…
The moment the fire scattered across the battlefield, Murakami had already moved.
His body flickered onto one of the elevated wooden posts near the edge of the training ground as the barrage of flaming projectiles swept past where the trio had been standing moments earlier.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Explosions erupted across the clearing as smoke and embers scattered violently through the air.
Hideki barely avoided getting hit directly by throwing himself behind a tree trunk while Sora dove low across the grass with far less elegance.
"THIS IS ATTEMPTED MURDER!" Hideki shouted.
Kaito stood several meters away with his hands back in his pockets.
"…You're alive, aren't you?"
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"
Another clone moved swiftly.
The bare-handed clone appeared directly beside Hideki almost instantly.
Hideki's instincts screamed as the clone's frame looked over him.
He barely managed to raise his arms before—
THUD!
A kick sent him skidding violently across the ground.
"Ghk—!"
Before Hideki could recover, the clone was already pressing forward relentlessly without pause or wasted movement.
Meanwhile, the armed clone flashed toward Sora.
Sora's eyes widened slightly as the tanto swept toward his shoulder.
CLANG.
A kunai intercepted it at the last second.
Sora retreated immediately, creating distance while rapidly forming hand seals.
"Earth Style—"
The clone disappeared.
Sora's eyes narrowed.
Too late.
The blunt end of the tanto slammed into his ribs from behind.
THUD.
Sora staggered sideways with a sharp gasp.
The strike wasn't lethal but it was painful enough to disrupt his concentration completely.
From atop the wooden post, Murakami watched silently.
His eyes tracked everything.
From positioning to timing and the mistakes in between.
And unfortunately…there were many.
Hideki was trying to overpower pressure directly instead of controlling spacing. He was up against an opponent who was stronger and faster.
Trying to force momentum against someone superior in both experience and fundamentals was suicidal.
Sora on the other hand kept attempting techniques without creating safe casting windows first.
Neither of them were coordinating with the other, instead, they were reacting individually.
Kaito noticed it too. "…Messy," he commented casually.
Murakami remained quiet, continuing his observation as the 'exercise' intensified.
The fire-style clone launched another barrage, this time forcing both Genin toward the center of the field—
Exactly where the taijutsu clone wanted them.
Hideki realized it first.
"MOVE!"
He lunged toward Sora just as the clone crashed into their position.
BOOM.
The impact shattered the ground beneath them.
Sora stumbled while Hideki grabbed his arm and forcefully dragged him away from the crater.
"…Thanks," Sora muttered quickly.
"Yeah, yeah."
For the first time since the fight began, they finally moved together.
Murakami noticed immediately and so did Kaito.
The Jonin's eyes shifted slightly upward toward Murakami.
"…You see it?"
Murakami nodded. "They're starting to compensate for each other instead of handling each opponent alone."
"Exactly."
Another explosion erupted below as Hideki narrowly blocked a strike from the tanto wielding clone before shouting toward Sora.
"STOP THINKING SO LONG!"
"I NEED HALF A SECOND!"
"THEN TAKE A QUARTER!"
"That's not how time works!"
Despite the shouting, as they fought, their coordination improved.
The difference wasn't immediate, but enough to survive longer under the three clones' assault.
Murakami watched all this quietly from above the post.
He understood what Kaito was trying to do. This was not about teamwork in the traditional sense, it was about removing dependency.
Because as long as Murakami remained present during combat, both Hideki and Sora unconsciously deferred to him whenever pressure escalated.
Not intentionally but Instinctively. And although Murakami noticed this, he didn't see any problem with it.
After all, it was better than having a kunoichi who would be a weak link.
As long as they both capitalized on their strength, Murakami would always be there to make up for their shortcomings.
But now, Kaito was forcing them to develop without that safety net.
A dangerous method, but effective.
Just then, Sora finished a set of seals and slammed both palms together.
"Earth Style: Rising Wall!"
RUMBLE.
Stone erupted upward directly beneath the fire-style clone's feet, disrupting the next attack.
At the same instant, Hideki appeared from the side.
For once, perfectly timed, his fist slammed directly into the clone's ribs.
POOF!
Smoke exploded outward.
The clone vanished.
Hideki's eyes widened, then pumped his fist into the air.
"…WE GOT ONE!"
"Don't celebrate yet," Sora warned immediately.
But it was too late as the taijutsu clone appeared behind them both.
Kaito sighed softly.
"…And there's the problem."
WHAM.
Both Genin were launched across the training ground simultaneously.
Murakami closed his eyes briefly. 'Still rough and definitely inexperienced.' he made a mental note, but then smiled faintly.
'But undeniably improving.'
A few more exercises like this and they'd certainly see improvements
From his spot, Kaito's gaze shifted upward again. "…Alright."
Murakami opened his eyes.
"You've watched enough."
