“So, what are we going to do with these extra scrolls now?” Kabuto asked, gng at the pile they had accumuted.

  “I don’t know,” Kaida shrugged, “let’s keep them for now and see if we use them ter.”

  A small roar echoed from the back of the cave as the bear, now their panion, rubbed its belly.

  “ht! The food!” Kabuto excimed, quickly running baside the cave to tinue cooking the meal, as if nothing had happened moments ago.

  Itachi sighed heavily. The entire purpose of this exam was to test their ability to survive in harsh enviros, but instead of barely getting by, they were living more fortably than most people outside. On the sed day, Kaida and Kabuto had fashioned soft mattresses using bark, leaves, and deer skin, creating a surprisingly cozy setup. They even ma some light sources to let the daylight stream into the cave and built a makeshift ey for their fire at night.

  They had built wooden chairs and a table too, and in his spare time, Kaida was even teag the bear sign nguage. It was like a small family with an oversized pet. They weren’t just surviving—they were thriving. The top predator of the valley had bee their "friend," sg off any other animals that might have been a threat. As for the other teams, Itachi khey were more than overqualified for this exam. None of the two teams they had entered so far had sted more than two minutes in battle. It felt like pying with children.

  ‘We might be to for this exam,’ Itachi thought. With his low Kage-level power and rising rank among S-rank ninja, it was safe to say that hardly anyone here could truly challehem. Still, knowing that overfidence could lead to fatal mistakes, Itachi remained on guard, though he couldn’t deny that he also wao enjoy the meal Kabuto was cooking.

  …

  Three days passed, and it was finally time to head back to the exam’s starting point. As the trio prepared to leave, the bear, clearly fused, let out a small, mournful roar.

  “We’re going baow,” Kaida expined with a big smile. “You go back to being the king of this jungle again.”

  The bear shook its head and disappeared into the cave, only to return with a deer leg it had saved.

  “Are you giving that to us?” Kaida asked, surprised by the gesture. The bear shook its head, holding onto the leg.

  “Fine, keep it. Goodbye, big guy.” Kaida patted the bear’s head. But as the three of them began to walk away, the bear quietly followed behind them.

  “I khis would happen,” Itachi sighed again.

  “No, buddy. You have to stay here. We ’t take you with us.” Kaida turned and patted the bear’s head again.

  “Guah,” the bear responded, shaking its head.

  “How about this—we’ll e back for you sometime, and then we’ll take you with us. Okay?” Kaida offered.

  Relutly, the bear nodded.

  “Great! Till then, enjoy the fy bed. It’s super soft!” Kaida grinned.

  “Guah.”

  With a final wave, Kaida, Itachi, and Kabuto sped away. The bear tried to follow but soon fell behind, uo keep pace. As the distaween them grew, a final loud roar echoed through the valley, as if promising that it would wait for them.

  “Are y?” Kabuto teased, notig Kaida keeping his face turned away.

  “What? No way! Why would I cry?” Kaida shot back, still avoiding eye tact.

  “Let him be. He practically made that bear his pet. Of course, leaving it behind hurts,” Itachi ented dryly.

  “I am N! And I didn’t lie! I’ll find a way t him back with me one day,” Kaida protested.

  “You sound like a kid. Just don’t do anything stupid during the exam,” Itachi warned.

  “I know,” Kaida muttered. Despite trying to shake it off, his Sharingan-enhanced emotions made the goodbye with the bear harder than he expected. ‘If saying goodbye to a friend after just three days is this hard, I don’t even want to imagine what it’s like to lose someone food.’

  Shaking off the thought, Kaida refocused on the journey ahead.

  …

  Everyone was required to return to the same building where the exam’s sed round had started, with all the scrolls intact. Of course, that meant there was still a eone could ambush them on the way. Even though Kaida, Itachi, and Kabuto khis, they took the shortest path to the building, fident in their abilities.

  As they heir destination, the Sunagakure team appeared in the dista quickly retreated when they realized who they’d been about tet. Soon after, the injured Amegakure team also backed down without a fight.

  While they were moving, Kaida suddenly stopped.

  “Wait a minute, guys. I have a fun idea,” he said with a mischievous grin.

  He used chakra to amplify his voice, calling out to the teams nearby. “We have ara scroll! We’re leaving it here. Anyone who wants it, e and take it!”

  He tossed the scroll high into a tree, setting a trap that was obvious but irresistible. The teams watg uood what Kaida had done—he had thrown a bloody pieeat into a pool of hungry sharks. They had no choice but to go after it.

  As the other teams rushed toward the scroll, Kaida disappeared from his spot and reappeared behind the leader of the Takigakure team.

  “Did you guys find any scrolls?” Kaida asked.

  Shocked by his sudden appearahe leader almost attacked, but quickly lowered his kunai.

  “No,” the leader replied dejectedly. “We had the same scroll location as an Iwagakure team, but they got there first.”

  “Then sider this an apology for taking your scroll earlier.” Kaida handed him the extra scroll. “Now, get to the building before someone snatches it!”

  The leader nodded and immediately ordered his team to sprint toward the building.

  With Takigakure out of the way, the other teams fought desperately over the st scroll. Kaida returo his group with a grin.

  “You guys didn’t mind, right?” he asked. Itachi and Kabuto both shrugged, knowing those extra scrolls were of no use to them anyway.