97 The Chunin Exams - 23

He knew we were here all along.' Shikamaru clicked his tongue, he thought he might have already with that comment about 'wasting everyone's time', but this just confirmed it. The question though, was just how long had had known they were.

How troublesome.

There really wasn't anything Team Ten could do but obey, well, they could try to flee, but, it was blatantly obvious how that would turn out for them.

So, they did as bid, standing up from between the bushes and revealing themselves, "Ah, hey Daiki," Shikamaru greeted him, hiding a grimace, while his mind raced making and discarding plans by the second, "Long time no see."

"Yeah, yeah, you're lookin' great!" Choji nodded vigorously, "You're lookin' tougher than ever!" he praised.

Daiki raised an eyebrow at their reactions, "Cloud, Chip," he nodded at Shikamaru and Choji in greeting before his eyes moved over to Ino, "Five out of ten." he greeted her as well.

Shikamaru and Choji took the names on the nose.

Ino however-

"Five out of ten!?" she sputtered, jade-like teal eyes widening in outrage, her hand coming up to point at him accusatorily, "I am at least an eight!"

"Nah, on my personal scale that only attractive girls are on, you only rank a five," Daiki shrugged, "So what brings you guys this way? Hoping to ambush someone for one of these?" he asked as Ino fumed, spinning the Earth Scroll he took from Amaya just a bit go and balancing it on one fingertip.

Once again, Shikamaru's eyes widened, 'That could be a throw away but…' he swallowed, "How did you know we already have a Heaven Scroll?" the Nara heir asked.

Daiki smirked, "Figured you'd catch on," he mused, before pointing to his scarlet red eyes, "Simple really, I watched every single team get their scrolls."

Wait, scarlet red eyes?

"Your eyes, they used to be brown." he noted, "A doujutsu?" perhaps something like the Byakugan that could see through solid objects and long distances?

"Something like that," Daiki shrugged, and Shikamaru bit his tongue. Wasn't he supposed to be an orphan, was he really from some clan in the end? "Anyway, three on one, you guys wanna try your luck?" he spun the scroll atop his finger and invited them to attack.

"No…no, we're good!" Choji quickly waved his hands, "We can't you know, steal a scroll from another Konoha team, that wouldn't be…cool, yeah."

"Yeah, that wouldn't be cool at all," Shikamaru agreed, praising Choji mentally, "You need that to pass and all, right, unless you started with an Earth Scroll as well?"

"Nope, I started with a Heaven Scroll as well," Daiki shrugged, "Though not that I need this at all, I've already long since finished this test, finished it within forty minutes, I'm just shooting the breeze out here and seeing if I can find anyone interesting to fight."

"You…you what?" Shikamaru just stared at the muscular boy, while his teammates gaped. He'd already passed, and so quickly? Going by that time, he was probably the first to pass at all.

Yet he was still out here? Was that even allowed? Well, considering he was here, it must have been. They wouldn't have let him back out otherwise.

This was way outside his calculations. And he basically just invited them to attack him a moment ago.

He needed to de-escalate!

And quick.

"Well, we wouldn't exactly be a challenge to you," Shikamaru gave a forced laugh, "Not with what we just saw you do, you totally destroyed that rain team, and that Amaya guy is the student of some big shot of Rain, second only to their Kage, not the kind of person we could tango with unlike you."

Daiki snorted, "That's not as impressive as you think, that guy was trash, as is his sensei," he retorted, "Hell, one of their strongest Jonin is a traitor from our village called Aoi, yet, he's barely even qualified to be called a Jonin. The only strong guy the Hidden Rain have at all, is Hanzo The Salamander, none of the rest are worth talking about."

No, no, the fact he considered someone at the level of a Jonin, even if barely by his words, as trash, was enough for them. They'd get destroyed by a seasoned chunin, never mind a Jonin.

He sure did know quite a bit about the Rain Village though, 'What did he do to that guy Amaya before killing him?' Shikamaru wondered briefly, he'd just looked him in the eye before the guy started screaming.

A genjutsu perhaps? But no, Daiki had wanted information and was fine with him not telling, not even fussed in the end. 'Do those eyes let him read peoples minds? Like the Yamanaka Clan techniques?'

Either way, whatever it did, wasn't pleasant. He didn't want to end up in that guys place.

He never got the chance to respond.

Because-

"So you don't need it then?" Ino perked up and smiled widely at Daiki, hopping over the bushes and stopping in front of him, "That's really cool, you're really as strong as Kabuto claimed you were, stronger even, maybe even as strong as Sasuke-kun!"

What was that idiot blonde doing?!

Daiki snorted, "Almost as strong as Sasuke? Sorry to burst your bubble blondie, but Sasuke isn't even close to as strong as me," he crossed his arms. Ino's mouth dropped open, before pulling up into a scowl, but Daiki cut her off before she could reply, "There's no boasting about that fact, it's just cold hard logic and results. I spar with Sasuke all the damn time, have been doing so for four months now, twice a week at least, he's not beaten me once sine we graduated."

"No way….!" Ino gaped at the boy, "Then Sasuke's only the second best Genin in the village now?"

Again, Daiki snorted, "Not even close," he laughed, "One of the Nidaime Hokage's students has refused being promoted for decades, he's easily as powerful as a top tier jonin, he's the second strongest genin in this village behind me, then third is either Neji Hyuga or Rock Lee, could go either way. Sasuke is around fifth best, maybe sixth, I'd give quite good odds on Tenten, the teammate of Neji and Lee beating him."

