Konoha Ninja Academy, Classroom 103 – Morning
The morning sun slanted through the blinds of the Academy's main classroom, striking the hardwood floors in precise streaks of dusty gold. Chatter echoed off the walls. Dozens of newly graduated genin were seated at their usual desks, this time without lectures or drills. No exams. No kunai throwing.
This was it. Team assignment day.
Naruto Uzumaki sat with his feet up on the desk, munching on the remains of a stale onigiri and humming tunelessly. A wide grin was plastered across his face.
"I'm tellin' ya, whatever team I end up on, I'm gonna blow everyone away!" he declared for the fifth time that morning.
"Yeah, right," muttered a kid nearby.
In the front row, Sakura Haruno tapped her fingers on the desk, eyes drifting sideways to a particular boy by the window. Sasuke Uchiha sat with his chin propped against his hand, expression unreadable, the sun tracing the shape of his bangs.
Sakura clasped her hands under her chin and sighed dreamily. "Please… let me be on a team with Sasuke..."
Ino leaned toward her across the aisle, whispering sharply. "Like you even have a chance, forehead."
Sakura's eyebrow twitched. "Shut it, Ino-pig."
Behind her, Naruto clenched his fists. "Tch! What does she see in that guy?!"
Naruto glared sharply at Sasuke, the brooding teen just glanced once and just gave a cold shoulder, oh nah! Naruto didn't hesitate to jump right on Sasuke's table, crouching and staring deep into the Uchiha's eyes.
Both of them had lightning connected their eyes and not the romantic kind.
"Naruto! You stupid idiot! What do you think you're doing!"
"Get out of Sasuke-Kun's face!" The fangirl gallery didn't hesitate to make their displeasure known.
Then something unexpected happened, a humorous twist of fate made it so that Naruto got pushed by some unaware student, right into his supposed rival…in an unexpected way. A face to face way.
"What the f-" Kiba said, his bewilderment showing, although some others were more busy hiding their snickers.
The entire fangirl population, especially Sakura and Ino, had their jaws unhinged and their eyes even wider. Meanwhile both Naruto and Sasuke gagged uncontrollably, trying to wipe the taste out their mouth.
Just then, the door slid open.
"Alright, settle down." Iruka-sensei strode in, clipboard in hand and his usual headband tilted slightly off-center.
They did so and soon enough even that was history, both Naruto, Sasuke and the whole class were focused. This moment would spell the start of their career as shinobi from the leaf and they needed to give this their whole attention.
Iruka's smile was warm, proud and familiar, but he also looked like a man bracing for an emotional hurricane. He trained these kids and some of them would become pillars of Konoha in the future.
"All of you are officially genin now," Iruka began. "But you're still at the starting line. From here on out, you'll be assigned into squads of three, and each squad will have a Jounin instructor."
The murmurs in the class grew louder.
"Are they gonna test us again?"
"Maybe we get someone famous!"
Naruto leaned in, clearly excited as Iruka tapped his clipboard. "These teams were carefully selected to balance your individual strengths and weaknesses."
He began to read.
"Team 1: Daiki Ibiki, Mirio Ren, Hiragi En."
"Team 2: Shibata Nari, Fuuma Hideki, Tateno Kaen."
Names passed like waves crashing against the shore. Naruto slumped deeper and deeper into his chair. "Man, when's he gonna get to me?"
Sakura muttered, "Please not with Naruto... please not with Naruto..."
Iruka adjusted his clipboard again.
"Team 7... Naruto Uzumaki." The boy jumped from his seat, his eyes shining and vibrating.
"Sakura Haruno." Naruto leapt out of his seat with both arms raised in triumph.
"YEAHHHH!" Sakura's soul visibly left her body.
"…What...?" she croaked as she slumped in defeat before Iruka continued:
"And… Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura jolted upright so fast she almost launched out of her chair.
"YESSS!" she squealed.
"NOOOOO!" Naruto cried in unison.
From his seat, Sasuke just gave the faintest exhale. He didn't even blink.
Naruto looked like someone had punched him in the stomach. He slammed his palms on his desk.
"Wha—WHY HIM?!"
Iruka blinked, caught mid-page flip. "Eh?"
"I mean seriously! Why do I have to be on the same team as that guy?!" Naruto pointed dramatically at Sasuke, who barely spared him a glance.
The class watched with mild amusement as Naruto stood, shaking his fists at the heavens.
"I mean come on Iruka-sensei! Why do I have to be on a team with Sasuke?! He's just a— a smug jerk with a bird face!"
Iruka frowned. "Naruto-"
Naruto jabbed a thumb at himself. "And what's the big idea, huh? Why not pair me with someone awesome, like Shikamaru or Hinata?!"
