The Forest of Death loomed before me, its iron-fenced border casting long shadows across the earth as the morning sun rose behind the treetops. The humidity clung to my skin, thick and oppressive, but it was the quiet anticipation that truly pressed on my senses. This was my arena now, crafted with care, with intent, and with just a touch of sadism.
I had spent the past two days preparing this place. From setting up traps and baiting wildlife into specific routes as I fine-tuned the difficulty curve. My clones had been invaluable, especially Earth and Wind. I might not be able to use regular clones like other shinobi, but my Elemental Clones were far more specialized and versatile. With the Space-Time Clone still working deep in my hidden training hall, the others had assisted without complaint... well, mostly.
Fire and Water argued constantly. Lightning was a bit of a show-off. Wind was surprisingly cool-headed, thoughthe promise of movement always had that effect on her, and Earth was the quiet workhorse. With Yin and Yang in the mix... well, I avoided assigning them together unless I wanted a headache.
Still, as I stood at the gate with my arms folded, surveying the wilderness I had tamed for the next stage of their development, I felt something close to pride. My students were capable. Now, I was going to see just how far they had come.
My clones gathered nearby, perched on tree branches or lounging against rocks. Fire Clone cracked her knuckles with a grin. "So, how long do we think they'll last?"
"I give them three days," Wind Clone said calmly, watching the breeze stir the leaves.
"One," Lightning Clone drawled. "If I have anything to say about it."
"No strength above the chunin level and none of you are to maim them permanently," I reminded them. "Bruises and exhaustion are acceptable. Lost limbs are not."
Earth Clone just grunted her approval and went back to unsealing another snare scroll, laying the final traps near the extraction zones. The forest was ready.
I turned as footsteps approached. My three genin, backpacks slung over their shoulders, looked from the gate to me with various expressions of concern.
Asuma furrowed his brows. "This is training?"
Guy looked positively thrilled. "This is the best idea ever!"
Kurenai narrowed her eyes. "You did not tell us we were entering a live-challenge combat zone."
"I told you we were doing field simulation," I said smoothly, unrolling a scroll in front of them. "Here is your mission. Somewhere in this forest, you will find an injured shinobi, represented by a chakra dummy. Your objective is to locate the dummy, stabilize it, and escort it safely out of the forest through one of five extraction points."
"And I assume the catch is that you're in here too," Asuma muttered.
"Me and all my clones," I confirmed. "I will be acting as a hostile force. You will be hunted. You will be ambushed. You will face chakra traps, aggressive creatures, difficult terrain, and exhaustion. This is designed to simulate being deep behind enemy lines during war conditions."
"Awesome!" Guy cheered.
"Terrifying," Kurenai muttered.
"You have five days. Fail to extract the dummy in that time, and you'll be marked 'deceased' in the simulation... and the Hokage is getting a report of this exercise as he is interested in the idea. Good luck."
They stepped through the gate with a mix of nerves and resolve, the barrier sealing behind them with a soft hum. I smiled faintly then disappeared into the trees faster than they could follow.
The first day was mostly uneventful, by design, just a number of traps. I wanted them to be cautious, maybe even a little paranoid. In a real combat zone, they would never know when or where an attack could come from.
They navigated carefully, avoiding the more obvious traps. I watched from the shadows as they dealt with a misdirection seal that led them in a loop for thirty minutes, and an aggressive squirrel that tried to bite Guy's nose off. Kurenai cataloged plants while muttering about toxins and camouflage, and Asuma nearly walked into a chakra net until Guy caught him, of all people.
They made camp in a small clearing as the sun began to dip. Guy insisted on setting up perimeter traps, though none were actually helpful. Still, the effort counted, and in real life, they might have given them enough warning of an ambush.
I let them sleep peacefully for a while as one person was always on watch. Their campsite location was not in the best place since it was not the most concealed of places, but they would learn from that mistake.
Asuma's watch began a little after midnight. He was alert at first, tossing a kunai into the trees every time a twig snapped. But as the hour stretched, he began to relax.
