After greeting Shiki Ryougi-sensei and saying goodbye to Mana, Hanabi wrapped up the lesson and headed back to the guesthouse.
"Welcome back, Hanabi!"
Hikari immediately came to the entrance to greet her.
"You don't have to make such a fuss," Hanabi said.
"Welcome back, Lady Hanabi." Hikari wasn't the only one inside. The maid Natsu Hyuga was also there. She had prepared dinner for the two of them and had spent the daytime teaching Hikari basic everyday knowledge.
For Hanabi, Natsu was someone she could trust.
"Um, Hanabi." Hikari seemed to have been mulling something over for a while.
She finally made up her mind. "I want to become a ninja too! I want to fight alongside you, Hanabi!"
Hikari was strong, and highly experienced in combat.
Sure, she'd gotten demolished right out of the gate, but the one who demolished her was an even more absurdly overpowered existence.
If she were facing Hikari Uchiha with Yachihoko fully loaded, Hanabi figured there really weren't that many people who could handle her.
As for the Akatsuki—as long as she didn't run into someone like Nagato, it wouldn't be a huge problem.
But having Hikari become a Konoha ninja, everyone running missions together, laughing and goofing around day after day?
Give me a break.
That would be completely boring.
If Hikari was going to make her entrance, it had to be with a spectacular bang—a grand display of fireworks in full bloom.
The kind that turns the entire Ninja World upside down.
But the time wasn't right yet.
"Thank you, Hikari." Hanabi smiled. "But just like you, I actually don't like this Ninja World very much either. The peace right now is only surface-level. Beneath it lies chaos and darkness. Yes, it's peaceful now, but this is merely a ceasefire—twenty years at most."
"Hanabi..."
Hikari's eyes grew even brighter.
People who shared the same ideals could resonate on a deeper level.
"But for now... well, at the very least, you need to pass your academic courses."
"Ugh..." Hikari's smile froze.
Fair enough. Combat was no problem, but getting an "ancient" to learn modern coursework wasn't something that could be done in a week or two.
Yeah... Hikari Uchiha was, in fact, semi-literate.
The next day, the live broadcast of the show resumed.
The episode opened with Naruto and Sasuke waking up. Upon discovering they'd been sharing a room together, both let out screams of horror.
[Ahaha, I'm dying]
[Lady Hanabi is as wicked as ever]
[Imagine waking up in a hotel and finding out your bedmate is your best bro]
[Classic chaos-enjoyer behavior]
[To deal with a chaos-enjoyer like this, you need an obsessive girl]
[So the natural counter to a schemer is the obsessive type, and the counter to a chaos-enjoyer is the obsessive girl?]
[LOL]
Naruto and Sasuke's antics netted Hanabi another wave of popularity points.
Stirring up chaos to gain popularity didn't always require doing it yourself, but if you wanted to build a genuine fanbase, you had to step up personally.
"Looks like you all already know about the Chūnin Exams."
After Team 7 assembled, Kakashi didn't hand out missions as usual. Instead, he gave the three of them the prepared Chūnin Exam application forms.
"These are the Chūnin Exam application forms. If you want to participate, come to Room 301 at the Academy at 3 PM, five days from now."
"But whether or not you enter is entirely your choice... well, looks like you've already made up your minds."
Kakashi looked at Naruto and Sasuke. Despite their fatigue, both had a determined gleam in their eyes.
"Hey, you two—why are you standing so far apart?"
The determination was real, all right.
But one of them was standing on the far left side of the bridge, and the other on the far right. It was kind of hilarious.
"Well, certain things happened..." Sasuke muttered, casting a "resentful" look at Hanabi.
[Hanabi: That's right, it was me all along!]
[Director Hanabi, well played! Well played indeed!]
[Crap, just realized I forgot to take screenshots earlier]
[Damn, me too—I was too busy laughing]
[Guess we'll wait for the weekly broadcast version]
"Well, anyway, that's how it is."
Kakashi scratched his head.
Naruto and Sasuke gingerly took the application forms from opposite sides, careful not to get any closer to each other.
"Oh, one more thing."
Kakashi was about to leave but seemed to remember something. "If... um... go easy, all right?"
Hanabi knew exactly what he meant.
The video feed had already shown the argument between Iruka-sensei and Kakashi.
Iruka believed the rookies shouldn't be entering the Chūnin Exams so soon, while Kakashi and the other jōnin instructors thought they were ready.
So the Third Hokage had decided to give the rookie graduates a special preliminary test.
Kakashi had probably predicted that Hanabi would pull some kind of stunt, so he'd issued a preemptive warning.
[Kakashi: Bet you didn't see this coming, Hanabi—this time I predicted your prediction!]
[LOL, Kakashi's got experience with this now]
[This is the precise judgment of an elite jōnin (serious face)]
"My, my." Hanabi actually had been planning to stir things up a little.
But since Kakashi-sensei had said as much, she'd show some respect for Iruka-sensei.
Yeah—she just wouldn't get Iruka-sensei wrecked too badly.
After Kakashi left, Hanabi turned to Naruto and Sasuke. "Only five days left. Not much training time remaining—step it up!"
"I'm off to train!" Naruto bolted.
"Same." Sasuke walked off in the other direction.
One went left, one went right.
Hanabi tilted her head.
She chose a secluded balcony, sat down, and waited for Iruka-sensei's "test."
"I can't wait." The corner of Hanabi's mouth curved upward.
In truth, the test had already begun.
The broadcast was already showing footage of Naruto and Sasuke.
A Rain ninja had attacked each of them separately, but was driven back both times.
—Next up, it would be her turn.
"There you are, Hanabi."
Hanabi: ???
It wasn't just Hanabi who was stunned—the audience was dumbfounded too.
Unlike with Naruto and Sasuke, Iruka hadn't used Transformation Technique to disguise himself as an attacker.
Instead, he'd walked right up to Hanabi as himself.
"Well, hello there, Iruka-sensei." Hanabi tilted her head.
Since it wasn't a hostile attacker, the traps she'd prepared were no good now.
"Good morning." Iruka sat down beside her. "It really does feel like it's been a while."
"It has," Hanabi agreed.
"You're the smartest student I've ever taught," Iruka said. "The Chūnin Exams... well, you already know the deal."
"Mm-hm."
Iruka had simply given up.
He was the teacher who understood his students best. So Iruka knew his disguise would be useless in front of Hanabi.
Tests were meaningless against her.
If there was one rookie he believed was qualified to take the Chūnin Exams, it was Hanabi, without question.
"I know you're the kind of person who, once you've set your mind on something, will never change course because of what others say. But recklessly pushing yourself isn't always the answer—taking care of yourself matters too. And please, don't force things during the exam. Naruto and Sasuke are reliable kids. You can lean on them."
Iruka spoke so earnestly that he felt a little embarrassed himself.
"In any case—good luck. And be careful."
"Hai."
After that, Iruka left.
Hanabi let out a sigh.
"Honestly, the traps I prepared... I couldn't use a single one."
"But all the same... thank you, Iruka-sensei."
It was unexpected, but this kind of thing—something beyond her control—Hanabi didn't mind at all.