The same girl literally squealed and hid herself behind her blouse, fortunately for her, that reaction was silent enough to pass.
Iruka sighed. "Because your grades in the Academy were... the worst."
Naruto stopped mid-complaint. "What?!"
Iruka gave him the teacher-look. "And Sasuke's were the best. Balancing the teams is necessary for growth. You have to learn to work together."
Sakura beamed. "That's right! Sasuke-kun and I make a perfect team!"
"Just stay out of my way. Loser" Sasuke uttered.
Naruto grit his teeth before groaning so hard it could've cracked stone while Iruka chuckled, flipping the page on his clipboard.
"Oh! I almost forgot." He peered down again. "…Your Jounin instructor."
Naruto perked up. "Ooh! Who is it? Is it someone famous?! Please be awesome!"
Sakura sat up straight. "Please not old and boring..."
Sasuke opened one eye. Barely.
Iruka's eyes traced down the page and stopped, his smile wavering.
"…Eh?" He squinted. His eyebrows drew together.
"Wait…" He checked again. And again. Slowly, the blood drained from his face.
"…No way…"
He looked up at them. Back to the page. Then up again.
Sakura tilted her head. "Iruka-sensei? What is it?"
Naruto scratched his head. "Why do you look like you just saw a ghost?"
Iruka took a step back. His fingers trembled ever so slightly on the clipboard. "Your instructor is…" He gulped.
"…Daigo Guretsu."
Silence. Absolute silence. Even the usual class whisperers said nothing.
Sakura blinked. "…Daigo… who?"
Naruto looked lost. "Never heard of him."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed just slightly.
One of the kids in the back muttered, "Wait… I think I heard that name before."
A ripple of unease spread across the few older chuunin assisting in the back row. Iruka on the other hand forced a smile.
"W-well, that's enough for today. Now we only need to wait for your Jounin Sensei." Iruka said with a slight sweat gland falling down his neck as he settled on his seat.
Naruto leaned and looked back at the whole class. "Oi anybody hear about that guy?"
A bunch of kids shook their heads. "Nope."
"Never heard of him."
"Yeah no clue."
Kiba leaned forward, scratching behind his ear. "It sounds familiar… maybe?"
Shikamaru shrugged lazily. "Beats me. Sounds like a tough guy."
Then one kid in the middle row, Tetsuya, the big one with scuffed elbows and a permanent mucus drop, raised a hand hesitantly.
"I think… I think my cousin said something about a Guretsu once."
Everyone turned. Naruto's eyes lit up. "Yeah?! What'd he say?"
Tetsuya looked around nervously, then lowered his voice. "He said there's this place... near the forest, past the training fields. It's like a crater. Really deep. Nobody goes there."
"Yeah, so?" Kiba said. "There are a ton of weird training zones."
"No, this one's different," Tetsuya whispered. "They call it the Boar Pit."
That name froze a few kids in place. "I heard of that!" one girl said, eyes wide. "Isn't that the place with, like… giant animals?"
"No no," a smaller boy piped in, "my uncle said it's full of traps. Like, spike pits and poisonous fog and creatures strong enough to crush your bones."
"That's not real!" Sakura snapped. "You guys believe anything."
Another kid near the back whispered, "I heard someone trained there once… and came out blind in one eye." Naruto gulped.
Someone else muttered, "My brother said if you go near the Pit, it growls at you."
"What, the crater growls?" Kiba snorted.
"I dunno!" the kid snapped back. "That's just what he said!"
Shikamaru scratched his head, frowning now. "Troublesome…"
Sasuke, still quiet, watched them all argue, but his fingers subtly curled against the desk. He didn't speak, but his eyes narrowed just a hair.
Sakura crossed her arms. "You're all just making stuff up. It's probably just some old guy who smells like dirt and screams a lot."
Another girl nodded. "Right? Guretsu sounds like the name of someone who eats worms."
"Or trains bears!" a kid laughed.
"Or is a bear!"
Naruto chuckled weakly… then froze. "…Wait. What if he does train bears?"
Sakura facepalmed. "You're such an idiot."
Sasuke said nothing, but the tiniest flicker of tension had settled around his shoulders. He had heard it back then, before that 'event'. The name "Guretsu."
Whispers in the Uchiha compound. Jounin who trained in a place normal shinobi avoided. A crater. A pit. A beast in human skin. Daigo Guretsu.
Naruto, of course, had no idea what was coming.
He just shrugged and grinned. "How bad can he be?"
A few kids chuckled awkwardly while Iruka's eyes widened in alarm at what the troublemaker just said. And then-
BOOM!
The door didn't creak open. It detonated. One hinge clattered against the chalkboard. The door itself swung out sideways and slammed into the wall so hard the clock fell off its hook.
A dry silence swallowed the classroom. Then footsteps. Heavy. Steady. Grounded. Like someone walked with the weight of gravity itself.
