***
The third stage preliminaries, far more drawn-out than expected, had finally concluded.
Gekko Hayate gathered the remaining candidates and lined them up.
Of the original twenty-four, only a third remained. It was a high elimination rate.
Next, the Third Hokage explained the basics of the third stage and gave all the candidates one month to prepare.
Unlike the first two stages, the third was not a matter of chance. It was an arena where the genin would have to display the full extent of their abilities to win.
The one-month buffer was also to allow time to notify the leaders and daimyo of the various nations to come and spectate the Chunin Exam.
After a few words of encouragement, it was time for the match draw.
In the end, the candidate numbers and matchups held no surprises for Daigan.
From number one to number nine, they were: Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Neji, Gaara, Uchiha Sasuke, Kankuro, Aburame Shino, Temari, Yakushi Kabuto, and Daigan.
*I'm last, huh...*
The only changes from what he expected were Yakushi Kabuto taking Dosu Kinuta's spot and Daigan taking Nara Shikamaru's.
The first match was an internal Konoha bout between Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Neji. Following that were Gaara versus Uchiha Sasuke, and Kankuro versus Aburame Shino. As for Daigan, he was nominally scheduled for an extra match against Yakushi Kabuto, with the winner advancing to face Temari for a spot in the top four.
But Kabuto, a spy from Otogakure, clearly had no intention of wasting any more energy on the Chunin Exam.
If things played out as Daigan remembered and Uchiha Sasuke failed to arrive on time, his match with Gaara would be postponed. That meant Daigan's match against Temari would surely be moved up.
After the explanation, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, dismissed them. Hatake Kakashi immediately left with Uchiha Sasuke.
The others were led away by their respective teachers.
Only Daigan remained, silently making his way to Konoha's medical corps for treatment.
He would be spending at least half of the next month in a hospital bed or a wheelchair.
That night, under anesthesia, Daigan was unaware of what kind of surgery the Konoha medical-nin performed on him. When he awoke the next day, the sun was already high in the sky.
A familiar figure stood by the windowsill—it was Captain Otokaze, whom he hadn't seen in days.
Noticing Daigan stir, Otokaze turned around.
"Konoha ninja are truly incredible. They said you'd wake up around this time, and they were right on the mark."
Daigan struggled to sit up. His arms and legs seemed to be fixed in plaster casts, his whole body was wrapped in bandages, and a brace supported his neck.
"Am I going to be okay?" he asked. "This looks pretty bad. Will I make it to the Chunin Exam in a month?"
"Relax. You'll be able to move around, barely, in ten days. But whether you can recover to peak condition in a month depends on your constitution. No one can say for sure. However..."
"I'm a Puppet Master, after all," Daigan interjected. "Even if my body isn't fully healed, I still have considerable combat strength. It'll have an impact, but it won't be decisive."
Ten days was a wait Daigan could afford. It was already better than he'd imagined.
"Good that you understand. Also..."
Otokaze produced a large scroll and held it out.
"This..." Daigan smiled awkwardly. With his hands and feet out of commission, he couldn't even perform such a simple action.
"Look at me, how thoughtless." Otokaze chuckled and pushed a wheelchair in from outside. Daigan's Substitute Puppet was seated in it, the Temari doll perched elegantly on its shoulder as usual.
"The Konoha hospital's service is quite thorough. They were even going to assign a female nurse for round-the-clock care, but I sent her away."
"Sent her away? Captain Otokaze, a cute nurse is every man's dream! What a shame."
"I figured since you have your puppets, you wouldn't need one. I could go get her back..."
"Better not!"
Daigan had a feeling that accepting such attentive service would lead to something unpleasant.
"Good that you've thought it through. Konoha doesn't want a candidate for the third stage showing up on crutches. It would be a disgrace to this joint Chunin Exam."
Daigan smiled in understanding. With a slight twitch of his fingers, chakra threads connected to the puppet beside him.
"The fruit on the table is from me. You can eat it without worry."
"Thanks, Captain."
The Temari doll picked up a fruit knife and meticulously peeled an apple. The Substitute Puppet took the scroll, held it before Daigan, and unrolled it just enough for a few large characters to come into view.
*Shadow Clone Jutsu!*
A thrill shot through Daigan. He took a deep breath, then calmly had the puppet roll the scroll shut.
One shouldn't assume this B-rank supplementary jutsu was a dime a dozen, as if every ninja knew it. Daigan didn't know about Gaara, Temari, or Kankuro, but he had never seen a single Sunagakure genin use the Shadow Clone Jutsu. The only chunin he knew well, Sajin, had never used it either and probably didn't know how.
"Is this for me?"
"Yes. Master Baki told me about your match yesterday and asked me to look after you. It's a shame I had something to do yesterday and missed your moment in the spotlight."
"There will be other chances. In any case, thank you."
"It contains a few jutsu I think will be very helpful to you. Time is limited, so I don't know how many you'll be able to master."
Daigan didn't yet know what other secret techniques were in the scroll, but if he could learn just the Shadow Clone Jutsu, his strength would increase dramatically.
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