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Kaito stepped into Training Ground 9, dressed for actual combat this time. His outfit was all black—a long-sleeved shirt, with loose-fitting shorts that reached his knees, and bandages that wrapped around his lower legs, covering the shin guards beneath. His new open-toed sandals felt a little stiff, but he figured they'd break in soon enough.
The air was crisp, the early morning breeze rustling through the trees. It was quiet, the kind of silence that made it clear no one else had been here for a while. His eyes scanned the clearing until they landed on Sugikura, leaning against a wooden training dummy with his arms crossed.
The moment Sugikura noticed him, his face twisted into a scowl. He exhaled sharply through his nose and turned his head, making a point to look anywhere but at Kaito.
Kaito didn't take it personally. It wasn't like he wanted to talk to the guy either.
Izumi arrived not long after, dressed in her usual outfit. The only difference this time was her long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black gloves. She waved at Kaito as she walked over, and he waved back. When her eyes flicked toward Sugikura, she barely spared him a glance before brushing past him without a word.
"Morning," she said, stopping beside Kaito. "You ready for the test?"
Kaito shrugged, hands in his pockets. "Not really thinking about it."
Izumi raised a brow. "You do know if you slack off, you're gonna fail, right?"
Kaito smirked. "Fail?" He scoffed, tilting his head slightly. "Yeah, that's not happening. I'll pass. Simple as that."
Izumi chuckled, but before she could say anything else, her gaze shifted toward the entrance of the training ground. Kaito followed Izumi's gaze and spotted Kurenai making her way toward them, dressed in the standard shinobi uniform.
Her sharp red eyes swept over the three of them, unreadable. And as she walked closer the air around them seemed to shift slightly, a quiet weight settling in. Kaito couldn't tell if it was her glare or the sheer chakra exuding from her.
Izumi straightened up. Sugikura pushed off the wooden dummy, standing at attention.
Kaito? He just stood there, hands still in his pockets, waiting.
Kurenai came to a stop in front of them, her sharp red eyes scanning each of their faces before she spoke. "Good morning," she greeted casually, crossing her arms. "I hope none of you ate too much, because there's a good chance you'll be puking it out soon."
Izumi tensed slightly, while Sugikura just smirked like he didn't take her words seriously. Kaito, as usual, stayed relaxed, barely reacting.
Kurenai didn't waste any time. She reached into her pocket and pulled out three small silver bells, holding them up for them to see. A soft chime coming from them. "This test is simple," she said. "All you have to do is take one of these bells from me." She let that sink in for a moment before continuing. "Each bell represents your pass or failure. Get a bell, you pass. Don't? You fail. Simple."
Sugikura scoffed, cracking his knuckles. "Tch, that's it? That sounds easy."
Kurenai smiled, but it wasn't a kind one. "You think so?" Her voice was calm, almost amused. "Then you're in for a surprise. It won't be as easy as you think."
Sugikura's smirk twitched slightly, but he didn't back down.
"You have three hours," Kurenai continued, slipping the bells onto her belt. "If you can't get a bell from me before time runs out, you fail."
The training ground fell into silence. Kaito, Izumi, and Sugikura processed her words, but none of them spoke. They already understood.
Kurenai gave them a moment, then tilted her head slightly. "Any questions?"
No one said a word.
Her lips curled into a knowing smile. "Alright then." She took a step back, her stance shifting slightly.
"Begin."
The moment the words left Kurenai's lips, Sugikura was already on the move. "Tch, forget this!" He shot forward without hesitation, his fists clenched as he rushed at her head-on.
Izumi took a step forward, ready to follow suit, but before she could move, a firm hand landed on her shoulder. She turned her head slightly to see Kaito. "Hold up," he muttered, his voice low. He leaned in slightly, whispering something into her ear.
Izumi blinked, then frowned, her eyes shifting toward Sugikura, who was still charging in recklessly. Her lips parted as if she wanted to argue, but after a second of hesitation, she sighed and nodded.
Meanwhile, Sugikura had already reached Kurenai. He swung his arm wildly, aiming straight for the bells on her waist.
But he didn't even come close.
With minimal effort, Kurenai sidestepped, letting his arm cut through the empty air. Sugikura gritted his teeth and spun around, throwing a barrage of punches, but she weaved through them like water slipping through cracks. Each hit barely missed, but it was obvious...he wasn't even making her try.
"Stay still, dammit!" Sugikura growled, lunging forward again.
Kurenai sighed. The moment his next punch came, she tilted her head slightly to the side, letting his fist breeze past her face. Then, before he could react, her leg shot out.
Her kick landed clean against his stomach.
Sugikura's eyes widened as the force sent him flying backward. He crashed into the dirt, skidding a few feet before coming to a stop.
Kurenai lowered her leg back to the ground, shaking her head slightly. "You're going to have to do better than that."
Sugikura wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, his stomach aching from the kick, but he wasn't about to back down now. Kurenai stood there, relaxed, her stance casual as if she hadn't just sent him flying. The bells on her hip jingled softly, almost tauntingly.
Gritting his teeth, Sugikura charged again, this time feinting to the right before twisting his body mid-step, swinging a sharp left hook aimed for her ribs. But Kurenai moved with fluid grace, her palm knocking his arm aside before stepping in, driving her knee into his side.