The atmosphere changed slightly, both Hideki and Sora froze for half a second after hearing those words.
Kaito's faint smile returned as another clone popped.
"Now show them the gap they've been relying on."
Murakami didn't move immediately.
He simply looked down at the messed up training ground for a moment longer.
Hideki was pushing himself back up from the dirt, coughing slightly while Sora had already gotten to his feet, one hand pressed against his ribs while the other tightened around a kunai.
Both of them were still focused on the clones.
Not him.
That alone told Murakami everything he needed.
"…Understood," he said quietly.
Then he stepped forward.
And disappeared.
…
As soon as his figure disappeared, the shift was instant.
Not the flashy or explosive kind of shift, just absence of presence.
Hideki blinked once. "Huh—?"
The new fire clone moved first, reacting on instinct.
A sweeping arc of flame erupted toward where Murakami had been standing.
BOOM!
But there was nothing there anymore.
Sora's eyes sharpened. "Above!"
Murakami was already mid-air.
A clone barely had time to tilt its head upward before Murakami's foot descended.
THUD.
The taijutsu clone was driven straight into the ground, cracking the earth beneath it before dispelling.
Murakami landed lightly beside the impact point as if gravity had simply agreed to behave.
That was one of the perks of the phantom step. He was basically riding the wind and gravity had nothing on the wind.
But just then, the second clone arrived behind him, tanto already drawn.
But strangely enough, Murakami perceived it as too slow.
The moment the clone shifted behind him, Murakami was already turning as if he had already accounted for the movement before it fully formed.
His body rotated smoothly, his two fingers pressed down onto the wrist in a single, clean motion.
The clone's grip on the weapon loosened instantly, and before the clone could even correct its posture, Murakami threw a palm to its chest once.
POOF.
…
Hideki stared.
"…That's illegal," he muttered.
Sora didn't respond.
Because he was already watching Murakami move again.
The fire clone attempted to regain control of the battlefield, expanding its range with another burst of flames meant to force spacing.
But Murakami didn't retreat and stepped into it.
The moment the flames reached him, they curved around him as if space itself refused to acknowledge they could touch him directly.
Murakami crossed the burning zone in a straight line and appeared in front of the clone.
The clone's hands snapped together for another Jutsu but it was already too late.
Murakami's fist had already landed on its chest in a straight punch
POOF.
The third clone vanished.
Silence fell over the field for half a beat.
Only the clone's remnant smoke remained drifting across the training ground.
…
Kaito exhaled softly from the side.
"…Yeah," he said lazily. "That's what I was talking about."
Hideki slowly turned his head toward Sora. "…Are we sure he's a Genin?"
Sora adjusted his glasses, expression tight as he said, "No."
He paused briefly. "…He's just assigned like one."
Hideki gazed at the empty space where Murakami stood. "That's not an answer that makes me feel better."
…
Murakami had already turned back toward them.
His gaze moved briefly over Hideki and Sora.
There was no judgment or pride in his gaze as he did that, just observation.
"You're both still inefficient under pressure," he said calmly.
Hideki frowned. "We literally just fought—"
"You fought separately," Murakami interrupted.
Sora remained quiet for a moment, then slowly lowered his gaze. "…We did."
Hideki hesitated but said. "…We still won one clone though."
Murakami looked at him flatly. "That was luck created by timing overlap," he replied. "Not coordination."
That hit a little harder than it should have.
Kaito stepped forward at that moment, one hand still in his pocket. "That's the difference," he said. "Individually, you can survive Genin-level pressure exercises."
His gaze shifted between them.
"But together, you're still three individuals sharing a battlefield."
He tilted his head slightly.
"And Murakami… is the only one currently operating as a unit."
The group didn't have any retort to that.
Murakami glanced at the ground for a moment, then spoke again.
"This is fixable."
Sora looked up slightly.
Murakami continued, "You don't need to match me. That's inefficient."
"You only need to stop getting in each other's way."
Hideki scratched his head slowly. "…That sounds easier when you say it."
Murakami didn't respond to that.
Because it was and it wasn't.
Kaito chuckled. "…Alright," he said, turning away. "That's enough for today."
He started walking, but then paused slightly. Without turning back, he added:
"Next time… I won't be separating the field for you."
"So make it count."
And then his figure vanished
…
The three Genin stood there for a moment longer.
Hideki let out a long breath.
"…I feel like I just got demoted emotionally."
Sora adjusted his glasses again. "You didn't get demoted. You just got corrected."
"That's worse."
Murakami turned slightly, his mind going through the exercise and how to help improve his teammates' individual strength.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Like it? Add to library! Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
But y'all still don't🙂↔️... Anyways, I'ma be writing and posting on my patr@on page for a while. Interested individuals can check it out here. I've got 10 extra chapters there.
[email protected]/This_Young_Lord