Into the haze of settling dust stepped a man.
He wore the standard dark blue flak vest of a Konoha Jounin. Long sleeves. High collar. Everything by the book if you take out the fingerless gloves, except none of it looked standard on him.
The uniform was built broad across the shoulders, snug at the forearms, tailored around a deep chest and a solid, boar-like frame that said strength, not fashion.
His hitai-ate was tied loosely around his thick biceps, the metal plate old and dented but polished, worn like it had survived a thousand battles.
Strapped at his waist hung a massive curved saber, its guard golden, ornate but worn, the black-lacquered sheath scratched like it had bitten through more than just wind and time.
His hair was slightly long and well maintained with a ponytail. His jaw bore faint stubble. But more than anything—what everyone noticed—was that grin. Slow. Easy. Crooked. Too wild. Too dangerous.
Then, in a voice like embers being ground under a boot, he bellowed:
"HEY KIDS…" Pause. His eyes scanned the room—landing briefly on Naruto, then Sasuke, then Sakura.
"WANNA SEE A DEAD BODY?!"
Screams erupted. Panic exploded like a firecracker. Sakura shrieked and dove under her desk. Kiba nearly fell off his chair. Someone shouted "IRUKA-SENSEI HELP!" while Iruka had already taken cover behind the podium like a seasoned vet.
Naruto stared at the man, jaw slack, mouth slowly forming the words:
"…I hate myself."
Only a few students didn't scream. Sasuke stood up slowly, eyes locked on the man, lips a thin line. Hinata had frozen solid, her eyes wide, but she didn't look away. Shino adjusted his sunglasses with eerie calm. Chouji dropped his chips.
Shikamaru, from the floor, muttered, "…should've stayed in bed."
And then, like a ghost gliding through the man's wake, she entered. Kurenai Yuhi. Calm. Red eyes narrowed with the dull patience of a woman who had seen this exact event unfold in her head, and still failed to stop it.
She stepped neatly around the splinters on the floor.
"Daigo," she said, voice level, deadpan, done. "What did I say about entrances?"
Daigo scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Make 'em loud. Leave 'em scared."
Kurenai sighed. "I said don't break the door again."
Daigo shrugged one thick shoulder. "It's still on the wall, isn't it?"
Behind them, the door hung at a perfect diagonal angle, half on, half off. Kurenai stepped up beside him and addressed Iruka, who was now peeking up from the podium like a mouse in a fox den.
"D-Daigo-san! Kurenai-san!" He bowed frantically. "You—you didn't have to—!"
"Yo, Iruka!" Daigo waved casually. "Thanks for holding the fort. I'm here for Team 7."
"And I'm here for Team 8," Kurenai added with a small smile, as if she hadn't just stepped through the wreckage of a door her boyfriend annihilated.
Daigo took two more heavy steps into the room and pointed one massive hand at the front row. "Team Seven!" he barked.
Naruto flinched so hard his headband slipped forward. Sakura looked ready to faint. Sasuke was already standing.
"Uzumaki, Haruno, Uchiha," Daigo said. "You're with me."
Naruto bolted up. "Y-yes sir! Wait—I mean, yes, Guretsu—uh—sensei!"
Sakura wobbled to her feet. "Why do I feel like we just got drafted…"
Sasuke followed without a word, silent but alert.
As they passed Daigo, Naruto couldn't help but whisper, "He's huge…"
Sakura whispered back, "Why is his sword so shiny?"
Daigo turned slightly as they exited, his voice casual: "Meet me on the roof in five. If you're late, I leave without you."
He paused. "And if you're early… I might be in a good mood."
Then he turned and strode out, boots thudding like drums of war. Kurenai gave team 7 one last sympathetic look as they got out before turning to the class.
"Don't worry, he won't actually show them a dead body…maybe.." And then she said. The classroom was silent. Someone sniffled.
"Now then. Team 8, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino. Let's go." She said then vanished down the hall after him.
Shino stood without comment. Hinata gave a terrified squeak. Kiba gulped and followed like a condemned man.
As both teams vanished leaving the rest of the class and Iruka horrified yet relieved, Shikamaru flat on his desk, muttered:
"…They're all gonna die."
______________________________________________________________________________________________
The rooftop was quiet.
The afternoon sun sat high above the Konoha skyline, bathing the village rooftops in golden warmth. The tiles were hot underfoot as three fresh Genin stood awkwardly beneath the shade of a rusted utility mast, wind tugging gently at their headbands.
Sasuke stood apart, arms crossed, eyes narrowed toward the horizon like he was already planning how to survive whatever this was.
Sakura fiddled with her fingers, still glancing toward the stairwell every three seconds like expecting a bear to charge out.