Sugikura gasped as pain flared up, but he gritted through it, twisting with the impact and launching his elbow toward her head. It sliced through the air, but she ducked, countering with a swift uppercut that nearly took his chin. He barely managed to jerk his head back, the wind from the strike grazing his skin.
He didn't let up. The moment his feet found solid ground again, he went in low, aiming a sweep at her legs. But Kurenai simply hopped over it, spinning as she did, and brought her heel down toward his shoulder. He barely had time to cross his arms in defense before the blow landed, sending him staggering back.
He panted, sweat dripping down his forehead. Every single move he threw, she dodged. Every time he thought he had an opening, she countered like it was effortless. The gap between them was suffocating, and he hated it.
But before he could rush in again, heat flared from the side.
" [ Fire style..Great Fireball Jutsu! ] " A shout came from the side.
A roaring fireball came screaming toward Kurenai.
Sugikura's instincts kicked in, and despite his injuries, he launched himself backward, the searing heat licking at his skin as the fireball swallowed the space where Kurenai stood.
Izumi landed beside him, her hands lowering from the fire release seal. "You're too reckless," she muttered, keeping her eyes locked on the flames. "Don't just charge in recklessly! She's a Jonin, there's no way you're beating her on your own."
Sugikura scowled but said nothing. Instead, both their eyes snapped to the fire, only for a swirl of delicate flower petals to explode outward, scattering through the training ground like a breeze had picked up a field of wildflowers.
Kurenai was gone.
[.Genjutsu.] " [ Flower Petal Escape. ] "Then, from the side, her voice rang out. "Better. But still not good enough."
She stood a few meters away, completely unharmed, her expression unreadable.
Kaito appeared then, stepping out from the treeline. "Well, that's annoying, using a Genjutsu isn't fair."
"Life isn't fair, Kaito," she said. "The sooner you understand that, the better."
She took a step forward, her gaze staring at all of them. "In a real fight, your enemy won't care about fairness. They'll use every advantage they have to kill you. If you want to survive, you need to learn how to deal with that."
Sugikura clicked his tongue, jabbing his thumb at her. "Still annoying...!"
"She's playing with us," Izumi muttered under her breath.
"Obviously," Kaito sighed.
Kurenai raised an eyebrow. "You guys aren't working as a team. On your own, there's no way you're getting a bell." she said simply. "If this were a real fight, you'd already be dead."
"So we just have to attack together then...!," Sugikura screamed, already rushing forward.
Kaito sighed, not thrilled about the plan but moving in anyway. With Izumi following right behind them.
The three of them launched forward.
Sugikura was the fastest to reach her. His first strike was a quick jab, which Kurenai dodged with a tilt of her head. He then followed up with a sharp hook, but Kurenai raised her arm, blocking it with ease before shifting her weight and slamming her palm against Sugikura's stomach, forcing him back.
Kaito used the moment to attack, ducking low and spinning, his leg whipping around for a sweeping kick. Kurenai jumped over it and, in the same motion, flipped forward, aiming a downward punch at Kaito's jaw. Kaito barely dodged in time, feeling the heavy wind of the strike graze past him.
Izumi came next, throwing a barrage of punches, elbows, and knees, trying to break through her defense. Kurenai weaved between each strike with ease. She threw a right hook, and for the first time, she didn't dodge completely...her fingers caught her wrist, twisting it just enough to throw off her balance before she slammed an open palm into her stomach, sending her stumbling.
Kaito took that moment to lunge forward, fingers stretching out—
They grazed the bell, just barely brushing against the cold metal before Kurenai twisted away, the bell jingling mockingly.
Izumi was right behind him, swiping toward the bells, but Kurenai grabbed her wrist mid-motion, yanking her forward before sending her tumbling with a precise leg sweep.
Sugikura tried once more, lunging in from the side, his hand inches away—
Kurenai turned, grabbing his wrist before twisting his arm behind his back and kicking him forward. He landed roughly on the ground, coughing as he scrambled back to his feet.
All three of them stood there, breathing heavily, sweat dripping from their brows. And Kurenai? She hadn't even broken a sweat.
She smiled slightly. "Not bad," she said, "You guys finally started working as a team." She acknowledged. " But...since you guys wanna attack me head-on, it's only fair for me to fire one back," she smirked.
She leapt backward, landing on the surface of the river behind her. Without hesitation, she slammed her hands together to perform a rapid blur of hand signs. The water beneath her rippled violently before surging forward, rising into a rushing wave that barreled toward them.
" [Water style...Surging Waves!] "
"Shit! " Izumi's body moved on instinct. She dashed forward, fingers forming seals at a speed that nearly blurred. She didn't have time to build up a massive attack, but she didn't need to. " [ Fire style..Great Fireball Jutsu! ] " Pulling from her already drained chakra reserves, she fired off another fireball—smaller, weaker, but still enough to meet Kurenai's water head-on.
The moment the two Jutsu's collided, the world exploded into thick mist.
For a split second, there was nothing but swirling white. Then, silence.
Kurenai straightened, eyes sharp as the mist began to thin. Something was wrong. The clearing that had been filled with her students just seconds ago… was empty.
A slow smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. "Smart," she murmured under her breath, shifting her stance slightly. "Using the mist to retreat and reposition... maybe they're not so bad." Kurenai crossed her arms, waiting for them to make the first move.
But time was ticking.
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