"Great! We all passed!" Hyūga Akane exclaimed, her red hair bouncing as she pumped her fists with joy.
Shigure let out a long breath of relief before turning to glare lightly at their teammate. "Kusuo, you nearly gave me a heart attack back there," he said, half-reproachful and half-grateful.
Hatake Kusuo scratched at his cheek sheepishly. "Hehe… sorry. I'll be more careful next time."
"Forget it," Shigure sighed, tension fading from his shoulders. He glanced at his two teammates with determination. "What's important is that we give it everything in the preliminaries."
The trio followed their supervising jōnin, Hatake Sakumo—White Fang himself—through winding roads until they arrived at the new testing ground. Before them stretched an enormous expanse of dark treeline. The villagers called it simply Konoha Forest.
Rumor had it the forest had been born from the legendary power of Senju Hashirama. Vast in area, dense with ancient cedar and maple, the terrain was treacherous. Lose your way, and you could circle for hours without finding the edge.
But the forest entrance was not open. A squad of strange robed ninja stood blocking the path.
"These are operatives of the Barrier Corps," Sakumo told them. "The preliminaries will be conducted within their boundary, inside Konoha Forest itself."
He pulled from his sleeve the scarlet cards every examinee had been issued. "Listen well. If you exit the barrier's confines or linger past the permitted time, the word Ninja marked on the back of your card will vanish. That means immediate disqualification."
"Then… how exactly do we pass?" Kusuo asked at once, voicing the question on every candidate's mind.
Sakumo's expression remained stern but patient. "Inside the testing region you'll find nine towers built long ago by the First Hokage. Together they form the sequence Rin, Byō, Tō, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen—the nine mudra of sealing. Only one tower will be the true path onward. The others are diversions."
Nohara Rin raised her hand. "But how will we even know which is the right one? What happens if someone enters the wrong tower?"
"The test lasts twelve hours. Every two hours, the Barrier Corps will shrink the field. Each time, only towers within the shrinking perimeter remain valid. In the end—after six reductions—only the last standing tower will serve as the route to the next round." Sakumo paused, letting the gravity of his words sink in.
"As for what you'll face in the wrong tower? Hmph. That's something you'll have to discover yourselves." His voice held a teasing similarity to his son Kakashi's dry tone.
Shigure folded his arms, speaking thoughtfully. "So essentially, we survive inside the barrier, eliminate competition, and wait until the last two hours to enter the correct tower."
"Exactly," Sakumo said, nodding approvingly.
Obito shifted nervously. "Um, examiner… what if somehow all the candidates make it into the right tower? Would everyone pass then?"
"You mean everyone lucks out?" Sakumo allowed himself a thin smile. "Impossible. Each tower admits only a limited number. When the last field reduction comes, anyone outside the chosen tower is eliminated—no exceptions."
Obito's face sagged with dismay.
Hyūga Akane chewed her lip nervously. "So fighting is… inevitable, then?"
"It is," Sakumo confirmed.
From the crowd, Uchiha Mamoru—the arrogant cousin Shigure had clashed with before—raised his hand with a mock-polite voice. "Examiner, are contestants allowed to kill?"
"Kill? Of course not," Sakumo replied firmly. "This is still a Chūnin promotion exam. But serious injury is fair game. We are shinobi, after all. If you risk being overwhelmed, you may surrender by channeling chakra into your Ninja Card. The Barrier Corps will sense it and eject you. But weigh the consequences for yourself—walking away could cost your one chance at advancement."
Mamoru smirked sidelong at Shigure, eyes narrowing. "So gravely wounding one's rivals is acceptable then."
Shigure refused to acknowledge him. Let the cousin play his little games.
Sakumo wasn't finished. "You may also seize the Ninja Cards of those you defeat. Each card carries the bearer's written exam score from round one. Gather more cards, and you'll hold greater advantage in the tower. Without at least one card in possession, you cannot advance. This should make the matter clear: there is no retreat, only struggle."
The crowd murmured uneasily. This was no simple navigation test—it was survival.
Nearby, Might Guy raised his hand brightly. "Wait, I don't get it at all!"
His teammates groaned. "You don't need to!" Ebisu and Genma quickly restrained him before he could derail Sakumo's briefing.
Turning aside, Shigure leaned to his friends. "Kusuo, Akane—still following?"
"I think so… sort of," Kusuo admitted. Akane nodded uncertainly.
"Shigure…" Rin looked apologetic as she gestured to Obito still scratching his head. "Do you think you could explain it to him? I don't really know how to without confusing him."
"Sorry!" Obito said with an earnest grin, rubbing the back of his neck. "Guess I'm just slow."
Kakashi snorted. "Hmph. You're hopeless."
Shigure coughed into his hand and stepped up. "Alright, let me break it down simply."
He thought back to tactics games from his old life and started speaking in terms everyone could grasp. "Picture it like this. One hundred twenty ninja, divided into teams of three, have entered. There are only two goals. One: keep your own cards safe while seizing opponents'. The more cards, the more leverage. Two: keep inside the shrinking barrier while eliminating false towers. At the end, whoever enters the final true tower first clears the stage."
The simplicity of his breakdown drew a circle of shinobi leaning in to listen. Obito's eyes lit up instantly. "Ohhh, now I get it!"
"Me too!" Might Guy declared proudly, puffing his chest. "Ha! I'm actually a genius!" His teammates exchanged weary looks.
Sakumo observed Shigure quietly from the edge as he checked the youth's paperwork. A perfect score on the written exam… sharp instincts in strategy, too. "Interesting," he murmured. "Let's see how far you can go, boy."
The moment stretched, and then Sakumo's commanding voice rang out over the training field.
"I declare the second round of the Chūnin Selection Exams—officially begun! The team competition, held within Konoha Forest, commences now! First to enter the battlefield…" his eyes scanned the clipboard, "…Uchiha Shigure! Hatake Kusuo! Hyūga Akane!"
The crowd shifted, attention swinging toward Shigure's team.
Kusuo's hand tightened on his tanto. Akane drew a sharp breath. Shigure glanced at his comrades, then toward the dark forest waiting ahead.
Twelve hours. Nine towers. Countless rivals. No turning back.
He took a step forward. The barrier shimmered before them as the grass rustled underfoot.
"Let's go," Shigure said quietly.
And with that, the forest swallowed them whole.
--
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