Chapter 81: A Bad Draw
As the four of them were chatting, an Anbu member walked over.
"Uchiha Kyosuke, the Hokage-sama requests your presence," the Anbu said, first bowing respectfully to Jiraiya and Minato, then turning to Kyosuke.
"Huh? Why would the old man be looking for you at a time like this?" Jiraiya asked, looking at Kyosuke with curiosity.
"Uh, well, I'm not really sure," Kyosuke replied casually, then followed the Anbu away.
Although he said he didn't know, Kyosuke had a pretty good idea.
It was nothing more than a warning not to "accidentally" kill anyone else in the upcoming battles.
Actually, even without the Third's special instruction, Kyosuke had no intention of continuing to do so.
After all, the remaining contestants were all relatively important characters in the original story.
If a few of them were to die at Kyosuke's hands, the future "plot" would undoubtedly be altered to some extent.
This was something the current Kyosuke did not want to see.
Before he had the strength to overturn the chessboard, his most advantageous choice was to maintain the original course of the plot as much as possible.
"Lord Third," Kyosuke said, arriving before the Third Hokage and greeting him respectfully.
"Ah, Kyosuke, you've arrived," the Third said, who had been sitting there, lost in thought, only slowly looking up after Kyosuke spoke.
After silently observing him for a moment, the Third suddenly asked, "Minato has already relayed my intentions to you, hasn't he?"
"Yes, sir," Kyosuke replied without hesitation. He then paused for a moment before saying, "But... the Sand ninja were just too arrogant, I..."
In front of the Third, Kyosuke didn't say that he had killed his opponent by "accident."
If he had said that, it would have been an insult to the Third's intelligence.
And Kyosuke suspected that the Third already knew about Minato's "take him out" comment.
So, with his mind racing, Kyosuke decided that it was best to tell the truth.
The Third showed no reaction to Kyosuke's words. Instead, he asked again, "Did Minato authorize you to do that?"
Hearing this, a hint of "panic" appeared on Kyosuke's face. "No, it was all my own doing. It has nothing to do with Captain Minato."
With that, Kyosuke lowered his head with a repentant expression. The Third said nothing more, just looked at him with a serious gaze.
The atmosphere between the two of them was tense for a while, until a soft chuckle suddenly sounded, which made Kyosuke lift his head again.
The one who had chuckled was the Third Hokage himself.
He shook his head with a smile and said to Kyosuke, "Are you still trying to hide it from me? Minato has already confessed his guilt. You..."
However, although the Third was reprimanding him, he looked very happy.
It worked, Kyosuke thought with an inward smile. At the same time, he showed a hint of shame on his face, as if he was blaming himself for deceiving the Third.
Keenly sensing the expression on Kyosuke's face, the Third's smile grew even brighter.
"Let's forget about this matter. After all, the Sand ninja's actions were indeed too much. It's good to teach them a lesson," the Third said, then took out his pipe, preparing to light it.
But after seeing Kyosuke's gaze, he coughed drily and put the pipe away again.
After a pause, the Third said again, "However, you can't do this again in the upcoming matches. We are trying to establish our might, not make enemies. I believe you can understand the stakes involved."
"Yes, I understand," Kyosuke replied solemnly.
"Alright, you may leave. Take this opportunity to adjust your condition," the Third said, then stood up and headed to the back of the venue, seemingly to sneak a smoke.
At the same time, Kyosuke also took his leave.
That old fox, always testing me, Kyosuke grumbled to himself, then slowly walked back.
Next, there was a break of over 40 minutes before the quarterfinals would officially begin.
This was also the last chance for the contestants to rest.
After all, on a real battlefield, the enemy would not be so kind as to let you rest.
How to reasonably conserve stamina and chakra was also a key indicator in the Chunin Exams.
In this rare, undisturbed moment, Kyosuke sat to the side and opened his system menu to check it.
After killing Kuro, he now had a total of 71 experience points.
After a moment's thought, Kyosuke spent 50 experience points to raise his "Shisui-Style Body Flicker Technique" to Level 2, and then another 19 experience points to raise his "Fire Nature Transformation" to Level 3.
His strength had once again increased by a small margin, and he couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
Killing people is still the fastest way, Kyosuke thought with a sigh. He then lay down on the spot and closed his eyes to rest, preparing to face the upcoming battle in his best condition.
Soon, the 40-minute break was over.
And on the big screen, the pairings for the first round of the quarterfinals had already been selected.
However, the moment this list came out, the mood of the Konoha crowd instantly sank.
Konoha, Torune Aburame vs. Cloud, Yugito Nī.
It could be said that Konoha had drawn a terrible lot right from the start.
Yugito's identity as a jinchuriki was no longer a secret.
Every team had already marked her as their strongest potential opponent.
Even the impressive Kyosuke's threat level assessment was not as high as that of the jinchuriki, Yugito.
So, it was only natural for the Konoha crowd to react this way.
And the reality was probably even worse.
Because Torune Aburame's greatest trump card was his nano-sized, cell-eroding poisonous insects.
But these insects' flying ability was very weak, so Torune had always focused on close-quarters combat.
And that was the problem. Fighting a jinchuriki who could control the power of a Tailed Beast in close combat was no less difficult than fighting the "Fifth Gate" Kuro with bare fists.
With Torune Aburame's close-combat abilities, he basically had no chance of winning.
What was worse, once Yugito activated her Tailed Beast cloak, the corrosive nature of the Tailed Beast's chakra alone would likely be enough to kill a large number of his poisonous insects.
It would be very difficult for Torune Aburame to win.
This wasn't because Torune's strength was weak. If it had been any other opponent, it could be said that he feared no one.
It was just that his luck was bad.
Kyosuke understood this, and Torune himself was even more clear on it.
However, his personality was rather reserved, so he didn't take winning or losing too seriously.
Not to mention, even if he lost, Kyosuke was still there.
So, at this moment, Torune Aburame had secretly made a resolution in his heart.
Captain, I will do my best to force out Yugito's Tailed Beast power and consume her stamina as much as possible. The rest... I'll leave to you.
With that, under Kyosuke's somewhat stunned gaze, Torune leaped down from the stands.
Opposite him, Yugito was already waiting.
The first round of the quarterfinals... officially began
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