On the morning of the second day of the Chunin Exams, Mizuki woke up early and headed out. It wasn't because he was diligent—it was because a mission had come in.
Thinking about it, his official role was as mobile support. When there were no incidents, everything was fine. But when trouble arose, he was like a utility player—wherever extra hands were needed, he'd be sent. To put it plainly, he was just a helper who could be pressed into service whenever extra help was needed.
Even so, Mizuki hadn't expected to end up carrying stretchers. What kind of job was that for a Chunin? Shouldn't they just grab some interns or pick a few strong guys off the street?
"Isn't the main examiner for the second test Tokubetsu Jonin Anko Mitarashi? How come you're in charge then?" Mizuki complained to the man in front of him.
"Tokubetsu Jonin Anko Mitarashi had an unexpected incident, so I'm temporarily assisting with the second exam," Kakashi Hatake explained without paying much attention to Mizuki's tone.
"An accident?" Mizuki asked knowingly. "Was it yesterday's big scene in the Forest of Death? Speaking of which, this year's batch of candidates sure has some serious power—such a display makes even us veteran ninja feel humbled."
"Candidates?" Kakashi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced that mere examinees, none of whom had even become official Chunin yet, could cause such a spectacle.
"Just call them candidates then. Either way, Anko really did get hurt, and it's hard to say how much the current situation relates to that event."
"It doesn't concern me anyway," indeed, it had little to do with Mizuki—it was Orochimaru's doing. "With such a major incident happening, shouldn't you pay more attention to your students? There seem to be quite a few dangerous individuals inside."
"Ninja always face these kinds of situations. Besides, I believe they'll pass the exam safely."
"I agree they'll pass, but whether they'll come out unharmed is another story."
"Enough talk," Kakashi began detailing the mission. "All the village's Jonin have been deployed on missions, and I need to cooperate with the ANBU investigating dangerous individuals. In the Forest of Death, ordinary people can barely survive. Only someone strong like you—a capable Chunin—can go in to rescue them. More and more disqualified candidates are disappearing, and the village needs extra hands to bring them out—alive or dead."
"How many are still missing?"
"Counting those still taking the exam, only half remain."
"Why is progress so fast this time?"
"Those with real strength tend to be impatient."
Indeed, the examinees this year were exceptionally powerful.
"So lifting stretchers means rescuing and recovering bodies too?"
"Exactly. However, your main task is to protect the medical staff who lack combat abilities. Feel free to assist with anything else if convenient. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll leave now."
"What do you mean?! Don't tell me you're leaving all this work to me!" Mizuki grumbled as trouble landed on him. "I'm still injured, you know!"
"Huh?" Mizuki muttered, still grumbling, when he suddenly spotted a familiar face.
Kakashi, who was just about to leave, also noticed Karin dozing off on the hospital bench.
"What? Do you know her?" Kakashi asked.
"No, of course not," Mizuki shook his head. "I just saw her during the first exam. Don't you think that hair color is quite noticeable?"
"It definitely stands out," Kakashi agreed with a nod. A bright red hair exactly like Kushina Uzumaki's—it was hard not to notice. "Could it be that you're interested in this little girl?"
"How could that be?" Mizuki quickly denied. That could land me in jail—or worse, get me executed—he couldn't possibly take the blame for that. "Although you're stronger and I can't beat you, I'm older than you. You shouldn't just frame your senior like that. I've got a fiancée, while you're all on your own."
"I'm a Jonin," Kakashi said indifferently.
"I have a fiancée."
"I have a better reputation than you, I'm handsomer than you, and richer than you."
"I have a fiancée."
"Alright then, we won't mention your fiancée anymore," Kakashi surrendered. "That Sound Ninja was rescued last night because she was nearby at the time, but she and her teammate were too weak—they were taken down before even laying eyes on their attacker. Both severely injured, barely surviving. They probably can't be ninjas anymore. But this weakest little girl came out completely unharmed—she opened the Scroll all by herself, and then was carried out. Quite lucky indeed."
After all, she was a girl with the 'High Luck' attribute, always managing to escape danger, and whenever facing fatal threats, someone would always come rescue her.
"Kakashi, do we need to fully treat these ninja from other villages? Won't going inside now interfere with the exams?"
"There's no choice. Originally, whether they lived or died wouldn't matter much to our village. But the problem now is that the commotion inside is too big—we can't hide it. If others claim our security measures are inadequate and start nagging us, that'll be troublesome. The Chunin Exams must continue, but we'll try to rescue them without affecting the exams. Just preserve evidence if they were attacked or killed by other candidates," Kakashi explained.
Mizuki nodded understandingly.
"Then I'll go. If there's any problem, go directly to the central tower. There'll be on-duty ninja there." With that, he left.
Looking at the drowsy Karin, Mizuki thought for a moment before walking over. Before he got close, Karin woke up and immediately noticed Mizuki.
[Mind's Eye of the Kagura]
"We meet again," Mizuki greeted. "Didn't expect you'd walk out with barely a scratch. Not bad at all."
"Are you... Examiner Mizuki?" Karin hesitated slightly, still choosing to use the title 'Examiner,' although Mizuki had shown kindness, his true intentions were still unknown.
"You don't need to call me examiner—I'm not proctoring anymore," Mizuki replied. "Anyway, good luck. Rest well."
"But, Senior Mizuki..." Karin hesitated. "My teammates were both seriously injured, and I came out unscathed. When I return to the Sound Village..." She trailed off—after all, complaining to a ninja from another village wouldn't help anything.
"Remember everything I've told you and everything I've given you," Mizuki said. "Do your best to protect yourself."
"Yes, senpai," Karin replied, her eyes red and puffy. For someone like Karin, who had been treated as a test subject and left scarred from countless bites, having someone truly care for her was already a rare blessing after years of isolation and pain.
"I still have a mission to handle. Later, I'll go check on the injured at the hospital, and then I'll have to leave. Don't overthink it. Just do what feels right to you."
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