The second round of the Chunin Exams ended as the three days passed. The Forest of Death had been a place of intense battles, strategies, and surprising events for all the participating genin.
Not a single team attacked Shunsui and his teammates after the Kusa genin tried and had to beg to escape from being thrown into Jail.
The reasons that the other genins did not attack them could be many like not finding them or being busy chasing the Kiri genins.
But the most likely reason was that the Kusa genin had spread the information that the Konoha genin of that territory had some ridiculous ability.
Stories about some mysterious ability of a Konoha genin that charged rent and put people in jail had traveled quickly through the forest, making most teams avoid that particular area completely even though they thought them as nothing more than made up stories. But it was better to be safe than sorry.
Many genin decided it was safer to fight elsewhere than risk facing such a strange technique.
A chunin instructor appeared for them to collect their flags and to lead them back out of the forest. The instructor looked impressed as he counted the seven flags on their pole and nodded approvingly at the strong performance of Team Choza.
As they came out of the forest, they saw other teams also being escorted back. Many genin looked tired, injured, or disappointed after the long three days of fighting and defending.
Some teams had lost their flags early and spent the rest of the time trying to survive and trying to get other flags.
Shunsui saw the Kiri team who looked a lot tired, especially Zabuza and Kisame, and had injuries all over their body. The two Mist genin walked with heavy steps, their clothes torn and their faces showing exhaustion from constant chases and battles.
One of the Konoha genins with tears who was being escorted back moved towards them angrily. He was about to punch Mangetsu but was stopped by the chunin escorting them.
"You .....You....killed my teammates even though we surrendered. Wh....y?" The boy's voice was full of pain and anger as tears ran down his face. He had clearly lost close friends during the test and was struggling with the loss.
"Because it was fun to see you cry like a baby. Why are you crying for those shits of shinobi anyways? They and their lives are worthless. Weak shinobi like them deserve to die early so they do not waste space in a shinobi village. Crying over trash like that makes you look even more pathetic than they were. Go home and tell their families that their sons died like fools who surrendered instead of fighting," Mangetsu said, spitting out the words with cruel enjoyment.
He laughed mockingly as he looked at the crying boy, clearly trying to hurt him more with his insulting words. The Kiri genin showed no remorse, treating the dead as nothing important.
Shunsui's smile disappeared. 'He thinks of taking life as something meaningless. He think zthe ones he took the lives of are worthless?' Shunsui was not a hypocrite.
He himself took lives. He did not feel regret taking them either but he did know that every life meant something. There was someone out there who would cry for the person he had killed. The thought brought a mix of emotions to him. He felt anger at the casual way Mangetsu dismissed human lives, but also a deep sadness for the families and friends left behind.
Every person had dreams, connections, and value, even enemies. Seeing such coldness reminded him of the harsh realities of the shinobi world, but it still bothered him deeply. A dark look appeared on his face beneath his straw hat. 'He will know what it is like to feel helpless. He shall know despair if we meet in the next round,' he thought with cold determination.
The idea of making Mangetsu experience true loss and fear settled in his mind as a promise for the future.
Shikaku appeared and with a gesture most of the genin teams were escorted out of the area until only four teams remained.
He said, "The twelve of you have passed and would move to the next round. The next round will be a one on one match in front of nobles, the Daimyōs and the Kages as well as an audience. It will take place after a month since it would take that long for everyone to arrive. So prepare yourselves. And we would be deciding your matchups right now."
He took a box with a hole. "Inside are chits with all your names. Six of you will pick one and the other person whose name you pick would be your opponent. In case you pick your name you would pick again."
Mangetsu moved first and picked the chit first and he had picked the chit with Shunsui's name.
Shunsui smiled. 'Now that is what I call very good luck. Well not so much luck for you Mangetsu.'
Mangetsu though grinned as he looked at Shunsui. The Konoha genin that he wanted to kill the most.
Then the chits were picked one by one and the matchups were as such: Shunsui Kyōraku Vs Mangetsu Hozuki, Might Guy Vs Zabuza, Obito vs Raido Namashi, Genma vs Kisame, Sarutobi Asuma Vs Mukai Kohinata, Rin vs Kurenai.
Shunsui thought, 'Well well, now that is some good matchups. After I beat Mangetsu, I will be facing Guy because if he has mastered eight gates, Zabuza does not stand a chance. Well even without them Zabuza might barely have a chance.' He analyzed the pairings carefully in his mind.
'Genma though has landed himself a very bad matchup with Kisame. Let's hope his senbon could pierce his shark skin and he knows how to swim.'
He then moved to the match ups of other people that were not of his team. 'If Mukai goes all out, Asuma does not stand a chance. And the finals would probably be a matchup between three people. And if what I am thinking is right, it would be Me Vs Kisame Vs Mukai.'
Shunsui had placed himself mentally in the finals already.
'Am I being too overconfident?' Shunsui thought. 'Nah, it is not overconfidence when the world itself bends to my will and the weak can only watch as the strong decide their fate.'
------Author Notes---------
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