Behind the Academy, near Training Ground Ten above the Hokage Rock, Hatake Sakumo was already waiting with his three students.
Considering the destructive power of Kizaru's ninjutsu—and also to avoid any unnecessary repair costs afterward—Sakumo had deliberately chosen Training Ground Ten, an open, flat stretch of grassland.
Beside the field was a small lake. There were no tall trees nearby, only low bushes scattered around the area.
"Sakumo-sensei, when is Kizaru-san coming?"
The three students had received Sakumo's notice last night. After learning that today's assessment would be against Kizaru, all three of them had been restless with excitement.
Ever since Kizaru graduated early and left the Academy nearly three years ago, none of them had ever had a proper chance to fight him.
So naturally, they were looking forward to today.
"This assessment is meant to test your teamwork."
Sakumo looked at the three of them and spoke seriously.
"Remember this. The three of you are a team. If you want even a chance of lasting ten minutes against Kizaru, you'll need to cooperate."
"Sakumo-sensei, I've been training with my clan recently. I've learned several new ninjutsu. I can handle this even without them."
Uchiha Inari's Sharingan had already reached two tomoe. After training under the seniors of the Uchiha Clan and learning new techniques, his confidence had grown considerably.
"Tch."
Hyuga Toda, who had recently been practicing the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, folded his arms and let out a cold snort.
Inari immediately turned toward him.
"What? You have something to say?"
Toda only raised his chin slightly, his expression full of quiet disdain.
Sakumo watched the two of them start glaring at each other again, then glanced at Yuki, who was leaning against a wooden post nearby with a ninja sword in his arms, calm and silent.
Sakumo could only sigh inwardly.
If only Inari and Toda could learn even a little of Yuki's composure.
"There's one more thing I forgot to tell you yesterday."
His voice cut through their argument.
The two boys immediately stopped.
Sakumo's expression became stern.
"This assessment must be passed by the three of you together. If even one of you is judged as killed within those ten minutes, the entire team fails."
The three students froze.
"And if you fail, your genin qualifications will be revoked. You'll return to the Academy and study for another year."
"What?!"
"But we already graduated, sensei!"
Inari and Toda forgot their argument instantly and stared at Sakumo in shock.
"This is an assessment every Academy graduate must face before truly becoming a ninja," Sakumo said calmly.
Hearing that, Inari and Toda looked at each other.
Neither of them spoke, but their eyes said the same thing.
Don't drag me down.
Not far away, Yuki also looked toward Sakumo.
His expression remained calm, but the hand holding his ninja sword tightened slightly.
All three of them had graduated early as geniuses from their respective clans. If they failed here and were sent back to the Academy, the disappointment of their elders and the ridicule of their classmates would follow them immediately.
Just imagining it made their expressions turn tense.
For the first time that morning, the three of them looked genuinely serious.
"Kizaru will be here soon," Sakumo said. "Use this time to discuss your tactics."
Only then did the three of them come back to themselves.
Inari and Toda exchanged one more glance before walking over to Yuki.
It was the first proper tactical discussion their team had held since being formed.
Watching them finally talk like teammates, Sakumo's lips curved into a faint smile.
Not easy at all.
"Oooh~ isn't this nice, Sakumo-san?"
Kizaru's lazy voice suddenly sounded beside him.
Sakumo turned and saw Kizaru standing there with that familiar relaxed smile.
"This is the first time they've actually acted like a team," Sakumo said.
Kizaru nodded slowly, his smile becoming a little more playful.
"For this little reunion, I prepared quite the gift."
Sakumo's expression stiffened.
The assessment condition he gave his students was to survive ten minutes against Kizaru.
If Kizaru opened with something ridiculous, there would be no assessment left to speak of.
Seeing through Sakumo's concern, Kizaru smiled.
"Relax. I won't use ninjutsu today."
Only then did Sakumo feel slightly relieved.
"Give them enough room to show what they can do," Sakumo reminded him.
"Oooh~ don't worry, Sakumo-san."
Kizaru looked ahead with a smile.
While the two of them spoke, the three students finally finished deciding on their formation.