That was when the heat rolled in. A blast of wind cut through the campfire, scattering sparks, and then a wave of flame followed, burning through the traps that they had set up before.
"Wind Release: Gale Cutter!"
"Fire Release: Ember Lance!"
My Fire and Wind Clone burst from opposite ends of the clearing. Asuma yelped, stumbling back to kick the others awake. Guy launched himself at Wind Clone instantly, throwing punches and kicks, but the clone dodged them all like a leaf in the wind. Kurenai flipped backward into a patch of shadows and vanished.
Fire Clone hurled jets of flame at Asuma, forcing him to dodge and weave with footwork. Kurenai's illusions flickered into play, bending shadows and duplicating targets, but Fire Clone kept burning through them. Wind Clone kept pressing Guy with sharp, cutting blasts of wind.
Using the distraction that the illusions brought, Asuma finally landed a Wind Release: Air Bullets strike that dispelled Fire Clone with a puff of smoke. Wind Clone fell shortly after, trapped in one of the illusionary vines Kurenai had prepared and blown up by Guy's spinning kick.
The camp was ruined. But the team stood, breathing hard, bruised but victorious.
I watched from the trees, satisfied. My clones were restricted, but the speed at which they handled them was quick enough to escape a follow-up ambush. Unfortunately, the idea of that possibility seemed to slip their minds and they began to fix up the remains of their camp instead of moving on, a big no-no on the battlefield when so much noise was made in the ambush, so I resummoned my Fire and Wind clones and sent them to harass them again. This time, both Asuma and Guy took a few injuries in order to take down the clones, but they learned their lesson and abandoned their campsite after grabbing their main gear.
The next day brought another ambush, this time near a stream crossing.
Kurenai was the first to sense the chakra spike. "Watch out!"
"Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field."
"Lightning Release: Thunder Fang Blitz!"
Water Clone rose from the stream as the technique formed a field of sticky, viscous water meant to trap opponents by limiting their mobility. Kurenai dodged the attack as did Guy, due to his fast reaction speed, but Asuma was caught up in syrup and could not escape quickly.
Lightning Clone shot across the stones like a comet, aiming directly for Asuma. Kurenai moved fast, casting illusionary duplicates of him to draw their attention. Guy launched into close combat with Lightning Clone, their movements a blur. Water Clone tried to drag Asuma under, but he exploded her with an air bullet when she got too close. Surprisingly, Guy activated the Gate of Opening to overwhelm the Lightning clone with a series of rapid punches.
The fight was brutal but clean, and they rushed away as soon as they were done. They were learning.
Their fourth day brought the psychological test.
The forest narrowed into a dense, unnatural grove where the trees grew too close together, their branches tangled like skeletal fingers. A thin veil of mist coiled around the trunks and hovered just above the mossy ground. The air grew heavy and eerily quiet.
Yin and Yang Clones emerged from the thickening fog like phantoms.
"Behold the energy of eternal youth!" Yang Clone roared, leaping into view with a blinding smile and a heroic pose.
"Must you always yell like an idiot?" Yin Clone muttered, materializing behind him with a long-suffering sigh. Her voice was quieter, but it carried through the mist like a whisper in the back of the mind.
Asuma groaned audibly. "Onee-chan has a clone like Guy?"
Before anyone could react further, the mist deepened, and the world fractured. Yin Clone wove subtle hand seals and whispered, "Genjutsu: Silent Mirage."
The fog pulsed with chakra as flickering silhouettes of Yang Clone sprang into being, dozens of them charging forward with wild cries. It became impossible to tell which one was real.
Guy did not hesitate. "Then I shall defeat all of you with the power of youth!"
He flared his chakra, shouted, "Gate of Opening: Open!" and surged into battle.
The real Yang Clone met him in the center of the swarm. Their blows clashed like war drums. Guy's strength and technique sharpened through days of combat, but the clone's power matched his speed and ferocity. Punches and kicks cracked branches, shattered bark, and kicked up bursts of wind and mist.
