As soon as those words were spoken, the expressions of all three—including Obito—changed dramatically.
They had already graduated from the Ninja Academy. Being sent back now would be nothing short of absolute humiliation.
Failure was not an option.
Asuma was the first to sense that something was off. He raised his hand and asked,
"Minato-sensei, there are three of us—so why are there only two bells?"
Minato smiled faintly and answered calmly,
"Which means at least one person will be eliminated. If you don't want to be the one eliminated, then use everything you have. Otherwise, you won't be able to take the bells."
Although Minato maintained a gentle smile from beginning to end, at this moment, all three of them felt an inexplicable chill crawl up their spines.
Their expressions grew solemn. They had just become Genin, yet their very first test was to steal something from a Jōnin.
The difficulty jumped straight to the extreme.
"If there are no more questions, then we'll begin," Minato said. "You may attack at any time, starting… now."
The instant Minato finished speaking, the figures of Obito and the other two vanished.
Not everyone was a reckless hothead like Uzumaki Naruto. When facing a Jōnin, the smartest approach was naturally to hide first and look for an opening.
This was the standard combat mindset of a ninja.
Minato remained standing where he was, his sensory perception spreading outward to search for traces of the three.
If these were real enemies, he would have already activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and struck.
In less than a single breath, all three would have been killed instantly.
Of course, this was merely a test, not a life-or-death battle.
Minato was not fighting enemies.
Naturally, he would not do such a thing. Instead, he deliberately gave them as much room as possible to act and grow.
---
Meanwhile.
On an uninhabited small island within the Land of Water, a group of Kirigakure ninja appeared.
They were the examinees from the Hidden Mist Village who were about to graduate from the Ninja Academy this year.
The reason they were called "about to graduate" was simple: Kirigakure's graduation requirement was for the examinees to fight and kill each other.
Only those who survived until the designated time would earn the right to graduate and become Kirigakure ninja.
The dead were not worthy of even having a name. This was the Hidden Mist Village's infamous Blood Mist Policy.
After the presiding Jōnin finished reading the exam rules, the scene erupted into chaos.
"What kind of bullshit rule is this?! They don't even treat us like people!" A boy wearing glasses roared in rage.
But what answered him was a brutal blow from a Chūnin monitoring officer.
How could someone who had still been sitting in a classroom just yesterday possibly compete with a Chūnin?
In an instant, the boy was beaten until he was gravely injured.
"From the moment you set foot on this island, our word is the law," the Chūnin said coldly. "If you lack strength, then you can only accept it obediently."
Looking at the glasses-wearing boy who was barely clinging to life, the rest of the examinees were struck silent with terror.
They finally understood that the invigilator's words were not a joke.
This group of green recruits felt the true cruelty of reality for the first time.
Although the people around them had once been close friends, they now had to personally raise their blades against them.
Within the crowd, a girl with long, reddish-brown curly hair watched the scene unfold, her expression heavy.
Her right eye was hidden beneath her hair, while her exposed emerald-green left eye was filled with deep complexity.
She looked to be only around ten years old, yet she carried a maturity that far exceeded her age.
If Aoshi were present, he would immediately recognize her. She was Terumī Mei, the future Fifth Mizukage.
However, with the course of events already altered, whether she would still ascend to that position had become an uncertain variable.
Although she had learned the contents of the exam a day earlier than everyone else, Terumī Mei still found it difficult to accept.
They were all comrades from the same village—why did they have to kill one another? She wanted to change the current state of the Hidden Mist Village.
Yet when she recalled what Elder Genshi had told her the night before, her mood grew heavy once again.
Scanning the crowd, the chief examiner continued in a frigid voice.
"If you don't want to die, then fight with everything you have. There are no restrictions—except one."
"You are not allowed to leave the island."
"By this time tomorrow, anyone who is still alive will successfully graduate and become Genin!"
"Now—begin the exam!"
With that single command, all the graduating examinees scattered and vanished in different directions.
Meanwhile, the examiners spread out, completely encircling the small island. Any examinee who attempted to escape would be killed on the spot if discovered.
The Hidden Mist Village had no need for cowards.
"Mei," Elder Genshi's words echoed clearly in her mind.
"The moment you enter the island, head immediately toward the southeast. There is a hidden cave near the sea—go straight inside."
Identifying the direction, Terumī Mei moved at full speed without hesitation.
Suddenly, a sharp sound tore through the air!
Terumī Mei halted instantly and changed direction at an incredible speed. A kunai grazed past her cheek.
If she had been even a fraction slower, it would have struck her.
But before she could relax, her expression tightened again. An explosive tag was attached to the kunai.
Her pupils contracted sharply. Without hesitation, she formed hand seals and spat out a defensive technique.
Water Release: Water Wall!
The explosion was blocked just in time.
"Damn it—I missed!" In the distance, the ambusher cursed under his breath and immediately fled.
Terumī Mei's reputation within Kirigakure was well-known; he had no intention of fighting her head-on. That would be suicide.
Glancing at the retreating figure, Terumī Mei did not pursue. Unless absolutely necessary, she did not want to kill her village comrades.
More importantly, her top priority was reaching the location Elder Genshi had instructed.
Along the way, she encountered many other examinees.
Ambushes, traps, frontal assaults—None of these tactics were effective against her, but they significantly slowed her progress.
And not every examinee was as sensible as the first attacker.
Soon, Terumī Mei encountered someone who insisted on fighting her to the death.
"…How annoying," she muttered helplessly. "Why did it have to be a lunatic from the Kaguya Clan?"
The Kirigakure ninja before her was tearing bones out of his own body, grinning wildly. The Kaguya Clan—another bloodline clan of the Hidden Mist Village.
Every member was a born battle maniac. Calling them the Uchiha of Kirigakure was not an exaggeration.
"Die!" Kaguya Kōtarō roared as he charged forward at terrifying speed.
Terumī Mei had no choice but to respond. Facing Shikotsumyaku, she dared not show the slightest carelessness.
She used the Body Flicker Technique to evade his initial strike, then rapidly formed hand seals in midair and spat out a viscous, highly corrosive substance.
This was one of Terumī Mei's Bloodline Limits—Lava Release.
Not only was it capable of wide-area destruction, but its corrosive power was terrifying. After all, it even melted Susanoo, the so-called Absolute Defense in the original work.
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