Among them, Hyuga Toda, who had the strongest taijutsu, would act as the main attacker.
Shimura Yuki, with his speed and swordsmanship, would support from close range.
Uchiha Inari, who specialized in Fire Release and ninja tools, would attack from the rear.
"Sakumo-sensei, we're—"
The three of them turned toward Sakumo, only to notice Kizaru standing beside him.
"Kizaru-san!"
Their faces lit up with excitement.
Kizaru smiled and nodded in return.
"Are you ready?" Sakumo asked.
"Ready!" Inari answered loudly.
"Then…"
Sakumo's gaze swept over all three students.
"The assessment begins now."
The moment he finished speaking, Sakumo disappeared from the spot with the Body Flicker Technique.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
The three students' expressions sharpened. After exchanging one look, they scattered and hid themselves among the low bushes.
Kizaru stood where he was, one hand resting on his sheathed ninja sword, smiling lazily as he looked around.
One.
Two.
Three.
Without refining chakra and without using Haki, Kizaru relied only on his sharp senses and quickly located all three of them.
But he did not move.
He simply stood there, waiting for them to launch the first attack.
He did not have to wait long.
According to their plan, Uchiha Inari, who was responsible for the feint, moved first. From the bushes, three shuriken shot toward Kizaru from behind his left side.
Kizaru raised the sword in his right hand without even drawing it.
With a casual sweep of the scabbard, he knocked the shuriken away.
The three were not surprised.
Since his position had already been exposed, Inari jumped out from the bushes.
Before his feet even touched the ground, his hands were already forming seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A large fireball burst from Inari's mouth and rushed straight toward Kizaru.
Facing the flames, Kizaru still did not move from his spot.
He did not draw his sword either.
Holding the scabbard, he swung lightly toward the fireball.
He controlled his strength perfectly. It was not enough to create a flying slash, but the force of the swing still stirred up a sharp gust of wind and scattered the flames apart.
Inari landed on the ground and his eyes widened.
That attack just now had not used chakra.
It was pure physical strength.
Kizaru's body was absurd.
At that same moment, Yuki burst out from the bushes on Kizaru's right.
His speed was good. With his ninja sword in hand, he closed the distance in a blink.
Holding the sword with both hands, Yuki slashed upward from below.
Clang!
Kizaru blocked it cleanly with the scabbard.
"The timing wasn't bad."
Kizaru looked at Yuki, who was locked against his blade, and smiled.
Yuki's lips curved slightly.
But the next instant, Kizaru's waist twisted.
A side kick landed against Yuki and sent him flying.
"If you don't have the strength to break through, don't stay locked with your opponent," Kizaru said lazily. "That kind of thing is dangerous, you know~"
"Yuki!"
Seeing Yuki kicked away, Inari shouted and immediately threw a kunai to block Kizaru from pursuing.
"Worrying about your teammate is fine."
Kizaru appeared in front of Inari in a flash, his still-sheathed sword already raised.
"But taking your eyes off your own opponent is no good."
The blade came down.
Faced with Kizaru's sudden attack, the inexperienced Inari froze for a split second before remembering to dodge.
Too late.
The moment he bent his knees to leap away, he already knew it.
He was going to be cut.
If this landed, Sakumo-sensei would judge him dead, and the whole team would fail because of him.
Just then, a hand wrapped in chakra struck Kizaru's sword arm from the side.
Kizaru stopped the downward slash.
His wrist shifted, and the sword's path changed into a horizontal cut toward his right.
Taking that brief opening, Inari used a burst of chakra and escaped from Kizaru's range.
Hyuga Toda, who had kicked off the ground and leaned his body low to save him, barely avoided Kizaru's horizontal slash.
"Toda!"
Inari looked at him in surprise.
"Shut up and focus!"
Toda did not even look back. His eyes stayed locked on Kizaru, his expression tense.
Inari knew he had made a mistake, so he did not argue. He immediately fixed his stance and watched Kizaru warily.
At the same time, Yuki, who had been kicked away earlier, stood back up with his ninja sword in hand.
The three of them spread out.
A triangle formation.
Kizaru stood in the center, still smiling faintly.
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