Meanwhile, Kurenai narrowed her eyes, weaving hand signs as she tried to focus through the swirling genjutsu. "These are illusions… if I can just isolate the chakra pattern..."
A whistle sliced through the air. Asuma shoved her aside just as a barrage of shuriken tore through the space she had occupied. Dozens of silver glints struck the tree trunk behind her, nearly silent and almost invisible through the fog.
"Akari's clone is hiding in the mist and throwing from range!" Asuma barked, already unsheathing a pair of trench knives and spinning them to deflect the next volley.
Kurenai dropped to one knee, eyes shut tightly as she concentrated on unraveling the genjutsu web. Her chakra pulsed outward in delicate strands, brushing against the threads of illusion. Every flicker of false Yang Clone, every minor sound, was part of the trap.
More shuriken came, silent and swift. Asuma blocked them, dancing through the fog in front of her like a wall of steel. One grazed his arm, slicing open his sleeve and drawing a thin line of blood. Another embedded in his vest.
"Anytime, Kurenai!" he shouted, eyes darting through the swirling mist.
"I need just another second!"
Another wave of shuriken came. Asuma swatted aside what he could and threw a kunai in the direction of the source. A shadow hissed and flitted deeper into the mist.
Kurenai's eyes snapped open. "Genjutsu: Mirror Veil Reversal!"
With a sudden crack of chakra, the entire fog split apart. The false clones of Yang evaporated like smoke caught in sunlight, and Yin Clone, crouched on a branch with a dozen shuriken still in hand, staggered slightly as the recoil of the dispelled illusion hit her.
"Cute trick," Kurenai said coldly.
Yin Clone raised a brow. "I liked you better confused."
A blur of movement cut their exchange short as Guy roared and spun mid-air, delivering a full-force kick into Yang Clone's chest. The clone grinned even as it exploded into vapor; the attack finally overwhelming its stability.
Kurenai followed up by hurling a handful of needles toward the recovering Yin Clone. Asuma flanked from the other side, wind chakra flaring along his trench knives. Overwhelmed and cornered, Yin Clone was forced to leap backward, straight into one of the earlier traps: a pressure-sealed explosion tag placed by Earth Clone during the setup phase. The blast dispelled her instantly, leaving only swirling dust and silence in her wake.
Despite defeating their opponents, they were in rough shape. Asuma had gained several new cuts and Guy's injuries had reopened after using the Eight Gate technique. Knowing that both of them needed treatment and rest, Kurenai took charge and ordered that they find a hidden place to settle, which was a good call; I may have to make her the captain when I'm not around.
They found the dummy at dawn on the last day, hidden beneath a cleverly arranged pile of false rocks that my Earth Clone had spent far too long designing to look "natural." It was meant to be difficult, but I had honestly expected them to not locate it at all. Still, they found it, despite their wounds and sheer exhaustion, so it was impressive.
Kurenai dropped to her knees beside the dummy and immediately set to work, her hands steady even though her arms trembled from fatigue. She muttered to herself as she applied basic first aid and bandaged; nothing fancy, but enough to stop the "bleeding" and stabilize the target. The dummy's torso had been stained with blood and wrapped in tattered, damp cloth; it looked convincingly like a wounded shinobi.
Guy sat beside her; his right arm cradled tightly in a makeshift sling of vine and cloth. He grinned through the pain, face bruised, eyes burning with determination. Asuma kept watch, even though he was clearly limping, both legs carrying the signs of too many dodged jutsus and near misses. His chakra was barely holding together... just enough for one last exchange if it came to that.
"Kurenai, you need to rest," Asuma said gruffly, eyes scanning the treeline.
"I will after we get out of this cursed forest," she replied, her voice raspy with exhaustion.
They began the trek toward the nearest extraction zone, moving carefully through the morning mist that still clung to the forest floor. The air was heavy, and every snapping branch beneath their feet felt like thunder.