Naruto was pacing, muttering to himself.
"He didn't look like he eats kids, right? I mean—he could, but he didn't say he would—does that count for something?!"
Then—
The door creaked open.
Footsteps. Heavy ones but not fast. Not aggressive. Just… steady. Confident. Like a man who didn't rush because the world would wait for him.
Daigo Guretsu stepped onto the roof, arms folded behind his back, grinning like he owned the place and possibly the next few minutes of their lives. The wind caught the tail of his Jounin flak vest. The massive curved sword at his waist gave a quiet rattle as he came to a stop in front of them.
Sakura stood straighter. Sasuke said nothing. Naruto gulped. Daigo let the silence hang just long enough to be dramatic.
Then— "Alright, brats."
"Time to ruin your lives properly."
Naruto choked on his own breath.
Sakura blinked. "W-what?!"
Daigo laughed. A rich, low rumble like distant thunder. Not mocking but genuinely amused.
He crouched slightly, eyeing each of them with a curious tilt of the head. "Names, likes, dislikes, dreams, and whatever dumb stuff you think makes you interesting. Go before I change my mind and go train some wild pigs instead."
Naruto frowned. "Aren't you supposed to go first?"
"No," Daigo said simply. "I already know me. You don't." He pointed at Sasuke.
"Broody. Go."
Sasuke stepped forward without hesitation. "Sasuke Uchiha. I don't like much. I dislike a lot of things. And my dream… is to kill someone."
Daigo didn't blink. "That's adorable. Next."
Sakura jumped. "Sakura Haruno! I like… um…" She glanced quickly at Sasuke. "I like reading! I dislike Naruto—" "Hey!" "—and my goal is to… um… well… be with someone."
Daigo's grin flattened to a disappointed line. "Tragic. Next."
Naruto puffed out his chest. "Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen! I hate waiting three minutes for it to cook! And my dream is to become Hokage! Strongest ninja in the village!"
Daigo tilted his head. "Loud, dumb, optimistic… yeah. We'll get along."
Then he turned away, walked a few steps toward the edge of the roof, and stood with his back to them, hands folded behind him.
"Daigo Guretsu," he said at last. "Jounin. Sword user. I've trained in every part of this village people don't like talking about."
He thumbed the edge of his sword's sheath. "I like wild terrain. I like to struggle. I like effort. I like silence. I love people who fall flat on their face and get back up laughing like it didn't hurt."
He turned, pointing at Sakura. "You've got potential, but you're distracted by the wrong things."
Pointed at Naruto. "You've got guts, but you're all fire, no form."
Pointed at Sasuke. "You've got skill. But you're walking a blade so thin it's gonna cut you eventually."
Then his grin widened.
"My dream?" he said, stepping forward, hands on his hips.
"My dream is to raise ninja who are stronger than me..." He paused.
Grin sharpened into a devil's. "...just so I can destroy their collective asses."
Sakura's eyes widened while Naruto's mouth opened in stunned betrayal. Even Sasuke blinked.
Daigo clapped his hands once. Loud.
"Now that's motivation, right?" he barked, turning to the exit. "5 AM tomorrow. Training Field Zero. You'll know it when you see it. If you puke, clean it. If you cry, do it upside down. If you quit…"
He paused in the doorway, silhouetted by golden light.
"…you better run fast." Then he was gone.
Naruto flopped to the ground. "He's insane."
Sakura nodded numbly. "We're gonna die."
Sasuke stayed quiet, but his hand was resting on the kunai pouch by instinct now. Up above them, a hawk screamed across the sky.
The Hokage Tower:
The light within the Hokage's chamber was warm and golden, late morning sun catching the edges of old scrolls and stacks of mission reports. The scent of ink and faint tobacco smoke hung in the air.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, leaned slightly forward, his hand resting near the edge of his scrying orb, a large crystal ball rippling faintly with chakra. Inside the orb, the rooftop of the Academy shimmered into clarity. Team 7's three genin stood still, staring after the man who had just disappeared down the stairs.
Kakashi Hatake stood at the Hokage's side, arms folded, one eye narrowed.
"…So that's how he opened," Kakashi murmured, tone neutral but layered. "Of course he did."
Hiruzen gave a low hum through his nose, not taking his eyes off the orb. "He's not like you, Kakashi."
"No," Kakashi agreed, his lone eye still tracking Naruto in the orb as the boy flopped to the ground dramatically. "He's a walking wildfire. The kids don't know if they should run or train."
"That's the point," the old Hokage said softly.
Flashback- earlier that morning
One by one, the two men had walked through the empty homes and rooms of the Genin. A silent inspection, just as they always did, to observe without interfering.
In Sasuke's small compound home, it was clean, austere, with bare walls except for a framed crest, the Uchiha crest. Kakashi paused and delivered his judgement.
