Inside the Shinobi Administration Building, the examination room was silent. At the front of the room stood several proctors senior jonin chosen to observe the exam. Among them sat Hiruzen.
Across the room, the door slid open. Three shinobi stepped inside.
"GOOD MORNING!"
Might Guy marched inside with heroic enthusiasm.
"THE FLAMES OF YOUTH ARE READY FOR THIS EXAMINATION!"
One of the proctors blinked slowly.
"Please take your seat."
Guy saluted dramatically.
"YES!"
Shinji sighed and sat down at his desk.
Shisui took the seat beside him, smiling faintly.
"You look nervous."
Shinji glanced sideways. "I'm not."
Shisui leaned slightly closer. "You tapped the desk three times."
Shinji stopped tapping immediately. "You're annoying."
Shisui grinned.
At the far side of the room, Guy stared at the blank paper on his desk.
"…There are a lot of words."
A jonin proctor stepped forward. "The Jonin Written Examination will now begin." "This exam does not test memorization." "It tests judgment."
He began passing the scrolls out. "Each scenario describes a mission situation." "You will write how you would respond as the squad leader."
"No answer is entirely correct."
"But poor judgment will be obvious."
Shinji unrolled his scroll.
His eyes scanned the first scenario.
A four-man squad is sent to retrieve sensitive information from an enemy outpost. During the mission, one teammate is captured. Rescuing them risks the objective. Completing the objective means leaving them behind. What decision do you make as squad leader?
Shinji stared at the page for a moment.
Across the room, Guy looked horrified. "That's evil."
Shisui leaned back slightly in his chair. "Not really."
Guy turned toward him. "You would leave your teammate?!"
Shisui shrugged. "Depends."
The proctor cleared his throat sharply. "No talking during the exam."
Guy immediately faced forward again. "…Right."
Shinji dipped his brush in ink. His answer was short. The mission objective comes first. However, abandoning the teammate without attempting recovery damages team cohesion and morale.
I would assign one shinobi to create a distraction while the remaining members extract both the information and the captured teammate. If recovery becomes impossible, the objective is prioritized. A squad leader must balance mission success with the trust of their team.
Your squad encounters an enemy jonin far stronger than your team. Retreat risks exposing the village. Engaging risks your squad's lives. What is your decision?
Engage temporarily. Delay the enemy while signaling reinforcements. Direct confrontation is unnecessary if the objective is to buy time.
Guy stared at his scroll with intense concentration. Sweat ran down his forehead. "…This is harder than sparring."
The proctor ignored him.
Finally
"Time."
The proctor stepped forward. "Brushes down."
Guy immediately dropped his brush and leaned back dramatically. "I HAVE SURVIVED!"
Shinji raised an eyebrow. "You wrote three sentences."
Guy pointed proudly at the paper. "QUALITY OVER QUANTITY!"
Shisui leaned over slightly to read it. His smile widened. "You wrote 'fight harder' for the last scenario."
Guy nodded confidently. "A TRUE SHINOBI NEVER RETREATS!"
Shisui laughed. "You might fail."
Guy gasped. "MY YOUTHFUL SPIRIT WILL PREVAIL!"
At the front of the room, the proctors began collecting the exams.
One of them stopped beside Shinji's desk. He glanced down at the paper. His eyebrows lifted slightly. "…Interesting."
The proctor moved on.
Nearby, another proctor read Shisui's answers. He nodded slowly. "Very sharp."
Guy leaned forward eagerly. "What about mine?!"
The proctor looked at the paper. Then looked back at Guy. "…Bold."
Guy beamed. "I KNEW IT!"
At the front of the room, Hiruzen quietly reviewed several completed tests. His eyes paused on Shinji's answer. A faint smile crossed his face.
Then he picked up another scroll. Shisui's. Hiruzen nodded approvingly.
Finally he opened Guy's paper. The old shinobi stared at it. Then slowly closed the scroll. "…Remarkable."
A nearby proctor whispered. "Remarkable?"
Hiruzen chuckled quietly. "In its own way."
At the front of the room, the head examiner addressed the candidates.
"The written evaluation is complete."
"The second stage will test leadership."
Guy pumped his fist. "YES!"
Shisui tilted his head. "What kind of leadership?"
The proctor answered calmly. "Each of you will command a squad of genin." "You will be given a simulated mission in the training forests outside the village." "You will be judged on how well you lead them."
Guy grinned widely. "MY YOUTHFUL LEADERSHIP WILL INSPIRE THEM!"
The proctor finished the briefing. "The leadership trial begins tomorrow."
As the three shinobi stepped out of the building, Guy suddenly wrapped his arms around both of them.
"MY FRIENDS!"
Shinji groaned.
"What now?"
Guy pointed dramatically toward the horizon. "TOMORROW WE LEAD THE NEXT GENERATION!"
Shisui smiled. "That sounds about right."
Three groups of young genin stood nervously at the edge of the clearing. In front of them stood the three candidates for promotion.
Might Guy was already doing push-ups. "95! 96! 97!"
One of the genin whispered to another. "Is he serious?" The second genin shrugged. "I think he's always like that."
Guy finished his hundredth push-up and jumped to his feet. "THE POWER OF YOUTH IS READY!"
The genin flinched.
At the center of the clearing stood several exam proctors. One of the jonin stepped forward. "This stage of the exam evaluates leadership." "Each of you will lead a three-person team." "The mission will take place inside this forest."
