"Go, Nonō!"
The instant Duy roared from ahead, Kaito felt the ground beneath his foot change—
Soft soil, loose grass—
A trap.
Crack.
The surface collapsed.
His footing vanished, arms forced to flail for balance—unable to form seals.
For several seconds, he was "open."
A guaranteed hit.
Where's the attack coming from? Above? Side? Or—
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—
Doton chakra loosened the soil, triggering the buried device.
A pocket of anesthetic smoke burst upward—
Just inhaling a trace made Kaito's skin prickle.
Yeah.
This was the cheap anesthetic grenade from the village store—
Powder sealed inside cloth, bound into a sphere. Cheap, effective for D-rank traps.
"We did it!!"
Buried only ten meters away, Nonō peeked through the earth, already imagining victory—
Little white socks stomping triumphantly on her teacher's handsome face, mocking this "weakling teacher" who finally fell before her genius trap.
"That spot, huh?"
Kaito's ear twitched—
He heard the faintest movement underground.
He shifted one step—
Formed a single-handed seal.
"Substitution."
POOF!
The wooden log snapped into the trap, instantly ensnared in the steel wires.
Hidden nearby, Mikoto's eyes went wide.
Single-handed seals?!
Weren't you the class dead-last?!
How does a supposed academy flunkie make one-handed seals look this clean?!
Nonō popped out of the dirt with stars in her eyes, ready to mock Kaito mercilessly—
A shadow fell over her head.
Her smile froze.
Cold sweat ran down her neck.
One thought filled her brain:
I'm doomed.
"Ninja Tactics — Genjutsu."
"W-wha—"
THUMP.
Kaito flicked her neck.
Clean knockout.
"I'm not good at illusions," Kaito said casually.
"So I'll let you faint and dream a bit."
He turned to the last remaining challenger.
"Now then… ninjutsu."
His gaze slid toward the grass where Mikoto was hiding.
"Come show me what you've got."
Mikoto stepped out, leaves clinging to her hair, cheeks puffed in frustration.
"Hmph! In ninjutsu I'll never lose to you!"
"Good."
Kaito smiled lightly—
His hands blurred.
Before Mikoto finished the six seals for Fireball—
His jutsu was already complete.
Si → Wei → Yin.
"Fire Release — Fireball Technique!"
A fist-sized fireball shot out at high speed.
Mikoto had to roll aside—
The sphere burst into the grass behind her, igniting it with a loud hiss.
Her back reflected the flames as she stared blankly.
"D-rank fire jutsu… you—!"
She thought he'd unleash some incredible technique—
Instead he basically spat out a baby fireball.
An insult.
"Eh?! Where'd he go—?"
"Water Release — Water Drop."
WHOOSH—
A tiny droplet sliced her cheek like a bullet.
Warm blood trickled down as her brain finally processed—
He moved… again. And that speed—
"This is a D-rank Suiton I developed. Not bad, right?"
Kaito appeared beside her, finishing the last seal, "Boar."
Collapsed on the ground, exhausted after opening Three Gates, Duy had watched everything:
Kaito interrupted Mikoto's hand seals with a micro-fireball, used that moment to move behind her, waited for her to react, then fired a condensed water bullet—
A prototype inspired by Heaven's Weeping.
A D-rank technique in classification—
But terrifying when used with precision and speed.
"Liar."
"…What?"
"You're a BIG FAT LIAR!"
Mikoto clutched her stinging cheek, eyes welling with rage.
"You said you were BAD at ninjutsu! Then you show up with all these stupid original jutsu?! You're not a genin at all!"
Kaito: "…"
He inhaled deeply, then spoke solemnly:
"Becoming a chūnin is my dream."
"But performance in daily missions doesn't count.
Only passing the official chūnin exam makes you a real chūnin."
"???"
Mikoto twitched.
Her cut had already stopped bleeding, but anger flared even hotter.
"And what does that make ME?!"
"My student."
He waved dismissively.
"You failed the test, but now I know exactly what each of you needs."
He pointed at her:
"Mikoto, your hand seals are slow.
Starting today, practice seals seriously.
Cut down on shuriken drills. Against strong enemies, wires and projectiles are children's toys."
"You may meet someone who purposely lets you hit them.
Then your 'Manipulated Shuriken Technique' might work."
"What kind of idiot would let it hit them?!"
Kaito glanced at her.
"You might see it in the future."
"Huh? What future—?"
He ignored her and helped Duy sit up.
"Bring Nonō under the shade. We'll talk after she wakes."
"Okay!"
Nonō jolted awake from a nightmare—
In her dream, Kaito had tied her up and whispered in her ear:
"Wake up, little trash."
But in reality—
"Kaito-sensei…?"
She found herself lying with her head in Kaito's lap.
She jumped up, blushing furiously.
Kaito didn't care.
His eyes drifted to Mikoto practicing "Fire Release — Powered Shuriken," refining her nature transformation.
Then he faced the other two.
"Next, I'll teach a secret method for chakra control. Listen carefully."
Thirty minutes later—
Mikoto learned to channel fire chakra onto a shuriken and proudly ran to show him.
Kaito only smiled faintly and said:
"With your talent, this level is normal. Keep going."
Nonō trained water-walking by the river.
Duy, finally rested, started practicing tree-climbing.
CRACK. CRACK.
Kaito rubbed his forehead.
Duy's chakra control was truly abysmal.
This—this was why he could never rank up.
Inconsistent chakra balance, loud footing, unintended damage—
No superior would promote someone who breaks floors just by walking.
"Your chakra distribution is messy. Even it out."
"Got it!"
Five seconds later—
Duy slid down the tree again.
And again.
And again.
After his seventh fall he scratched his head.
"Sensei, what went wrong this time?"
Kaito facepalmed.
Mikoto activated her single-tomoe Sharingan and stepped forward.
"Try stabilizing a small, even amount on your soles first.
Hold it.
When you're sure it's balanced, then climb."
"A dumb idea," Kaito said.
"But maybe effective. Try it, Duy."
"Yes!"
Blue chakra flowed out of Duy's pores, gathering at his feet.
Cracks formed on the ground—
He adjusted carefully.
"Nail the sensation… slowly…"
Eventually—
"Wait…
I think… I've got it!"
"Try climbing."
Because flat ground control ≠ vertical control.
CRACK.
"Eh?!"
More cracks.
Then—
THUD.
"…Don't rush. Control first. Flat ground success doesn't mean tree success."
"Okay—"
THUD.
Duy fell again.
Kaito frowned.
"You—"
"No chakra left."
"…"
Dead fish eyes.
How does this man survive?
They paused for lunch.
When Kaito pulled out two giant bento boxes, while the three kids only had normal ones, they stared in shock.
He demonstrated the appetite of a Saiyan.
A few days later—
At the mission office, Kaito submitted another D-rank task.
His eyes drifted to the mission board:
B-Rank — Recon: Amegakure Border, Forest of Drizzle
C-Rank — Escort Supply Convoy: Rain Country Border, Fog Valley
B-Rank — Reinforce River Country Border: Flowing Gorge
…
"These missions… no takers?"
The wall was filled with assignments tied to the ongoing Second Shinobi War.
The silence around those mission tags said everything.
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
patreon.com/nani_kaito