"He sleeps with a kunai in hand," he noted. "Even when no one's watching."
In Sakura's family apartment, books were stacked neatly next to mirrors. A scroll of chakra theory beside a cosmetics pouch.
"She's trying," Hiruzen said, "to balance both worlds."
And in Naruto's place, a messy futon, old cup ramen, the scribbled graffiti of dreams taped to the ceiling above his bed. Kakashi crouched silently and stared for a long time.
"...He's still alone," he finally said.
Flashback end
Now, in the present, the orb dimmed as Daigo vanished from sight. Only the wind on the rooftop remained, rustling Naruto's wild hair, Sakura's dress, Sasuke's silent scowl.
Hiruzen sighed, rubbing the base of his neck. "Kakashi. You were supposed to take them, you know."
"I know," Kakashi said. "But you know how Daigo is, you could've said no but here we are."
At that Hiruzen chuckled. "Well he did ask first."
Kakashi's visible eye twitched in annoyance. "I'm aware."
The old man chuckled softly. "Daigo is many things indeed. He might not be the man I would've chosen for this delicate situation, however he is a man I trust."
Kakashi sighed while nodding. "Of course."
Next Morning
The sun had barely risen past the rooftops when Team 7 assembled at the Academy gates. Naruto stood with his arms behind his head, yawning loudly.
"I still don't get why we couldn't just meet at a normal field like everyone else," he grumbled. "Like, I dunno… Field Three? That's a classic!"
Sakura crossed her arms. "Daigo-sensei didn't tell us where to meet. He just said 'Field Zero.' That's not even a number on the official maps."
Sasuke didn't speak. He had a folded map in hand — one he'd borrowed from the school archives — and was silently scanning the outer forest sectors.
"Field Zero…" Naruto muttered. "It sounds like some super secret place."
"Or a code name for a classified sector," Sakura added flatly.
"Either way," Sasuke said at last, folding the map and pointing north-east, "we head toward the old forest edge. Past the training zones no one uses."
Naruto groaned. "Awesome. Hiking."
Forest Outskirts — Thirty Minutes Later
They'd reached a moss-covered trail winding toward a wall of misty evergreens. The usual open, grassy sparring fields were long behind them now. The trees were thicker, denser, and the only sound was birdsong and rustling leaves.
Suddenly—WHAM!
A figure came stumbling out of the trees ahead of them, nearly colliding with Naruto.
"—Whoa!" the man shouted, catching himself against a tree trunk.
He wore a flak vest. His forehead protector was tilted crookedly, and his face was streaked with mud and sweat. A Chunin.
He blinked, confused, then stared at the kids. "Hey—what are you three doing this far out?"
"We're looking for Training Field Zero," Sakura said carefully. "Our sensei told us to meet him there."
The Chunin froze. "…What?" he asked, blinking.
Naruto stepped forward. "Yeah, our new sensei's Daigo Guretsu!"
The man's brow furrowed for half a heartbeat—then it hit him. His jaw unhinged slightly. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. His eyes slid from Naruto… to Sasuke… to Sakura… then back to Naruto again.
"…You're his team?"
Sakura nodded. "Apparently."
The man straightened up slowly, as if suddenly very respectful — or very worried. He wiped his hands on his vest.
"Field Zero's... two ridges past this trail," he said. "You'll see a dead cedar tree split down the middle. Turn left there. Go past the boar skull marker. Then keep going till it feels wrong. That's the place."
"Feels wrong?" Naruto repeated.
The Chunin hesitated, looking off toward the treeline. "…I wouldn't go there if I were you. But I guess that's not your call anymore."
He started to walk past them, but paused. Then looked back with a strange expression—half pity, half awe.
"…Good luck," he muttered. "And don't let your eyes wander."
"What does that even mean—?!" Naruto shouted after him, but the man was already gone, half-jogging down the path as if just remembering something important.
Half an Hour Later — Edge of the Wild Zone
Team 7 stood in front of a massive, vine-draped stone torii gate, weathered by age and carved with half-legible symbols. One side of it was splintered, claw marks across the base, like something massive had once pushed through.
Beyond it: an empty field, cracked and scorched, surrounded by scarred trees and shallow pits. The scent of burned soil and iron hung in the air.
Sakura took a slow step forward. "This is it?"
"No mistaking it," Sasuke said.
Naruto scratched his head. "Kinda… underwhelming, honestly."
Then the wind shifted. All three genin stopped. Suddenly the air felt heavier. The silence was deeper. The kind of quiet that pressed against your ribs.
Sasuke's fingers brushed against a kunai pouch without thinking. Naruto's hand curled near his stomach. From the trees beyond the field, something moved. Something big.
The cracked earth groaned.
