Chapter 120 Before the exam

Iruka took a long sip of coffee carefully to avoid spilling it, then lifted the cup so he could see the bottom. There were two lines of crooked words written on the bottom of the cup:

“To the best teacher in the world, thank you for putting up with us.”

For a moment, Iruka felt like he was about to cry. This gift came too suddenly, and he was deeply moved by the emotions and thoughtfulness contained in it, as well as the thought of the students in making this gift carefully for him.

Iruka had never been a fan of expensive, flashy gifts, but gifts like this that were full of meaning and sentimental value were always his favorites.

"These little bastards," he choked out, and Kakashi smiled at him through his mask.

"They went on a shopping spree in the Tea Kingdom while I wasn't paying attention, and it seems that Class 7, Class 8, and Class 10 all came up with the same idea."

"But this one certainly wasn't bought," Iruka countered. Small flaws in the ceramic and glaze, fingerprints on the painted clay, and bubbles in the glass all indicated that the cup was handmade.

"Obviously, you and I are both special."

Iruka put the new cup back on the table and decided to throw away all the pure white cups in the house.

"What did they give you?"

Hearing this, Kakashi reached for the ninja tool scroll on his waist and untied a small part of it.

As he quickly made a seal, a long, heavy piece of cloth suddenly flowed out from his arms and almost fell to the floor.

It was a traveling cloak, thick black cloth speckled with silver, with a band of soft grey fur sewn at the collar.

"It's beautiful." Iruka admired, reaching out to touch the edge of the cloak. "And it's quite heavy."

Kakashi smiled.

"I'm beginning to think the little ones are doubting my ability to protect myself. So far, I've found six different anti-chakra seals, all by Naruto, and weapon sheaths hidden in nearly every seam, Sasuke's work, and Sakura, she sewed a whole layer of lightweight chain mail inside. And of course, there's this."

Kakashi said as he turned over the collar of his cloak. Iruka saw three small patterns embroidered on the inner edge, one of which was the Uchiha's round fan, the spiral pattern of the Uzumaki clan, and a cherry blossom.

"These brats threw it on my head when they went out this morning, and told me to wear it when I come here." Kakashi continued, pointing to the cup that Iruka was holding in his hands and examining carefully.

"That really fits their style," Iruka said with a smile, "By the way, I've been thinking about this and wanted to ask you. I know Ryouta gave the kids a pre-exam checkup yesterday, but when I asked him, he just changed the subject while complaining about rushing to clean up the emergency room in preparation for 'the end of the world.'"

"You're talking about that. Sakura seems to have awakened her bloodline limit."

Iruka nearly spit out his coffee.

"What did you say?!"

Kakashi even dared to shrug and said nonchalantly:

"I don't understand why Ryouta is so surprised. Sakura's chakra has a strange interaction with her body functions. Moreover, it is not the first time that this happens to people without ninja blood. For example, Minato--"

"Kakashi." Iruka interrupted him. "What kind of bloodline limit is it?"

Kakashi blinked.

"Well, so far, she can use chakra to harden her skin, and she can use the chakra network to strengthen her bone structure, but that's something she only discovered recently. It turns out that she's been strengthening her muscle fibers this way unconsciously for months."

Iruka sighed and let out a semi-hysterical laugh.

"You're right, I don't need to worry about them at all. What I should be worried about is the Sandaime Hokage's blood pressure."

Kakashi shrugged.

"Who says it isn't?"

******

Shikamaru's father found him one rare morning when he was standing in front of the mirror.

He was fully prepared for the exam: he wore the reinforced trousers that Ino had bought him, with extra pockets filled with Choji's newly made compressed energy bars, some modified shurikens, and various sealing scrolls. On top of his torso he wore a heavy-duty black steel mesh long-sleeved shirt made from fabric that Naruto had cut from Ino's warrior armor silk rolls, and all members of Team 9 would be wearing clothing made from this material during the exam.

Around his waist was a gift from Asuma, a sturdy tactical belt with a kunai bag and a senbon bag, as well as some common battlefield first aid supplies. He wore reinforced fingerless gloves and wrist guards on his hands, a tightly tied turban on his head, and a family necklace around his neck.

The last one was a gift he received from Team 8, a set of four chakra-carved jade earrings, attached to black cords with thin metal brackets, specially designed to detect and decipher the most subtle genjutsu.

Now, he was having a little trouble with his earrings.

"You have to activate it with chakra first."

Shikamaru didn't jump in shock, but he did gasp.

"Old man, could you please knock on the door before you come in?"

Shikaku leaned against the bathroom door frame and snorted.

"The door's open, brat." He looked down at the minimalist accessory in his son's hand with interest, then held out his hand.

"show me."

Shikamaru shrugged and threw the pair of black and gold earrings into his father's hands.

"Casual look."

Shikaku held the earrings up to the light, turning them back and forth, his expression thoughtful.

"This isn't something you would buy for yourself. Was it given to you by someone else?"

"It was a gift from Team 7. They bought it when they went to Yuhai Port."

"This technique is quite rare. When each piece of jade is filled with chakra, it can store half the chakra of the caster." Shikaku commented as he returned the earrings to Shikamaru. "Take good care of them."

"You don't have to tell me that," Shikamaru muttered, "and it's not just because it's useful."

Shikaku snorted but said nothing as Shikamaru injected a gentle stream of chakra into the earring, causing it to pop open.

He had tried to charge the earrings with chakra before, but he hadn't expected such a small accessory to have a locking device.

Just as he put on his earrings, he heard his mother calling him from the kitchen.

"Shikamaru! Choji and Ino are here! Hurry!"

"Coming, coming." He agreed, turned around, squeezed past his father and walked out of the bathroom.

He paused in surprise at his father's uncharacteristic behavior - Shikaku placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"Behave yourself, son," he whispered, just loud enough for Shikamaru to hear, and released him.

"Of course, old man." Shikamaru replied without turning his head, feeling an unprecedented sense of confidence in his heart. When he walked out to the front hall, Shikaku was still smiling behind him.

Ino and Choji were waiting for him outside, both ready for a fight.