I had chosen that dummy's location specifically because it would place them on the most dangerous path to the finish, but even I had not expected what came next. The growl rumbled through the trees like a rolling avalanche. Before they could react, a massive bear, at least eight feet tall and covered in scars, burst from the underbrush. It had likely caught the scent of the blood-soaked dummy and followed it.
"Not mine," I muttered to my Earth Clone. "That one's just life."
"Should we intervene?" she asked dryly.
"Let's see how they handle it."
The genin snapped into action. Guy charged first, ducking under a swinging paw and landing a high-speed spinning kick to its ribcage. The bear staggered but roared with fury. Asuma launched a Wind Release: Air Bullet, slicing into its flank, while Kurenai, already beyond her chakra limit, used a thrown flash tag to blind it momentarily.
The fight was short but brutal. By the end of it, the bear was unconscious, collapsed into a heap of singed fur and shallow breathing, and the kids were shaking, coated in sweat, grime, and adrenaline. But they kept moving.
By the time they reached the clearing near the gate, the morning sun had finally pierced the canopy, casting long golden beams through the mist. That was when they saw me. I stood at the center of the path with my Earth Clone beside me, arms folded, posture relaxed, but they knew I was not here to congratulate them.
Kurenai's eyes widened. "No rest?"
I gave a slow shrug. "Neither me nor my clones were responsible for that bear. You forgot to remove the bloody clothes from the dummy. That is what attracted it. Consider it an unscripted lesson."
They instinctively dropped into formation, even as Asuma gave an audible groan and Guy winced while shifting his injured arm.
"I will not be going easy on you," I warned. "And Guy, if you open any of the Eight Gates, I will fail this entire test and ban you from training for three weeks."
His expression wilted. "Understood, Sensei."
I nodded to Earth Clone, and we attacked. She began with a wave of rising earth spikes to box them in. I followed with a sweeping arc of fire, forcing them to move fast or burn. Asuma retaliated first, launching a weakened but determined volley of Wind Release: Air Bullets, attempting to disperse the flame. It did little more than slow my technique. He tried again with a Fire Release: Great Fireball, but it fizzled before impact.
Guy rushed Earth Clone, relying only on one arm. His taijutsu was still sharp, even injured, and he was dodging and weaving around rising walls of stone. Kurenai stayed low, weaving between cover, planting weak but clever genjutsu flashes, shifting shadows, phantom footsteps, minor visual delays, just enough to make Earth Clone hesitate.
But I ignored the other two. I had eyes only for my little brother.
"Asuma!" I shouted, fire flaring along my fingertips. "You are too slow!"
He growled and responded with a wind-enhanced kunai toss, which I slapped aside with ease. I closed in, throwing a flurry of fire-imbued punches and wind-drenched kicks, forcing him backward. He barely managed to block with a wall of earth, but it was thin and brittle. I shattered it easily, landing a burning sweep across his legs that knocked him flat.
Kurenai, panting, launched a kunai toward me. I noticed it at the last moment, damn her timing, and was forced to twist aside as I dodged. The interruption made me miss the finishing blow.
"Persistent little..." I grumbled.
Then instinct took over. I launched a Fire Release: Great Fireball while my Earth Clone, now flanking from the side, slammed her hands into the dirt.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"
We both meant to miss just slightly, to pressure them toward the gate. But the two jutsus collided, flame against stone, and something rippled through the air as the elemental chakras combined.
A violent hiss. The heat spiked unnaturally. Stone and fire fused midair. What should have been separate attacks melded into something new.
Lava burst outward, bright orange and glowing with heat, as molten spears that stabbed forward, melting everything in their path, and in my mind, I heard the chime.
[Ding!]
"Unlocked: Lava Release – Rank F-"
I froze.
In the chaos, the genin had already dashed toward the gate, just as planned. They did not even realize what had just occurred. The molten spears hissed and cooled behind them as they vanished through the boundary.
My Earth Clone turned to me slowly.
"Did you just...?"
"I did," I said, stunned. "I really did."