Leaves rustled like whispers being smothered. From deep within the treeline, the sound of something big approaching sent birds fleeing in all directions.
Then came the rumble. It wasn't chakra. It was sheer weight. The sound of a mountain deciding to walk.
Sakura stepped back. Naruto's eyes widened. Sasuke's lips thinned into a hard line.
Out from the misted underbrush, a boar emerged, no not a boar. A mountain with tusks, the animal was the size of an elephant, thick fur matted with dust, tusks the length of katanas. Its snout flared with a guttural exhale as it stomped into the field with bone-shaking authority.
And riding it casually, like a warlord surveying a battlefield…
Daigo Guretsu. Grinning as always.
"Morning, kids!" he called out, crouched easily on the boar's back, one hand resting on the hilt of the broad, curved sword strapped to his waist.
"Welcome to Training Field Zero! Also known as the Boar Pit's front porch. Or, as I like to call it…"
Pause.
"Purgatory…"
He said it with so much flair and excitement, also with a hint of sadistic pleasure.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at the Boar that Daigo was now leaning on.
"Huh, oh her? Why she's a boar, specifically a sow. Look at her, ain't she beautiful?" He replied, patting the massive animal like it was a pet.
The boar let out a low, rumbling snort, steam curling from its nostrils.
Naruto's jaw dropped. Sakura backed into Sasuke, who was already halfway into a ready stance.
Daigo hopped off the boar in a single, lazy arc, landing with a heavy thud that cracked the dry earth. He dusted off his flak vest and adjusted the sword on his waist. The curved weapon's golden handguard shimmered under the sunlight.
His eyes scanned the trio, Naruto's nervous curiosity, Sakura's cautious tension, and Sasuke's calculating silence. He grinned wider.
"Alright! Let's get this party STARTED!"
______________________________________________________________________________________________
The air in Training Field Zero was thick with tension.
The trees curved like ribs of a beast. The soil seemed almost scarred, shaped by years of violence. Boar tracks were everywhere, some the size of dinner plates.
Team 7 stood in the clearing, sweat beading already on their brows — not from exertion, but from presence. Daigo Guretsu stood before them, a mountain in shinobi flak, his sword resting on his hip like it had stories to tell.
He was grinning. Of course he was.
"Alright, kids," he began, spreading his arms wide. "Let's talk about this little test of mine."
He started pacing slowly, hands behind his back. His tone was almost cheerful — but something about it sent a chill crawling up Naruto's spine.
"Back in the day, when I was fresh from the Academy, our 'test' was this: they dumped us in the woods with a sack of supplies and said, 'Get back to the village without dying.'"
Sakura's eyes widened. Daigo kept walking.
"Some of us made it. Some of us didn't. Simple, brutal, real." He stopped and turned, facing them now, the grin not fading — only sharpening. "Now, obviously, I'm not allowed to do that to you kids anymore. Something about 'trauma' and 'liability.'"
He waved that off with a hand.
"But I still believe a Genin shouldn't wear that headband until they've earned it in the dirt."
Naruto blinked. "Didn't we already graduate?"
"Sure," Daigo replied. "You graduated from the Academy. That makes you... students."
He took a long step forward — and suddenly, the air got heavier.
"To become a ninja, you pass my test."
The sword at his hip, a broad, curved blade with a thick spine and hooked tip, its golden guard caught the morning light.
"You see this?" Daigo asked, tapping the sheath.
"Yeah," Naruto muttered. "Kinda hard to miss."
Daigo chuckled. "This is your goal. All you have to do is touch my sword."
Naruto blinked. "Wait… that's it?"
Daigo's grin widened. "Yup. Just physical contact. Simple, right?"
Sakura frowned. "You're not going to stop us?"
"Oh, I'll definitely stop you," he said smirking, casually tapping the sword hilt. "I just won't kill you. Probably."
That did nothing to calm their nerves. Sasuke tilted his head slightly. "Is there a catch?"
"Several," Daigo said brightly. "For one, this field isn't just empty dirt. You'll find it… lively."
He brought two fingers to his mouth and gave a sharp whistle. The forest groaned. Then — thunder.
Three massive, low-slung boars emerged from the tree line. Not monstrous enough to be boss summons, but still big enough to send grown men running. Muscles rippled beneath their bristled hides. Their eyes were calculating. Their tusks were not ornamental.
"They're my boys," Daigo explained. "Low rank, sure. But they're from the Boar Clan — and their idea of a warm-up is splitting stone with their skulls."
Naruto's face went pale.
"You'll be fighting them. They'll test you. Chase you. Corner you. Smack you around." He cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders.
"Oh, and if none of you touch my sword by the hour, you fail. Right back to the Academy."