He held up a small scroll. "Your objective is simple." "Retrieve the mission scroll hidden somewhere inside the training ground."
Another proctor spoke up. "However, several obstacles have been placed throughout the forest."
Guy grinned. "FINALLY! ACTION!"
The proctor ignored him. "Your performance will not be judged on speed." "It will be judged on leadership."
"How well you communicate." "How well you protect your team." "And how you adapt when things go wrong."
"You have one hour."
"Begin."
The moment the signal was given, the forest erupted with movement.
Guy immediately turned to his team. Three nervous genin stared up at him.
Guy struck a heroic pose. "TEAM!" "Today we unleash the flames of youth!"
One genin whispered to another. "Are we in danger?"
Meanwhile, Shisui crouched beside his squad. "We're not rushing." "We'll move quietly and gather information first."
Across the clearing, Shinji looked down at the three genin assigned to him. They stood straight, clearly nervous.
Shinji sighed quietly. Fresh academy graduates. Great.
One of them spoke up hesitantly. "S–sir?"
Shinji looked at them. "What are your names?"
The smallest genin stepped forward. "Daichi." Another spoke. "Riku." The third nodded. "Ayame."
Shinji gave a small nod. "Alright."
He crouched slightly and drew a rough map in the dirt. "The scroll is somewhere inside this forest."
He tapped the ground. "But they said traps and enemy shinobi are waiting."
Ayame frowned. "So we just fight through them?"
Shinji shook his head. "No."
"We move carefully."
"Daichi."
"Yes!"
"You're on scouting."
Daichi blinked.
"Me?"
"You're the lightest."
Shinji pointed to the branches above them. "You'll move through the trees and report back."
Daichi hesitated. "I've never scouted before."
Shinji shrugged. "Then today's your first time."
Daichi swallowed nervously. "…Okay."
Shinji turned to the other two. "Riku, you're with me."
"And Ayame…"
He tossed her a small smoke bomb.
"You're rear guard."
Ayame caught it.
"Rear guard?"
"Watch our backs."
Shinji stood up.
"If something goes wrong, you warn us."
The genin looked at each other.
Then nodded.
Shinji turned toward the forest.
"Let's move."
High above the trees, the proctors observed from hidden positions.
One jonin watched Shinji's team move through the forest. "He delegated roles immediately."
Another nodded. "Smart."
Nearby, Hiruzen watched silently.
Good.
Across the forest, Shisui's team moved with quiet efficiency.
He walked calmly beside them.
"Stay low."
"Watch the ground."
One genin suddenly froze.
"Wire!"
A thin tripwire stretched across the path.
Shisui smiled slightly.
"Good catch."
Elsewhere
Guy's team crashed through the forest loudly.
"FASTER!"
A genin stumbled over a root.
"Sorry!"
Guy lifted him to his feet immediately.
"NO APOLOGIES!"
He gave a huge grin.
"WE FALL TOGETHER AND RISE TOGETHER!"
The genin looked confused.
But oddly motivated.
Back in Shinji's squad
Daichi dropped silently from the trees.
"There's a clearing ahead."
Shinji nodded.
"Enemies?"
Daichi hesitated.
"…Two."
Shinji crouched and thought for a moment.
Then he looked at the team.
"Okay."
He drew another quick map.
"We're not fighting them head-on."
Ayame tilted her head.
"What's the plan?"
Shinji pointed to Daichi.
"You circle behind them."
Daichi nodded.
Then Shinji looked at Riku.
"You throw a smoke bomb."
Riku blinked.
"And you?"
Shinji stood up calmly.
"I grab the scroll while they're distracted."
Ayame frowned.
"What if it fails?"
Shinji smirked slightly.
"Then we improvise."
Minutes later, they reached the clearing.
Two chunin proctors stood guarding a small wooden box.
The mission scroll.
Shinji crouched behind a tree.
He glanced toward Daichi's position in the trees.
Then at Riku.
Shinji gave a small nod.
Riku threw the smoke bomb.
POOF.
The clearing filled with smoke.
One proctor shouted. "Ambush!"
At the same moment Daichi dropped from the trees behind them. The proctors turned toward him. That was the distraction.
Shinji moved instantly. He burst from the smoke, sliding across the ground. His hand grabbed the wooden box.
The proctors realized too late.
Shinji vanished back into the smoke. Moments later the team regrouped deeper in the forest.
Shinji opened the box.
Inside sat the mission scroll.
Ayame's eyes widened.
"We actually did it."
Riku grinned.
"That was awesome."
Daichi looked proud.
Shinji simply nodded.
"Mission complete."
High above the trees, the proctors exchanged looks.
Across the forest, Shisui's team emerged with their scroll.
Moments later
Guy's team burst out of the trees triumphantly. Guy raised the scroll high above his head. "THE POWER OF YOUTH PREVAILS!"
The genin behind him cheered.
The proctors stared in disbelief. "How did he succeed?"
Another proctor sighed. "I don't know."
Hiruzen chuckled quietly. Sometimes Talent came in very different forms.
The head examiner stepped forward. "The leadership trial is complete."
He looked at the three candidates.
"Tomorrow the final stage begins."
Guy leaned forward eagerly.
"The final stage?!"
The proctor nodded. "Combat."
Shinji glanced at Shisui.
Shisui smiled slightly.
Guy cracked his knuckles dramatically. "NOW THE TRUE FLAMES OF YOUTH WILL BURN!"
Shinji sighed. "Finally."
Tomorrow would decide everything.