"Bells?" Shigure narrowed his eyes. "Is this some kind of Konoha tradition?"
Kusuo Saiki—calm and observant as ever—tilted his head. "What's the point of grabbing a bell?"
Only Hyūga Kōchō, whose Byakugan had not yet awakened but whose clan training had prepared her well, seemed to catch on.
"Wait… don't tell me this is that test?" she asked, her voice unsure.
Hizashi Hyūga nodded solemnly. "Yes, Kōchō. You've guessed correctly. I have two bells. But there are three of you."
He held up the two small bells, letting them chime faintly in the wind.
"That means," he continued, "at least one of you… will fail."
Shigure's brow furrowed.
"If you fail to get a bell, you fail this exam—and lose your qualification to become a genin. The mission ends here for that person."
He tossed one of the bells lightly to Kōchō, who caught it in surprise.
"You have two options," Hizashi said evenly. "Work together and try to take the other bell from me… or betray one another and steal it from your teammate. It's up to you."
Without hesitation, Hizashi clipped the remaining bell to his belt.
"Now then… if anyone can grab either bell and declare their success aloud, congratulations—you pass."
The atmosphere grew tense.
"Ready?"
His voice turned steely.
"Begin."
With a blur, Hizashi activated his Byakugan. The veins around his temples bulged with chakra as the legendary dōjutsu flared to life.
Instantly, he could see the chakra networks of all three genin—each line and tenketsu point laid bare before him.
As expected, Kusuo Saiki was the first to move.
Despite his young age, he was composed and aggressive. He rushed forward, drawing the standard-issue shinobi tanto on his back.
"Kenjutsu: Konoha Gale Slash!"
He came in fast, aiming a diagonal slash at Hizashi's side, trying to feint into a grab.
But Hizashi was a veteran Hyūga. He sidestepped at the last instant, pivoted, and struck precisely at Saiki's shoulder with his Gentle Fist.
"Hakke Kūshō."
(Air Palm)
A burst of chakra sent Saiki flying several meters back. He flipped mid-air and landed on his feet, gritting his teeth.
"So this is the power of a jōnin…"
"One down." Hizashi's calm gaze shifted to the remaining two.
Shigure and Kōchō stared at each other for a moment. Kōchō stepped forward, concern in her eyes.
"Sensei, isn't this too much? This is training, not a real fight!"
Hizashi shook his head, unwavering.
"Training is real combat. And this order came from Lord Third himself. There will be no mercy."
His expression hardened. "Now come at me. Or do you give up?"
Kōchō hesitated for just a second—long enough for Hizashi to vanish from view and reappear between them.
"Jūken!"
With blinding speed, he struck toward their chakra points.
Shigure's eyes narrowed. No time to hesitate.
He dropped to the ground and clapped his hands together.
"Doton: Doryūheki!"
(Earth Style: Earth Wall!)
A thick stone wall burst up between them and Hizashi, intercepting the palm strike.
The jōnin's hand stopped inches from the rising wall, the chakra in his palm dispersing harmlessly.
Hyūga Hizashi's eyes widened slightly as he observed from behind his activated Byakugan.
"To already use Earth Release so precisely... and he's fresh out of the Academy?" he thought. "Impressive. He's conserving chakra, protecting teammates… this boy isn't bad at all."
Still, he didn't hold back.
"Too bad… it won't be enough."
"Hakke Kūshō!" (Eight Trigrams Air Palm!)
With a single palm thrust, a focused wave of chakra blasted forward. Shigure's Earth Style: Earth Wall crumbled under the impact, stone and dust scattering in all directions.
Shigure braced himself. "So this is the power of a jōnin…!"
But before Hizashi could press forward, Hyūga Kōchō dashed in from the right.
"Jūken!" (Gentle Fist!)
She aimed a direct strike toward her teacher's ribs, but Hizashi saw it coming—his Byakugan already tracking her tenketsu points and muscle movements. Before her palm could connect, he fluidly intercepted her wrist.
"You forgot about me!" a voice called from behind.
Saiki Kusuo emerged at high speed, swinging his tanto down toward Hizashi's back.
Their timing was near perfect—an attempted pincer strike.
But the Byakugan saw it all.
With a swift pivot, Hizashi grabbed Kōchō's wrist with one hand and caught Saiki by the collar with the other. Effortlessly, he redirected their momentum and flung both of them to the side.
The two genin tumbled across the dirt—but were otherwise unharmed.
Shigure didn't hesitate.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he shouted.
Two clones erupted in a puff of smoke. One immediately charged Hizashi head-on, while the other dashed in a wide arc toward his blind spot.
Hizashi parried the first clone's strike with ease, landing a soft fist blow that dispelled it in a puff of smoke. But just as he turned toward the second—
Ching!
It had brushed his belt.
A cloud of smoke enveloped the area.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
(Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!)
From beyond the smoke, Shigure's voice rang out, followed by a swirl of chakra. A blazing fireball tore through the air toward Hizashi.
The jōnin narrowed his eyes but smiled faintly.
"He has more than Earth Release? This kid's chakra control… he's no ordinary rookie."
"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!"
(Hakkeshō Kaiten!)
Chakra surged from every tenketsu as Hizashi spun like a top, creating a perfect chakra dome. The fireball scattered harmlessly against the swirling chakra barrier.
The moment the rotation stopped, Hizashi stood tall again, dust swirling around him.
"That's enough," he declared.
He deactivated his Byakugan, his voice suddenly calm. "The test is over."
The three genin looked at each other—panting, bruised, and confused.
Then Hizashi's tone turned cold again as he looked at them with narrowed eyes.
"Kusuo Saiki. Uchiha Shigure. Neither of you could defeat me. Hyūga Kōchō, meanwhile, failed to make a decisive move. She was your weakest link. Why didn't either of you take her bell?"
Kōchō flinched slightly at the remark, her expression conflicted.
Saiki's eyes, half-lidded beneath his forehead protector, sharpened. "Stealing from a teammate just to pass? That's not how I was raised. And… she's still our teammate."
Hizashi nodded slowly, then turned to Shigure.
"What about you, Uchiha Shigure? Why didn't you take her bell?"
Shigure didn't answer right away. Then a small smirk formed on his lips.
"I never needed to steal it," he said simply, holding something out.
A small silver bell, taken directly from Hizashi's belt, dangled in his hand.