Tatsuma suspected Orochimaru was trolling him, but he didn't have proof.
He could only stare at Orochimaru in disbelief. In return, Orochimaru maintained that signature smile—one that appeared elegant on the surface but was laced with a certain malicious delight. If there was one thing Orochimaru loved in this life, it was messing with "geniuses" who thought they were clever.
Besides, if he targeted Kushina too directly, his bias would be obvious. It was far more effective to target Tatsuma; that way, Kushina would feel like the lucky one. After all, she got a break in the middle, and when she did return to the field, she'd be facing Minato, who would have just finished a fight.
Would Kushina win because of that? Orochimaru didn't particularly care. Even if she made it through the first round—which wasn't exactly what Goppu-sensei wanted—Orochimaru was fine with it as long as she failed to graduate in the end.
Tatsuma narrowed his eyes at the man, whose smile was becoming increasingly... unsettling. He released his grip on Kushina and let her go to the sidelines to rest.
"Is there a problem?" Orochimaru asked, tilting his head slightly.
Tatsuma shook his head. He stepped forward and initiated the Seal of Confrontation. Looking at his friend, he said, "Minato, I'm ready whenever you are."
Minato had originally wanted Tatsuma to stall for time to recover some stamina, but seeing that Tatsuma had no intention of dragging his feet, he had no choice but to step up and form the Seal of Confrontation as well.
Still, Minato felt something was off. It seemed... Tatsuma hadn't praised him today?
It wasn't that Minato couldn't fight without hearing a compliment, but two and a half years of friendship had taught him that Tatsuma never forgot to praise an opponent. There could only be one reason for the omission.
The two held the seal, then lowered their hands. Orochimaru focused his attention, curious to see how Tatsuma would navigate this match while at a total disadvantage in terms of stamina and chakra.
However, after lowering their hands, neither boy moved. Orochimaru frowned, confusion beginning to set in. Right then, Tatsuma looked up, a brilliant smile plastered on his face.
"Lord Orochimaru, I forfeit."
"Oh?"
Tatsuma's words caught even Orochimaru off guard. Based on the intelligence he'd gathered, Tatsuma's competitive streak was legendary—supposedly so intense that he'd turn every trivial detail of daily life into a contest.
For him to suddenly give up... Orochimaru glanced at Minato, whose expression clearly said, 'I knew it,' before turning back to Tatsuma, who was already holding out the Seal of Reconciliation.
"Care to tell me why?" Orochimaru asked.
"Because I've already secured my spot in the next round, haven't I?"
Tatsuma's smile remained bright. He was competitive, certainly, but that was predicated on having a chance at victory—and thus a chance to "shear" some attributes from his opponent. In his current state, there was no way he was beating Minato. He was a winner, not a masochist.
Orochimaru's expression stiffened. He had explicitly stated the rule: each person must secure at least one victory to move on to the next round.
He never imagined Tatsuma would take a throwaway rule and use it to "troll" him right back. Worse, Tatsuma had created a new dilemma: Tatsuma was now at 1-1, Kushina was at 0-1, and Minato was at 1-0. If Minato decided to play with the rules in the third round as well, all three of them could end up with at least one win, meaning they'd all qualify.
"Aren't you afraid I'll disqualify you for a lack of fighting spirit?" Orochimaru tested him.
Tatsuma simply shrugged. "You forget, Lord Orochimaru—you said there were no other rules. I even made sure to ask."
It was true. Orochimaru recalled their earlier exchange. He had internally praised the boy for being meticulous and thorough. He hadn't realized Tatsuma was actually setting up a safeguard to prevent him from making things up on the fly. Orochimaru had walked straight into a trap of his own making.
Technically, he'd dug the hole himself. If he hadn't tried to move the goalposts on Tatsuma, Tatsuma wouldn't have been able to exploit the wording.
"Fine. Let us move to the third round: Minato versus Kushina."
Orochimaru shifted his gaze toward Kushina, who was still standing there, blinking in confusion at the sudden turn of events. When she finally processed what had happened, she shot an annoyed glare at Tatsuma.
"You and your little tricks!"
"Don't forget," Tatsuma shot back with a smirk, "you're the only one who actually needs a win now. Good luck."
As they crossed paths, Kushina tried to intentionally shoulder-check him. But Tatsuma seemed to sense it coming; he executed a smooth pivot, causing Kushina to stumble forward two steps as she hit nothing but air.
"Dammit!!!"
Having failed her petty revenge, Kushina channeled all her frustration toward the boy standing before her with a helpless smile. Looking at Minato's apologetic expression, she snapped, "What are you smiling at, you pretty boy?! You think you've already won?!"
Minato's smile faltered. His expression had merely been a reflection of his thoughts on Tatsuma's bizarre maneuver and the obvious friction between Tatsuma and Kushina.
He hadn't expected his smile to be misinterpreted—again. He honestly couldn't keep track of how many times Kushina had taken his expressions the wrong way.
Minato didn't bother trying to explain. It wasn't in his nature. Tatsuma often called him a "softie"—or more specifically, a baozi—someone who just swallowed their grievances and let things go.
Minato shook the thought away and raised his hand into the Seal of Confrontation. "Kushina-san, do you need a moment to rest?"
"Hmph! Your seal is already up; were you actually going to wait? Besides, I don't need it!"
Kushina rolled her left shoulder, which was still throbbing with pain, and raised her right hand to complete the seal. The moment they lowered their hands, the look in Minato's eyes changed.
Suddenly, six shuriken were in the air, whistling toward a startled Kushina.
The moment the tools left his fingers, Minato felt a pang of regret. He realized he shouldn't have approached this with the same "split-second lethality" mindset he used when fighting Tatsuma. He and Kushina had rarely sparred; they didn't have that mutual understanding of each other's limits.
His fighting style was built for high-level exchanges, and against someone unprepared, it could easily cause unintended harm. But it was too late to take it back. By the time Kushina reacted, the shuriken were on her. She managed to dodge, but two of them grazed her skin, drawing thin lines of blood.
The outcome was decided from the start. Kushina collapsed even faster than she had against Tatsuma. Tatsuma had been exhausted, but she wasn't in great shape either.
A few minutes later, Minato—now 2-0—looked at a huffing, 0-2 Kushina. He reached out a hand to her. "I'm sorry. But I promise you, I'll take your resolve with me and become a ninja first."
"Who wants you to take anything?! Waaaah!"
With a sudden, heart-wrenching sob, Kushina began to wail. Minato froze, completely out of his depth. Orochimaru, Goppu, and Tatsuma all shared a silent look before turning their eyes toward the meaningless distance, giving Kushina the space to cry.
They knew she needed this. She needed the pain of this loss to act as a release for everything else she was holding inside.