"S-sixth?" Ino staggered back, looking like her entire world had been shattered around her.

How annoyingly dramatic and troublesome of her, females were such a pain.

But, Daiki revealed something there. A top tier jonin level combatant and former student of the Nidaime Hokage, that guy had to be in his fifties at least, with decades of experience, yet Daiki so casually claimed he was stronger than him.

And just the casual way he said it, no bragging or boasting in it, as if it were just mere fact, told Shikamaru it was the truth.

"For reference, Naruto is about the seventh strongest genin," Daiki helpfully added, "He's not that far off of being as strong as Sasuke now."

'Seriously!?' Shikamaru gaped.

"…Really?" Choji blinked and asked, surprised as the Nara was.

That statement allowed Ino to recover from her shock, "Okay now I know you're talking bullshit!" the Yamanaka glared at Daiki, "There's no way the deadlast is stronger than us, and definitely not nearly as strong as Sasuke."

"Naruto's always been stronger than you three," Daiki replied with an uncaring shrug, "He's just way stronger now. Have you forgotten who's team he's on? He's Sasuke's main sparring partner, they train together every day, and idiot he may be but unlike you guys, he trains himself into the dirt every damn day."

"But…but! No he doesn't! That idiot always skipped class and never trained!" Ino refused to believe Daiki's words.

Shikamaru wasn't so sure though. Naruto was an idiot for sure, but there was something about the guy…

"He skipped because nobody taught him right until Iruka-sensei, he didn't just run around doing pranks when he wasn't there you know," Daiki pointed out, "He did that a lot sure, but he was training himself every damn day outside of the academy as well. Hell, the only reason he wasn't a genin a year and a half ago when he tried to test out the first time is because he failed the clone jutsu, he passed everything else."

When he said it like that, it made a lot of sense. The thing about Naruto though, was that, in the academy, when it came to sparring, ninety percent of the time, he was always paired with Sasuke and got his butt kicked.

…That was the best they knew of his live combat abilities. And not something really to base his fighting ability on really considering Sasuke was heads and shoulders above everyone in class barring Daiki apparently.

Not to mention, that one line there.

'Nobody taught him right until Iruka-sensei.'

Shikamaru's suspicions rose. The hate Naruto got around the village was so weird, he was an idiot and annoying at times, but nothing that should have deserved hate like that. And the way Daiki said it, it implied sabotage.

…And Mizuki-sensei handled a lot of Naruto's teaching as well, he joined the academy as their teacher only a couple months after Iruka-sensei.

Mizuki-sensei, who had mysteriously disappeared after graduation.

Something was seriously, seriously off here about Naruto. But, nothing he could do about right now, he'd just need to think on it later.

"I…I don't think I've ever been so insulted," Ino muttered, a haunted look on her face, "A mere five out of ten and now even the dead last is apparently way more stronger and useful than me? Am I in a crazy genjutsu?"

Really, she was still focused on that?!

"No, this is reality," Daiki refuted, "And five out of ten is a good thing, you should be proud. It's a score on my personal hot-meter, everyone on it is already beyond the normal, so in reality your five above a standatd ten out of ten."

"Really!?" Ino perked up almost instantly, before pumping her fist into the air, "Hell yeah! I knew I was a super hottie!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. What an idiot.

"Wait!" the blonde paused, "What about Sakura?"

"Three out of ten." Daiki shrugged.

And he seriously answered? What was his life man? What a drag.

"Ha! Suck it Sakura!" Ino pumped both fists into the air this time, shouting victoriously, "So you do think I'm hot then?" she grinned at Daiki.

"And water is wet and the floor is made of floor," he rolled his eyes at her, "Yes, you're gorgeous, what about it?"

Ino was caught entirely flat footed, cheeks tinting red and the girl utterly avoiding Daiki's gaze.

….Seriously?

That was all it took to shut her up? It was that easy?

'No, it's probably cuz' Daiki's all muscled up and hot to her now, what did she call him, a beefcake?' Shikamaru cringed just thinking of that description.

Not that he'd ever bother calling a troublesome blonde like Ino gorgeous.

Amusing though, first he'd seen her like this. She sure could talk the talk, but when it came to walking the walk, looked like Ino couldn't make the cut.

When she said nothing to Daiki's compliment, the boy just shrugged, "Well, whatever," he spoke and flicked his finger, the scroll on top of it shooting through the air towards Ino, "I think I'll call it quits here."

Ino hurriedly caught the scroll and there was a shimmer of wind and leaves around him, the muscular genin disappearing from view with what looked like a shunshin.

Then Ino gave an 'eep' and jumped, her face turning crimson and steaming with heat.

"Ino…?" Choji asked, confused at her reaction and Shikamaru was right there with him, they should be celebrating, they got out of this crazy situation without fighting Daiki and he just gave them the scroll, it was a win win!

A win win win really since they didn't need to put in any effort to getting the scroll.

"….He pinched my butt." Shikamaru's eyebrows rose at Ino's muttered response.

Oh, so he was a perv then, okay, whatever.

"Also…weird, I recovered a ton of chakra when he did it as well," Ino looked up to look Shikamaru in the face, "…I think he transferred me some chakra when he felt me up."

That opened up so many more questions.

So Daiki could transfer chakra somehow. On top of that, he either had some crazy ass hearing and heard them when Ino was saying how low on chakra she was earlier, or he was a sensor that could sense chakra like Ino…or that new doujutsu of his let him see chakra.

That dude was one big question mark now.

How annoyingly troublesome.