had already fixed.
Refusing to rely solely on that conclusion, he placed a hand gently against her shoulder and sent another wave of Reverse Cursed Technique into her body, allowing the warm energy to spread through every muscle, every nerve, and every cell. Once again, nothing changed. She remained unconscious, her expression peaceful enough that anyone walking into the room would assume she was merely sleeping.
He leaned back against the wall and folded his arms, allowing his thoughts to wander. Too many things had changed from the history he remembered, and every new deviation only made predicting the future more difficult.
Orochimaru was dead by his own hands, yet the invasion of Konoha could still happen. Sunagakure had every reason to continue with their plans regardless of the Snake Sannin's involvement, especially with their worsening economy, and unlike the original timeline, the real Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had personally arrived in the village instead of Orochimaru wearing his face.
That alone completely rewrote everything he knew. Even Kirigakure had entered the equation now, with Terumi Mei herself attending the Chunin Exam finals. Whether she truly intended to support the invasion or didn't know about it remained unknown.
Heck, even the fact of whether the invasion would take place was unknown to him.
And then there was Neji... or rather, the person wearing Neji's body. Sukuna slowly closed his eyes as he replayed everything that had happened in the arena.
He had never lived in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, nor had Sukuna ever fought this person personally, but by the memories he had of the anime, he was certain that the technique Neji used was Projection Sorcery.
Nothing else made sense for the absurd increase in speed to him. There were not many techniques in JJK which dealt with speed. Projection Sorcery was the only one, if he wasn't wrong.
And there were two users of the said technique. Naobito Zenin, the clan head of the Zenin Clan where Kiyomi, or rather Mai, was from. And his son, Naoya Zenin.
And it wasn't that hard to figure out whose attitude Neji had recently changed to mirror more.
Saying he and Kiyomi had history was putting it mildly.
Naoya Zenin was dangerous enough on his own, but now he possessed the Byakugan and all of Neji's memories on top of his original technique. Worse still, Naoya was the lawless kind.
If he opened his big mouth, going around sprouting nonsense about Jujutsu, then all sorts of wrong attention would come to him and the people he knew.
Angel had already proven this wasn't an isolated incident. How many more would show up? Why was this even happening?
"It's a mess."
And who would be clearing that mess?
Sigh...
He got up, made certain she was comfortable once, and then vanished from there.
The girl wasn't waking anytime soon, and there was another who might make him sleep permanently if he wasn't there to see her match.
xXx
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