Then Daigo unhooked the sword from his belt, sheath and all, and stabbed it deep into the ground behind him. The very impact seemed to lightly shake the ground as the sword was dug deeply. Daigo turned around to sit cross-legged just a few feet away.
He closed his eyes. "Your move."
The moment Daigo closed his eyes, the tension in the air snapped taut.
The sword stood behind him, planted like a challenge from a war god. Between it and the Genin stood three thick-bodied boars, their eyes sharp, their hides bristling. Earth trembled beneath their hooves.
Nobody moved at first.
Then—
"Alright, you two just stay out of my way!" Naruto barked, throwing a kunai into his mouth and launching forward.
Sakura blinked. "Wait, Naruto!"
Sasuke scoffed and darted left, taking a different angle entirely. Sakura hesitated. This wasn't what they talked about. Not that they really talked. Not seriously. Not yet.
Naruto dashed in a zigzag, kicking up dirt. Two clones popped beside him. "We'll blitz 'em!"
The frontmost boar snorted, lowered its head—
CRACK.
A headbutt sent one clone into the sky. The other met a tusk and burst midair. Naruto barely dove under the third strike and rolled—smacking the dirt with a yelp.
"THEY'RE FAST?!"
He got to his feet just in time to see Sasuke coming in from the left.
Sasuke slid past one boar and slashed with a kunai at the second's flank, hoping for a blind spot. He didn't get one.
THWACK.
The boar turned quicker than it should've. Its shoulder slammed into Sasuke's chest like a wall. He tumbled backward, coughing dust, bruised and stunned.
Sakura stepped forward, uncertain. "S-Sasuke—!"
He snarled from the ground. "Don't interfere."
"Wha—?"
"I don't need backup!"
Naruto yelled from behind another tree, dragging himself up by a root. "You don't even have a plan, jerk!"
"You charged in first!"
"BECAUSE I'M NOT A COWARD!"
Sakura turned, flustered. "Can you two stop yelling please?!"
The boars didn't wait. They advanced again — with discipline. With control. One circled wide to block flanks, the other two pressed in.
Naruto tried a clone burst again. They were trampled.
Sasuke hurled shuriken — two were dodged, one got lodged in thick hide with little effect.
Sakura tried to tag one with an explosive note. It grunted, shook it off, and charged.
"KYAAAH—!" She barely dove away before the tusk sheared a trench into the dirt.
20 minutes in and they were already panting. Cuts. Bruises. Dust everywhere. Daigo hadn't moved from his spot. He didn't need to. The sword stood untouched, ringed by his guardians.
Sasuke clutched his ribs, scowling. "This isn't working…"
"No crap!" Naruto snapped, spitting out a mouthful of leaves. "Why do they keep knowing where we're going?!"
Sakura wiped a trail of blood from her cheek. "They're moving together. Like they're thinking as one."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Naruto fell quiet. Sakura looked between them. "You guys... we're not gonna get anywhere if we're all just doing our own thing."
Naruto grumbled. "You mean working together? With him?"
Sasuke scoffed. "Tch. You think I want to?"
They looked at each other. Then at the sword. Then back at the boars — now circling again. Patient. Smarter than they looked and waited.
Naruto took a breath. "...Alright, fine. Truce for now."
Sasuke gave a curt nod. "Don't get in my way."
Sakura exhaled. "Let's do this right."
The truce was uneasy, but it was a start. Yet that didn't look like it helped. They stood in a battered triangle — Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura — each breathing heavily, scraped and dirty but more alert than ever.
The three boars had encircled them again. No openings. No mercy. Just stomping hooves, snorting breath, and the quiet growl of muscle and instinct.
The boars didn't stop circling. It was a dance — heavy, earth-rattling, but calculated. One kept the pressure. One intercepted. One lingered just far enough to counter any flank.
Naruto's leg twitches. "Alright, brain time. What do we got?"
Sasuke nodded toward the biggest boar. "That one's the pivot. The others follow its rhythm."
Sakura looked ahead. "We can't just rush the sword. That center one doesn't leave more than a few meters between it and the blade."
Naruto huffed. "Then we shake the rhythm."
Sasuke blinked while both he and Sakura got closer, unwilling to believe the loudmouth came up with a plan. Naruto grinned as he made the first move — again — but this time with a purpose.
Two clones behind him. One peeled right. One left. The boars reacted, two diverged, just like last time.
"Now!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke darted in from the left flank, kunai ready. Sakura, behind him, tossed a smoke bomb.
PFFSHHH.
For a second, confusion. Then—
WHACK.
Sasuke collided with the smaller boar, slashing shallow. It grunted and spun, missing with its tusk but landing a heavy shoulder. He hit the ground, rolled, and sprang up.
"Not good enough," he muttered, but he'd drawn blood.
Naruto's clones were gone again — but not useless. Their patterns had pulled the other boar far from its post.
"HEY, PIGGIES!" he shouted from a tree branch, waving. "C'mon, I'm the prize bacon!"
One charged. Straight into Sakura's trap tags.
BOOM!
Dirt flew. Smoke flared. The boar roared, scraping back upright, singed and furious but unbroken.
"They're not just strong," Sakura panted. "They're durable as hell!"
Sasuke grunted. "We don't need to beat them. We just need to outplay them."
The team reset. Breathing hard. Watching. Then — together — they acted. Sasuke darted first. No clones. No tricks. Just bait.
The middle boar moved.
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, and the orange menace leapt from behind with a flying kick to its back leg. It stumbled — just enough.
Sasuke pivoted, launched two shuriken. Not at the boars — but the dirt.
Dust. Aimed to blind. It worked. They scrambled, slid between the confused summons.
Sakura dove low, avoiding a tusk. Naruto barrel-rolled under another body. Sasuke used one boar's own bulk to vault over it.
Three Genin. Beaten and bruised. Staggered and scraped. But burning with fire. They broke past the final ring, for a second, no beast in their path.
The sword stood gleaming. Still untouched. Daigo hadn't moved. But now, he opened one eye.
Sasuke touched down first, hand outstretched. Naruto was a heartbeat behind. Sakura, panting, teeth grit, dove in just as the boys collided into each other.
"OW—watch the elbow!"
"Get off my face, idiot!"
"I had it!"
Then — together — they grabbed the sword. Their fingers touched the hilt at the same time. Silence fell. Even the boars stopped.
Slow hoofbeats approached. The massive boar, Daigo's summon, plodded forward from the shadows. And atop its head, Daigo sat like a warlord watching his champion rise.
"...Good," he rumbled. "You got it, with 5 minutes left. Not bad.."
Naruto blinked. "Wait, that's it?! We win?!"
"You didn't give up. You didn't run. You figured out the rhythm of the battlefield, got past enemies stronger than you, and claimed the sword together." He scratched the stubble on his chin.
"Also, it was funny watching you three get headbutted."
Sasuke groaned. Sakura slumped to her knees. Naruto let out a weak laugh. Daigo hopped off the boar's back, his grin wide and golden as always. He crouched in front of them.
"You passed. Barely. You're rough. You're green. You've got egos like boulders."
He tapped the sword gently. "But you've got heart. And you learn quick."
He stood tall.
"I can work with that."
Daigo stepped closer, casting a long shadow over the trio. His grin, wide and unwavering, didn't falter — but his voice lowered just a touch.
"Now then, let's make something clear." He said, gaining their attention
"You passed," he said. "But passing... comes with consequences of its own."
The three Genin blinked, confused and still catching their breath.
"You think this was hard?" He pointed his thumb to the boars behind him.
"Those guys are family. They like to play. Me?" He rolled his shoulders.
"I don't play."
Without fanfare, Daigo turned toward his personal summon — the massive boar that had watched the test in silence, its eyes like smoldering coals.
And then— he grabbed it by the tusk.
Sasuke's eyes widened. "Wait—"
With a single, fluid movement, Daigo lifted the colossal beast off the ground. All of it. The boar — elephant-sized, thick with scarred hide and raw muscle — rose into the air like a plush toy in the hands of a child.
Daigo held it with one hand, grinning down at his students. "Now imagine trying to get past me."
He set the boar down gently, patting its side as it snorted.
"Had I been the wall instead of them, this wouldn't have been a test. It would've been a burial. That's why I used my kin. To give you a shot. A fair one."
Naruto swallowed hard. Sakura stared, frozen. Even Sasuke's pride didn't stop the shiver down his spine. Daigo turned back to them.
"But now... now that you've earned my interest — things change." He knelt in front of them, elbows on his knees, voice dropping to a deadly calm.
"My method is simple: I will fight you. Every day. I'll hammer your instincts, your techniques, your reflexes. I'll break you down to the raw ore, then forge you back into something terrifying." He tilted his head slightly, grin widening just enough.
"You've got talent. I've seen it. But talent alone doesn't survive the battlefield." He stood tall again, arms crossed.
"You want to get stronger? You'll bleed. You want to surpass me? Then get used to my blade swinging at your neck, if you even get me to unsheath it in the first place." The three Genin were silent.
Daigo let the silence settle before chuckling low. "Relax. I'll teach you anything I can. Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, chakra control, tactics, survival. I would even search acquaintances for subjects I have no idea about, but everything I give you, you'll earn."
He raised a single finger. "And the price... is pain." He turned toward the path leading back to the village.
"Training begins tomorrow at sunrise. Welcome to the start of your career." The wind rustled through the trees as the massive boars faded back into smoke, and Daigo walked off, the weight of his presence lingering long after.